Cruises From Genoa

Genoa is a working turnaround port. Stazioni Marittime runs two cruise terminals here, Ponte dei Mille and Ponte Andrea Doria, and the port authority says Ponte dei Mille alone handles up to 10,000 passengers a day.

For a US cruiser, this mostly means MSC. On the listings we checked, MSC sells week-long Genoa round trips in both winter and summer, several a week. Costa sails from here too, but it’s an Italian line most Americans don’t book.

This page is for starting or ending a cruise here. If your ship is only calling for the day, our Genoa port-day guide covers the walk into town and our shore excursion picks cover the tours.

From Genoa, MSC’s week-long loops run west to Marseille and Barcelona, south to Rome’s port and Naples, and out to Sicily, Malta or the Balearics. Each ship keeps its own loop, so the ports below are spread across several itineraries. One week won’t call at all of them.

Entry: the US State Department wants your passport valid for at least three months beyond your departure from the Schengen area, six recommended, with two blank pages, and rates Italy Level 2, exercise increased caution, as of September 10, 2026. The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) has been fully running since April 10, 2026. It replaces passport stamps for non-EU visitors with a photo and fingerprints at the first Schengen border. ETIAS isn’t needed yet — Poland’s government said on September 30, 2026, that it’s scheduled to launch in 2027. How EES applies at the ship is up to the border police and your line, so follow MSC’s or Costa’s pre-cruise instructions.

For the wider picture, see our Mediterranean cruise guide.

Stazioni Marittime runs both cruise terminals, side by side in the old port below Piazza Principe. Ponte dei Mille is the bigger: over 16,000 m² on three levels, two large ships and up to 10,000 passengers a day, per the port authority. Ponte Andrea Doria takes two more ships and up to 8,000 a day.

MSC says its ships use “Ponte dei Mille/Ponte Andrea Doria”, so either is possible. By car, follow signs for the passenger terminals, then MSC’s ship signs to the luggage drop-off, per MSC. On foot, MSC puts Piazza Principe station about 500 m from the terminal and prints the route.

Costa used the Andrea Doria berth when it came back to Genoa in 2019, per the port authority, and said then it wanted its own terminal. We found no source saying that terminal exists, so expect Stazioni Marittime’s buildings. Check your documents for the pier.

MSC’s rule for the morning is simple — it’s the clock that bites. Be there at your check-in slot and no later than three hours before sailing. Check-in and boarding close two hours before departure. Drop your bags first, then check in.

Genoa has real cruise parking, which most European ports don’t. MSC runs valet parking at the Garage Ponte dei Mille: drop your bags, hand over the car. For a car or SUV, MSC prints €70 for four days, €100 for seven, €110 for eight and €160 for thirteen; vans pay more.

Book online up to 48 hours before you sail, per MSC. After that, book with MSC Parking directly and show your cruise documents for the same rate. Garage Ponte dei Mille: +39 010 24 62 613, info@garagepontedeimille.it.

We found no cruise parking published for Costa guests. Most Americans fly in anyway, so if you’re driving, book the garage before you go.

Genoa’s own airport is close — about 5 km from the terminals, per the port authority, and about 15 minutes by car in good traffic, per MSC. The catch is the flights: we found no nonstop from the US to Genoa, so you’ll connect in Europe or fly into Milan Malpensa and come down by road or rail.

The night before, ranked: we’ve scored twelve hotels for the night before a Genoa cruise, from Piazza Principe to the airport, on what each one publishes. None runs a ride to the ship. Five worth knowing: