

Cruise itinerary
36-Night World Cruise Cruise from Southampton
36 nights · World Cruise · 33 ports of call
36-night World Cruise cruise aboard Oceania Sonata, departing Southampton and calling at At Sea, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Bilbao, Gijón and La Coruña and 26 more.
- Free advisor
- No booking fees
- 10,000+ sailings
At a glance
- Ship
- Oceania Sonata
- Cruise line
- Oceania Cruises
- Duration
- 36 nights
- Region
- World Cruise
- Departs
- Southampton
- Returns
- Istanbul
How NestCruise works:we're advisor-led, not a booking engine. No fares are listed and there are no booking fees — tell an advisor your dates and party and they price your exact Oceania Sonata sailing, typically within 24 hours.
Where this voyage takes you
Day-by-day itinerary
- Day1

Southampton
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
England's principal cruise homeport on the south coast, with deep docks that once launched the great ocean liners. Many transatlantic and Northern European sailings begin here, an hour or so by rail from London and close to the New Forest.
- Ocean liner heritage
- Gateway to London
- Tudor old town
- Day2
At Sea
- Day3

La Rochelle
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
- Day4

Bordeaux
Arrive 07:00
A port city in southwest France set on the Garonne, ringed by the vineyards of its world-famous wine region. River ships moor near the centre, where the grand Place de la Bourse mirrors in a vast reflecting pool beside neoclassical quays.
- Place de la Bourse
- Wine country
- Garonne quays
- Day5

Bordeaux
Depart 17:00
A port city in southwest France set on the Garonne, ringed by the vineyards of its world-famous wine region. River ships moor near the centre, where the grand Place de la Bourse mirrors in a vast reflecting pool beside neoclassical quays.
- Place de la Bourse
- Wine country
- Garonne quays
- Day6

Bilbao
Arrive 08:00 · Depart 20:00
The largest city of the Basque Country in northern Spain, set inland on the Nervión estuary. Once an industrial port, it was reshaped around Frank Gehry's titanium Guggenheim Museum, with pintxo bars and the old quarter close by.
- Guggenheim Museum
- Casco Viejo
- Pintxos bars
- Day7

Gijón
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
- Day8

La Coruña
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
A port city on the Atlantic coast of Galicia in northwest Spain, set on a peninsula reaching into the sea. Its emblem is the Tower of Hercules, a Roman lighthouse still in use, and a long seafront promenade rings the headland.
- Tower of Hercules
- Riazor Beach
- Old town squares
- Day9

Vigo
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
A port city in Galicia on Spain's green Atlantic northwest, set along one of the region's deep coastal inlets. Famed for fresh oysters and seafood, it has an old fishermen's quarter above the harbour and serves as a stop on the Camino pilgrim routes.
- Oyster street
- Cíes Islands
- Old town
- Day10

Porto
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
Portugal's second city, climbing the granite hillsides above the Douro as it nears the Atlantic. It gives port wine its name; the riverside Ribeira district, the Dom Luís I iron bridge and the cellars of Vila Nova de Gaia define the waterfront.
- Ribeira district
- Dom Luís I Bridge
- Port wine cellars
- Day11

Lisbon
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
Portugal's hilly capital, spread across seven hills above the Tagus estuary. Yellow trams climb to the Alfama's tangled lanes and the Castle of São Jorge, while Belém's monastery and pastéis de nata anchor the riverside to the west.
- Alfama district
- Belém Tower
- Tram 28
- Day12

Portimão
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 14:00
A port town on the Algarve coast of southern Portugal, set at the mouth of the Arade River. It is known for grilled sardines and the golden cliffs and caves of nearby Praia da Rocha, one of the region's longest beaches.
- Praia da Rocha
- Grilled sardines
- Arade River
- Day13

Málaga
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 19:00
A port city on Spain's Costa del Sol and the birthplace of Picasso. Cruise ships berth near the centre, where a hilltop Moorish fortress, the cathedral and the Picasso Museum sit close to broad city beaches and fried-fish chiringuitos.
- Alcazaba fortress
- Picasso Museum
- Costa del Sol beaches
- Day14

