You’ll begin your tour with an overnight flight to Rome, Italy, where you’ll land on Day 2. Check into your Rome hotel for 2 INCLUDED nights!

This morning, you can join an optional tour to the Vatican. Your afternoon is at leisure. This evening, take an optional "Rome by Night" excursion.

Today marks the beginning of your ocean cruise. After a buffet breakfast at the hotel and a Rome sightseeing tour, you will transfer to the pier to board the ms Noordam. Settle into your cabin and set sail. Dinner is included on board tonight.

Relax with a day of cruising — or take advantage of this time to enjoy the ship’s amenities! You’ll be in fine form when you dock in the medieval harbor of Dubrovnik.

Located at the very southern tip of Croatia’s Adriatic coastline, this ancient seaport was an independent city-state rivaling Venice during the 15th and 16th centuries. As a center of culture and trade, the city has long been a destination for artists, writers, and nobility.

Today, Dubrovnik is a stunningly beautiful city facing the blue Adriatic. Inside the medieval walls is a beautiful 14th-century Franciscan monastery, the Sponza Palace and graceful stone palazzi.

From Croatia you’ll visit a trio of Grecian ports. you’ll first visit Kérkira on luscious island of Corfu today. Located off the northwestern coast of Greece in the Ionian Sea, Corfu is one of the country’s most beautiful islands. With a hilly interior covered in cypress trees, flowering shrubs, and olive groves, it is no wonder Corfu is known as the “Emerald Isle.” The island also boasts wonderful beaches, pretty fishing villages, and striking rock formations. In Kerkira, the island’s capital, elegant architecture and fortifications dating back to the Venetian occupation only enhance the area’s natural beauty.

Then comes Katakolon, a medieval town and part of the Peloponnese Islands. It is most often used as a jumping-off point for Olympia, the site of the original Olympic stadium and Temple of Zeus, one of the last remaining Wonders of the Ancient World.

Your harbor on this island was created by a volcano in 1500 BC, and the effect is still explosive: steep cliffs rise from sea level, cubist white houses glow in the Aegean sun. Named after its patron saint, Saint Irene, Santorini’s views are undoubtedly the most breathtaking in the Aegean. This picturesque port will bring closure to your time in Greece.

Next, you’ll pull into Kusadasi, one of Turkey’s most stunning resort towns. Gateway to Ephesus, Kusadasi is one of the best-preserved archeological sites in the classical world.

You can choose to take an optional excursion to Ephesus, undoubtedly one of the most prosperous Greek cities of ancient times and now the most splendid restored site of antiquity in the Mediterranean. On this excursion, you can walk marble streets lined by temples and fountains, houses of nobility, a library, and a theater.

The port of Piraeus is your gateway to the wonders of Athens. There are many sites worth visiting in Athens at your leisure: The National Archaeological Museum stands supreme among the nation’s museums, and houses the finest collection of Greek antiquities in the world. Hadrian’s Arch, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and the Agora (marketplace), which was the focal point of community life in ancient Athens, are all not to be missed. The oldest quarter and the most charming section of the city is the Plaka. At one time this was the old Turkish quarter and is perhaps Athens’ most picturesque locale. People have lived in the winding maze continuously for over 3,000 years. The mighty Acropolis and Olympic Stadium are old favorites.

Catch your breath with another day at sea as you travel to Messina. Relax, or take advantage of the many activities on board the ship today as you sail.

Messina — on the lower slopes of the Peloritani Mountains of Sicily’s far northern side — graces your return to Il Belpaese, the Beautiful Country. The reconstructed Norman Cathedral — where Richard the Lionheart worshipped in 1190 en route to a Crusade — is Messina’s most famous sight. Most of the present cathedral is actually a reconstruction of the original building having been almost entirely destroyed by earthquakes; a few segments of the original wall still remains. The small museum here shows works by Caravaggio.

Your final port of call, Civitavecchia, soon appears on the horizon. Transfer to the hotel for included night in Rome at Rome airport. Take advantage of your day at leisure by joining the Optional Tivoli or Rome Treasures Tours.

All meals during your cruise are included on board the ship.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The above day-by-day itinerary is preliminary and therefore subject to change. If any major changes occur in advance of your departure, you’ll be notified in writing by Vantage Deluxe World Travel. If changes occur while on board ship or on tour, you’ll be notified by your Vantage Program Manager.