Italy Cruise Comparison
2,070 upcoming sailings from 32 cruise lines
Italy cruise port photos
Created by the Waterways Cruise content team and reviewed and fact-checked by J. Richard, Sr. Cruise Travel Agent and Founder of Waterways Cruise. Published · Last updated · About this page
At a glance: Italy cruises on Waterways Cruise: 2,070 upcoming sailings from 32 cruise lines (28 ocean, 4 river). Lowest starting fares run from $159 per person (MSC Cruises) to $17,719 (SeaDream Yacht Club). Viking Cruises lists the most sailings (389). 899 sailings start and 896 end in Italy.
Which cruise lines sail to Italy, and how do they compare? This guide sorts the 32 lines with upcoming Italy sailings by kind of cruise, then into ultra-luxury, luxury, premium and contemporary, and shows what each costs to start, how long their sailings run and which ships you would sail on. Every figure comes from the sailings we list today, so it moves as sailings are added and sold.
What counts as an Italy cruise?
A sailing counts as an Italy cruise if it will call at least once at an Italy ship port. That covers ocean, river and expedition sailings, whether Italy is where the cruise begins, where it ends, or one stop on a longer route.
Of 2,070 upcoming sailings, 899 start in Italy, 896 end in Italy and 314 begin and end there. The other 589 (28%) visit Italy as a port of call on a longer route, often alongside Spain, France, Greece and other countries. Ocean and expedition sailings call at Civitavecchia, Livorno, Naples, Messina and Venice. River sailings call at Padua, Como, Mantua, Ostiglia and Porto Levante on the Lake Como and Po.
- Italy cruise
- A sailing that will call at least once at an Italy ship port.
- Starts in Italy
- The first stop is an Italy ship port: 899 sailings.
- Ends in Italy
- The last stop is an Italy ship port: 896 sailings, 314 of which also start there.
- Visits only
- Italy is a port of call on a longer route: 589 sailings.
Ocean cruise lines in Italy (28)
28 ocean and expedition cruise lines have upcoming sailings that call at Italy: 2,047 in all. These sailings often call elsewhere too, most commonly Spain, France and Greece. The busiest ship ports are Civitavecchia, Livorno, Naples, Messina and Venice.
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Ultra-luxury ocean cruise lines (5)
Ultra-luxury lines sit at the top of the market. Five ultra-luxury ocean lines sail to Italy, with 398 upcoming sailings between them. Silversea Cruises has the most (118). Starting fares begin at $3,850 per person with Silversea Cruises.
| Cruise line | Upcoming sailings | Lowest starting fare | Typical length | Ships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silversea Cruises | 118 | $3,850 | 7–24 nights (typically 10) | 7 · Silver Dawn, Silver Muse, Silver Nova, Silver Ray, Silver Shadow, Silver Spirit and Silver Wind |
| Seabourn Cruises | 116 | $5,498 | 7–30 nights (typically 21) | 3 · Seabourn Ovation, Seabourn Pursuit and Seabourn Quest |
| Regent Seven Seas Cruises | 109 | $13,598 | 7–21 nights (typically 7) | 7 · Seven Seas Explorer, Seven Seas Grandeur, Seven Seas Mariner, Seven Seas Navigator, Seven Seas Prestige, Seven Seas Splendor and Seven Seas Voyager |
| SeaDream Yacht Club | 29 | $17,719 | 7–11 nights (typically 7) | 2 · SeaDream I and SeaDream II |
| Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection | 26 | $6,100 | 5–7 nights (typically 7) | 2 · Ritz-Carlton Evrima and Ritz-Carlton Ilma |
Luxury ocean cruise lines (5)
Luxury lines sit just below ultra-luxury. Five luxury ocean lines sail to Italy, with 292 upcoming sailings between them. Oceania Cruises has the most (166). Starting fares begin at $1,899 per person with Oceania Cruises.
