9-night Mediterranean cruise from Bari on MSC Splendida
The 9 nights Eastern Mediterranean from Bari is a 9-night Mediterranean cruise aboard MSC Splendida, operated by MSC Cruises. Departing Bari on July 11, 2027, the voyage visits 7 ports including Trieste, Split, Athens (Piraeus), Greece. Fares start from $1,863 per person.
Fixed editorial images from the places on this itinerary. They stay stable each time you return to this sailing.
Bari
Bari, capital of the province of Apulia, lies on southern Italy's Adriatic coast. Its busy port is a leading commercial and industrial centre as well as a transit point for travellers catching ferries across the Adriatic to Greece.
Bari comprises a new and an old town. To the north, on a promontory between the old and new harbours, lies the picturesque old town, or Citta Vecchia, with a maze of narrow, crooked streets. To the south is the spacious and regularly planned new town, which has developed considerably since 1930, when the Levant Fair was first held here.
The heart of the modern town is Piazza della Liberta. The busy thoroughfare, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, separates the new town from the old. At the eastern end of the Corso begins the Lungomare Nazario Sauro, a magnificent seafront promenade that runs along the old harbour.
Bari and the Apulian region were long recognized for their strategic location, attracting a succession of colonizers such as the Normans, Moors and Spaniards, each leaving their mark. Romanesque churches and powerful castles built by 13th-century Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II of Swabia are among the most impressive buildings in the region. Bari's Basilica of San Nicola became famous as the final resting place of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus). According to local tradition, sailors from Bari went to Myra in Turkey, stole the saint's remains and brought them back to Bari. St. Nicholas was the popular bishop of Myra, who was revered as the patron of sailors, virgins and children.
In addition to unspoiled scenery and historical sites, Apulia is also known for its hearty cuisine that has evolved from more than 2,000 years of foreign influences. While not as famous as other areas in Italy, Bari and its surrounding region hold many surprise attractions that make it well worth exploring this ancient land and its capital at the heel of Italy's boot.
Trieste
If you are looking for elegance and culture, the ideal destination is Trieste. An MSC Mediterranean Cruise will take you to the old cafés where you can relive the same atmosphere that inspired many writers, among the Art Nouveau and Neoclassical palaces, or along the Grand Canal.
Your MSC Cruise will take you to the "little Vienna on the sea" which is now one of the largest ports in Italy for freight traffic, one of the most cosmopolitan cities on the peninsula. A meeting of peoples, languages and religions that magnify the city's Central European, Slav and Mediterranean soul.
One of the MSC Excursions will guide you to visit The Castle of Miramare, residence of Maximilian of Hapsburg and Charlotte of Belgium. A desirable palace for its view of the Gulf of Trieste and unique elegance of the furnishings still visible of the apartments, on the spouses' ground floor and the guests' first floor. Built between 1856 and 1860, it contains a small castle used by the married couple during the construction works in the magnificent richly scented park that surrounds it.
Another MSC Excursion will take you to visit the Roman amphitheatre at the foot of the Colle di San Giusto, set among the modern buildings of Trieste, a city with an ancient history. Constructed around the end of the 1st century, it was only brought to light in 1938. Interestingly, it once overlooked the sea.
Everything in Trieste faces the sea including Piazza Unità d'Italia, the Piazza Grande, the destination of an MSC Excursion. Strolling along this large rectangle framed on three sides by the city's most famous buildings and the renowned Caffè degli Specchi, stopping under the column of the Statue of Charles VI and idling in front of the Fountain of the Four Continents, are experiences crowned by the view of the sea on the fourth side.
Split
With its seafront cafés and ancient alleyways, shouting stallholders and travellers on the move, bustling, exuberant Split is one of Croatia’s and the Mediterranean’s most compelling cities, it’s easy to see this feeling when you step aground from your MSC cruise.
It has a unique historical heritage too, having grown out of the palace built here by the Roman Emperor Diocletian in 295AD. The palace remains Split’s central ingredient, having been gradually transformed into a warren of houses, tenements, churches and chapels by the various peoples who came to live here after Diocletian’s successors had departed.
Adapted long ago to serve as Split’s town centre, Diocletian’s Palace is certainly not an archaeological “site”. Although set-piece buildings such as Diocletian’s mausoleum (now the cathedral) and the Temple of Jupiter (now a baptistery) still remain, other aspects of the palace have been tinkered with so much by successive generations that it is no longer recognizable as an ancient Roman structure. Best place to start exploring with an MSC excursion the seaward side of the palace is Split’s broad and lively Riva.
Running along the palace’s southern facade, into which shops, cafés and a warren of tiny flats have been built, the Riva is where a large part of the city’s population congregates day and night to meet friends, catch up on gossip or idle away an hour or two in a café. Nearly everything worth seeing in Split is concentrated in the compact Old Town behind the waterfront Riva, made up in part of the various remains and conversions of Diocletian’s Palace itself, and the medieval additions to the west of it. You can walk across this area in about ten minutes, although it would take a lifetime to explore all its nooks and crannies.
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MSC Splendida carries you in stylish luxury to the most desirable cruise destinations in the world.
You’ll love the live music and wide variety of bars and restaurants on board. Food choices to explore include authentic Mediterranean specialities and spicy Tex-Mex. Complete the night with a world-class show in The Strand Theatre, a winning streak in the Royal Palm Casino or dancing ‘til dawn in the Club 33 Disco.
We’ve got fitness and sport covered with four swimming pools, a squash court, volleyball court, ultramodern gym and even a running track, allowing you to take in the stunning ocean views and refreshing sea breeze.
For those looking to relax, head to the MSC Aurea Spa where you will find pampering Balinese massages, a range of beauty treatments, a Turkish bath, sauna, whirlpool and solarium. There is also the option to sunbathe in peace on the Top 18 sun deck, located at the top of the ship, where complimentary, refreshing fruit skewers and a thirst-quenching bar menu will keep you cool all day.
And while you are topping up your tan, the Kids and Teens can enjoy fabulous facilities and clubs of their own.
The foredecks of the ship are home to the exclusive MSC Yacht Club, a luxurious ship-within-a-ship with 71 spacious suites, its own Concierge Reception, 24-hour butler service, private Top Sail Lounge, pool deck and bar.
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