Help deciding - NCL Getaway or RCCL Brialliance

Could use some advice from experienced Baltic cruisers. Considering these 2 itineraries for late June / early July 2019. NCL is 9 days and Brilliance is 12 but seems to have more days at sea. Done a lot of cruising but never been to Baltic’s. Any suggestions of one or the other?

Thanks in advance!!

Posting the ports might help

We went on the Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas this past August and had no complaints. Itinerary was great and we enjoy the days at sea regardless. Was one of the reasons we took the 12 day. We hit 2 days in St. Petersburg, Helsinki, and Stockholm on 4 consecutive days so the day at sea before Copenhagen was nice to catch up on some rest. We're not as young as we used to be so the recharge days at sea are welcomed. The Baltic trip is AWESOME overall regardless of which you take. Good luck wth your choice and enjoy:)

NCL-

Copenhagen

Sea

St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg

Tallinn

Helsinki

Stockholm

Stockholm

Sea

Copenhagen

RCCL-

Amsterdam

Sea

Skagen

Sea

Tallinn

St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg

Helsinki

Stockholm

Sea

Copenhagen

Sea

Amsterdam

NCL-

Copenhagen

Sea

St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg

Tallinn

Helsinki

Stockholm

Stockholm

Sea

Copenhagen

 

RCCL-

Amsterdam

Sea

Skagen

Sea

Tallinn

St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg

Helsinki

Stockholm

Sea

Copenhagen

Sea

Amsterdam

Most importantly, I don't think either cruise would be a mistake. Both offer great itineraries. So I'd probably base my decision on other factors such as cost (if an issue), desire to stay before/after the cruise in a certain location, etc. I've been on both ships and like them both a lot. The NCL ship is larger and has more people on it, which could add a level of "delays" in some situations. Also, it appears that they both truly dock in Stockholm and not the Stockholm-adjacent port of Nynashamn. But, If you get any hint of the actual port being Nynashamn, then I would count that as a negative. Sometimes, they market the location as Stockholm, but the ship actually docks in Nynashamn. And its quite a distance into Stockholm and not logistically simple to get there and back.

All things considered, I'd take the longer cruise. It's a port-intensive itinerary with lots of long days of sightseeing. Sea days are wonderful on such a cruise.

Just to add my 2 cents.

Both itineraries look good, but for me, I love Amsterdam. Copenhagen is great too, but I think spending a few days pre or post cruise in Amsterdam would be wonderful.

Also, we can fly direct to Amsterdam, whereas, we have to have connecting flights to get to Copenhagen. Not a deal breaker, but direct flights are a lot easier.

I was on the July 4 sailing this year of the NCL Breakaway, which is the sister ship to the Getaway. I have to say since it was a port intensive cruise I was glad to not be on board for long most days. The amount of people on the Breakaway made it overwhelming at times to navigate the ship since most people didn't spend a lot of time out on the pool decks due to cooler weather. The main shows had to be booked in advanced otherwise you had very little chance to see them while on board (Rock of Ages and Burn the Floor). They did do a standby line before each show but your best bet is to book online in advance if you choose to. Also, I felt the ship was really loud in public areas which made it difficult to enjoy certain things and at times could be lacking entertainment (I'm 35 yr old btw and don't mind loud music and such) but that's all my opinion and you may enjoy something different.

Also, be aware that due to the size of the Breakaway (and I'm assuming Getaway as well) you may not sail the Stockholm archipelago. We originally were scheduled to for our cruise but months before the itinerary began NCL changed it to dock in Nynashamn which is about an hour away by bus/train. Cruisers were notified in advance of the change but still made for some unhappy people if you were expecting to see the archipelago. My understanding is it is very narrow going through the islands and any wind, sea waves, weather, etc can affect if you go to Old Town or Nynashamn. While on our cruise we saw that Brilliance, which was on a similar itinerary, was docked close to Old Town Stockholm. This change made it necessary to book shuttles (which I think were about $50 to/from Stockholm unless you were on an excursion) or navigate the transit system in the busy tourist season.

Overall though, the itinerary is wonderful! We loved our time in each place and felt Tallinn and St. Petersburg were the top stops on the trip. Just be aware it is really crowded this time of year since it is the tourist season so pack your patience and plan ahead with any tours you may be planning. We found Copenhagen, Stockholm and St. Petersburg to be the busiest of all the ports.

Thank you all for the insightful and super helpful comments!! I have the koningsdam currently booked for Greece during that timeframe and started thing that the time of year might be better suited to the Baltic’s. Though I read that this year, the weather was hot in the Baltic’s too. Glad to hear that all are good options though I must say my husband is not a fan of a crowded ship!

First the it itineraries. When we cruised, we also did a 12 day with, I believe 3 sea days disbursed between the port days and we welcomed them. As said, it is a very port intensive cruise and there is no coming back to t he ship for lunch and whatever. You are off from when the ship arrives until you HAVE to get back on. From being on this site for many years, I can vouch that several have done some night time excursions also and dozed off during. Myself, I would welcome those seas days just to unwind, remember where you are and what you have done.

As for the ships, I have not sailed on the Getaway, but did sail the Breakaway this past January. Both myself and my DW did not like the ship at all. It is big and crowded. Many say on these larger ships that you don't feel crowded, on the Breakaway we did. The smaller venues on the ship that they have entertainment, are always packed with no where to sit. Very little space for some quiet times and hardly any shade if that's what you might prefer. We hated their production shows and service was just not good.

I would opt for RCCL.

Cheers

Len