David Swanson

July 11, 2025

Hungry on an overnight port call? Turn to Virtuoso travel advisors for restaurant recs.

Market Picks in Istanbul

Galataport may sit on the European side of this continent-straddling city, but the flavors of Anatolia and the Middle East are close at hand. A feast lies within walking distance of the port, says Virtuoso travel advisor Joy Simeonova, who suggests Karakoy Lokantasi, a beloved Istanbul spot for traditional Turkish dishes, as a must-try. Another pick: chef Maksut Askar’s Michelin-starred, sustainability-focused Neolokal, situated inside the modern-art-centric Salt Galata. At the rooftop Hamdi Restaurant, next door to the Spice Market, street-food classics such as kebabs go gourmet. Finish the feast with a hands-on baklava workshop at Karakoy Gulluoglu, which has crafted the flaky pastries since 1843.

Viking maintains a presence in the Mediterranean through fall, with six of its 930- and 998-passenger ships regularly sailing a 14-night passage from Venice to Istanbul (and the reverse), overnighting in the latter. The itinerary also includes Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia, Greece’s Olympia and Rhodes, and Ephesus in Turkey. Departures: Multiple dates, July 24 through October 20.

Fresh Finds in Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena’s walled sixteenth-century Old Town offers ample diversions for cruisers well into the evening. “Cartagena is a paradise for food lovers,” says travel advisor Michele Benigno, whose recommendations in the city’s historic center include Candé for classics and Restaurante Carmen Cartagena for contemporary Colombian. Book ahead for romantic Celele, which serves Caribbean cuisine with flair: a flower salad spiked with pickled cashew fruit, or Caribbean crab served with mashed sweet pepper and egg-white pearls. In the Getsemani neighborhood, Lunático Experience is a restaurant and studio teaching students to make dishes such as sea bass ceviche, seafood stew with coconut rice, and carimañola, South America’s stuffed yuca fritter.

On 11- and 12-night sailings from Miami, Virgin Voyages’ new 2,770-passenger Brilliant Lady overnights in Cartagena on multicultural jaunts through the southern Caribbean, with calls on Aruba, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Departures: Multiple dates, November 8, 2025, through March 1, 2026.

Locally Sourced in Sydney

Virtuoso travel advisor Rick Szeto says he can’t visit Sydney without finding time for afternoon tea: “High Tea on Level 36 at the Shangri-La Sydney is a great choice for views of the harbor.” Szeto also suggests Pony Dining in The Rocks, Sydney’s oldest neighborhood, for generous portions of grilled rock lobster, kangaroo skewers in pepper sauce, and lamb with wood-fired ratatouille. As San Diego is to taco stands, Sydney is to Asian restaurants, and Szeto recommends Gumshara for tonkotsu ramen just off Darling Harbour. “It’s the best tonkotsu I’ve had – even better than most places I’ve tried in Japan.” Gumshara doesn’t take reservations, and Szeto advises allowing time to walk off the hearty meal. One possible destination: the Sydney Fish Market, opening later this year at the head of nearby Blackwattle Bay.

Azamara crosses the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand on two itineraries that overnight in Sydney. The 702-passenger Azamara Pursuit sails 16 nights from Melbourne to Auckland, while the same-size Azamara Onward travels 15 nights westbound, from Auckland to Sydney. Both itineraries also canvass New Zealand, with calls on Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Napier, and Tauranga. Departures: January 4 and February 16, 2026.