MSC Sardinia, Cannes & Ibiza

From an cruise ship on the Mediterranean Sea, the view of Cagliari, Sardinia’s capital and main port, is striking. Crowned by its historic nucleus squeezed within a protective ring of Pisan fortifications, Cagliari’s setting is enhanced by the calm lagoons to the east and west of the city, a habitat for cranes, cormorants and flamingos. During your excursion to the centre of Cagliari, the promenades along Via Manno are the smartest you’ll see in Sardinia. These then drop down to the noisier Piazza Yenne and Largo Carlo Felice, around which most of the shops, restaurants, banks and hotels are located. At the bottom of Cagliari, the porticos of portside Via Roma shelter more shops and bars. Cagliari’s main attractions are the archaeological museum with its captivating collection of nuraghic statuettes, the city walls with their two Pisan towers looking down over the Mediterranean Sea and the port, and the cathedral – all within easy distance of each other. There are also a sprinkling of Roman remains, including an impressive amphitheatre, while nearby excursions include Nora, the most complete ancient site on Sardinia, and the islands of Sant’Antioco and San Pietro.

The port of Civitavecchia is one of the largest in Italy. Civitavecchia enjoys a millenary history due to its coves along the coast, which offered a perfect shelter for vessels, making it a natural port long before cruise ships sailed the seas, and in fact the port was known to the Romans as Centumcellae. During your holiday in Civitavecchia you can easily visit its centre on foot. Amongst the most important monuments to visit are the Forte Michelangelo, built by Bramante in the 16th century, the ancient walls of the old port, where there is a fountain in travertine marble by Vanvitelli, and the Rock, an inexpugnable fortress that has been looming over the city and port for over a thousand years.

Tuscany’s third-largest city is a quintessential port town with a colourful history and cosmopolitan heritage. Declared a free port in the 17th century, Livorno (Leghorn in English) attracted traders from across the globe, who brought with them new customs and habits, exotic goods, slaves and foreign forms of worship. The result was a city famed throughout Europe for its multiculturalism. Today its seafood is the best on the Tyrrhenian coast, its shabby historic quarter threaded with Venetian-style canals is full of character, and its elegant belle époque buildings offer evocative reminders of a prosperous past. An easy train trip from Florence, Pisa and Rome, it makes an understated but undeniably worthwhile stop on any Tuscan itinerary.

Glamorous Cannes sets camera flashes popping at its film festival in May when stars pose in tuxes and full-length gowns on the red carpet. But the glitz doesn’t end there. Throughout the year, as you walk among the designer bars, couture shops and palaces of La Croisette, the wealth and glamour of this city cannot fail to impress. Admiring Ferraris and Porsches and celebrity-spotting on the chic sunlounger-striped beaches and liner-sized yachts moored at the port are perennial Cannes pastimes.
Whether Cannes’ soul has managed to survive its celebrity-playground status is another question, but there’s still enough natural beauty to make a trip worthwhile: the harbour, the bay, the clutch of offshore islands and the old quarter, Le Suquet, all spring into life on a sunny day. And with the city’s famous beaches benefiting from a serious facelift in 2019, there’s suddenly lots more space to lay your towel!

Today you disembark for your return flight home.