Alicante cruise port, Spain
Santa Barbara castle stands on the bare rock of Benacantil straight above the town, held in turn by Carthaginians, Romans and Moors because whoever had the rock had the harbour. The marble waves of the Explanada run along the front from the quay, and the old quarter climbs the hill behind it.
Worth knowing. Look at the rock from the beach and it's a man's face, forehead to chin, lying back and staring at the sky. They call it the Face of the Moor and you can't unsee it.
What to do in Alicante for free
The castle costs nothing to go into, which surprises people who have stood at the bottom looking up at it. Walking up takes about half an hour. The Explanada runs from the ship along the front on six and a half million marble tiles laid in waves, and it's the town's evening walk.
What costs money
The ship's own excursions usually cost more than booking the same trip yourself. Two things come with the price. The ship waits for its own excursions and doesn't wait for you. And if the port is missed, P&O refunds its own without you asking. A trip you booked yourself is a claim on your travel insurance, so check what your policy covers. The ship sells its own trips to all of these, and the desk is open on board if you'd rather do it that way.
The lift up to the castle. It goes up inside the rock from the seafront and comes out at the top. Worth knowing about, because the castle itself is free and the half hour uphill in the sun is the part that stops people.
The boat to Tabarca. A small flat island an hour out, and the only inhabited one in Spain's marine reserve. The boats go from the marina beside the ship.
How long you get ashore in Alicante
The published times give you between about 8.5 and 11 hours alongside, depending on the sailing. Take off the time it takes a few thousand people to get off, and the time you need to be back on board before the ship leaves, and that is your day. P&O give the real hours the day before, and the all-aboard time is earlier than the departure time.
Money and language in Spain
Euro (EUR, €). Cards are normal, though a small market stall or a taxi may want coins. The Canary Islands are Spain and use the euro too. Everything on board is charged in sterling, so this only matters ashore.
English is common in the ports and thinner a street back.
| English | Spanish | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | Hola | OH-la |
| Goodbye | Adiós | ah-DYOSS |
| How much? | ¿Cuánto cuesta? | KWAN-toh KWESS-ta |
| Thank you | Gracias | GRA-syass, and GRA-thyass on the mainland if you want to blend in |
| Please | Por favor | por fa-VOR |
Which ship calls at Alicante, and when
Every call here on sailings leaving between August 2026 and September 2027, with the hours ashore P&O published. These times are a guide, not a promise: the captain gives the real ones the day before.
| Ship | Sails | Day | Ashore |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arvia | 16 August 2026, 14 nights | Day 7 | 09:00 to 17:30 |
| Arvia | 13 September 2026, 14 nights | Day 6 | 07:00 to 18:00 |
| Arvia | 9 May 2027, 14 nights | Day 11 | 08:00 to 17:00 |
| Arvia | 6 June 2027, 14 nights | Day 11 | 08:00 to 17:00 |
| Arvia | 20 June 2027, 14 nights | Day 7 | 09:00 to 18:00 |
| Arvia | 4 July 2027, 14 nights | Day 11 | 08:00 to 17:00 |
| Arvia | 18 July 2027, 14 nights | Day 7 | 09:00 to 18:00 |
| Arvia | 15 August 2027, 14 nights | Day 11 | 08:00 to 17:00 |
| Arvia | 12 September 2027, 14 nights | Day 11 | 08:00 to 17:00 |
The other stops on these cruises
Every one of these is on at least one of the sailings that calls at Alicante.
- BarcelonaThe Gothic Quarter is built on the Roman town of Barcino, and the Sagrada Familia has been under construction since 1882: Gaudi knew he wouldn't see it finished and said his client was in no hurry.
- Cadiz (tours to Seville)Probably the oldest continuously lived-in city in western Europe: the Phoenicians founded Gadir here around 1100 BC.
- Civitavecchia (for Rome)Rome's port since Trajan built it in 106, and his harbour walls are still under the modern quays.
- IbizaFounded by Carthage in 654 BC, and a World Heritage site for the Renaissance walls of Dalt Vila and the Phoenician village at Sa Caleta rather than for anything that happened after 1987.
- La CorunaThe Spanish Armada sailed from this harbour in 1588, and it's still guarded by the Tower of Hercules, a Roman lighthouse from about the year 100 which has never stopped working: the oldest one on earth still doing its job.
- La Seyne-sur-Mer (for Toulon)A shipbuilding town across the water from Toulon, France's main Mediterranean naval base.
- La Spezia (tours to Florence /Pisa)A naval city at the head of a gulf, and the reason ships call is what sits either side of it: the Cinque Terre villages up the coast, Pisa and Florence inland.
- MalagaPicasso was born here in 1881, in a flat on the Plaza de la Merced, and there's a museum of his work a few streets away.
- MarseillesThe oldest city in France, founded by Greek sailors from Phocaea around 600 BC as Massalia, and it has faced the sea rather than Paris ever since.
- VigoEurope's biggest fishing port by weight landed, and it smells honestly of it near the market.
Free, and it works with no internet. Give it the dates you sail and it works out your own stops. One button in Stops then saves the street map for each one. It shows you round the ship too.
All the ports written up so far, the things to do before you sail, or the ship pages for Iona and Arvia.