Cadiz Cruise Holidays

Cadiz, Spain

The historic Spanish port and city of Cadiz offers a great day ashore for those who love history and for those wanting an authentic Spanish experience away from the tourist traps of the Spanish Costas and it is also the port of call for those wanting to visit the nearby city of Seville.

In fact, a number of cruise lines actually name the port of Cadiz as Seville (or Sevilla) which can add some confusion to visiting the port as if you are thinking that you are arriving in one of Spain’s most iconic cities, you may be surprised to arrive in the smaller Cadiz.

In our opinion that would be a nice surprise as Cadiz is a great destination in its own right and with so many of your fellow cruisers heading on excursion to Seville, the tourist attractions on offer can be relatively quiet even if you are on one of the bigger ships to visit the historic naval port on the Andalusian coast.

It will come as no surprise that thanks to its large natural harbour, its connections to Seville and its location close to the entry in the Mediterranean coupled with been a great port of call in its own right and you have a cruise port with lots of choices when it comes to lines and ships that call in there including many on No Fly cruises from the UK.

Our Visit

We were lucky enough to visit the port of Cadiz in October 2023 onboard the Norwegian Prima cruise ship as part of a repositioning journey from Southampton to Barcelona.

Sadly, we wouldn’t get to much time to explore the city itself as we were booked on an excursion to the nearby city of Sevilla- which is somewhere both me and my wife had wanted to visit for some time.

It’s a shame that we had to miss out on the city of Cadiz as from the research we did, its looks an interesting place to spend walking around its streets but we did get to see some of it both from onboard our cruise ship, thanks to the city centre cruise dock and also when we drove through the city to head up to Sevilla.

Cruises To Cadiz

Cadiz Cruise Guide

This guide is based on our own experience of visiting the port as well as the research we did before visiting there.

If you are in the fortunate position to have already booked a cruise of the Western Mediterranean that features a stop in Cadiz and are wanting to make the most of your time onshore our guide will give you all of the information to do just that.

Similarly, if you are still in the research stage of planning your next cruise and you are trying to decide whether a stop in Cadiz is a good option for you, our guide gives you all of the information that you need to make that decision.

Type of Cruises Available

The Western Mediterranean is one of the world most popular areas for cruises but the competition is stiff when it comes to port of calls.

That does mean that there are lots of options for ships and lines that are cruising the area but most will only call into the port of Cadiz intermittently, if at all.

Thankfully, that still equates to lots of choice for those wanting to visit and best of all, many of the ships calling into the port are on itineraries starting from the United Kingdom.

A number of cruises to the Med or of the Iberian Peninsula call into Cadiz on loop itineraries from the UK which means you can easily visit the port even if you don’t like to fly.

There are also a number of repositioning cruises from the UK that are heading into the Med that call into the port and allow you to spend some time on land after your cruise in a port such as Barcelona or Rome.

The final option is a cruise that calls into the port as part of a cruise around the Med with Barcelona, Civitavecchia, and Palma amongst the options.

Cadiz Cruise Port Location

One of the great aspects of Cadiz as a cruise port of call is the fact that you dock right in the city centre and can simply troll off of your ship and head into the historic town centre.

The port is capable of hosting a number of ships so where you will exactly moor up does change from one cruise to the next, the main terminal is at the Alfonso XIII pier.

Cadiz Attractions

As one of the most historic coastal cities on the south coat of Spain, Cadiz offers all that you would expect from a traditional Andalusian city including a Bullring, Moorish architecture, beautiful gardens, a stunning place, numerous fortresses and a stand out gothic Cathedral.

All of these can be easily reached on foot as you stroll around the streets of the city centre or on one of the open top tour buses that take you around all of the key sites of interest in the city.

The old town of Cadiz is one of the most densely populated urban areas in Europe and simply strolling around its cramped and narrow streets is an experience in its own right as you walk from ne plaza to the next and from one historic building or site to the next.

The Plaza de San Juan de Dios is a must visit and allows access to the Old Town Hall.

Amongst the other sites of interest that are well worth visiting is the cities Roman Theatre, the Las Puertas de Tierra, the Arco de la Rosa, and the Castillo de Santa Catalina.

The central market is a great place to grab a bite to eat or pick up some relatively cheap mementos of your visit whilst the stunning Park Genoves offers a relaxing haven amongst the hustle of the busy city centre.

Cadiz Shorex

As mentioned above, the main shore excursion offered by cruise lines is a trip to the nearby city of Seville (Sevilla) which is one of the key tourist cities in Spain.

Other options include trips to the nearby city state of Gibraltar where you can experience ‘Britain in the Sun’ or a trip to the nearby historic city of Jerez.

Best Time To Visit

The relatively warm weather of the southern Spanish coast makes Cadiz a great place to visit all year around but its location near to the Atlantic Ocean does mean that you can get some wet and story weather outside of the warm and dry summer months.

We would therefore recommend visiting in the main cruise season of April to October but with the heat often prohibitive for a day of walking around in July and August, it is perhaps best to visit in May/June or September to get the best conditions and to avoid the main seaosn crowds of the summer holidays.

Transport

The city does have a high speed rail link to Seville for those wanting to visit on their own and not through an organised trip but travel around the city itself is mostly aimed at locals and especially commuters but it is straightforward to walk around the city which is also just a short walk from where you dock.

There are open top tour buses operating throughout the main cruising seaosn for those not wanting/able to walk long distances.

Cadiz Cruises From The UK
If you are wanting to visit Cadiz on a direct cruise from the UK, the great news is that it is relatively straightforward to do just that as there is a good range of cruise ships and lines offering the chance to do just that.

Cadiz Cruise From Southampton

There are lots of options when it comes to a cruise to Cadiz from the UK but for the widest array of options when it comes to itineraries, ships, and lines, we recommended sailing from the port of Southampton.