Northbound

Click here for Southbound itinerary, starting in Rome.

• Indicates day of cruising

Day 1: Arrive in Malta
Transfer from the airport to your hotel in Valletta, Malta, founded by the Knights of St. John in the 16th century. Tour begins at 6:00 p.m. at the hotel. Meet fellow travelers at the welcome reception and dinner.
Meals: Dinner
Lodging: Le Meridien Phoenicia, Valletta, Malta

• Day 2: Medieval Malta
A guided tour of Malta includes the medieval walled city of Mdina, and a drive around St. Julian’s Bay. A highlight of your Valletta walking tour is the art treasure-filled Co-Cathedral of St. John, one of the world’s finest examples of Baroque architecture. Board your yacht, Le Ponant, in Grand Harbour and set sail for Sicily.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: Cruising aboard Le Ponant

• Day 3: See Siracusa, Sicily
Your Italy cruise docks at Siracusa, an ancient Greek stronghold. Visit the Neapolis Parco Archeologico highlighted by a 15,000-seat, rock-hewn Greek theater. Then see artifacts revealing the layers of civilizations at Museo Archeologico Regionale. Meander around Ortigia on your own, and don’t miss the Doric Temple of Apollo. Enjoy the Captain’s reception this evening.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Cruising aboard Le Ponant

• Day 4: Taormina on Sicily
Admire the view as you sail into Taormina, a terraced town clinging to high cliffs on the east coast of Sicily with Mt. Etna towering in the distance. Survey the Teatro Greco and stroll the Corso Umberto, Old Town’s main pedestrian street lined with cafés and pasticceries.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Cruising aboard Le Ponant

• Day 5: Palermo by day and night
Dock in Palermo, the capital of Sicily. See the Cathedral, with its mix of architectural styles, and Porto Nuovo. Le Ponant overnights in port so you can enjoy Palermo’s lively nightlife, a highlight of this Italy cruise.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Cruising aboard Le Ponant

• Day 6: Antiquities of Sicily
Drive to northwest Sicily to the medieval town of Erice, the mythological seat of the Roman goddess Venus; see the Castello di Venere, a Norman castle, with free time to explore on your own. In the ancient town of Segesta, take in the unfinished temple encircled by 36 massive Doric columns, which was started in 426 BC and is remarkably preserved.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Cruising aboard Le Ponant

• Day 7: Sailing the Aeolian Isles
The next port-of-call is Lipari, the largest of the seven Aeolian Islands, noted for its colorful houses, 17th-century cathedral and 16th-century castle. Sail by the island of Stromboli, and see if its active volcano will provide a natural show.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Cruising aboard Le Ponant

• Day 8: The Amalfi Coast to Ravello
Go ashore at Salerno, and visit the town of Amalfi. Then set out on the mountainous route along the Amalfi Coast, one of the most spectacular drives in the world. Arrive in stunning Ravello, perched on cliffs overlooking the sea. Visit Villa Rufolo, the former residence of several popes, offering outstanding coastal views. Enjoy the Captain’s farewell dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Cruising aboard Le Ponant

Day 9: Castles and pizza in Naples
Your Italy cruise ends in Naples, but your Italy tour continues on land. Disembark the ship, then take a guided tour including Castel dell’Ovo, a military fortress in the Santa Lucia district; Teatro San Carlo, and Castel Nuovo. Visit the Museo Archeologico Nazionale showcasing one of the world’s best collections of Greco-Roman artifacts. Savor authentic Neapolitan pizza before traveling to Rome.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Lodging: Grand Hotel Parco Dei Principi, Rome, Italy

Day 10: All roads lead to Rome
See Rome’s landmark sights with a local guide, including Vatican City, and the Roman Forum with temples, monuments, and the Senate House. Pursue your own interests in Rome in the afternoon. Share tour highlights with companions at the farewell reception and dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, dinner
Lodging: Grand Hotel Parco Dei Principi, Rome, Italy

Day 11: Arrivederci Italy
Tour ends in Rome, Italy. A transfer to the airport is included.
Meals: Breakfast

Inclusive Prices

Cruise prices are per person in U.S. dollars. All accommodations, motor coach and cruise ship transportation, sightseeing, admissions, shore excursions and services of Tauck Directors, ship crew and drivers are included.

