Italy, Malta and Croatia in Depth

Your journey begins in Venice, the most extraordinary city in the world. Check into your 5-star hotel and surrender to the magic of a city built on water – wander the labyrinthine calli, cross ancient bridges, discover hidden campos and let the timeless beauty of La Serenissima wash over you before the voyage ahead.

A private transfer whisks you from your hotel to the port of Fusina, where Crystal Symphony awaits. Step aboard to a warm welcome, a glass of Champagne in hand, and settle into your elegant suite as the ship prepares to sail. As the lagoon shimmers in the evening light and Venice fades on the horizon, the Mediterranean adventure begins. Departs 10:00 PM.

One of Italy’s most underrated treasures, Ravenna is a city that rewards those who venture beyond the obvious. Once the capital of the Western Roman Empire, it is home to eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites – extraordinary early Christian mosaics that blaze with gold and colour in the city’s ancient basilicas and mausoleums. An overnight stay gives you the rare luxury of exploring this remarkable city at your own pace, long after the day visitors have departed. Arrives 8:00 AM.

A second morning in Ravenna to linger over what could not be covered yesterday. Visit the Basilica di San Vitale, seek out the luminous mosaics of the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, or simply explore the elegant streets and piazzas of this quietly confident city. Crystal Symphony departs in the early evening, sailing south into Croatian waters. Departs 6:00 PM.

Rising from the Adriatic on its own small island, the medieval walled town of Korcula is one of the most beautiful in the entire Mediterranean. Its herringbone street pattern, designed to channel sea breezes and deflect pirates, is a masterpiece of medieval urban planning. Tradition holds that Marco Polo was born here, and the town’s towers, churches and marble streets speak to a history as rich and layered as anywhere in Croatia. Arrives 10:00 AM, departs 5:00 PM.

The capital of Puglia is a city of two distinct worlds – the bustling modern port and the enchanting labyrinthine streets of Bari Vecchia, the old town, where whitewashed buildings press together around the magnificent Basilica di San Nicola. Puglia’s cucina povera is some of the finest in Italy, and the city’s street food scene – fresh orecchiette made by hand in doorways, focaccia barese, sgagliozze – is reason enough to visit. Arrives 8:00 AM, departs 6:00 PM.

A restful day at sea as Crystal Symphony crosses toward Malta. Explore the ship’s exceptional dining venues, indulge in the spa, or find a quiet spot on deck and watch the Mediterranean shimmer in every direction as anticipation builds for Valletta ahead.

One of the smallest capital cities in the world, Valletta punches far above its weight in beauty, history and culture. Built by the Knights of St John in the 16th century, its honey-hued Baroque streets, grand palaces and extraordinary co-cathedral of St John – with Caravaggio’s largest painting hanging within – make it one of the Mediterranean’s most rewarding ports of call. A full day to explore at your own pace. Arrives 8:00 AM, departs 8:00 PM.

Perched on a narrow spit of land on Sicily’s far western tip, Trapani is a city steeped in myth, salt and the sea. Ancient salt pans still line the coast, windmills turn slowly in the breeze, and the historic centre’s Arab-Norman architecture speaks to centuries of civilisations that passed through this strategic crossroads of the Mediterranean. The nearby Egadi Islands and the hilltop town of Erice are well worth the short journey if time allows. Arrives 8:00 AM, departs 5:00 PM.

Chaotic, operatic, magnificent – Naples is Italy at its most visceral and most alive. The birthplace of pizza, the shadow of Vesuvius, the treasures of the National Archaeological Museum and the proximity to Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Amalfi Coast make this one of the richest port calls in the entire Mediterranean. Come hungry, come curious, and come ready to be overwhelmed in the best possible way. Arrives 8:00 AM, departs 7:00 PM.

Crystal Symphony arrives in Civitavecchia as the first leg of this back-to-back voyage draws to a close and the second begins. Those with time before the afternoon restart may wish to make the 90-minute journey into the Eternal City — the Colosseum and Roman Forum in the morning, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel in the afternoon, a final espresso standing at a bar counter in the way that Romans have been drinking coffee since the 17th century. Crystal Symphony departs at 7pm and the Tyrrhenian Sea opens southward toward the Amalfi Coast.

Amalfi is one of the most beautiful arrivals by sea on the entire Mediterranean coast, the small city wedged into a narrow valley between limestone cliffs that plunge directly into the turquoise water, its cathedral staircase rising above the Piazza del Duomo at the bottom of the valley. Ten hours ashore gives genuine time to move past the famous cathedral and into the terraced hillside above, where the sfusato amalfitano lemon groves that produce the finest limoncello in Italy cover the slopes in a particular scent that is entirely specific to this place. Positano, 15 kilometres west along the coastal road, has its own character — the pastel-coloured houses stacked on the cliff face like a vertical village, the small beach below accessible by steps that descend through the town. Ravello on the ridge above Amalfi, with its Villa Rufolo gardens and the Wagner association, gives a panoramic view of the coast that no waterfront position can match. Crystal Symphony departs at 6pm with the Adriatic ahead.

