45-day legendary ultimate Mediterranean & Atlantic passage
45-night Europe cruise from New York City (Manhattan Or Brooklyn), New York to New York City (Manhattan Or Brooklyn), New York aboard Volendam.
Calling at Ponta Delgada, Lisbon, Cartagena, Barcelona, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina, Corfu, Iraklion, Rhodes, Bodrum, Kusadasi, Istanbul, Athens, Valletta, La Goulette, Malaga, Seville and Madeira, with 21 days at sea. 22 ports of call across New York, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Malta and Tunisia.
Volendam is a Holland America Line ship that entered service in 1999, carrying around 1,430 guests. One of the smaller ships in the fleet, she is prized for longer and more unusual itineraries, with a flower-themed art collection and the line’s classic teak promenade deck.
Stateroom category on this sailing: Ocean View.
- 08 Oct 2026 – 22 Nov 2026
from $12,664 pp twin share *
* Prices and category availability are subject to change without notice.
Itinerary
Day 1 – New York City (Manhattan Or Brooklyn), New York
Departs 04:30 pm.
A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture and fashion, and entertainment. The city consists of five boroughs and an intricate patchwork of neighborhoods. Some of these include Lower Manhattan and the New York Stock Exchange, Battery Park and South Street Seaport, Chinatown, trendy SoHo and Greenwich Village, along with Little Italy, the flat Iron District and Gramercy Park. Famous Central Park covers 843 acres of paths, ponds, lakes and green space within the asphalt jungle. Many districts and landmarks have become well-known to outsiders. Nearly 170 languages are spoken in the city and over 35% of its population was born outside the United States.
Day 2 – At Sea
Day 3 – At Sea
Day 4 – At Sea
Day 5 – At Sea
Day 6 – At Sea
Day 7 – Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel, Azores, Portugal
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 05:00 pm.
Day 8 – At Sea
Day 9 – At Sea
Day 10 – Lisbon, Portugal
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 05:00 pm.
Draped across seven hills, Lisbon was once the center of a vast maritime empire that stretched from the west coast of Africa to the Spice Islands of the East Indies. Then, on November 1, 1755, a violent earthquake destroyed two-thirds of the city in the space of 10 minutes. Only the Alfama, the old Moorish quarter, survived. Today, Lisbon is a stately city of Neoclassical buildings and wide plazas.
Day 11 – Cruising Strait of Gibraltar
Day 12 – Cartagena, Spain
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 02:00 pm.
Cartagena is an ancient port – the city served as Hannibal’s Spanish headquarters during the 2nd Punic War with Rome. The city remained a major trading port under the Romans and the Moors. Today, Cartagena is Spain’s principal naval establishment and the site of an annual international maritime festival. The city is also your gateway to the Costa Calida, a region that boasts some of Spain’s mildest weather along with 175 miles of beaches.
Day 13 – Barcelona, Spain
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 05:00 pm.
The 1992 Summer Olympics revealed to the world what Europeans and seasoned travelers already knew – Barcelona is one of the world’s greatest treasures. Vibrant and earthy, commercial and cultural, this city of two million residents is the capital of Spain’s autonomous region of Catalonia. Stroll along the wide, tree-lined promenades of Las Ramblas and marvel at the spires of Gaudi’s Basilica La Sagrada Familia. Or visit the former Olympic Ring on the hill of Montjuic – also home to world-class parks, fountains and museums. Barcelona, which nurtured such artistic giants as Picasso, Dali, Miro and Casals, is definitely a traveler’s paradise.
Day 14 – Villefranche-sur-Mer (Nice), France
Arrives 11:00 am, departs 09:00 pm.
Day 15 – Livorno (for Florence/Pisa), Italy
Arrives 07:00 am, departs 07:00 pm.
Livorno is the gateway to glorious Tuscany. Visit Florence – the cradle of the Renaissance – home to the Duomo, the Uffizi and the Ponte Vecchio. Here the Medici fostered a city-state whose cultural legacy is as great as classical Athens. Giants like Dante, Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Galileo infused the West with a new creative spirit. Then there is Pisa, Florence’s rival for political power. Pisa, a brash, commercial seafaring town rivaled the great maritime powers of Venice and Genoa. The city was a leader in art and architecture second only to Florence.
