From Marseilles to Genoa: seven days in the lap of luxury on a Mediterranean cruise

Irish Times

21 hours ago

There's nothing like a sea cruise to divide opinion. I know many people for whom the whole notion sounds like a great bore; imagining a distinctly older generation on board, shuffling around slowly upon a huge floating retirement home and thinking that every port call en route will be brief and heavily chaperoned.
The truth is far more nuanced and for those considering dabbling in the world of cruising, the Mediterranean is a kind of gateway drug to the wonderful world of luxury cruises. Here, you can put all your prejudices to the test in what should be one of the safest places to do so – where the weather is nice and the ports of call are usually highlight city destinations. Plus, you're on the sea (rather than the ocean), where there's less chance of a heavy swell.
We start our cruise in Palma, Mallorca and it was to finish one week later at Civitavecchia, north of Rome. Often overlooked by visitors rushing to the island's seaside resorts or to its magnificent mountainous regions, Mallorca's capital, Palma, is a thoroughly charming city, with impressive sites to see; the hight point being its towering gothic cathedral (Basílica de Santa María), whose interior floods with colourful light during a bright day.
Cruise ships these days are very big – something you only realise when you come alongside and find yourself craning your neck and staring open-mouthed at it like a modern-day wonder of the world.
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We are on Princess Cruises' (the original Love Boat company from the 1980s TV series) newest and largest vessel, The Sun Princess. There are other larger ones again – mainly plying the Caribbean Ocean – but this vessel is up there, with its 345m-long bulk accommodating 4,200 passengers.
Interior of the Sun Princess
Sun Princess: A kind of luxury village
When you step on board, you enter a kind of village and a highly social one at that. The blend of passengers is also far more varied than one might expect. The age profile is certainly higher than what you'll find, say, in a caravan park resort on the Vendée coast in summer, but you'll find people in their 20s and 30s, young families and teenagers too, with plenty to keep representatives of all age groups occupied.
You also step into a world of luxury. These days the main trends in the world of ocean cruising are towards more sustainability (more use of liquefied natural gas, which burns more cleanly, and far better waste management systems) and a race to the top in terms of added luxury value. Our newly constructed ship is a case in point, with its massive amount of natural light courtesy of the great glass sphere shape that bulges out on both sides just forward of midships.
The breezy, more nautical, decor with cleaner lines repeats throughout the ship to the bright cabins, which have a luxurious interior and (in our 'outside state room') a sliding door leading to a roomy balcony.
That evening as we bid farewell to the Balearics – magnificent in the evening sunlight – we call to O'Malley's Irish Pub. There seem to be far more Americans than any other nationality in our floating local but we do run into a few fellow Irish citizens, including a first-time cruiser, who shouts the praises of the cruise experience over the sound of live music. Between sips of stout, he explains that he has come on board at the invitation of a friend, celebrating a significant birthday.
The following morning, we awake to find ourselves on the industrial outskirts of Barcelona. Having been there before, we opt for an extended lie-in by the main swimming pools at the Lido on Deck 17. The sun shines and the mercury is touching 21 degrees. And, with the protective glass walls surrounding the multilevel Lido area, the sun trap is complete, with bar, snack bar and restaurant within a 10-second stroll and a film playing on the big screen.
Conor Power with a view over Marseilles
Marseilles, our next port of call, is a city we haven't seen properly before. We opt for a guided city bus tour, including a visit to the Notre Dame de la Garde – the spectacularly sited church overlooking the Phoenician city.
Notre Dame de la Garda interior
The tour is very informative, as it snakes through the streets of France's second city to the great white church at the top. Marseilles has been associated with a good deal of negative press over the years, making me half-expect a shambolic metropolis full of snarling gangsters and screaming fishwives. The less-written-about side of Marseilles, however, is the one we see – an energetic Mediterranean city with a charming historical centre, gathered around a picturesque port.
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Marseilles: The best places to eat and drink around the French city
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That evening, as our vessel sails smoothly towards the Italian coast, we dine at The Butcher's Block by Tuscan chef/butcher Dario – one of the Sun Princess's themed restaurants collaborating with celebrity chefs. The full tasting menu features a tad too much red meat for my palate, but there is no denying how delicious the beef tartare and slow-cooked beef belly is. The other standout speciality restaurant for me is the Umai Teppanyaki Japanese restaurant.
Pulling into Genoa is a real treat because unlike with certain other ports, you moor in the heart of the city, with a classic multicoloured Italian urban-scape right before your eyes. The Church of San Lorenzo is just a 15-minute walk away.
Porto Venere
La Spezia is not too much farther south. Here we elect to disembark and take the local shuttle boat down the peninsula to the gorgeous town of Porto Venere. At the southern tip of the famous Cinque Terre walking route, the ancient town – once the haunt of pirates and corsairs – is buzzing with local Sunday strollers and walkers from the four corners of the globe. It is nice enough for a swim in the waters of the Mediterranean, drawing bemused smiles and comments from locals.
Boccadasse neighbourhood of Genoa
Back on board, the entertainment is nonstop and there is something for everyone – from movies under the stars to a high-end gym, yoga classes, Zumba, quizzes, comedians and live shows. The Spellbound by Magic Castle experience gives you a superb evening of food, cocktails and mind-bending magic. The exceptionally high-standard musical shows are performed at The Princess Arena, which can accommodate up to 1,000 seated guests. There is also the new Dome performance space – another superb theatre space with a curved fish-scale glass roof and where the Montreal-based 'Cirque Éloize' perform extraordinary gymnastic routines framing fantasy storylines.
There's no doubt that one of the big advantages of taking a cruise is that you get to see places that you wouldn't always manage to get to in one holiday. The western Mediterranean cruise is certainly more focused on the destinations rather than on the cruise, taking you to a new destination every day through three different countries. For the entire duration of the cruise, I hardly felt any motion and even though you're only getting a taster of each place, the guided tours allow you to make the most of your time and to 'bookmark' places that you might want to come back to for a longer stay.
Overall, the experience is immense fun. It's far removed from the backpacker's dream but the essence of a cruise revolves around simply kicking back, meeting people and letting others do the cooking and the serving all week long on a floating five-star resort.
Conor Power travelled as a guest on the Sun Princess. Sailing from Naples, a seven-night Mediterranean cruise with Greek Isles & Turkey, on board the Sun Princess, to Athens (Piraeus) departs on September 27th, 2025, calling at Sicily (Palermo), Crete (Chania), Istanbul and Mykonos. Standard fares from €1,101pp, based on two people sharing an inside stateroom. Prices are excluding flights and subject to availability. See
princess.com
for details on Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages