Not all the cool things to see are close to the ports, particularly Rome, Florence and Athens. The Amalie coast is also way cool and a bit of a drive from Naples. I enjoyed some of the smaller ports best like portofino, Gibraltar and especially Monte Carlo. In addition to those ports Barcelona was a very cool city, Venice is a magical place and Istanbul was great. I could spend a couple days wandering through the grand bazaar. I've done that cruise a couple times and would do it again in a heart beat.