| Cruise line | Upcoming sailings | Lowest starting fare | Typical length | Ships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oceania Cruises | 166 | $1,899 | 7–32 nights (typically 10) | 7 · Oceania Allura, Oceania Insignia, Oceania Marina, Oceania Nautica, Oceania Sirena, Oceania Sonata and Oceania Vista |
| MSC Explora Journeys | 72 | $2,275 | 6–20 nights (typically 7) | 4 · MSC Explora 1, MSC Explora 2, MSC Explora 4 and MSC Explora 5 |
| Ponant Cruises | 37 | $3,870 | 7–10 nights (typically 8) | 6 · L'Austral, Le Boreal, Le Bougainville, Le Champlain, Le Laperouse and Le Ponant |
| Scenic Cruises | 13 | $10,283 | 8–18 nights (typically 10) | 2 · Scenic Eclipse and Scenic Eclipse 2 |
| Aurora Expeditions | 4 | $4,898 | 8–17 nights (typically 8) | 1 · Douglas Mawson |
Premium ocean cruise lines (9)
Premium lines sit in the middle of the market. Nine premium ocean lines sail to Italy, with 695 upcoming sailings between them. Viking Cruises has the most (389). Starting fares begin at $1,130 per person with Windstar Cruises.
| Cruise line | Upcoming sailings | Lowest starting fare | Typical length | Ships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viking Cruises | 389 | $2,599 | 6–20 nights (typically 6) | 13 · Viking Astrea, Viking Jupiter, Viking Libra, Viking Lyra, Viking Mars, Viking Mira, Viking Neptune, Viking Saturn, Viking Sea, Viking Sky, Viking Star, Viking Vela and Viking Vesta |
| Azamara Cruises | 100 | $1,539 | 7–37 nights (typically 10) | 3 · Azamara Journey, Azamara Onward and Azamara Quest |
| Windstar Cruises | 60 | $1,130 | 7–19 nights (typically 7) | 4 · Star Legend, Wind Spirit, Wind Star and Wind Surf |
| Emerald Cruises | 58 | $5,677 | 7–17 nights (typically 7) | 4 · Emerald Azzurra, Emerald Kaia, Emerald Raiya and Emerald Sakara |
| Crystal Cruises | 41 | $3,800 | 7–30 nights (typically 7) | 3 · Crystal Grace, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony |
| Quark Expeditions | 15 | $2,795 | 6–22 nights (typically 7) | 1 · World Explorer |
| Atlas Ocean Voyages | 11 | $5,196 | 7–11 nights (typically 8) | 1 · World Traveller |
| Hapag-Lloyd Cruises | 11 | On request | 7–13 nights (typically 10) | 2 · ms Europa and ms Europa 2 |
| Lindblad Expeditions | 10 | $7,735 | 7–19 nights (typically 12) | 1 · National Geographic Orion |
Contemporary ocean cruise lines (8)
Contemporary lines are the most accessible tier. Eight contemporary ocean lines sail to Italy, with 619 upcoming sailings between them. MSC Cruises has the most (299). Starting fares begin at $159 per person with MSC Cruises.
| Cruise line | Upcoming sailings | Lowest starting fare | Typical length | Ships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSC Cruises | 299 | $159 | 4–21 nights (typically 7) | 18 · MSC Armonia, MSC Divina, MSC Euribia, MSC Fantasia, MSC Grandiosa, MSC Lirica, MSC Magnifica, MSC Meraviglia, MSC Musica, MSC Opera, MSC Orchestra, MSC Seashore, MSC Seaview, MSC Sinfonia, MSC Splendida, MSC Virtuosa, MSC World Asia and MSC World Europa |
| Princess Cruises | 120 | $904 | 10–37 nights (typically 21) | 7 · Caribbean Princess, Coral Princess, Enchanted Princess, Island Princess, Regal Princess, Sky Princess and Sun Princess |
| Holland America | 59 | $794 | 7–24 nights (typically 21) | 5 · ms Nieuw Statendam, ms Oosterdam, ms Rotterdam, ms Volendam and ms Zuiderdam |
| Cunard | 46 | $709 | 7–29 nights (typically 14) | 4 · Queen Anne, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mary 2 and Queen Victoria |
| Norwegian Cruise Line | 32 | $809 | 7–15 nights (typically 7) | 10 · Norwegian Aura, Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Prima, Norwegian Sky, Norwegian Star, Norwegian Sun and Norwegian Viva |
| Royal Caribbean | 25 | $850 | 7–14 nights (typically 7) | 6 · Brilliance Of The Seas, Explorer Of The Seas, Legend Of The Seas, Mariner Of The Seas, Odyssey Of The Seas and Rhapsody Of The Seas |
| Celebrity Cruises | 23 | $970 | 7–14 nights (typically 10) | 6 · Celebrity Ascent, Celebrity Constellation, Celebrity Eclipse, Celebrity Equinox, Celebrity Infinity and Celebrity Xcel |
| Virgin Voyages | 15 | $2,028 | 7–11 nights (typically 10) | 3 · Resilient Lady, Scarlet Lady and Valiant Lady |
Other ocean cruise lines (1)
These lines have not yet been placed in a style category. One other ocean line sails to Italy, with 43 upcoming sailings. Starting fares begin at $1,030 per person with Star Clippers.
