"Curacoa" was under repair through July and was placed in reserve after the repairs were completed. She remained in reserve through November 1920, but later served as the flagship of the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet through 1928. The ship was detached to the Mediterranean Fleet in September 1922 during the Chanak Crisis and arrived in Smyrna (now Izmir), Turkey, on 23 September. While there her crew assisted with the evacuation of refugees from the city after much of the city was destroyed by fire. "Curacoa" remained in the Mediterranean until at least February 1923. During the mid-1920s, her original rangefinders was exchanged for models.