A sea day heading northeast as Crystal Symphony rounds the heel of Italy’s boot and enters the Adriatic. The transition from the Tyrrhenian Sea’s Italian coastline to the medieval world of the eastern Adriatic is one of the most culturally significant passages in Mediterranean cruising and the onboard lecture programme typically covers the layered Venetian, Ottoman and Slavic history of the Dalmatian Coast as preparation for Dubrovnik’s arrival tomorrow. The sea day in May on the Adriatic is warm, calm and excellent — the Palm Court terrace, the Trident Grill for a poolside lunch and the Connoisseur Club for the evening are all at their best on a day this clear and unhurried.`

Dubrovnik is the finest walled city in the Adriatic and the extended stay until 11pm is one of the finest scheduling decisions on this entire voyage. The 2-kilometre city wall circuit, with the terracotta rooftops of the old town below and the open Adriatic stretching behind the fortifications, is one of the great urban walks in Europe and at its finest in the May evening light. The Stradun, the marble-paved main street that bisects the old town, is accessible by day for the churches, galleries and restaurants that line it and then again after dark when the cruise day visitors have gone and the city returns to its own rhythms. The cable car to Mount Srd gives the finest panoramic view of the old town and the offshore Elafiti Islands. The Lokrum Island ferry from the old port, ten minutes across the water, provides a green and peaceful afternoon contrast to the stone city. Crystal Symphony does not depart until 11pm, which means the Dubrovnik sunset, the illuminated city walls and dinner in the old town are all within reach of every guest aboard.

Kotor is one of the Mediterranean’s most dramatic port arrivals, the Bay of Kotor narrowing to a final passage before the medieval walled city appears at the foot of the mountain. The UNESCO-listed old town, enclosed by 4.5 kilometres of city walls that climb the cliff face directly above to the fortress of San Giovanni at 260 metres, is one of the finest medieval Venetian towns in the eastern Mediterranean. The Cathedral of Saint Tryphon, built in 1166 and consecrated in its current form in 1221, is the finest Romanesque church on the eastern Adriatic coast. The climb to the fortress takes approximately 90 minutes and delivers the finest elevated view of the Bay of Kotor available from land, the water completely enclosed by mountains on every side. The Bay of Kotor at dawn, before the morning mist has fully lifted from the water, is one of the most beautiful sights on this entire voyage.

Corfu is the most culturally layered of the Ionian Islands, its long history of Venetian, French and British occupation producing an architectural character that belongs to none of those cultures entirely and is completely its own. The Old Town of Corfu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, its narrow Venetian lanes, the Liston arcade modelled on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris, the two Venetian fortresses guarding the harbour entrance and the neoclassical Palace of St Michael and St George all visible within easy walking distance of the port. The Achilleion Palace, built by Empress Elisabeth of Austria in 1890 and later purchased by Kaiser Wilhelm II, sits on the hillside above the town with the finest panoramic view of the island available. The olive groves that cover most of the island’s interior are ancient — many Corfu olive trees are over 500 years old — and the walking paths through them give the afternoon a particular beauty that the beach resorts of the north cannot replicate. Crystal Symphony departs at 4pm.

Catania sits at the foot of Mount Etna on Sicily’s eastern coast, and the volcano defines the city in a way that goes beyond the dramatic skyline it provides. The 1669 eruption destroyed most of the city and the 1693 earthquake destroyed what remained, which is why Catania was rebuilt almost entirely in the Baroque style that gives it its distinctive character today — the lava stone used throughout the reconstruction giving the facades a distinctive dark grey that is unlike anything in the rest of Italy. The Piazza del Duomo, with the lava stone elephant fountain that serves as the city’s symbol, the Cathedral of Sant’Agata and the Palazzo degli Elefanti around it form one of the finest Baroque civic spaces in Sicily. The Pescheria, the fish market operating in the alley behind the piazza from dawn until midday, is the most visceral and vivid market experience in Sicily and the freshest swordfish, sea urchins and tuna available anywhere on this voyage. Etna itself is accessible by cable car and guided walk for those wanting to stand at the crater of the most active volcano in Europe.

Crystal Symphony arrives in Valletta at 7am and the Mediterranean voyage concludes in one of the smallest and most beautiful capital cities in the world. Built by the Knights of St John following the Great Siege of 1565 and designated a European Capital of Culture in 2018, Valletta packs more Baroque architecture, historic churches, grand palaces and cultural institutions per square kilometre than any other city in the Mediterranean. The Co-Cathedral of St John, housing Caravaggio’s largest painting — the Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, measuring 3.7 by 5.2 metres — alongside the individual chapel floors of inlaid marble memorials to the Knights, is the finest interior in Malta. The Upper Barrakka Gardens give the finest elevated view of the Grand Harbour, one of the most sheltered and historically significant natural harbours in the Mediterranean. Your 5-star Valletta hotel awaits this morning, with the afternoon to explore the city at your own pace. The voyage from Venice has covered six countries, 14 ports and 18 nights of Crystal Symphony’s all-inclusive ultra-luxury. Valletta is the right place to end it.