Day 16 – Civitavecchia (for Rome), Italy
Arrives 07:00 am, departs 10:00 pm.
Your gateway to the Eternal City, Civitavecchia has served as Rome’s seaport since the 13th century. The port has a long and venerable history. The emperor Trajan built a pleasure villa near the modern city, while Bernini and Michelangelo designed the harbor fortifications.Yet the Eternal City eternally beckons. The ancient capital of the Western World and the center of Christianity for nearly 2,000 years, Rome provides an inexhaustible feast. Visit the ruins of the Forum, view the splendors of the Sistine Chapel, or climb the Spanish Steps, once the heart of Rome’s Bohemian Quarter.Rome has been a magnet luring the world’s greatest artists, architects, and philosophers since the days of the Caesars.
Day 17 – Naples, Italy (for Capri & Pompeii)
Arrives 10:00 am, departs 06:00 pm.
Italy’s third-largest city, Naples is a bustling metropolis famed for it stately buildings, crowded streets, pizza – and notoriously bad traffic. However, this beautiful city is rich in centuries-old culture and customs. Naples is also your gateway to the Isle of Capri, the fabled Amalfi Coast and the ruins of Pompeii, buried in ash by the cataclysmic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Naples boasts an ideal location, with both the ruins of Roman cities and the stunning Amalfi Coast in easy reach.
Day 18 – Messina, Italy
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 05:00 pm.
Day 19 – At Sea
Day 20 – Corfu, Greece
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 09:00 pm.
The lush and verdant island of Corfu lies in the Ionian Sea, midway between Greece and Italy. The island has a long and colorful history. First colonized by the city-state of Corinth, Corfu has been ruled by the Romans, the Venetians, the French and the English. Corfu Town boasts fortresses bearing the insignia of the Venetian Republic, an esplanade lavishly planted by the French during the Napoleonic Wars, and an English cricket pitch. The island also offers some of the finest coastal scenery in the entire Mediterranean.Corfu’s old town is a mixture of the medieval and the modern. The Esplanade, planted with palms and eucalyptus by the French, leads to the English cricket pitch.
Day 21 – At Sea
Day 22 – Iraklion (Crete), Greece
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 11:00 pm.
Day 23 – At Sea
Day 24 – Rhodes, Greece
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 09:00 pm.
The largest and arguably the most beautiful of the 12 islands forming the Dodecanese, Rhodes has long played a major role in history. Lying just 12 miles off the coast of Turkey, the island straddles the sea-lanes linking Egypt, Southern Europe and the Holy Land. Rhodes Town bears witness to that long history. The ancient city features a classical stadium and the ruins of the Temple of Apollo. The “old” city is a walled town with medieval buildings and streets harking back to the days of the Crusades. The new town is a Mecca of luxury resorts lining the island’s picturesque Mandaraki Harbor.The Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, is reputed to have once stood guard over the harbor. Today, the bronze statues of a stag and doe top the two columns marking the harbor entrance.
Day 25 – Bodrum, Turkey
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 09:00 pm.
Day 26 – Kusadasi, Turkey (for Ephesus)
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 09:00 pm.
From the port of Kusadasi on Turkey’s Anatolian Coast, one travels into the past. Nearby stand the ruins of ancient Ephesus, a major site of archeological excavation. The city was once a Roman provincial capital and trading center. Ephesus is also home to several of Christendom’s holiest sites. St. Paul preached at the Great Theater and the ruins of Ephesus’ Basilica cover the tomb of Christ’s most beloved disciple, St. John the Apostle.In Kusadasi, whitewashed stone houses rise in tiers behind the market district. The palm-lined esplanade is the center of town life, with thousands of merchants offering wares to rival the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.
Day 27 – At Sea
Day 28 – Cruising The Dardanelles
Day 28 – Istanbul, Turkey
Arrives 08:00 am.
