Top 10 Cruise Ports for a Special Easter Experience

It is also a period of national holidays across the Christian world and school holidays, so it is no surprise that it is the start of the main cruise season across much of Europe.
If you are looking for a Easter holidays cruise but want to add in some culture and understanding of how others celebrate the period, these are what we believe are the top 10 cruises ports for a special easter experience.
Our Top 10 Cruise Ports for a Special Easter Experience
Lisbon
Lisbon is a great place to visit all year around and after a recent huge investment in its infrastructure, it is also a great place to start or end your journey.
With so many churches in the city and the incredible Santa Maria de Belem Church, it is ideal for those wanting a religious celebration of Easter but for those wanting to enjoy the more glutinous side of it, indulgent Easter sweets such as folar (sweet bread) and amêndoas (sugared almonds) are a must.
Barcelona
Barcelona is the leading cruise port in the Med, which makes it the perfect place to start your adventure in the region but if you are doing that during the Easter period, make sure you add on a few days stay in the Catalan capital.
The city’s, Semana Santa or Holy Week, is one of the most important weeks in this Catholic country, with the city’s street parades always an incredible sight.
Bermuda
Easter may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about a cruise to Bermuda, but it will do after you experience there annual Good Friday Kitefest.
Locals create colours kites, mostly out of bamboo, wood and tissue paper and whilst some are more function over form, some go all out to impress.
Athens, Greece
The Greek capital of Athens gives visitors the chance to experience an Orthodox Easter celebration, including midnight liturgies and feasts honouring Greek Orthodox traditions which all start on Good Friday when a replica of Christs tomb is carried through the city.
Cartagena, Colombia
Domingo de Resurrección (Easter Sunday) is an incredible occasion as the whole city head to the streets to watch the Semana Santa processions which also include streets festivities highlighting Colombian music, dance and culture.
One of the highlights for those travelling as a family are the numerous sweet stalls that pop up all over the city that feature locally made sweets in flavours such as mango, coconut and pineapple.
Buenos Aires
Easter in Argentina is a huge occasion, but it is still set around historic traditions.
That means periods of mourning and reflection but on Easter Sunday, it is a great time to be in a major city such as Buenso Aires as huge treasure hunts happen around the city as people get together for barbecues and to eat a special Easter cake known as Rosca de Pascua.
Izmir
The country of Türkiye is probably not the first one that comes to mind for those wanting to celebrate Easter on a cruise holiday, but the port city of Izmir gives easy access to the ancient Ephesus.
According to legend, the Virgin Mary lived out her remaining days on earth there and visitors can visit her house, which whilst a hugely important pilgrimage site all year around, it becomes that bit more special at Easter, with special services happening throughout the Holy week.
Edinburgh
The Scottish capital city is known for many things but one thing you will fail to notice when visiting is the hills that surround it.
These are put to good use at Easter when families use them for rolling brightly coloured hard-boiled eggs down them including the famous Arthur’s Seat.
Although now a fun activity for adults and kids alike, it is also a symbolic representation of the rolling away of stone blocking Jesus’ tomb before his resurrection.
Stockholm
Easter in Sweden is a mix of traditional Easter services, modern Easter egg fun and Halloween and kids dress up on Easter Saturday as good witches to give out letters in return for eggs and sweets.
After services on Easter Sunday, it is all about food and in true Nordic style, that mostly means fish but also Ham and Cheese.
The day also tends to include an egg roll from roof tops to see whose egg can survive the longest without breaking.
Tarragona
In truth, it would be possible to make a list like this one but only feature Semana Santa celebrations but the one in Tarragona deserves its place on this list not because it is the biggest or most spectacular, but because it has a unique twist on it.
The city uses the occasion to celebrate its strong Roman links, which of course ties in nicely with the story of Christs sacrifice.
On Good Friday, the sound of drums marks the arrival of 100’s of locals dressed as Roman soldiers who go from church to church carrying torches and slowly adding more and more parishioners to their ranks as they go.