Costa Smeralda: Cruise from Savona to Gran Canaria via Barcelona & Málaga for €349 (8 Days)

8-day cruise from Savona, Italy to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on the Costa Smeralda, from just €349 per person in an inside cabin – down from a catalogue price of €499. Sailing 12–19 November 2026, this one-way route calls at Marseille, Barcelona, Málaga and Cádiz before crossing to the Canary Islands: four countries, six ports and two sea days, ending where the winter sun starts.

Cruise at a glance

• Ship: Costa Smeralda (Costa Cruises / Costa Kreuzfahrten)
• Route: Savona → Marseille → Barcelona → Málaga → Cádiz → Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
• Duration: 8 days / 7 nights
• Travel dates: 12–19 November 2026
• Price: from €349 p.p. inside, €499 ocean view, €649 balcony, €1,639 suite
• Catalogue price: €499 – so the lead-in fare is about 30% below list
• With flights: from €579 p.p. with the cruise line’s flight package
• Countries visited: Italy, France, Spain (mainland and the Canaries)

About the Costa Smeralda

The Costa Smeralda is Costa’s flagship and one of the largest cruise ships in Europe, carrying more than 6,500 guests at full capacity. She is also one of the few LNG-powered ships afloat – liquefied natural gas cuts sulphur and particulate emissions to near zero compared with conventional marine fuel, which matters if the environmental side of cruising bothers you.

On board there are eleven restaurants and nineteen bars, a spa across two decks, a water park, and a museum of Italian design built into the ship’s atrium. Full board in the main restaurants and buffet is included in the fare.

Worth knowing: on a ship this size you should book speciality restaurants and shore excursions early. Seven nights with 6,000 other passengers means the good slots go quickly.

Day-by-day itinerary

This is a one-way repositioning route, not a round trip. The ship is moving from its Mediterranean season to its Canary Islands winter season, which is exactly why the fare is this low – you are effectively paying for the ship to take you somewhere it was going anyway.

What you will see at each stop

Savona, Italy – embarkation

The ship leaves at 17:30, so you have most of the day in Liguria. Savona’s old town has the cathedral, the Priamar fortress and a compact centre you can walk in a couple of hours. It is also 50 minutes by train from Genoa and under two hours from Nice, so flying into either is usually cheaper than aiming for Savona itself.

Marseille, France – 9 hours ashore

France’s oldest and largest Mediterranean port. The Vieux-Port is the obvious anchor, with Notre-Dame de la Garde above the city for the view and Le Panier’s lanes behind it. A 09:00–18:00 call is generous enough to add the MuCEM or a boat out to the Calanques.

Barcelona, Spain – 9 hours ashore

Nine hours is enough for one major Gaudí site plus the Gothic Quarter, but not for the Sagrada Família and Park Güell and Las Ramblas at any civilised pace. Book Sagrada Família tickets in advance for a fixed morning slot – turning up on the day in a cruise window is how people end up seeing it from the outside only.

Málaga, Spain – 10 hours ashore

The longest call of the cruise and an easy port: the terminal is a walk from the centre. The Alcazaba fortress, the cathedral and Picasso’s birthplace are all close together, and Málaga in November still averages around 20°C.

Cádiz, Spain – 8 hours ashore

Reputedly the oldest continuously inhabited city in Western Europe, founded by the Phoenicians around 1100 BC. It sits on a narrow spit of land, so the old town is small, walkable and ringed by sea on three sides. Cádiz is also the usual jumping-off point for Seville, about 1 hour 40 minutes away – doable in an 08:00–16:00 window, but tight.

Las Palmas, Gran Canaria – disembarkation

You arrive at 09:30 and the cruise ends. Las Palmas has two city beaches, a genuinely historic old town around the Santa Ana cathedral, and Canary Islands weather in November – typically 24°C and dry. Flights back to most of Europe from Gran Canaria are plentiful and cheap, so this is a natural place to add a week rather than fly straight home.

Cabin options and pricing

At €349 for seven nights, the inside cabin is about €50 per night including all main meals and transport between four countries. That is less than a hostel bed in Barcelona. The balcony at €649 is the one worth thinking about here rather than on a short Mediterranean hop – you have two full sea days and an Atlantic crossing where a balcony genuinely gets used.

What is included – and what costs extra

Included: your cabin, full board in the main restaurants and buffet, on-board entertainment, pools and most public areas, and port charges.

Not included: drinks packages, speciality dining, shore excursions, spa, Wi-Fi and gratuities where charged separately. Flights are extra unless you take the flight package from €579 p.p.

On this itinerary a drinks package makes more sense than on a short cruise: two sea days and seven nights on board mean you are actually using the bars, unlike a four-night sailing where you are ashore most of the daylight hours.

Why this cruise is worth a look

• Four countries, seven nights. Italy, France, mainland Spain and the Canaries with one bag and no hotel changes.
• Long port calls. Nine to ten hours in Marseille, Barcelona and Málaga – not the three-hour token stops some itineraries offer.
• Roughly 30% under catalogue price. €349 against a €499 list price, because it is a repositioning sailing.
• It ends in the Canaries in November. You step off into about 24°C when northern Europe is grey – the single best argument for this route over a Mediterranean round trip.
• An LNG-powered ship, which is about as clean as large-ship cruising currently gets.

The honest caveat: a one-way route means a one-way flight home from Gran Canaria, so price that in before comparing this with a round trip – it can add €100–200 depending on where you live. And the Costa Smeralda is a very big ship; if you want quiet and intimate, this is not it.

Frequently asked questions

How much does this cruise cost?

From €349 per person for an inside cabin, €499 for an ocean view, €649 for a balcony and €1,639 for a suite, based on two people sharing. A package including flights starts at €579 per person.

How long is the cruise?

8 days and 7 nights, departing Savona on 12 November 2026 and arriving in Las Palmas on 19 November 2026.

Which ports does the cruise visit?

Savona in Italy, Marseille in France, then Barcelona, Málaga and Cádiz in Spain, followed by two sea days and arrival in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Which ship operates this cruise?

The Costa Smeralda, the LNG-powered flagship of Costa Cruises.

Is this a round trip?

No. It is a one-way repositioning cruise from Italy to the Canary Islands, so you will need a flight home from Gran Canaria.

What is included in the price?

Cabin, full board (breakfast, lunch and dinner), on-board entertainment, pools and public areas, and port charges. Drinks packages, excursions, Wi-Fi and speciality restaurants cost extra.

How many sea days are there?

Two – day 4 between Barcelona and Málaga, and day 7 on the crossing from Cádiz to Gran Canaria.

What is the weather like in November?

Mild in the Mediterranean and warm at the end. Expect around 16–18°C in Marseille and Barcelona, about 20°C in Málaga and Cádiz, and roughly 24°C in Gran Canaria.

Can I stay on in Gran Canaria afterwards?

Yes, and it is the obvious move. November is high season for winter sun in the Canaries, flights back to Europe are frequent and cheap, and staying on costs far less than a separate trip later.

Where to book?

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Cancelled or delayed flight?

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Tours and excursions:

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