The Mediterranean is Unrivaled as a Cruise Destination

Your search for a Mediterranean cruise brings you to ElegantCruises.com, a luxury small ship cultural and expedition cruising company. We offer numerous cultural adventures in the Mediterranean, the world's largest inland sea, that allow our passengers to discover a wealth of scenic ports both large and small, culture and historical sights dating back thousands of years, spectacular islands surrounded by sparkling turquoise blue water, warm breezes and delicious ethnic food.

A Different Approach to Your Mediterranean Cruise
ElegantCruises.com has a different approach to a Mediterranean cruise itinerary from many of the large Mediterranean cruise ships that visit this scenic area. Our goal is to journey to locations not otherwise available on package tours and have you alight in the center of memorable towns where you can easily make your own personal discoveries. We offer a number of Mediterranean cruise choices that meander through the azure blue waters of both the eastern and western Mediterranean Sea exploring well known treasures of historical, cultural and exceptional scenic value in addition to what we call "undiscovered treasures", those places off-the-beaten-path.

Our Mediterranean Cruise Vessels: Intimate, Nimble, and Comfortable
Best visited by nimble cruise vessels like the m/s Andrea, m/s Monet, or the Sea Cloud, a four-mast barque, some of these remarkable destinations are small, less crowded unique islands or historic towns with special qualities including impressive UNESCO World Heritage sites, fabulous geological phenomena, awesome views or outstanding cultural opportunities. All our Mediterranean cruise ships provide comfortable accommodations and thoughtful amenities that will make your Mediterranean cruise most memorable. The m/s Monet is the Mediterranean cruise ship of choice among many American museum groups, alumni associations of prestigious universities, and other cultural organizations. The Andrea, recently renovated, provides the intimacy and classic nautical sentiment often lacking in larger ships. And for those of you who dream about traveling on a luxurious big sailing ship such as windjammer with a full set of sails, nothing could be more exciting than a Mediterranean cruise aboard the Sea Cloud.

The Quiet Pleasures of a Mediterranean Cruise
You are about to commence your Mediterranean cruise vacation. One of the quiet pleasures of a Mediterranean cruise is that you need to unpack your luggage just once. No packing and unpacking, as is the case on coach tours. Each morning you'll awake in a new destination that is often close to the center of the historic quarter of the next town making it convenient to stroll off the boat and immediately immerse yourself in atmosphere of area. In many cases, your first impressions of a place will be much like those that ancient seafarers experienced centuries ago when vessels were the primary means of transport around the Mediterranean.

Your Mediterranean Cruise Choices
Elegant cruises offers a variety of enriching Mediterranean cruise itineraries, from the romantic, sun drenched cities of the Iberian Peninsula to the antiquity laden islands of Greece and Turkey. In particular, we draw your attention to our carefully designed programs featuring less frequented but equally fascinating Mediterranean cruise ports and islands. Elegant cruises has crafted insightful Mediterranean cruise programs to: Sicily the largest and most important island in the Mediterranean with its rocky cliffs to sandy beach coastline and ample medieval palaces and castles, Greek temples and amphitheaters, baroque churches and nature preserves; Malta whose delightful narrow cobblestone streets of its picturesque towns are crowded with Renaissance cathedrals and Baroque palaces; Corsica with magnificent mountain scenery, all sorts of beach and water related activities, fabulous weather, Genoese fortresses, watchtowers and baroque churches. Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of the French was born on the island of Corsica; and Kafalonia, a lush green Ionian Greek island with a magnificent National Park on its highest mountain, Mount Ainos, small green plains of grape and olive groves, fabulous caves, mysterious underground lakes and other interesting geological formations.

When we create our Mediterranean Cruise itineraries, Elegantcruises.com deliberately seeks out lesser-known places. For example as you approach Bonifacio in Corsica aboard one of our small Mediterranean cruise ships, a magnificent view of dramatic limestone cliffs on top of which lies the town of la Haute Ville. Built on the site of a 9th-century citadel, the haute ville, a maze of narrow streets flanked by tall Genoese tenements, rises seamlessly out of the spectacular sheer cliffs that have been hollowed and striated by the Mediterranean wind and waves. The lively town below the cliffs is located at the end of a fjord-like natural harbor that is home to local fishing boats and yachts. On another Mediterranean cruise program, Elegant cruises takes you to remote Marettimo and Levanzo, two small islets of the Egadi Islands, a mini-archipelago just off the coast of Sicily. With its sea caves and tiny hamlet of white houses and terraces nestled at the foot of a great limestone mountain, Marettimo is simply not accessible by larger Mediterranean cruise vessels. Several of our Mediterranean cruise itineraries retrace the heroic path to Mahón, Menorca in Spain's Balearic Islands, of Lord Horatio Nelson, Britain's greatest naval hero. Its natural harbor was critically important to the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. For the "foodies" among our passenger an interesting bit of lore: the port of Mahon is said to be the origin of the sauce made famous by the French: Mahonnaise. Most authorities believe the first batch of this mixture of egg yolks, oil and seasonings, what we call mayonnaise, was whipped up to celebrate the 1756 French capture of Mahon. During your Elegant cruises Mediterranean cruise you'll find yourself immersed in the culture and history of numerous fascinating Mediterranean locals.

Arriving at your Mediterranean Cruise Gateway City
Our Mediterranean cruise programs usually begin and end in cities that offer decent air connections. Although we do not include airfare in our cruise rates, we do know the importance of being able to comfortably arrive at the gateway city for your Mediterranean cruise. Therefore we are happy to recommend several reputable travel partners that specialize in finding the best air routing and rates. When you make a reservation with ElegantCruises.com, please let us know if you would like assistance in air ticketing. Our travel partners will even arrange pre-cruise and post-cruise hotel accommodations in the city or town where you will begin and end your Mediterranean cruise.
Your ultimate satisfaction is our goal. Therefore, during our various Mediterranean cruise ports-of-call, you have the option of how you spend your time. We have found that many of our passengers prefer optional shore excursions rather than having them included in their Mediterranean cruise rate. This allows those intrepid adventurers to step out on their own seeking out museums or other historic attractions that they have read about. Free time also allows for shopping for locally produced crafts, jewelry and artwork, or simply sitting at a sidewalk cafe soaking up the local ambience. We have worked hard to accommodate the varied needs of our Mediterranean cruise passengers. If you have any questions you may contact us at 1-800-683-6767.

So welcome aboard to ElegantCruises.com ships for memorable, intellectually stimulating and visually exciting Mediterranean cruise adventures.