Stockholm archipelago a must?

[NYCcruiser65]

Hi - trying to decide between two Baltic cruises:

 

1) NCL Star, an older ship, and a 9-night cruise that does go through the archipelago

2) Royal Princess, a new ship, and an 11-night cruise that adds Oslo, but doesn't cruise the archipelago

 

Others have said that the archipelago is a must… really beautiful, but, and excuse my ignorance, I'm unsure why.

 

Can anyone tell me why cruising through the archipelago is so great? Just curious. It might be a deciding factor.

 

Thanks!

[kitkat343]

Wow - I'm trying to decide this too! In addition to the fact that cruise critic members have reported that the archipelago is beautiful, you also will be tendering at Nynashamn which is 36 miles south of Stockholm. For my family, there is no question that we would strongly prefer docking directly in Stockholm although we have greatly enjoyed traveling with princess in the past.

[Ashland]

Wow - I'm trying to decide this too! In addition to the fact that cruise critic members have reported that the archipelago is beautiful, you also will be tendering at Nynashamn which is 36 miles south of Stockholm. For my family, there is no question that we would strongly prefer docking directly in Stockholm although we have greatly enjoyed traveling with princess in the past.

We opted to cruise with RCI and enjoyed both the archipelago and docking directly in Stockholm...amazing experience and the best choice for us...might be worth considering.

[Ultima Thule]

 

Others have said that the archipelago is a must… really beautiful, but, and excuse my ignorance, I'm unsure why.

 

Here is an earlier discussion about the topic:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1124128

[Alaskanb]

This cruise is mostly about towns and cities so the Stockholm Archipelago provides a change to natural beauty instead of cultural beauty.

[MeHeartCruising]

Here are the pictures from my cruise which cruised the archipelago and docked in Stockholm. You'll see water pictures at both the beginning and end of the picture set. These water pictures are representative of what you would see during the cruise in/out of the archipelago. It's a very nice waterway to cruise through with lots to see along the way.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickchapman/sets/72157631740646665/

Edited February 7, 2014 by MeHeartCruising

[RJ2002]

We were on the Star Baltic Capitals cruise last year, and going through the archipelago was great. We had an aft cabin, which made it even more enjoyable.

 

The Star is indeed an older ship, and is a little worn around the edges in the cabins. You really wouldn't notice it much, however, in the public areas. The ship is well maintained.

[John Bull]

Here's some you tube video, decide for yourself ;)

 

 

 

JB :)

[Desdichado62]

Here is an earlier discussion about the topic:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1124128

 

Here are the pictures from my cruise which cruised the archipelago and docked in Stockholm. You'll see water pictures at both the beginning and end of the picture set. These water pictures are representative of what you would see during the cruise in/out of the archipelago. It's a very nice waterway to cruise through with lots to see along the way.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickchapman/sets/72157631740646665/

 

 

Also see reply #10 in this topic: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1979939

[gkkapp]

Just my "two cents---

 

We have been on two Baltic cruises, 2010 and 2013. In 2010 we missed Stockholm all together due to a ship malfunction. We went directly to Helsinki and had an extra half day there.

 

Last year we were all set to sail up the archipelago but high winds on the sail out were predicted and the ship was not allowed to come up to Stockholm. Thankfully, we docked at Nynashamn and we were able to get to Stockholm by shuttle, although we didn't have as much time there as we would have liked.

 

Just be thankful if you can get there at all:).

 

<<<Karen>>>

[Giantfan13]

Hi - trying to decide between two Baltic cruises:

 

1) NCL Star, an older ship, and a 9-night cruise that does go through the archipelago

2) Royal Princess, a new ship, and an 11-night cruise that adds Oslo, but doesn't cruise the archipelago

 

Others have said that the archipelago is a must… really beautiful, but, and excuse my ignorance, I'm unsure why.

 

Can anyone tell me why cruising through the archipelago is so great? Just curious. It might be a deciding factor.

 

Thanks!

 

Maybe I can shed another bit of light onto this. The archipelago is a wonderful sail. Is it a cruise breaker, definitely not. I'd be more concerned about not docking in Stockholm proper than sailing thru the archipelago.

I was going to put up more pix from our sailing, but you have a great idea of what it is and what to expect.

 

On a side note, I see you are from NY, or where from NY. We are from Long Island. Not to make light of the archipelago, but if you have ever sailed thru or visited the 1000 Islands in upstate NY, they it is very similar. We have done this several times and sailing thru the archipelago was very similar.

 

Personally, if all things being equal, I would take the extra 2 days instead. But that is just MVHO.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[CoralReef]

I would take the extra two days and Oslo. We were looking forward to the archipelago, but our ship was diverted to Nynashamn due to high winds, which I hear often happens. We ended up missing the archipelago and only having a couple of hours in Stockholm. It was nice, but I'd rather make plans with better odds.

[NYCcruiser65]

Thanks all! These photos and videos are all very helpful. As are the anecdotes about not being able to go through the archipelago due to weather.

 

Although it looks beautiful, I think I'm leaning toward the 2 extra days and Oslo as who knows when I'll get to this part of the world again.

 

Still thinking about it though!