Istanbul rises from the Bosphorus, a vision of minarets and domes sparkling in the light. The capital of vanished empires, Istanbul is a true crossroad, the only city on Earth to span two continents. This meeting place of Europe and Asia, of Christian and Muslim, is one of the great adventures a traveler encounters. Browse the stalls of the world’s largest bazaar, explore ancient mosques and churches, and gaze at the stunning jewels in the Topkapi Palace.Istanbul has dominated the Straits of Bosphorus for 25 centuries. As Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, it was a metropolis of stunning splendor when the great cities of Europe were mere villages.
Day 29 – Istanbul, Turkey
Departs 11:00 pm.
Istanbul rises from the Bosphorus, a vision of minarets and domes sparkling in the light. The capital of vanished empires, Istanbul is a true crossroad, the only city on Earth to span two continents. This meeting place of Europe and Asia, of Christian and Muslim, is one of the great adventures a traveler encounters. Browse the stalls of the world’s largest bazaar, explore ancient mosques and churches, and gaze at the stunning jewels in the Topkapi Palace.Istanbul has dominated the Straits of Bosphorus for 25 centuries. As Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, it was a metropolis of stunning splendor when the great cities of Europe were mere villages.
Day 30 – At Sea
Day 31 – Athens (Piraeus), Greece
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 05:00 pm.
The past maintains a vibrant presence in the cradle of Western civilization. Atop the Acropolis, the serene Parthenon sails above the commotion of the modern city. The tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were performed in the Theater of Dionysus at the foot of the Acropolis. On Pnyx Hill, citizens of a fledgling democracy gathered to cast their votes on Athens’ destiny. Then there is the hustle and bustle of the modern city, a metropolis of 4.5 million that spreads out from the foot of Mt. Lycabettus and across the plain. Packed with busy shops and lively tavernas, modern Athens is a colorful counterpoint to classical Greece. Piraeus is the port city for Athens and has been Athens’ port of entry for over two millennia.
Day 32 – At Sea
Day 33 – Valletta, Malta
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 05:00 pm.
Malta is the largest in a group of seven islands that occupy a strategic position between Europe and Africa. The island’s history is long and turbulent. Everyone from the Normans to the Nazis have vied for control of this small, honey-colored rock. For centuries the island was the possession of the knightly Order of St. John – the Knights Hospitaller. Valletta, Malta’s current capital, was planned by the Order’s Grandmaster Jean de la Valette to secure the island’s eastern coast from Turk incursions. Founded in 1566, Valletta’s bustling streets are lined with superb Baroque buildings and churches.Malta has a long history: the megalithic stone temples at Gozo may be the oldest freestanding structures on Earth. Malta has two official languages, Maltese (constitutionally the national language) and English. Malta was admitted to the European Union in 2004 and in 2008 became part of the eurozone.
Day 34 – La Goulette (Tunis), Tunisia
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 04:00 pm.
Day 35 – At Sea
Day 36 – Malaga, Spain
Arrives 12:00 pm, departs 10:00 pm.
One of Spain’s oldest cities, Malaga has been inhabited since the time of the Phoenicians, who called it Malaka. A city of narrow streets, whitewashed houses, churches and sunny plazas, Malaga offers an idealized image of Spain. Malaga was the chief port for the Kingdom of Granada, the last stronghold of Moorish Spain. The city fell to Ferdinand and Isabelle in 1487. The re-conquest of Spain ended with the fall of Grenada in 1492, the year Columbus discovered the New World. In addition to the fabled Alhambra, Granada boasts some significant landmarks such as the Old Quarter, the majestic Granada Cathedral, Alcazaba – an ancient Moorish fortress nestled above the city, and the Royal Chapel – the final resting place of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Andalusia’s main port is also your gateway to the resorts of the Costa del Sol.
Day 37 – Seville (Cadiz), Spain
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 06:00 pm.
