Which cruise line to take for a Scandinavian/Baltic cruise?

[Live the good life]

We are contemplating taking a 12-14 day Scandinavian/Baltic cruise. Looking at Oceania Regatta, Celebrity Constellation (especially Stockholm to Dover or vice versa),Crystal Symphony, Royal/Grand Princess, Royal Carribean, etc...We like the 5 star given to Crystal but like the itinerary that includes Germany and Poland of Oceania Regatta and Constellation. Please share your experience of the Scandinavian/Baltic cruises. Thanks.

[Bruin Steve]

We did the Baltic on Princess a couple of years back...and although I love the ports, I would not take Princess again...too much to go into now...

We did the Med on Celebrity Millennium this past August and absolutely loved it...

So, when we decided to send my parents on a Baltic cruise this June, we first looked at Celebrity--and really didn't have to look much further...We booked them on the June 19 Dover to Stockholm--the itinerary is just about perfect...More ports than Princess gave us and for longer hours in each port...plus, they're doing an extra night in both London and Stockholm...I'm jealous...I wish we were going again...and with Celebrity this time...

The Constellation is a beautiful ship...service and food on Celebrity are absolutely superior...

In fact, my wife was telling me this morning that she'd like to cruise on the Constellation in 2005...

Summit, July 3, 2004: Alaska: 13 night cruisetour

[babylene]

So far, we have cruised only on Celebrity, but now we are looking at the Royal Carib Jewel for Northern Europe. Do you think we will be disappointed?

[Judith02]

We did a 14-day Baltic cruise on Crystal in 2001 and it was fantastic. It remains as our favorite cruise of all time. The Symphony came out of dry dock yesterday and should be better than ever. We were on her in February and will be again in June. They do have Baltic cruises that include Warnumunge, Germany. They have a chartered train to Berlin for the day and also have an air trip to Prague. Their St. Petersburg port stop has an air excursion to Moscow for one day. One or more of their cruises goes to Gdansk for the Tall Ships. Go to their website and check it out.

[sandthrush]

We did the Baltic on Princess in 2001 on the Crown Princess. It was wonderful and we hope to return to the Baltic next year. I believe both Crystal and Oceania each have at least one sailing where they are in St. Petersburg for 3 days, instead of the usual two days that everyone seems to do. Crystal is a little out of our league, so we are waiting to see if Oceania will have an itinerary with 3 days in St. Petersburg.
By the end of this year, we will have been on 3 Celebrity cruises, and while Celebrity seems to be our favorite cruise line, we will try other lines if they have the itinerary we desire. We haven't actually been on Oceania, but have been on one of the ships back when it was owned by Renaissance, so we feel that we have a good feel for what Oceania offers.

[joan24]

Sandthrush,
We are going on the Oceania Regatta on June 15 from Stockholm to Dover. The itinerary is great and it does have three full days in St. Petersburg. It's a very similar itinerary to one that we took in 2000 on the R5. The exception is the Regatta goes to Rostock, Germany and Gdansk, Poland while our last Ren. cruise went to Oslo. Have a wonderful cruise whichever line you choose.
Joan [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[Andee]

We went on the Orient Lines Marco Polo "Grand Scandivania" in 2003, and loved it.

We selected it for the itinerary (fjords and cities, no Germany or Poland), two days in Stockholm instead of one, several days in Copenhagen, not having to start or end in England, and the small ship size.

The ship was nice enough, although not as luxurious as Princess or Celebrity. We very much enjoyed the other passengers, and the small ship size was great.

[sandthrush]

joan24,

That sounds like the exact itinerary we want. Hope they do it again next year. I would love to either leave from or return to England, so that we could spend a few days in London. Have a great cruise!

[stingraynz]

I was on the Celebrity constellation last June Baltic cruise dover round trip. We loved everything about it! But mainly, the 14-day anything less is not enough even if it is just sea days to relax. The ship is beautiful and service fabulous.
We loved the idea of flying in and out of London for pre and post cruise stays as well as better selection of flights.

The higher end lines like Crystal I think have longer stays in Russia (3 days - I think) so that is a plus. Oceania would be nice as well.

I don't know anything about RCI but this is why we didn't choose Princess even though we usually cruise Princess.

We didn't want to fly in and out of Copenhagen for the reasons stated above. Plus the pier that you would embark/disembark is different than the Langeline pier the ships use that are only on a port stay. You still get the time in Copenhagen 1 1/2 days. But the Langeline pier area was so nice with some fairly good shops, walking distance to town.

A 5 min walk to the Little Mermaid. That way you didn't have to waste time going there as part of a tour.

We didn't like the fact that Princess was only 10-day.

they charge for their shuttles into town, where the other lines have complimentary shuttles.

Also, be very careful where your ship docks in Stockholm, Princess docks way out of the city and Celebrity docked right in Stockholm.

