2026: which 9-night mediterranean cruise to choose?

[WxKristin]

There are two 9-night mediterranean cruises visiting the greek isles in early summer 2026 on the dream.

Option 1, May 30: (one-way) Departs Barcelona ending in Civitavecchia. Schedule: At Sea • Messina (Sicily), Italy • At Sea • Piraeus (Athens), Greece • Santorini, Greece • Mykonos, Greece • Chania, Greece • At Sea

Option 2, June 8: RT beginning/ending in Civitavecchia (Rome). Schedule: At Sea • Chania, Greece • Mykonos, Greece • At Sea • Dubrovnik, Croatia • Corfu, Greece • Valletta, Malta • Valletta, Malta (overnight)

Family of four (2 boys ages 12 and 9). Both dates work for us.
Older boy has been really into the Rick Riordan novels and overall greek and roman mythology, so I've promised some ancient ruins and possibly museums (likely in Rome before or after the cruise). Younger one is just excited about doing a disney cruise again (this will be our second, first was on the magic in Oct).

I don't love overly crowded areas (gives me anxiety with the kids) and would generally prefer port excursions that are hands-on (such as baking/pasta making) or active (kayaking/biking) and maybe beaches. With that in mind, I'm leaning towards option 2 with what appears to be slightly less common ports, but having never been to this part of the world I'm trying to gather what I can from past trip reports and port reviews.

Does anyone have recommendations between the two? or reasons you would pick one over the other?

Thinking about booking tomorrow when castaway club silver opens up...

 

[Calantha]

Option 1, May 30: (one-way) Departs Barcelona ending in Civitavecchia. Schedule: At Sea • Messina (Sicily), Italy • At Sea • Piraeus (Athens), Greece • Santorini, Greece • Mykonos, Greece • Chania, Greece • At Sea

We're doing the 9-night round trip out of Civitavecchia this summer and then staying 3 days in Rome. We are a family of 3 and my son will be 10 at the time of sailing. He too is a huge Percy Jackson fan.

I picked the one way here (even though I think that's harder flight-wise) because of the stops in Athens and I would have no interest in over-nighting in Malta. Also Option 1 has an extra day at sea (even though it is early on).

On the flip-side, I can see the attraction of Croatia.

 

[wabbott]

We visited several locations in Greece and Turkey on an NCL cruise last fall. Most memorable were Mykonos, Istanbul, and Santorini. At Mykonos, be sure to visit the windmills and the location where the final scene of The Bourne Identity was filmed. If you're arriving at Santorini before dawn, be up on deck when the ship enters the caldera. Drop dead photo ops.

At Piraeus, you'll be able to visit the Parthenon.

 

[Mommb]

My husband and I debated this choice and went with the June 8 cruise from Rome.

I would love to see Athens, but it seems that (as with Rome) there is so much to see that one day would be frustrating so we may decided to spend a few days in Athens in the future. Similarly, Sicily sounds very interesting, but there are land trips that go just to Sicily that would give us a better feel for the area.

We chose the cruise with Dubrovnik, Croatia and Valletta, Malta because those ports have a lot of interesting within a short distance of the dock and because DCL doesn't often visit them.

If we hadn't already been to Barcelona a few times around previous cruises, though, it would have been a tougher choice because Barcelona's Gothic Quarter has a lot to see that is walkable, and it was a quick taxi ride to the port from our hotel there before the cruise.

Basically, you wouldn't go wrong with either itinerary. You will definitely want to spend a few days in Rome either before or after the cruise if you can, especially with a son interested in mythology. When we were in Rome before a cruise in 2019, we spent an afternoon on a gelato tasting/tiramisu making small-group tour that my family really enjoyed.

 

[WxKristin]

Thanks for your comments so far, it's been very helpful. Based on feedback, I'm now leaning towards option 1, flying into Barcelona and spending a few days there and then the one way cruise which includes Athens. We would finish with a few extra days in Rome. Flight prices for the same times this summer ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) are actually slightly lower for flying into Barcelona and home from Rome than Rome RT.

A little sad we won't see Croatia / Corfu, but choices have to be made.

In reviewing port adventures, it looks like we would try to go with private tours instead of the booked Disney ones, at least in Athens. Anyone have recommendations at these ports?

When we were in Rome before a cruise in 2019, we spent an afternoon on a gelato tasting/tiramisu making small-group tour that my family really enjoyed.

This sounds lovely... Did you find this on viator or something similar?

 

[wabbott]

We spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos of the places we were about to visit. Time well spent, especially when it came to using local public transit - busses, trains, metro, etc.

 

[Mommb]

I found the gelato tour through our credit card’s travel portal, but Viator and the like would also work.