Hotel Accommodations – Tauck’s price includes all hotel accommodations with private baths. The Tauck standard is to provide the best available hotels without sacrificing value. Although the quality of accommodations may differ from place to place, this standard remains uncompromised. Two-bedded rooms are reserved in most hotels. Triples are two-bedded rooms plus a rollaway cot and are not recommended for comfort.

Meals – Most meals are included as specified in the itinerary. Meal codes are: B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner.

Gratuities Included – All appropriate gratuities for bellmen, luggage handling, doormen, dining room servers, local guides and cruise ship staff are included

Tauck Director – Each Italy cruise is conducted by a Tauck Director who
remains with the group throughout the duration of the cruise. Your Tauck Director is
a professional, fully-trained employee of Tauck World Discovery.

No Options Sold – With the exception of select options detailed in the itinerary, Tauck’s price includes entertainment, special dinners, sightseeing and most activities. Tauck Directors may assist with information on other free-time activities, based on honest opinion, but will not sell you any “extras.” This means better value and a more relaxed, pleasant experience for you.

Not Included

Airfare to the cruise departure point and from the cruise ending point is not included. Airfare may be purchased from Tauck for travel originating in the United States.

Hotel Rooms Before & After Cruises – Due to time schedules and the possibility of flight delays, many guests prefer to make hotel arrangements for the night preceding their Italy cruise. As a service, Tauck will make reservations before or after your Italy cruise. Rooms are reserved on a space-available basis and must be booked through Tauck to qualify for Tauck’s special rates. These hotel room charges will be added to the Italy cruise cost. Note: Airport transfers are not included for these bookings. If you wish to spend additional nights in Rome or Malta, please discuss this at the time of booking.

Tauck Director Gratuities – Unless otherwise noted on the itinerary, the customary gratuity to the Tauck Director is not included. Such gratuities should be extended on a voluntary, individual basis and not as a group.

Personal Expenses such as phone calls, room service, alcoholic and bar beverages, laundry, airline excess luggage charges, visa fees, vaccinations, airport and departure taxes and other optional incidental extras are not included and may be significant.

Luggage Responsibility – Although every effort is made to handle guests’ luggage carefully, we cannot be responsible, assume liability or accept claims for loss or damage to luggage and personal effects due to breakage, theft, or fair wear and tear through hotel, airline and group carrier handling. It is important for your own self-interest and protection that you make certain you have adequate insurance to cover these eventualities. U.S and Canadian residents: refer to Tauck’s Cruise Protection.

Additional Information

Itinerary Changes & Price Flexibility – Tauck pledges to make every effort to operate all tours as advertised. Tauck reserves the right to alter or curtail the itinerary, or substitute sightseeing, hotels, and/or conveyances as deemed necessary. Any savings realized by these changes will be refunded to passengers. Any resultant added expense will be covered by Tauck. Note: Although not expected, prices in this brochure may be modified due to unexpected significant external factors not forecasted at the time of printing.

Travel Document Requirements:
If you are a U.S. citizen, the only document you will need for this journey is a valid passport. Please make sure that your passport is valid for at least six months after the date of completion of your travel. A visa is not required for U.S. citizens for entry into Italy and Malta.

We recommend that other citizens contact the embassies or consulates for the Italy and Malta, to determine if visas are required for entry for your particular nationality.

NOTE: Be sure to check the expiration of your passport. New passports may take several weeks to obtain.

Travel with Children – Many countries have specific entry requirements for children under 21 who are traveling with or without both parents. Usually a notarized letter, signed by the parent or parents not traveling with the child and stating the name of the child, the adult guardian, the itinerary and dates of travel, and the flight number, is required. To ensure smooth travel, Tauck requires all travelers to comply with the regulations for the country you are visiting. This information is available from each country’s consulate. Tauck is not responsible for the disruption of travel caused by improper documentation for any travelers, including children traveling without both parents. While there is no definitive format or standards for these letters, Tauck does offer for download guidance for writing this letter.

Membership – Membership will be granted to all persons. Tauck reserves the right to terminate the tour of any persons who are abusive of others or whose behavior disrupts the tour.