Celebrity fit our needs better this time than Princess and we were very happy.

Having said that I'm sure they are all good, it's just what needs you want to fit.

[drwong]

LTGL - It's getting very competitive out there, with the growing number of cruise ships that have moved into the Baltic. There are too many ports and not enough time to see them all - some stop in Poland or the Baltic states, but at the expense of Oslo or an extra night in Copenhagen. Others offer round trips from the same port, which cuts down on the cost of airfare (open jaws can get expensive) but you may have to sacrifice a pre- or post-cruise extension in London or Stockholm.

We sailed on Oceania's Regatta last summer, taking advantage of their free airfare incentive. Currently they're offering $299 airfare promotion on their early summer cruises (in addition to their current 2-for-1 cabin discount). And for an extra $50, Oceania allows you to select your flights. (it makes a big difference if you have a carrier on which you're trying to accumulate frequent flyer miles, if you want to keep your flights down to one change of aircraft, or if you want to minimize layovers).

Holland-America just sent us an ad offering free round-trip airfare (from IAD) for their Scandanavian cruises this summer, and free business class air if you book a suite. Sweet deal, no? Give them a call to see if the free air deal has been extended to your city.

Costa Cruises and Peter Deilman have good Scandinavian itineraries, but because they cater to a primarily European crowd, they tend to attract a lot of smokers. Oceania has a pretty strict no-smoking policy, restricting it from everywhere except a corner of the bar and aft corner of the pool deck.

You gotta factor in the cost of the airfare when pricing your cabins, along with the type and level of amenities offered. We're Princess Captain's Circle members (which may explain how we got the HAL offer) but after sailing with Oceania, we found we really enjoyed the smaller size of the Regatta and how it provided a more intimate feel (in terms of getting to know our fellow cruisers and meeting the staff). The small passenger size made boarding and disembarking a breeze, and Oceania's elimination of "formal nights" left plenty of space in our luggage for more important stuff (like souvenirs).

Richard

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;4;3;17;00;00&timezone=GMT+0000[/img]
From the Insignia's Inaugural sailing (4/3/2004)

[dbh62ark]

We've cruised in Europe on Princess, Holland, and NCL, and want to go on Celebrity next. I think all the ships are pretty nice in Europe except that the NCL Dream has become a dump, and I just wouldn't go there (we were on that ship last year, and it's awful compared to the others). Costa has some interesting itineraries, but it is very different, so I'm not sure you would like that either. We did Scandinavia/Baltic in 2003, and it's a great trip.

Hope you have a great time.

Donna

[Live the good life]

Thank you all for your valuable input!!! We are finalizing our plan for the Baltic cruise for July 2005...We probably have more fun with Celebrity at this time in our life...But Regatta seems to offer great deals at time, also has great iteniraries like Constellation; we will be trying the Carribean Princess on 08/21/04 and we'll do Crystal later to visit Scottland and Ireland...
Kim-"ltgl"

[hobo1937]

We did a Baltic cruise on RCCL's Jewel of the Sea in late May/early June this year. Absolutely loved it. It was convenient being able to fly into London, spend a few days and do the cruise round trip from Harwich. The ship, ports, and people were all wonderful. We docked basically in town in all the ports and were able to go off on our own in most of them to do sightseeing.

[olderpilot]

Kim,
At the risk of extending the thread, I suggest looking at the HAL itineraries too. We were on the Oosterdam last year and it was an excellent experience. For 2005 HAL has three ships in the Baltic, Westerdam doing a 10 day round trip from Copenhagen, the Amsterdam doing 12 days between Rotterdam and Copenhagen and the Prinsendam doing some 14 days round trip from Amsterdam.

We will be on the Amsterdam before it starts its Baltic itinerary visiting the Norwegian fjords.

Jerry

[Aussie Gal]

We went with HAL when we did the Baltic. It was a great itinerary back in 1999. We left from the U.K. and went to Oslo, Arhus, Warrnemunde (Berlin), Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg (2 days), Tallin and Copenhagen. The ship had their own train going to Berlin and in St. Petersburg you had the choice of flying to Moscow for the day. We were on board 14 days and it was a wonderful trip. I love HAL and find their ships are a great size.

Jennie

[bankr]

Hi Kim - We did the Baltic trip last year on the Constellation it was the best cruise we've been on. As great as the Millie was this last trip the Constellation was just a little bit better... food quality was better, the service in the dining room was better, specialty restaurant, guest relations, everything was just a notch above Millie. And if your daughter is going with you I think she's' more likely to meet teenagers on Celebrity. I'm not knocking the Millie we all had a really fun trip - it's just that the Constellation was even better.

