If you live outside of Europe, you may not have heard of Civitavecchia.  It’s a port city, located on the Tyrrhenian Sea about 75 km (50 miles) northwest of Rome.  And, as the cruise port closest to Rome, it’s Italy’s busiest departure port for cruises around the Mediterranean and elsewhere.  It’s also a popular stopover point for cruises that start elsewhere on the Mediterranean.

There are lots of different cruise options out of this port, but the most popular “mid-length” cruise out of Civitavecchia is the 11-night Mediterranean Cruise.  At 11 days, these cruises are long enough to fully explore the areas either to the east or west, but not so long that the cost in money or time becomes prohibitive for many cruise fans.

11 day cruises to the western Mediterranean frequently include a visit to Barcelona, a trip through the Straits of Gibraltar and continue out into the Atlantic with stops at island towns like Funchai and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.  Other variations to the west don’t go as far, but include stops in Monte Carlo, Marseille, Naples and Palermo.  Some cruises are round-trip, bringing you back to Civitavecchia, while others finish up in another major port like Barcelona.

There are also several different varieties of cruises that travel out of Civitavecchia toward the eastern Mediterranean.  Some head to Greece, visiting Piraeus (near Athens) and a couple of the Greek islands before going on to Istanbul, Turkey.  Or they may substitute a trip to Egypt and Israel instead of Istanbul.  The second major variety to the east includes Greece and then a lot of time in the Adriatic Sea.  These cruises usually include visits to Dubrovnik (Croatia) and Venice.

11-night cruises on the Mediterranean Sea out of Civitavecchia are offered by many of the major cruise lines, including Costa, Celebrity, MSC and Holland America.  If an 11 day Med cruise sounds good but you’d rather start somewhere else, they’re also offered out of Barcelona, Piraeus and several other cities.