Mention Spain and the images that inevitably spring to mind are images of Andalusia – shadows falling across the bullring, the staccato rhythms of flamenco, the waft of orange blossoms from a Moorish garden. Cadiz is your gateway to this storied land and the city of Seville. Visit Seville’s massive Alcazar fortress, modeled on the legendary Alhambra Palace of Granada. See the city’s cathedral, a 15th-century Gothic masterwork that boasts a Moorish patio, fountain and minaret. Seville is also the legendary home of Don Juan, Bizet’s Carmen and Rossini’s Barber of Seville.Cadiz is one’s of Europe’s oldest inhabited cities, dating from 1100 B.C., and your gateway to Seville and Andalusia.
Day 38 – At Sea
Day 39 – Madeira (Funchal), Portugal
Arrives 08:00 am, departs 05:00 pm.
The capital of Madeira is named after the fennel (funcha) that once flowered there in profusion. The largest island in the Madeira Archipelago was discovered in 1419 by Portuguese explorers venturing south into the Atlantic. The island is nearly equidistant from Lisbon and the African coast, and its unique geographical position allowed Madeira to play a pivotal role in European discovery. Seamen such as Christopher Columbus gained knowledge and experience plying the routes of the island’s sugar trade. When sugar declined, the island’s famed wines continued to provide a robust trade. By the late 18th century, Madeira’s mild climate, rocky peaks, and lush valleys provided a winter haven to Europe’s aristocrats. Visitors still flock to the island today, drawn by its scenery and its weather.Funchal is noted for its superb hand-embroidery and wicker ware, both Madeira specialties. The island, of course, is also noted for its superb wines: they are perhaps the world’s most complex and long lasting wines.
Day 40 – At Sea
Day 41 – At Sea
Day 42 – At Sea
Day 43 – At Sea
Day 44 – At Sea
Day 45 – At Sea
Day 46 – New York City (Manhattan Or Brooklyn), New York
Arrives 07:00 am.
A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture and fashion, and entertainment. The city consists of five boroughs and an intricate patchwork of neighborhoods. Some of these include Lower Manhattan and the New York Stock Exchange, Battery Park and South Street Seaport, Chinatown, trendy SoHo and Greenwich Village, along with Little Italy, the flat Iron District and Gramercy Park. Famous Central Park covers 843 acres of paths, ponds, lakes and green space within the asphalt jungle. Many districts and landmarks have become well-known to outsiders. Nearly 170 languages are spoken in the city and over 35% of its population was born outside the United States.
Highlights
- Cruise from New York to New York on a 45-night voyage
- Explore 22 ports across the Mediterranean and Atlantic regions
- Onboard amenities include live music, fitness facilities and enrichment programmes
45-night Europe cruise from New York City (Manhattan Or Brooklyn), New York to New York City (Manhattan Or Brooklyn), New York aboard Volendam.
Calling at Ponta Delgada, Lisbon, Cartagena, Barcelona, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina, Corfu, Iraklion, Rhodes, Bodrum, Kusadasi, Istanbul, Athens, Valletta, La Goulette, Malaga, Seville and Madeira, with 21 days at sea. 22 ports of call across New York, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Malta and Tunisia.
Volendam is a Holland America Line ship that entered service in 1999, carrying around 1,430 guests. One of the smaller ships in the fleet, she is prized for longer and more unusual itineraries, with a flower-themed art collection and the line’s classic teak promenade deck.
Stateroom category on this sailing: Ocean View.
Inclusions
- Dining in the main Dining Room and casual venues
- Live music venues and nightly entertainment
- Fitness centre and swimming pools
- Enrichment programme and port talks
FAQs
Volendam is a Holland America Line ship that entered service in 1999, carrying around 1,430 guests. One of the smaller ships in the fleet, she is prized for longer and more unusual itineraries, with a flower-themed art collection and the line’s classic teak promenade deck.
Stateroom categories available on this sailing: Ocean View.
How long is this journey?
This itinerary runs for 46 days and 45 nights.
When can I travel?
Departures are currently scheduled between 08 Oct 2026 and 22 Nov 2026, subject to live availability.
What is generally included?
Inclusions typically cover guided touring and selected experiences, with exact details listed in the itinerary.
What style of accommodation is used?
Accommodation is pre-arranged as part of the journey, with specific properties shown in the trip details.
Provided by: Holland America LineFine Print
Terms and conditions apply. Click here for more details.