Just booked a 10 day cruise visiting Rome,Sardinia,Sicily,Carthage,Corfu,Montenegro,Croatia,and Salerno. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I prefer countryside. The response on last years Rhine Christmas cruise was really helpful. Thanks

Following this thread with interest as I want to do this trip next year.

Which cruise line did you book with? One of my specialties as a travel advisor is European River Cruises.
Are you wanting shore excursion recommendations ? Message me as my contact info is in my bio

Princess is our preferred cruise line. Did the rhine river Christmas cruise last December and was disappointed along with a lot of other people. Not all Vikings fault. High water on the river caused the bridge damage to the boat we were booked on so we got an older one which was still a nice one. Missed Basil Switzerland .Got to the nicest part of the cruise and the river was closed due to a grounded cargo ship. Transferred us to another boat on the other side of the accident.Lost almost 2 days putting us in Cologne very late.

Just got off a 12 day Silversea cruise starting in Athens and ending in Venice. Santorini, Heraklion, Kotor, Corfu, Bari, five stops in Coratia and one day in Trieste. Almost each stop included an excursion countryside bus ride to a fort, castle, forest or waterfall with the rest of the time spend wondering town. Got a private guide in Dubrovnik and Trieste for the afternoons. We were able to get a very good feel for each city. Lots of amazing history also.