Please sign in to post.

Baltic Cruise Recommendation

Planning to travel to the Baltic region by a cruise. Need help on what line to chose. I have never been on a cruise, so I don't know where to start. Options are, Norwegian Holland America
Princess We would like to leave from Copenhagen. Thinking of doing about 10 days. Any recommendations? Also, I know rick steve has a new book on Northern European Cruise Port. When will that be released?

Posted by
2 posts

Another question. One line takes you to Oslo and aarhus Denmark (Princess) and the other to Cruise Stockholm Archipelago, and Kiel (Holland America) Any preference?

Posted by
1912 posts

Try cruisecritic.com
That site is for cruisers and they have a lot of information comparing and rating cruise lines and ports.

Posted by
12172 posts

Definitely a good idea to check out cruisecritic.com. The website has thousands of reviews of every port, line, and ship sailing. Most of the people there tend to take cruise sponsored excursions (which I avoid like the plague), but it still gives you a good idea of the options at different ports so you can decide what interests you. Some things to consider regarding the ship are when was it built/last remodeled and does it offer self-service laundry? - as well as the star rating (I normally choose a 4 or 4.5 rated ship). The Kiel canal isn't worth the time, I wouldn't recommend it. Kiel is nice though, a big submarine port for the German navy, it gives a flavor of Northern European architecture and pace of life. Copenhagen is my favorite Baltic capital. IMO there is more to do there than any other Scandinavian city. The archipelago and Stockholm are also well worth seeing. Tallinn has one of the best medieval centers in Europe. St. Petersburg has a ton to see, choose a local guide rather than getting a visa and choose a cruise that spends two nights there, you will need all of that time to see the major sights (we toured with Alla).

Posted by
12172 posts

I think any of the lines you mentioned would be fine - again check out what people at cruise critic say. I think Princess and Norwegian are interchangeable -though at one point I thought Norwegian was going out of business. Holland America tends to cater to an older crowd (which may be your preference). Generally the longer the cruise, the older the clientele. Since Baltic cruises are on the longer end, the crowd you sail with will be more sedate than a typical Spring Break cruise out of Florida on Carnival. Use vacationstogo.com to search for cruises (rather than the line's sites). It has the best search engine I've found and will let you compare itineraries/ships/prices. I've purchased several cruises through them and never had a problem so I'll likely stick with them - prices are the same as every other online cruise travel agent (all better than the lines offer). Watch the price and buy when it's a good deal but buy before it sells out - the good Baltic itineraries normally sell out at least a couple months in advance.

Posted by
6431 posts

We've had many good cruises on Norwegian (though not to the Baltic). They cost less than Princessw, and much less than Holland America, for comparable accommodations. They also don't assign you to a dinner table or specific dinner time.