With 2 nights in Dubrovnik, you have one full day, and it looks like you plan on visiting Korcula as a daytrip from Dubrovnik. This plan really doesn’t make any sense. If you really want to see Korcula, why not spend 2 nights in Korcula instead?
Seven nights is not a lot of time for Croatia. We spent 2 weeks in Croatia and didn’t see everything. Seems like Italy and Slovenia are your priorities. Nothing wrong with that. So perhaps visit Northern Croatia on this trip, and save southern Croatia and the Dalmatian coast for a separate trip when you can give it more time.
I will add, however, that IMO both Dubrovnik and Split are absolutely worth visiting. Don’t be put off by the crowds. Try to visit when there aren’t any cruise ships in port or only a few cruise ships are scheduled to be in port. We visited in September 2019 (so pre-Covid crowds), and the crowds really weren’t that bad. They certainly didn’t ruin our trip for us.
Dubrovnik is beautiful with its location on the Adriatic, and walking the walls is a wonderful experience. You can take the cable car to the top of Mt.Srd and have drinks and/or dinner with gorgeous views. Visit War Photo Limited for a history lesson on the Balkans War. If you do visit Dubrovnik, I recommend 3 nights and you could include a daytrip to the Bay of Kotor if interested.
Split has beautiful architecture, and I love that it’s built around the ruins of Diocletian’s Palace. Have drinks on the Riva overlooking the Adriatic. Take a private guided tour of Old Town and Diocletian’s Palace with Maya Benzon. From Split, you can visit Hvar for a day and visit Trogir for a day.
You don’t have time for all of this unless you drop some other places. That’s up to you. I just want you to know that both cities are worth visiting. And we didn’t find them prohibitively expensive, either. More expensive than Zagreb, for example, but much less expensive than other European countries.
