Bucket-List Cruise Adventure

21-Night Rome to Istanbul Cruise Adventure

Azamara · Azamara Onward · from Rome

$12,284 per person · next sails Aug 6, 2028 Book this cruise@ Cruisebound · same fare
Get there

Fly into Rome (FCO)

Your gateway to the voyage. Arrive a day or two early — the best of the trip starts before you board.

Open-jaw · fly into FCO, home from IST · $3,062 for two est.
Before you sail

Bucket-list days near Rome

Fly in at least a day early — every seasoned cruiser does, so a delay never costs you the ship. Here’s what’s worth that day, within reach of your port — not just the city you fly into.

15 mi from Rome

Villa d'Este Archaeological Excavations (Hadrian's Villa)

Sprawling 2nd-century villa with 30+ hectares of imperial ruins, Greek sculptures, and recreated Greek structures; scale and ambition dwarf anything i…

1 mi from Rome

Colosseum

Your voyage · 21 nights, day by day

Day by day — the unforgettable thing at every port

Your whole sailing in order: the day you board, every port it calls — each with the single bucket-list experience there and the operator who runs it — any days at sea, and the day you step off.

Day 1
Civitavecchia (Rome) Embark
Board in the afternoon — fly in at least a day early (your day ashore here is just above).
Days 2–3
Uffizi Gallery · $205 for two with Avventure Bellissime (Tours Italy)how to make it yours → ·
Day 4
Porto Santo Stefanoport guide →
Fortezza Spagnola · $162 for two with Guides of Italiahow to make it yours → ·
Day 5
Pompeii Private Excavation Tour with Archaeologist… · $223 for two with Askos Tourshow to make it yours → ·
Day 6
Day 7
Sicilian Food & Market Tour · $205 for two with Letizia Tour Guide Syracuse (gastronomic specialist tours)how to make it yours →
Day 8
Capo Colonna & Santa Severina · $352 for two with Top Private Tourshow to make it yours → ·
Day 9
Climb the City Walls to San Giovanni Fortress · $18 for two with Kotor City Walls / San Giovanni Fortress (official municipal ticket booths in the Old Town)how to make it yours → ·
Day 10
A day at sea
⛰ A day to savor the ship — the voyage itself is the experience, and it’s all included.
Day 11
Prosecco Hills · $421 for two with Discovery Guided Tours Venicehow to make it yours → ·
Day 12
★ Postojna Cave & Predjama Castle — how to make it yours →
Day 13
Zadar Old Town Private Walking Tour with Licensed… · $400 for two with Tour Travel & More (Private Zadar Excursions)how to make it yours → ·
Day 14
Diocletian's Palace · $76 for two with Split Walking Tours (official)how to make it yours → ·
Day 15
Walk Dubrovnik's Ancient City Walls · $76 for two with Walls of Dubrovnik (official ticket office)how to make it yours → ·
Day 16
A day at sea
⛰ A day to savor the ship — the voyage itself is the experience, and it’s all included.
Day 17
Samaria Gorge · $378 for two with Crete Private Guidehow to make it yours → ·
Day 18
Hermoupolis & Ano Syros · $194 for two with Syros Private Tourshow to make it yours → ·
Day 19
Private Full-Day Chios Sightseeing with a Local Ex… · $293 for two with ToursByLocals – Karlos N. (Chios Private Guide)how to make it yours → ·
Day 20
Private Gallipoli Battlefields · $340 for two with Fez Travel – Private Shore Excursionhow to make it yours → ·
Days 21–22
Istanbul Disembark
Disembark in the morning — or stay on for the days just below.
After you disembark

Bucket-list days near Istanbul

You end in a different port — stay on, and add what’s within reach before you fly home.

2 mi from Istanbul

Topkapi Palace Secret Rooms + Palace Historian Guide

Private or small-group tour accessing restricted palace rooms and harem quarters with a specialist guide who reveals the political intrigue, architect…

6 mi from Istanbul

Sumahan on the Water - Architectural Residency & Dinner

Ottoman-era indigo factory converted into a luxury hotel on the Asian side of the Bosphorus; the restaurant serves chef-designed multi-course dinners…

Before you sail

Make it longer — by land from Rome

The ship is the spine, not the whole trip. These are full land adventures within reach of your port.

115 mi from Rome · fly NAP

Positano by Sea Cave and Cliff Path: A Luxury Amalfi Coast Immersion

Coastal Italian Luxury Adventure

See the whole plan →
148 mi from Rome · fly FLR

Florence to Val d'Orcia: Wine, Frescoes & Thermal Springs

Tuscan Wine & Culture Road Trip

See the whole plan →
After you disembark

Make it longer — by land from Istanbul

The ship is the spine, not the whole trip. These are full land adventures within reach of your port.

21 mi from Istanbul · fly IST

Bosphorus Currents: Fortresses, Kebab Masters and Island Ferries

Bosphorus Culture Escape

See the whole plan →
Home

Fly home from Istanbul (IST)

What this adventure runs estimated · for two
Your hotel
Flights open-jaw · fly into FCO, home from IST · 2 travelers $3,062 est.
Hotel before you sail1 night · Rome · Luxury~$1,200
Cruise fare21 nights · Azamara · 2 guests$24,568
Shore excursions14 bucket-list things, booked direct · for 2 · swap any at its port above ↑~$3,343
Transfersairport ↔ ship, private car~$180
Trip total$32,353
Flights are estimated from our best gateways (refine from your own airport above) — an open-jaw trip: out to the embark port, home from where you disembark; the cruise fare is this sailing’s lead-in price for two; the hotel scales with the style you pick above; shore excursions are real book-direct operator prices, added as each port is curated; transfers are an estimate. We always build in at least one night ashore before you sail.
🚢 Book this cruise · $12,284 pp

Book your trip to Rome

We may earn a commission when you book through these links, at no extra cost to you. Prices and availability are set by each partner.

Choose your line & sailing date

Every cruise line that calls at Rome — round-trip from here or stopping by — pick the one that’s you, then your date.

Contemporary
Premium
Luxury
Book this cruise — $12,284 pp →

Same fare as booking direct. We earn a small commission — it costs you nothing.

★ Why Fantasize

We tell you the cruise to take — and the excursions to book.

Most cruise sites hand you a search box and leave you to it. We’re the concierge: the verdict, the plan, the trip of your life — at the exact same fare.

11,000 sailings to sift throughOne cruise, chosen for you
Search a catalog of excursions yourselfWe tell you the exact excursions to book
“Do your homework” on every portA free port-by-port plan, in your inbox
Booking fees and a pushy upsell callNo fees, no pressure — the same fare
Find your bucket-list cruise →

⚓ Your bucket-list concierge

Want this whole adventure in your inbox?

We'll email you this exact plan — where to fly in, the days before and after, the single most extraordinary thing to do at every port, and what it all runs.

We send the plan to your account’s own address — never to one typed into a box. Free, and Google works.

← Browse every bucket-list cruise