Travelers Needing Special Assistance – We regret that we cannot provide individual assistance to guests for wheelchairs, walking, dining or other personal needs. Persons needing such assistance must be accompanied by an able companion who will assist them.

Airline Security Measures – Travelers must provide identification in the form of a passport at the time of airport check-in. Your passport name must match the name on your airline ticket and cruise reservation.

Air Services – Airfare may be purchased through Tauck for travel originating in the United States. By using TauckAir, you agree that Tauck, in purchasing, selling or otherwise arranging air transportation, is acting only as your agent and is not liable or responsible for any accident, death, personal injury, illness, property damage, delay or other loss or expense of any nature whatsoever arising directly or indirectly out of any act of God, or any actions or omissions (including any failure to provide services) or default of, any carrier. All carriers are independent contractors and are not owned, managed, controlled or operated by Tauck. Your airline ticket constitutes a contract between yourself and the airline (and not Tauck), even if purchased through Tauck. Tauck is not liable for, and does not assume responsibility or accept claims with regard to, seat assignments, schedule changes, flight changes, cancellations, claims for a refund or reimbursement of airline ticket fees, or any other loss incurred by you for any reason whatsoever (including, without limitation to, bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization or similar relief from creditors). Tauck must handle ticketing for Tauck's special fares, which are subject to availability and cannot be guaranteed until reserved. Special fares cannot be combined with any other promotional offer. Tauck's air services can only be purchased in conjunction with a Tauck tour. Tickets will be mailed with final documents. Should you cancel or change your air before or after departure, all airline cancellation and change fees will apply.

Cruise Regulations – Travelers must provide their social security or passport number and date of birth to Tauck at time of booking. Tauck must provide this information to the cruise line before departure or you may be denied boarding.

Cruise Start & End Times are provided at time of booking and are subject to change due to airline schedule changes. All booking agents will be advised of such changes. When making flight arrangements, allow sufficient time to claim luggage and clear customs. Allow 2 1/2 hours for departure flight check-in.

Holidays & Museum Schedules – Museum visits and personal shopping time may be disrupted due to unforeseen circumstances or religious, state and local holidays.

Clothing & Packing:
Select a wardrobe for your Italy cruise that is adaptable and allows for layering. Keep in mind that it is generally breezy at sea and that it gets cool at night. Those who enjoy evenings on deck may need a cardigan or a windbreaker. During the day, casual comfortable clothing is recommended. Shorts are fine but shoes and sandals should be worn at breakfast and lunch on the ship.

The usual dinner dress aboard Le Ponant is casual and relaxed; a jacket and tie would not be required (though shorts are not appropriate). However, the Captain's dinner aboard Le Ponant is an occasion for which a jacket and tie is appropriate, while casual cocktail attire for the ladies is appropriate.

Valet laundry service is available aboard Le Ponant for a nominal fee. Hair dryers are available in the cabins. Curling irons and clothes irons are not available in the cabins, nor are they permitted due to fire and safety codes.

We recommend for your Italy cruise that you pack your prescription medicines (an adequate supply to last through your journey) along with your travel documents and a change of clothing in your carry-on bags to avoid any inconvenience, in the event that your flight is delayed or the airline loses your luggage.

Following is a list of recommended items to pack for your Italy cruise:

• Comfortable walking shoes
• Rainwear such as raincoat and/or collapsible umbrella
• Sun block, sunglasses, and a sun hat
• Bathing suit
• Light jacket or windbreaker
• Short and long-sleeved shirts
• Shorts (for summer) and pants for casual daytime wear
• Jacket for men (tie optional) and slacks/dress for women for evening wear
• Sweater, lightweight for summer, and medium weight for spring/fall
• Camera, lenses, batteries and plenty of film (attainable in most places but can be expensive)
• Binoculars (if you enjoy star gazing at night)
• Day pack for your photographic equipment or other belongings
• Travel alarm clock
  

Le Ponant staterooms have individual climate control and the hotels have air conditioning. European air conditioning should be considered as a climate-control system; most have three settings for the fan, plus a cool setting. Very few of the European systems actually have a temperature setting. In general, the amount of cool air that is produced from a European air conditioning system is far less than what you may have in your living environment. Summer visitors should be prepared for warm weather.