[cheech]

Have only been on the Oceania for this baltic cruise. I agree with Joan (we were on the same cruise together) concerning Oceania. My major consideration was spending THREE DAYS in St. Pete. As far as I know, Oceania is the only line that does so. I was booked on the Constellation for this cruise, but changed to Oceania because of the three days. One thing to keep in mind, and may help your decision is that Oceania is a "destination" cruise. By that I mean that Oceania is like a floating hotel that "takes you there". Oceania is not a cruise that zeros in on entertainment like some of the other lines. Their theory is that their passengers are experienced travelers and would rather discuss over cocktails or dinner what they saw and did when they got to their "destination" - as opposed to what the comedy routine was the night before, or what magician was appearing on stage the next night. Hope this helps. Oh, and the food is much better on Oceania then Celebrity.

[marybethcl]

We took the Baltic cruise on Oceania last month, and it was wonderful. The ship itself is great, with comfortable beds, outstanding cuisine, open seating dining, etc.
Something you should definitely consider when deciding on a Baltic cruise is the size of the ship and where it will dock. This is particularly important in St. Petersburg, where only the smaller ships can dock right in town. Our ship (Regatta) was right in town where we could walk to most sites (or take a short cab ride). At the Hermitage, we saw tour groups from Royal Caribbean, but no ship was in sight. As we sailed out of St. Petersburg on the last day, we finally saw it--MILES from the center of the city, in a very uninteresting area! If you have your visas and plan to do any exploring on your own (and I recommend this!), you would NOT be happy unless you were right in the middle of town!!
By the way, if you DO get a visa and want to hire a personal escort/translator to help show you the city, let me know. I can recommend the man we used for this--he made our stay in St. Petersburg VERY special!
You can email me at [email]focus@swfla.rr.com[/email]

[mimie]

We just returned from a fabulous Baltic cruise with Radisson Seven Seas - Voyager ship. It has a max of 700 people and was full but never felt crowded. We had 3 days in St. Petersburg. We spent 2 with Red October and then did the ship excursion to Moscow. These 3 days were the highlights of our trip!
The ship offered several restarants with open dining times and no additional charges. All cabins have balconies. It was a port intensive trip and the service on the ship was 1st class.
I would highly recommend this cruise! Have a great time!

[Live the good life]

Back on the message board after a few weeks...Pleasantly surprised at the additional infos/tips on the Baltic cruise...Bankr, good to see you on the message board...Both my husband and daughter will be on our Baltic cruise in July of 2005, and we are very excited about it!!!

We are relatively new to cruising; over the past 20 years we mostly travel by planes...However, our goal now is to try out all of the cruiselines, so will do Oceanea and HAL at some point... Wondering which itinerary is a good one to pick for Oceanea besides Baltic...and which is a good one for HAL...

We have not yet tried the luxury cruiseships either but will definitely try Crystal and Radisson in the future...Some of our colleagues really enjoyed Paul Gauguin for their Tahiti cruise...Thanks marybethcl for your e-mail info; will e-mail you later during our "tour guides planning" phase with specific questions.

Kim-"ltgl"

[Sue Ann]

We sailed on the Constellation last June for a 14 day trip. It was fabulous and I'm not a big exclaimer on cruises...Room was great, super comfy beds and pillows, nice large windows in oceanview cabins. Great intinerary getting in an extra port on this cruise. I would not bother looking any further as its great value for the money and Conde Nast's top rated ship...All the locals came out to wave us off, as our ship was the biggest and latest, in Warmunde. Go for a smoth sail on this one..
sue Ann

[MaseratiCruiser]

You would be thrilled with the Oceania Regatta! We sailed on her last August to the Baltic's and had the cruise of a lifetime. Here are a few reasons she can't be beat:

1. Classy and elegant ship, which is smaller and less crowded with people and which also has the advantage of being able to pull into the smaller ports closer to the cities.

2. The best tasting food and variety of food, that we have ever experienced on a cruise ship..the desserts are to die for!

3. They advertise their tranquility beds, which are in fact, the most comfortable beds, pillows and rest on the seas..no kidding, like sleeping at home!

4. Waiters and staff very friendly and eager to please.

5. We thought we had the best itinerary for the Baltic's last year and then Oceania "one upped" themselves for this and next year. They added Germany and Poland with an extra day in St. Petersburg, which you will love to have because 2 days was not near enough in this great city.

6. The pricing, especially with "free air", is still unbeatable for this caliber of a cruise. Better take advantage now, because once the word gets out about all these attributes I'm sure their prices will go up.

I assure you that you can't go wrong with Oceania!

Ron

[SueMo]

On our Constellation trip to Scandinavia/Russia trip last summer, high winds kept us from docking in Stockholm...Celebrity had to dock an hour's drive away...and provided FREE shuttle transportation into downtown Stockholm! Also...all shuttles into the downtown areas of each port were free. Other lines charge $10 pp each way for a 2 mile transport into town. I couldn't have been happier with our choice. They are a class act.