Montenegro, Albania & Southern Italy Dubrovnik to Naples Aboard Sea Cloud II

Depart on an overnight flight to Dubrovnik, Croatia.

DUBROVNIK, CROATIA / EMBARK SEA CLOUD II

Arrive in Dubrovnik, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the former seat of the powerful maritime Republic of Ragusa. After a group welcome lunch, board Sea Cloud II in the afternoon and set sail from the historic harbor with a champagne toast. Gather for a welcome reception and dinner this evening on board.

KOTOR, MONTENEGRO / PERAST OR RISAN

Arrive in the Bay of Kotor, a UNESCO-recognized submerged river canyon often mistaken for a fjord.
You have a choice of two excursions:
Option 1: A short drive takes you to Perast, where you board a boat for Our Lady of the Rocks, the only manmade island in the Adriatic. The islet was built over centuries by sailors depositing stones on a reef where an icon of the Madonna was found in 1452. After lunch, a guided tour takes you through Kotor’s Old Town, a fortified medieval city shaped by the Venetian Republic, with defensive walls stretching nearly three miles up the adjoining mountain. You will have free time to explore this historic center at your own pace.
Option 2: Drive to Risan, the oldest settlement around the Bay of Kotor and former capital of the Illyrian kingdom, to explore its exquisite second-century A.D. Roman Mosaics. Walk through the preserved villa where five intricate floor mosaics capture Roman domestic life, culminating in the world’s only known mosaic depiction of Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep. This polychrome masterpiece was placed in the master bedroom to serve as a divine protector during rest. This evening, gather for the captain’s welcome dinner aboard Sea Cloud II.

DURRËS, ALBANIA

Begin your day at the Roman Amphitheatre of Durrës, the largest in the Balkans, built in the early second century A.D., when this city was the western terminus of the Via Egnatia, Rome’s great highway to the East. With a private archaeologist, explore the arena that once held 20,000 spectators and discover its remarkable transformation: A sixth-century Christian chapel with rare wall mosaics was built within the structure, physically representing Christianity’s triumph over Roman pagan spectacle. Walk to the nearby Byzantine Forum and Roman Baths for insight into the civic and social life of ancient Dyrrhachium, then continue to the Archaeological Museum, Albania’s largest, housing over 3,200 artifacts spanning the city’s Greek, Roman, and Byzantine periods. Return to Sea Cloud II and enjoy dinner this evening as we sail along the Albanian coast.

VLORË

Step ashore in Vlorë, where Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912.
Today, choose between two excursions:
Option 1: Enjoy a guided tour of the historic city of Vlorë, beginning at the Muradie Mosque, a 1542 Ottoman masterpiece attributed to Mimar Sinan, the empire’s greatest architect. Continue to the Museum of Independence, housed in the original headquarters where Ismail Qemali declared Albania’s independence from the Ottoman Empire on November 28, 1912, ending nearly 500 years of rule. Conclude with a stroll through Vlorë’s Old Town, where restoration efforts have revitalized the blend of Ottoman and early 20th-century Albanian architecture. Drive to the St. Mary’s Monastery, a 13th-century Byzantine structure on Zvërnec Island, reached by a wooden bridge across tranquil lagoon waters.
Option 2: Take a day trip to Apollonia, the extensive ruins of a major Greek and Roman city founded in the sixth century B.C. Once home to 60,000 inhabitants and a prestigious school of philosophy where the young Octavian (later Emperor Augustus) studied, the city was abandoned after a third or fourth-century earthquake altered the course of the Vjosë River, causing its harbor to silt up and transforming the surrounding area into malarial swamps. Explore the well-preserved monuments, including the Bouleuterion with its reconstructed Corinthian façade; the intimate Odeon theater; and the 13th-century Byzantine monastery that now houses the site museum.