Alicante
Arrive 12:00 · Depart 18:00
A sun-warmed port on Spain's Costa Blanca, set below the Santa Bárbara castle on its rocky headland. The palm-lined Explanada promenade leads to a long city beach, with the old Barrio Santa Cruz climbing the hill in white houses.
- Santa Bárbara Castle
- Explanada promenade
- Postiguet Beach
- Day15

Barcelona
Arrive 09:00 · Depart 19:00
Catalonia's seafront capital and one of the Mediterranean's busiest cruise homeports. Gaudí's Sagrada Família and Park Güell crown the city, while the tree-lined Ramblas and the Gothic Quarter's medieval lanes lie a short ride from the terminal.
- Sagrada Família
- La Rambla
- Gothic Quarter
- Day16

Marseille
Arrive 09:00 · Depart 17:00
France's oldest city and biggest Mediterranean port, set around the old harbour of the Vieux-Port. The hilltop basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde watches over the bay, with the Calanques inlets and bouillabaisse stalls a short way off.
- Vieux-Port
- Notre-Dame de la Garde
- Calanques
- Day17

Livorno
Arrive 11:00
A Tuscan port on the Ligurian Sea and the gateway to Florence and Pisa. Ships dock here for excursions to Renaissance galleries and the Leaning Tower, while Livorno itself is known for its canal district and a seafood stew called cacciucco.
- Gateway to Florence
- Pisa excursions
- Venezia Nuova canals
- Day18

Livorno
Depart 13:00
A Tuscan port on the Ligurian Sea and the gateway to Florence and Pisa. Ships dock here for excursions to Renaissance galleries and the Leaning Tower, while Livorno itself is known for its canal district and a seafood stew called cacciucco.
- Gateway to Florence
- Pisa excursions
- Venezia Nuova canals
- Day19

Salerno
Arrive 09:00 · Depart 19:00
An Italian port at the head of its own gulf, just south of the Amalfi Coast. Its long seafront and walkable medieval centre make it a quieter base for reaching Pompeii, Paestum's Greek temples and the cliffside towns of Amalfi and Positano.
- Amalfi Coast gateway
- Paestum temples
- Seafront promenade
- Day20

Catania
Arrive 09:00 · Depart 16:00
A port city on the east coast of Sicily, built in dark volcanic stone beneath Mount Etna, Europe's most active volcano. Its baroque centre, rebuilt after earthquakes, is known for the elephant fountain, a fish market, and Etna excursions inland.
- Mount Etna
- Baroque centre
- Fish market
- Day21

Corfu
Arrive 11:00 · Depart 19:00
An Ionian island off Greece's northwest coast, greener and more Venetian-feeling than the Aegean isles. Ships call at its old town, a UNESCO-listed warren of Italianate streets between two hilltop fortresses, with pebbly coves around the shore.
- Old Fortress
- Liston arcade
- Ionian coves
- Day22
At Sea
- Day23

Trieste
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
A port city in northeast Italy near the Slovenian border, long the seaward gateway of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Grand Habsburg-era squares open onto the Adriatic, with the seafront Piazza Unità d'Italia and the white Miramare Castle on the bay.
- Piazza Unità d'Italia
- Miramare Castle
- Viennese cafés
- Day24

Rijeka
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
Croatia's principal seaport, set where a river valley meets the Kvarner Gulf on the northern Adriatic. A working harbour city with a grand Habsburg-era core, it is crowned by the hilltop Trsat Castle and serves as a gateway to the nearby island of Krk.
- Trsat Castle
- Korzo promenade
- Kvarner Gulf
- Day25

Hvar Island
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 16:00
A long, sun-soaked island off the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, known for lavender fields and a marble-paved harbour town. A hilltop Venetian fortress overlooks the bay, and small boats reach the wooded Pakleni islets just offshore.
- Spanish Fortress
- Lavender fields
- Pakleni Islands
- Day26

Sarandë
Arrive 10:00 · Depart 18:00
A coastal town in southern Albania on the Ionian Sea, facing the Greek island of Corfu across a narrow strait. Its curved bay and beaches anchor the town, and the ancient ruins of Butrint lie a short way down the coast.
- Butrint ruins
- Ionian beaches
- Lëkurësi Castle
- Day27

