A Long Trip to Venice Aboard the Arcadia

Mediterranean cruises can take travelers to many great historic sites. Cruise ships go to Spain, Italy, France, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey, where visitors can see many of the greatest historic cities in Europe. I went on a P&O Arcadia cruise during the summer of 2019 to visit Málaga, Venice, Gibraltar, Split, and Dubrovnik.

I boarded the Arcadia in Southampton, from which it began a lengthy cruise trip to Venice. The ship’s first port of call was Málaga, which is the largest city of southern Spain’s Costa del Sol. The Arcadia was due to remain there for one full day so divers could fix its jammed rudder. However, that was extended to two full days, which gave passengers three days to check out Málaga before the ship departed port.

Málaga has a surprisingly large number of historic attractions. The city was the homeland of Picasso, one of Spain’s most influential artists. Picasso was among the pioneers of Cubist art that revolutionized sculpture and painting in the early 20th century. I went to the Picasso Museum, which showcases a range of Picasso’s paintings and sketches.

En route to the Picasso Museum, I passed the Alcabaza Moorish castle that’s on a hill. Visitors can walk along the castle’s walls that provide great views of Málaga. Alongside Alcabaza’s walls are the remains of a Roman theater. Travelers can enter the theater, and its visitor center displays archaeological artifacts uncovered there.

In addition, I went to the Interactive Museum of Music in Málaga. That’s an interesting cultural museum that displays a vast collection of musical instruments from various eras and countries. It provides insight into the origins of folklore, mechanical, and electronic music. You can also watch a Flamenco dance show at the museum.

When the Arcadia finally departed Málaga, it sailed straight to Venice without any stops in between. Venice was the biggest highlight of the cruise. The city was once a major trading post in the Mediterranean (on the Adriatic Sea) that commanded an empire along the Dalmatian Coast. Venice participated in the sacking of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. However, the Republic of Venice declined during a series of Ottoman-Venetian Wars in the 1400 and 1500s.

Today, visitors marvel at the amazing mix of Gothic, Renaissance, and Byzantine architecture in Venice and, of course, its canal network. I went to Piazza San Marco in Venice, which includes the amazing St Mark’s Basilica. St Mark’s is not among Europe’s very biggest cathedrals, but it’s undoubtedly an architectural marvel with an extravagantly ornamented façade. I went inside the Basilica, which incorporates an interior that truly sparkles with golden mosaics on the upper areas of the cathedral.

Next, I strolled to Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal. That is another of Venice’s landmarks, which was rebuilt as a stone bridge during the era of the Republic of Venice. Today, it is the centrepiece of the Grand Canal from which you can hop on a gondola.

When I returned to the Arcadia, I went to the ship’s upper decks to admire the amazing views of Venice. After a minor cruise ship crash in Venice in June 2019, the Italians have decided to reroute cruise liners so they don’t depart through the Giudecca Canal. However, that was not before the Arcadia sailed out of Venice through the Giudecca Canal, passing San Marco Square and the Venice Lido en route. The ship’s front bar provided commentary on the Giudecca sail-away as we departed for Croatia.

Split was the first port of call in Croatia, but that city doesn’t really have much of a port at all. Nevertheless, we docked there, where I went to Diocletian’s Palace. Diocletian’s Palace is a preserved Roman structure that’s the historic heart of Split. It was originally constructed within the Roman province of Dalmatia. It retains much of its original peristyle (central square), cellars, Temple of Jupiter, and southern facade. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Monument.

The Arcadians then stopped in Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik was one of the few Adriatic city-states that seriously rivaled the Republic of Venice during the peak era of its empire. The Yugoslav army bombed Dubrovnik during the Croatian War of Independence, but the city has now rebuilt itself and is once again the Pearl of the Adriatic.

Today, Dubrovnik is a UNESCO World Heritage Site primarily because of its historic Old Town. There, visitors can go up Dubrovnik’s city walls for great views. I strolled through the Old Town from its harbor to the Stradun by the Pile Gate.

In Dubrovnik, I went to the Franciscan Monastery and Dominican Monastery museums. The Franciscan Monastery Museum displays religious paintings, artifacts, cloaks, and old manuscripts. The Dominican Monastery is another monastery complex that includes relics, manuscripts, jewelry, papal bulls, and paintings within its museum.

Gibraltar was the final stop of the cruise. That is a U.K. overseas territory in the south of Spain. As the gateway to the Mediterranean, Gibraltar was a crucial strategic position for the British Empire during wartime. That was especially the case during World War 2 when the Nazis laid down plans to capture Gibraltar and seize the entrance to the Mediterranean with Operation Felix. However, the Germans never carried out that operation as Spain remained neutral.

Consequently, Britain held Gibraltar throughout that war. From there, the Royal Navy ran convoys to besieged Malta. The convoys delivered invaluable supplies that helped Malta hold out during its siege. Thereafter, the Axis abandoned plans to invade Malta.

In preparation for World War 2, the Royal Engineers dug an extensive tunnel network in the Rock of Gibraltar. I went on an excursion trip to the World War Two Tunnels at Gibraltar. The tour guided us through some of the tunnels the Royal Engineers dug. The tunnels displayed numerous wartime Gibraltar photos, and the tour showed us the water distillation plant, hospital, and vehicle maintenance parts of the tunnels, among others.

The Arcadia returned to Britain after leaving Gibraltar. I found the Arcadia cruise to be a fascinating journey through history. From Málaga to Venice, Dubrovnik, Split, and Gibraltar, there were plenty of intriguing historic sites at the ship’s ports of call.

This article was previously submitted to Medium.com, where you can read it here.