Cruise Itinerary

Southampton offers fast and efficient check-in areas, spacious departure lounges with seating areas, café-bars and smart washrooms. If you wish to travel by car and park for the duration of your cruise, you can pay for and reserve parking in advance directly with the relevant company. Alternatively, if being dropped off or collected by taxi or private car, they can drive right up alongside the terminal building.

The largest of the Portuguese islands in the Madeiran archipelago, Madeira offers a wealth of sites of historical interest, marvellous fish cuisine and, of course, its own famous Madeira wine. Unusually, Madeira has no sandy beaches, but it does offer the visitors wonderful walks, not only through its towns, but through its mountains and hills.

The largest Canary Island is dominated by 12,198-foot Mount Teide. The cuisine features locally grown fruits (banana, mango, and papaya) and fresh fish. Clean, sandy beaches offer chances for windsurfing, surfing, snorkeling and diving. You’ll find everything from lush vegetation to water parks and interesting shopping.

With its 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, Fuerteventura is the perfect place to enjoy the rays and top up a tan especially when taking into account its excellent beaches. The mix of trade winds and Atlantic Ocean swells offer the perfect mix for watersports enthusiasts, so it is no wonder that they are attracted to the island all year round. Like its near neighbours, Fuerteventura has a rugged charm found only in the bays and volcanic slopes of the Canary Islands. However, unlike the busier islands of Tenerife and Lanzarote, Fuerteventura has managed to avoid over development and still offers a great deal of tranquillity and stark beauty.

Lanzarote’s most famous feature is its otherworldly landscape, born of hundreds of fire-breathing peaks. The last eruption was in 1824, and though the region is now classed as dormant, you can still feel the heat under the surface at Timanfaya National Park. Considering that the island is a desert with only 5-6 inches (125-150 mm) of rain a year, the ingenious farmers of Lanzarote have worked agricultural miracles, especially in the wine region of Geria, where vines are planted and flourish in a layer of black volcanic sand, which holds on tight to every last drop of moisture. It is an amazing sight to see, and produces a nectar that is a delight to sip.

Historic, mysterious and romantic, the Spanish city of Cadiz is unlike any other. Founded in about 1100 BC, it is generally accepted as the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in today’s Europe. But for the thin strip connecting it to the mainland to its south, Cadiz is an island of history and architecture that impresses at every turn through the streets of this charming ancient port.

Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, is a city open to the sea and carefully planned with 18th-century elegance. Its founder is said to be the legendary Ulysses, but the theory of an original Phoenician settlement is probably more realistic. Known in Portugal as Lisboa, the city was inhabited by the Romans, Visigoths and, beginning in the 8th century, the Moors. Much of the 16th century was a period of great prosperity and overseas expansion for Portugal. The city boasts a good many monuments and museums, such as the Jeronimos Monastery, Tower of Belém, the Royal Coach Museum and the Gulbenkian Museum. High above the Baixa is the Bairro Alto (upper city) with its teeming nightlife. The easiest way to connect between the two areas is via the public elevator designed by Gustave Eiffel. Cruising up the Tagus River to the ship's berth, you can already spot three of Lisbon's famous landmarks: the Monument to the Discoveries, the Tower of Belém and the Statue of Christ, which welcomes visitors from its hilltop location high above Europe's longest suspension bridge.

Southampton offers fast and efficient check-in areas, spacious departure lounges with seating areas, café-bars and smart washrooms. If you wish to travel by car and park for the duration of your cruise, you can pay for and reserve parking in advance directly with the relevant company. Alternatively, if being dropped off or collected by taxi or private car, they can drive right up alongside the terminal building.