Argostoli
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 16:00
The capital of Kefalonia, the largest of Greece's Ionian Islands. Rebuilt after a 1953 earthquake, the waterfront town curves around a sheltered lagoon and serves as a base for the island's pale-pebble beaches, caves and the white sand of Myrtos.
- Myrtos Beach
- Melissani Cave
- Koutavos lagoon
- Day28

Khania
Arrive 09:00 · Depart 20:00
A harbour town on the northwest coast of Crete, in Greece, wrapped around a Venetian port. A waterfront lighthouse marks the old harbour mouth, and the pink-sand lagoon of Balos and the beach at Elafonisi lie along the coast to the west.
- Venetian harbour
- Balos lagoon
- Elafonisi beach
- Day29

Mykonos
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
A Cycladic island in the Aegean known for whitewashed houses and a lively summer scene. Ships anchor off the main town, where windmills overlook the sea, the Little Venice quarter meets the waves and sandy beaches stretch along the south coast.
- Windmills
- Little Venice
- Chora town
- Day30

Piraeus
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
The ancient harbour of Athens and Greece's principal cruise port. Ferries fan out to the Aegean islands from its quays, while the Acropolis, the Plaka district and the National Archaeological Museum sit a short metro ride inland.
- Gateway to Athens
- Acropolis
- Aegean ferries
- Day31

Páros
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
A Cycladic island in the Aegean Sea, known for its white marble and laid-back harbour villages. The old port of Parikia and the fishing village of Naoussa anchor a landscape of whitewashed lanes, Byzantine churches and a string of sandy bays.
- Naoussa village
- Panagia Ekatontapiliani
- Cycladic beaches
- Day32

Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
The largest city on Crete and the island's main port, in Greece. A Venetian harbour and fortress front the town, while the Bronze Age palace of Knossos and the Heraklion Archaeological Museum's Minoan treasures lie close by.
- Palace of Knossos
- Venetian harbour
- Archaeological Museum
- Day33

Rhodes
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
The largest of Greece's Dodecanese islands, off the Turkish coast, with one of Europe's best-preserved medieval walled towns. The Old Town keeps the cobbled Street of the Knights and the Palace of the Grand Master, while Lindos and its acropolis lie down the coast.
- Medieval Old Town
- Palace of the Grand Master
- Lindos Acropolis
- Day34

Pátmos
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 17:00
A small Greek island in the Dodecanese, long held sacred in Christian tradition. The hilltop Monastery of Saint John crowns the whitewashed Chóra, near the cave where the Book of Revelation is said to have been written above the harbour at Skala.
- Monastery of St. John
- Cave of the Apocalypse
- Chóra hilltop
- Day35

Izmir
Arrive 07:00 · Depart 16:00
- Day36

Istanbul
Arrive 11:00
The city straddling Europe and Asia along the Bosphorus, once Byzantium and then Constantinople. Ships dock near the historic peninsula, within reach of the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the covered Grand Bazaar's labyrinth of stalls.
- Hagia Sophia
- Blue Mosque
- Grand Bazaar
- Day37

Istanbul
The city straddling Europe and Asia along the Bosphorus, once Byzantium and then Constantinople. Ships dock near the historic peninsula, within reach of the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the covered Grand Bazaar's labyrinth of stalls.
- Hagia Sophia
- Blue Mosque
- Grand Bazaar
Upcoming departures
- 15 Sep 2027
Upcoming sailings of this itinerary — a NestCruise advisor confirms current availability and your fare.
36-Night World Cruise Cruise from Southampton FAQ
Which ports does this cruise visit?
This 36-night World Cruise cruise calls at Southampton, At Sea, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Bilbao, Gijón, La Coruña, Vigo, Porto, Lisbon, Portimão, Málaga, Alicante, Barcelona, Marseille, Livorno, Salerno, Catania, Corfu, Trieste, Rijeka, Hvar Island, Sarandë, Argostoli, Khania, Mykonos, Piraeus, Páros, Heraklion (Iraklion), Crete, Rhodes, Pátmos, Izmir and Istanbul.
How many days are spent at sea?
2 days are spent at sea; the rest are in port.
Where does this cruise depart from?
It departs from Southampton and ends in Istanbul.
How long is this cruise?
36 nights aboard Oceania Sonata.
When does this itinerary sail?
Upcoming departures include 15 Sep 2027. A NestCruise advisor can confirm current availability.