Luggage:
Due to space limitations aboard motor coaches and airlines on certain flights, only one average-size piece of luggage per person, weighing up to 44 pounds, is allowed. Luggage exceeding these restrictions is at risk of being left behind, or, if permitted on board, may be subject to additional excess luggage charges. Additionally, guests are limited to one small carry-on bag per person, which should not exceed 17 inches in length, 12 inches in width, and 10 inches in height, due to space restrictions in overhead storage bins aboard motor coaches; larger carry-ons will be stowed in the luggage compartment under the coach. Regulations within most airports require that travelers handle their own luggage through customs.

Weather:
The Mediterranean in the summer months for your Italy cruise can be quite hot, with temperatures reaching as high as 95o F during the day. It will be a little cooler in the evening. In the fall, the temperatures range from 60o - 80o F. As a rule the nights are warm and the days not too hot. It is a good idea to be prepared for the occasional extremes. We suggest that prior to departure you check a newspaper or the weather forecast on the Internet for up-to-date information.

Activities & Health:
There is a moderate amount of walking on the land portions of this Italy cruise. To fully enjoy this itinerary, participants must be in fairly good health and be able to walk reasonable distances. Much of the sightseeing can only be accomplished on foot, often over uneven ground and cobblestone streets. Many areas visited also have hills and inclines in the city centers. It is important that you wear sturdy, comfortable and worn-in walking shoes.

However, for the most part, the amount of walking you do at the various sites and in towns is at your discretion. If you have a medical condition, which may limit your participation in activities, please advise us as soon as possible if you have not already done so. Additionally, you must be steady and balanced to walk around Le Ponant, while cruising in the Mediterranean Sea. Some ship to shore transportation is by rubber Zodiac (capacity 9 - 12 persons) or local tender. These are safe but occasionally can get wet with spray.

There is a certified French physician aboard. A nominal fee is charged to your shipboard account for office visits and any medication dispensed.

Smoking is only permitted on Le Ponant's outer decks. Smoking is not permitted on motor coaches used for shore excursions.

Electrical Current:
You will need to bring a converter for electrical appliances that converts European 220 volts to U.S. 110 volts, and an adapter that adapts the U.S. two-pronged plug to the European two/three pronged plug. These items can be purchased in a store that specializes in travel products.

Currency Exchange:
The currency in Malta is the Maltese Lira and Italy uses the Euro. In many European countries, the exchange rate for local currency tends to fluctuate. Local merchants do not always accept U.S. travelers checks, although banks and exchange counters will accept them as well as cash. Expect to pay fees for using travelers checks. Credit cards can be used for stores and restaurants, although a fee may be charged. Local currencies can be obtained on arrival or at international airports during your journey. Should you have any questions, your Tauck Director will be happy to assist you.

For the best exchange rate, we suggest using major credit cards and/or ATM machines, which are available throughout Italy and Malta. Contact your bank in advance of departure to determine whether you will be able to use your credit card or ATM card in these countries.

Personal incidental accounts aboard Le Ponant may be settled in cash (US$), travelers checks, American Express, Visa or MasterCard. There is no foreign exchange facility on the ship.

Elevation:
The maximum elevation on this itinerary is 1200 feet.

Photography on Tour:
Occasionally, Tauck will use photographs taken by fellow guests or your Tauck Director on tour for promotional purposes. If you prefer that your photo not be used in any marketing activities, please notify your Tauck Director at the start of your tour.

If You Have to Cancel

Cancellations Fees – Regardless of reason, cancellations result in costly charges from our travel and hotel providers covering penalties and fees incurred by canceling confirmed bookings. Therefore, cancellation penalties and or fees will apply. Time of cancellation will be when notice is received in our Norwalk, CT office.

Guests choosing to purchase Tauck’s Cruise Protection or Cancellation Fee Waiver will have cancellation penalties waived. Click here for more details.

Guests choosing not to purchase Tauck’s Cruise Protection or Cancellation Fee Waiver will incur cancellation penalties per person as follows:

Did you know that you can link-up Tauck itineraries to create longer journeys? Many of these trips are in the same region, and depending upon availability you might connect with them before or after your trip. Alternatively, you might find one of these options better suited for your interests and preferences or for when you are available to travel.

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