| Cruise line | Upcoming sailings | Lowest starting fare | Typical length | Ships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Clippers | 43 | $1,030 | 5–16 nights (typically 11) | 3 · Royal Clipper, Star Clipper and Star Flyer |
River cruise lines in Italy (4)
4 river cruise lines have upcoming sailings that call at Italy: 23 in all. The busiest ship ports are Padua, Como, Mantua, Ostiglia and Porto Levante.
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Luxury river cruise lines (2)
Luxury lines sit just below ultra-luxury. Two luxury river lines sail to Italy, with 9 upcoming sailings between them. Uniworld has the most (7). Fares are available on request.
| Cruise line | Upcoming sailings | Lowest starting fare | Typical length | Ships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uniworld | 7 | On request | 10–18 nights (typically 10) | 1 · SS La Venezia |
| AmaWaterways | 2 | On request | 11–13 nights (typically 11) | 1 · AmaSofia |
Premium river cruise lines (1)
Premium lines sit in the middle of the market. One premium river line sails to Italy, with 3 upcoming sailings. Starting fares begin at $5,979 per person with Avalon Waterways.
| Cruise line | Upcoming sailings | Lowest starting fare | Typical length | Ships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalon Waterways | 3 | $5,979 | 11 nights | 2 · Avalon Tranquility II and Avalon Vista |
Contemporary river cruise lines (1)
Contemporary lines are the most accessible tier. One contemporary river line sails to Italy, with 11 upcoming sailings. Starting fares begin at $534 per person with CroisiEurope.
| Cruise line | Upcoming sailings | Lowest starting fare | Typical length | Ships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CroisiEurope | 11 | $534 | 5–7 nights (typically 6) | 2 · ms La Belle de l'Adriatique and ms Michelangelo |
Italy cruise ports
Every Italy ship port with upcoming sailings has its own guide. The number beside each port is how many upcoming sailings call there (sailings, not individual port visits).
Coastal and island ports (58)
- Civitavecchia 1,438
- Livorno 628
- Naples 584
- Messina 540
- Venice 508
- Salerno 282
- Genova 263
- Palermo 246
- Bari 240
- Giardini Naxos 211
- Sorrento 204
- Trieste 177
- Cagliari 163
- Portofino 162
- Crotone 161
- La Spezia 157
- Siracusa 137
- Trapani 112
- Lipari 101
- Amalfi 92
- Catania 89
- Porto Santo Stefano 87
- Chioggia 78
- Portoferraio 77
- Ravenna 76
- Alghero 75
- Brindisi 71
- Olbia 48
- Golfo Aranci 38
- Porto Cervo 38
- Capri 37
- Rome Italy 36
- Santa Margherita Ligure 36
- Gallipoli 33
- Porto Empedocle 32
- Ponza 30
- Reggio Calabria 25
- Gaeta 24
- Monopoli 23
- Porto Venere 22
- Taranto 22
- Otranto 20
- Agropoli 19
- Ancona 19
- Stromboli 16
- Positano 14
- Carrara 12
- Porto Ercole 10
- Piombino 9
- Savona 7
- Vibo Valentia 4
- Carloforte 3
- Ischia 3
- Palmarola Island 3
- Imperia 2
- Pesaro 2
- Porto Torres 2
- San Remo 1
River ports (10)
- Padua 7
- Como 5
- Mantua 3
- Ostiglia 3
- Porto Levante 3
- Canda 2
- Florence 1
- Marina di Ragusa 1
- Pozzallo 1
- Rovigo 1
See them all in the Italy cruise port guide, or browse every sailing on the Italy cruises page.
How to choose an Italy cruise line
- Most listed sailings: Viking Cruises lists the most upcoming Italy sailings (389).
- Lowest starting fare: MSC Cruises, from $159 per person.