 

[SleepyDeb]

We booked the May 30 this morning, 2 adults. My husband has always wanted to go to Greece but I've been afraid of the heat. I thought late May might be a teeny bit cooler. Plus, we've been to several places in Spain, but Barcelona is one major place we've never been.

 

[o&smom]

Thanks for your comments so far, it's been very helpful. Based on feedback, I'm now leaning towards option 1, flying into Barcelona and spending a few days there and then the one way cruise which includes Athens. We would finish with a few extra days in Rome. Flight prices for the same times this summer ( ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ) are actually slightly lower for flying into Barcelona and home from Rome than Rome RT.

A little sad we won't see Croatia / Corfu, but choices have to be made.

In reviewing port adventures, it looks like we would try to go with private tours instead of the booked Disney ones, at least in Athens. Anyone have recommendations at these ports?



This sounds lovely... Did you find this on viator or something similar?

I don’t think either choice would have been wrong. If you can swing it, I would recommend some time in Barcelona. There is an amusement park just outside of the city called Thibidabo. More old school than crazy rides. There is also an amazing hands on science museum called Cosmocaixa. My son even requested going there for his 16th birthday when we happened to be there before a cruise. When we were last there in 2023, they had a Pixar exhibit. Great food and don’t miss La Sagrada Familia. We spent three days in Rome prior to our last Mediterranean cruise and five in Barcelona afterwards. Enjoy your cruise with your family!

 

[tidefan]

We are going this year on Virgin Voyages (which wouldn't help you b/c it is 18+), but I love that we leave R/T out of Piraeus. Our itinerary is Piraeus->Santorini->Bodrum, Turkey->Mykonos(overnight)->Mykonos->At Sea->Dubrovnik->Kotor->Corfu->At Sea->Piraeus.

Gives the best of both worlds. We did the 9-night on the Magic a couple of years ago, but it was R/T Civitavecchia visiting Katakolon, Heraklion (Crete), Santorini, Piraeus, Mykonos, and Naples. I see this year they are going to Chania instead. To me that would be a bummer as I really enjoyed Heraklion, but getting to visit the Palace of Knossos was really interesting.

 

[WannaBeImagineer]

We booked the May 30th 9 night. We have an 11 yr old boy and 8 yr old daughter. We decided on this simply because we wanted more Greece stops for our first time in Greece.

We booked the cheapest veranda, a 7A to try and save some money, but not wondering if we should spend a little more for a nicer verandah to enjoy the views.

 

[eza wg]

We booked the May 30th 9 night. We have an 11 yr old boy and 8 yr old daughter. We decided on this simply because we wanted more Greece stops for our first time in Greece.

We booked the cheapest veranda, a 7A to try and save some money, but not wondering if we should spend a little more for a nicer verandah to enjoy the views.

Originally I booked the oceanview deluxe room, after I hung up with my travel agent I browsed online again and I saw cat 7A was cheaper than the oceanview room, immediately I called my agent again and modify my reservation. So excited! By the way I booked the same cruise as you

 

[ldo]

I like cruises that begin/end in different ports to see more with a pre/post stay. For Rome, don't miss Trajan's Market Ruins-close to the Colosseum. It's a free quick walk and very interesting.

For Athens, it is also very easy to take the HO-HO bus to the Acropolis and take a tour from there--or just walk up yourself with a ticket--it's steep, but kids will love it. You can then do the museum yourself, walk thru the Plaka area and get some Greek food (nice sit-down or walk up kiosks), shop, and cross at the other end and go to Temple of Olympian Zeus. It would be a fairly leisurely day-perfect for tweens.
The Ho-HO gets crowded at the end of the day, so just take it back 2 hours earlier. Or, DCL will likely offer an Athens on your Own transport. This area of Athens seemed very safe (take pickpocket precautions) with lots of tourists. I think walking up Acropolis, Museum, and Zeus temple is plenty for a day trip. Lots of lovely restaurants, as well.
Here's Zeus Temple is 10 minutes from end of Plaka ( which runs from Acropolis to the street across from the Temple. Museum in on the way.

 

[PatricioATX]

We are doing the May 30th cruise out of Barcelona. My daughters will be 9 and 7 by then. This itinerary has some of my favorite European cities and will be my daughter’s first time in Europe. Could not think of a better way for them to experience Europe for the first time. Very excited!

I am curious about the Dream as we have only done the Wish prior (Doing the Treasure this summer), is the kids club smaller than on the Wish and do the kids tend to enjoy it? My girls love the kids club on the Wish so much they asked to go every day we were on that cruise.

 

[pjacobi]

By definition, a large cruise ship at a small island means crowds!

The only way to avoid crowds is to stay a few days on the island, and hide-out while the cruise passengers are in town.


-Paul