Cruise Program

Cruise Details

Atlantic Coast Cruise - Iberia– Oceana P&O Cruise

Join Oceana for a journey of exploration in Iberia. After two days enjoying Oceana at sea, we’ll arrive at our first destination of Lisbon – Portugal’s star attraction featuring gothic cathedrals and fascinating museums. Not your thing? Then just take a gentle stroll along the many restaurants and bars along the strip alive with music and charisma.

Then we’ll sail to Casablanca – the largest city in Morocco, where you can check out the best contemporary art and stroll through the striking colonial architecture. Following that, Gibraltar mixing historic relics, open air cafés and dolphin watching.

After packing all that in, you’ll be glad to scale it back with a relaxing trip to Malaga – a historic city with distinctive character. Tuck into tempting tapas or discover unique facts in the local museum.

On to a day in Cadiz, gateway to Seville where you’ll need your sunglasses to shield your eyes (in a good way!) from the vibrant scene of women in flamenco get-up with exotic flowers in their hair.

Our last stop will be Vigo – home to Europe's largest fishing fleet, an uphill old town, pretty green space of Praza de Compostela and fascinating sea museum. How about lunching in the lovely Parque do Castro complete with 100 camellia trees?

It’s all back to Oceana then for another day at sea before sailing back to Southampton with a spring in your step and some great stories to match! Main stops of your itinerary:

Lisbon – Portugal

Some of the best views of the Portuguese capital come as your ship cruises along the Tagus River. You pass the Belem Tower and the impressive Monument to the Discoveries with its statue of Henry the Navigator before arriving at the Lisbon cruise terminal.

Although small for a European capital, this city does sprawl a little so you would do best to concentrate on three districts - Baixa, Bairro Alto and Alfama, each with its own distinctive style, making Lisbon cruises a must see.

Baixa has busy streets of inviting shops, cafés and restaurants while Alfama is the atmospheric old town with narrow cobblestone streets, medieval and Moorish-style buildings, wrought-iron balconies with trailing flowers and a mix of small shops and bars.  Bairro Alto is another historic district with narrow streets and is a steep climb from Baixa so look out for the 100-year-old lift (Elevador do Carmo) near Rossio Square. With such a variety of destinations to explore, cruises to Lisbon bring to your holiday a balance of both modern and historical grounds.

Cadiz – Spain

You cruise right into the heart of historic Cadiz as immediately across the busy Avenida del Puerto from the Spanish port is the main square and shopping area. From there, it is easy to find your own way around this compact city. Behind is the 18th century cathedral (El Nueva) and the view from the top is worth the long climb up its internal stairs.

The narrow streets of the old town below are lined by tall Moorish-style houses with flower-decked balconies mixed in amongst some small shops and tapas bars. Cadiz dates back to the 12th century BC so is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the western world but sultry Seville has long since outgrown its neighbour.

La Giralda (the bell-tower next to its Gothic cathedral), is in Sevilles historic Jewish quarter which also has the whitewashed houses and exquisitely coloured bougainvillea that everyone associates with this lovely city.

Malaga – Spain

A gateway to so many Andalucian attractions and Costa del Sol resorts, Spanish cruise port Malaga stands out in its own right as a vibrant destination with its own unique character.

This second city of Andalucia has many Moorish influences, seen at their best in the stunning Alcazaba. Built on the site of a Roman fortress between the 8th and 11th Centuries, the castle’s huge walls and fortified gates ensure a grand entrance.  Inside, a restored Roman amphitheatre now acts as an outdoor entertainment centre.

Immediately behind the Alcazaba and rising high above the city with spectacular views, are the ruins of the 14th century Moorish castle, Gibralfaro.

Malaga-born Picasso is recognised with a history of the artist’s life at the city’s fascinating Picasso Foundation.

Gibraltar – Gibraltar

Britons love cruising to ‘home from home’ Mediterranean cruise port Gibraltar – and not just because it has some excellent pubs and tax free shops (good buys include glassware, china, leather goods, alcohol, perfume, silk and cashmere garments).

Gibraltar also offers wonderful views of the Bay of Gibraltar and the Moroccan mountains from the Rock Restaurant, served by cable car from the Grand Parade.

Birdwatchers can spot more than 230 species and there are clearly marked nature trails you can follow to discover the country’s flora and fauna.

The most famous ‘fauna’ of course, are Gibraltar’s Barbary apes - get off the cable car at the halfway station to see these, then proceed to the top and hire an audio tape charting the Rock’s fascinating history.

Alternatively spend a day at the beach - Catalan Bay is the prettiest, with its colourful fishing boats and excellent seafood restaurants.Ajaccio - Corsica

Napoleon was born here and, if you did not know that before, it would only take a few minutes after cruising into Ajaccio to cotton on as ‘Boneys’ name and likeness is everywhere.

The main shopping street is called Cours Napoleon and the wide tree-lined boulevards, parks and large squares in this newer part of town feature many statues of the great man, notably in the main square (ironically called General de Gaulle). The Old Town between the port and the imposing citadel on the cliff above boasts Napoleons House and the cathedral where he was baptised.

The main marketplace is right by the port and here you'll find lots of local craft goods and endless Napoleonic souvenirs. Nestling in the Bay of Ajaccio, halfway down the islands west coast, Ajaccio is an excellent base from which to explore Corsica and discover why it is called the ‘Scented Isle’ (because of the sweet aromas from the mountainside maquis vegetation).

Casablanca – Morocco

The sprawling, Moroccan city of Casablanca, sits on the north-west coast of Africa. Modern, vibrant and boasting a fascinating history and heritage, it offers some incredible contrasts. Racing traffic whizzes by a backdrop of wide boulevards, parks and streets lined with a unique blend of French-Colonian and Moroccan style architecture, all of which can be explored on our Casablanca cruises.

Part of Casablanca lies within the walls of the Ancienne Medina – built in the 19th century – which contains narrow lanes crammed with piled-high stalls as well as the last remains of the city’s 18th century fortifications.

On our cruises to Casablanca you can also see rising above the ocean on a rocky outcrop the Hassan ll Mosque – the landmark of the city. Designed by French architect Michel Pinseau and built to commemorate the former King’s birthday, it is the world’s largest mosque, boasting a soaring 700ft high minaret. In addition, Casablanca cruise itineraries include a short drive up the coast to visit Rabat, Morocco’s capital and home of the country’s royal family.

Vigo – Spain

Spains busiest fishing port, Vigo sits on the rugged west coast of the province of Galicia. Over the centuries, this charming town and its resilient residents have been the target for many naval attacks including a couple from Sir Francis Drake.

In these more peaceful days, you will still find the best view of Vigo is from the fort (Castillo del Castro) built to defend it from the hill overlooking the harbour. From here, your Vigo cruise tour will lead you through the steep, narrow streets of the atmospheric old town (Barrio del Berbes) to see (and smell...) the daily fish market.

Try one of the oysters which are fresh from beds in Vigos ‘ria’ - one of the sunken sea-filled valleys for which Galicias coastline is renowned. And our Vigo cruises are also a chance to visit nearby Santiago de Compostela, the subject of pilgrimages since the Middle Ages.