BRINDISI, ITALY / SAN VITO DEI NORMANNI & OSTUNI

Step ashore in Brindisi, a port in the Alto Salento sub-region of Puglia, the heel of the Italian peninsula.
Today, you may choose between two optional morning excursions:
Option 1: Join a guided tour of the town of San Vito dei Normanni. Its name is a deliberate 19th-century rebranding, designed to elevate the town’s origins from a Slavic refugee settlement to a more prestigious Norman warrior stronghold. Explore its historic palaces and churches, including the Basilica di Santa Maria della Vittoria, a local monument to the pivotal 1571 Battle of Lepanto. Continue to the white-washed hilltop town of Ostuni, known as La Città Bianca (The White City). This practice began as a public health measure, as the lime wash used on the buildings acted as a disinfectant that helped protect the city from the 17th-century plague. Lunch is a home-style Apulian meal, where a local host prepares traditional dishes.
Option 2: A guided tour of Brindisi concentrates on the city’s history as a vital Roman port and the terminus of the Via Appia, the great military road known as the regina viarum (queen of roads). This position solidified the city’s role as the crucial gateway to the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. View the Roman Columns that still stand overlooking the harbor, marking the ancient road’s end. Lunch will be served in a historic setting overlooking the Adriatic or at a local trattoria known for traditional Apulian specialties.

DAY AT SEA

Attend enlightening lectures about what’s to come on your sea voyage while taking advantage of the world-class amenities aboard Sea Cloud II.

MESSINA (SICILY) / MOUNT ETNA

Your port of call is Messina, a city whose identity is defined by its position on the narrow, current-swept strait that separates Sicily from mainland Italy and gave rise to the myths of Scylla and Charybdis.
You have two options for the day:
Option 1: A morning in Messina illustrates the city’s cycle of destruction and rebirth. You will visit the Messina Cathedral, a building that has been faithfully reconstructed multiple times following catastrophic earthquakes and fires, and see its bell tower, home to the world’s most complex mechanical and astronomical clock. After lunch on board, you will have an exclusive after-hours visit to the Regional Museum of Messina. The collection was largely formed from artworks salvaged from the city’s ruins, and here you will have a close encounter with two masterpieces by Caravaggio, The Adoration of the Shepherds and The Resurrection of Lazarus, painted during his exile in Sicily.
Option 2: A private 4×4 vehicle takes you up the slopes of Mount Etna, Europe’s most active volcano and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The volcano’s eruptions have been documented for at least 2,700 years, providing one of the world’s longest records of volcanism and making it a prime natural laboratory for the study of earth sciences. Your excursion includes lunch at a winery on its fertile slopes.

LIPARI

Arrive at Lipari, the largest of the volcanic Aeolian Islands. In the Neolithic period, the island’s vast deposits of obsidian, a volcanic glass prized for making sharp tools, made it one of the most prosperous settlements in the Mediterranean.
You have two options for the morning.
Option 1: Enjoy an exclusive entrance to the Archaeological Museum of Lipari, where you will be led on a visit by the director. The museum’s collection includes cargo from ancient Greek and Roman shipwrecks and the world’s largest collection of miniature Greek theatrical masks, which provides invaluable insight into this lost art form.
Option 2: An opportunity to experience the island’s geology firsthand with a relaxing morning on one of Lìpari’s black volcanic sand beaches. After lunch, spend an afternoon at sea before dinner on board this evening.

AGROPOLI / PAESTUM

From the port of Agropoli, a short drive takes you to Paestum, one of the most important archaeological sites in Italy. Originally the Greek colony of Poseidonia, it contains three of the best-preserved ancient Greek temples in the world, built in the Doric order between 550 and 450 B.C. After an exclusive welcome from the site director, you will see the three monumental temples dedicated to Hera and Athena, which are considered superior in their state of preservation to many in Greece itself. A curated visit to the adjacent museum follows, where you will see the Tomb of the Diver. Discovered in 1968, it is the only surviving example of large-scale Greek wall painting from the Archaic or Classical periods, its famous lid panel depicting a youth diving into water in a metaphor for the soul’s passage to the afterlife. Before returning to the ship, you will have a chance to taste authentic buffalo mozzarella. Enjoy lunch on board as we sail to Naples. Gather for the festive farewell dinner this evening.

NAPLES / DISEMBARK / RETURN

RETURN After breakfast, you will disembark in Naples for your transfer to the airport and your flight home.