Cruise Overview

A Christmas and New Year adventure visiting the eastern Mediterranean

Spend Christmas and New Year on board elegant Oriana, on this 23 night cruise to the Eastern Mediterranean.

Richly decorated for the festive season, events on board will include carol concerts, a visit from Father Christmas, church services and traditional Christmas menus in the dining rooms. New Year’s Eve is also a special occasion, with a five course gala dinner and the countdown to midnight!

Your first port of call will be Oporto – the perfect place to toast your trip with a glass of its port wine namesake. From here you’ll head to vibrant Malaga, and then on to Malta, where the fortifications at the Grand Harbour speak volumes about her past - her reputation for valour during WWII even earned her the George Cross!

The rugged coastline and mountainous scenery of Limassol in Cyprus await your exploration, with the pretty Israelian city of Haifa being the following stop; from Haifa you can visit the sacred Holy Land, the Sea of Galilee and the mountain fortress of Masada.

Christmas Day and Boxing Day will be spent at sea before heading to Izmir, located on Turkey’s Aegean shoreline. Surrounded by scenic mountains, Izmir is home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. From here it’s on to Piraeus for tours to Athens and The Acropolis. With its 2,500-year-old Parthenon, temple to Poseidon and Athena, Odeon of Herodus Atticus and Theatre of Dionysus, it quite literally stands out as an oasis of calm in the frenetic Greek capital. Other highlights include the small Greek port of Katakolon, your starting block for Olympia – the birthplace of the Olympic Games. The first Olympic torch was lit here in 776BC and you can still see the marble starting blocks used by early athletes in the 45,000-seat arena.

The final stretch of your cruise will take you to the Sicilian port Messina and from here you can visit the stunning Mount Etna. You will also stop in historic Cadiz. Dating back to the 12th Century BC, Cadiz is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the western world, and from here you can also choose to explore Seville.

Finally, you’ll be treated to some of the best views of the Portuguese capital as your ship cruises along the Tagus River into Lisbon. Although small for a European capital, this city does sprawl a little so you would do best to concentrate on three districts - Baixa, Bairro Alto and Alfama.