- Style: sort by category first. Star Clippers has no style category yet, so its 43 sailings are shown under Other and left out of the style totals. Ultra-luxury lines: 5 lines, 398 sailings, from $3,850. Luxury lines: 7 lines, 301 sailings, from $1,899. Premium lines: 10 lines, 698 sailings, from $1,130. Contemporary lines: 9 lines, 630 sailings, from $159. Other lines: 1 line, 43 sailings, from $1,030.
- Kind of cruise: ocean ships cover the coast and islands; river ships sail the rivers.
- Where you start: if you want Italy as your first or last port, filter the sailings by Starting in or Ending in Italy on the Italy cruises page.
How we calculated these figures
- Upcoming sailing: an itinerary with at least one departure date from today onward, counted once however many departure dates it has. Sailings that have passed drop out each day.
- Italy cruise: a sailing that calls at least once at an Italy ship port. A sailing "starts" or "ends" in Italy when its first or last stop is an Italy ship port.
- Lowest starting fare: the lowest "from" price among that line's upcoming Italy sailings, per person based on double occupancy, in US dollars. Under our Cruise Disclosure, prices include all applicable taxes and fees. Fares still depend on cabin category and date, so treat them as a starting point for comparison, not a quote.
- Typical length: the range covers the middle 80% of that line's sailings (the shortest and longest tenth are left out), and "typically" is the most common length.
- Kinds of cruise: A sailing is in exactly one kind, so the totals by kind add up to the 2,070 sailings above. Ocean: sailings on ocean-going ships, including expedition ships and ferries. River: sailings on rivers, canals and lakes. A river itinerary that also includes a coastal leg counts as river. A line that sails more than one kind appears in each list, with its sailings split by kind. Totals by kind count each sailing once.
- Style categories: Ultra-luxury, Luxury, Premium and Contemporary are Waterways Cruise's own groupings of cruise lines, not an industry standard.
- Freshness: the sailing data is refreshed daily from the sailings we list; figures here were calculated on .
Frequently asked questions about Italy cruises
Which cruise lines sail to Italy?
32 cruise lines have upcoming Italy sailings on Waterways Cruise: 28 sail ocean or expedition itineraries and 4 sail river itineraries. Viking Cruises lists the most sailings (389).
How much does a Italy cruise cost?
Starting fares begin at $159 per person, double occupancy, with MSC Cruises. Fares depend on the line, the cabin and the sailing date, so the best way to see current rates is to request exclusive rates for the dates you want.
Which cruise lines are ultra-luxury and luxury in Italy?
Ultra-luxury ocean lines: Silversea Cruises, Seabourn Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, SeaDream Yacht Club and Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection. Luxury ocean lines: Oceania Cruises, MSC Explora Journeys, Ponant Cruises, Scenic Cruises and Aurora Expeditions. Luxury river lines: Uniworld and AmaWaterways.
Can you start or end a cruise in Italy?
Yes. 899 of 2,070 upcoming sailings start in Italy and 896 end there; 314 do both. The other 589 (28%) visit Italy as a port of call on a longer route.
Want help choosing?
Our advisors compare sailings, cabins and fares across all of these lines.
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Italy cruise port guide
Cruise ports, what to see, history and practical advice.
Italy cruise port guide →Created by the Waterways Cruise content team and reviewed and fact-checked by J. Richard, Sr. Cruise Travel Agent and Founder of Waterways Cruise.
Published September 9, 2026 · Last updated October 31, 2026
Fares, availability and itineraries change often. Confirm current details with your cruise line or a Waterways Cruise agent before you book.
Cruise Disclosure
Good to know: Prices are quoted per person based on double occupancy and include all applicable taxes and fees. Availability and prices can change quickly, so please continue through the booking process to confirm the latest availability and pricing before you pay.
We work hard to make sure everything on this website is accurate and up to date. However, some information may be incomplete or inaccurate, including details supplied by third parties or otherwise outside our control, and we cannot be held responsible for such errors. We work with 41 cruise line operators, that are providing cruises on 585 ships visiting 1,731 ports across 7,194 unique cruises, creating 13,822 itineraries. This is a great deal of data to continually update daily from our suppliers. If a pricing error, misrepresentation, or omission occurs, we reserve the right to adjust the pricing, correct the information, or cancel or decline any booking made in error, with notice to you. Thank you for your understanding!