Best Cruise

[CPALong]

My husband and I are trying to decide on a cruise to Northern Europe but aren't sure of which cruiseline offers the best cruise. Any suggestions?

[sunprincess]

Cruised the Baltic on the Star Princess in August. Awesome :)

 

Here's my review:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=12514

[Al_Frescoe]

Be aware that if you choose Princess cruises for the Baltic that you will not get to experience the beautiful Stockholm archipelago. Princess makes a port call at Nynashamn, which is a one hour bus ride from Stockholm.

 

Have a look at Celebrity Cruises, they dock in Stockholm proper.

 

Skål

 

Al

[tiggrrr]

Norwegian Cruise Line are the only "large" cruise line to include the Kiel Canal on their Baltic Itinerary - the Norwegian Dream has a modified funnel that can be "flipped" so that it can pass through the canal.

 

The Dream also docks close to the centre of Stockholm and so also includes the Stockholm archipelago.

 

That's two "free" scenic journeys already ahead of some other lines!

[dbh62ark]

I sailed the Baltics in 2003 and 2005. I would decidedly not recommend the Norwegian Dream. I sailed that ship a few years ago, and it's a dump compared to the other ships in Europe (we've sailed Europe every year for the past 12 years for 10-14 days each year). Also, NCL constantly has engine problems on the Dream, and the port of Tallinn was skipped for almost all sailings in 2004. You just can't rely on receiving the itinerary that you buy if you book NCL, and missing Tallinn on a Baltics cruise is a really big deal. Everyone LOVED that port on both Baltics sailings that I cruised. I like Princess a lot and have sailed that line 3 times on nice ships, but the fact that Princess does not dock in Stockholm, which is the favorite port other than St. Petersburg for many passengers, is a big negative. The scenic sailing in the Swedish archipelago is wonderful, so that would definitely be a must-see for me, and the time needed to commute back and forth from the Princess port city cuts into the time in Stockholm too much for such a fabulous port stop.

 

If you can afford it, Oceania has a 3-day stay in St. Petersburg as opposed to a 2-day stay. And if the Kiel Canal is a must-see for you, Oceania also sails the Keil Canal. Another advantage to Oceania is that they sail from London to Stockholm (or reverse), and a pre- or post-cruise stay in Stockholm would be highly desirable in my opinion. The disadvantage to Oceania last year is that they sailed 14-day cruises mid-week (Wednesday to Wednesday), so you would need approx 3 full weeks of vacation if you work a typical work schedule. If they had sailed Saturday-Saturday last year, we would have booked that line instead of the Constellation. The Constellation is a nice ship too, so with the exception of NCL, there really are no bad options in the Baltics.

 

You might also look at Holland, my favorite of the mass-market lines in Europe, and Royal Caribbean. If you haven't already considered your pre- and postcruise stay, that might help you to narrow down an itinerary. Some of the ships sail out of the London area (Harwich or Dover), and other ships sail out of Copenhagen and Amsterdam. The ships that sail out of London have more time at sea, which worked out really well for us on the Constellation because we had wonderful weather. This is a very port-intensive cruise, and we lead very busy lives at home, so the sea time was a welcome respite.

 

From what I've observed, favorite ports are St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Tallinn, and Copenhagen. So I would recommend an itinerary that maximizes time there. Least favorite port apparently is Helsinki. It's nice but can't compare with the other ports.

 

I hope that helps and will be glad to answer additional questions.

 

Happy trip planning,

Donna

[SaylorGirl]

I think all the major cruise lines do a great job in the Baltics. We were on the Star Princess in September and really enjoyed it. But I think what is important is that you need to look at times in port, convience, which ports each ship goes to, price, and decide what works for you. We usually sail on Princess so naturally that was the one we picked but I don't think you can make a mistake all the ports are wonderful. Someone did mention that Princess does not dock close into the cities and that is a definate negative but they were easy to assess by train or transfers.

[Willsot]

Check out Holland America. We sailed the Westerdam 10-day "Gems of the Baltic" itinerary in July and loved it. I believe the brand new Noordam is replacing the Westerdam on this itinerary next season.

[bruce-r]

My husband and I are trying to decide on a cruise to Northern Europe but aren't sure of which cruiseline offers the best cruise. Any suggestions?

I suggest that there is no correct answer to this question. What might be the best cruise, (or car, or color paint for my house) for me isn't necessarily the best cruise for you.

 

Without knowing something about you, it is impossible to say what would be best for you.

 

I'd pick Princess BTW.

[Al_Frescoe]

One more note about Princess in Stockholm ... not only do you have to dock an hour away from the city, but to add insult to injury they make you tender to the dock in Nynashamn.

 

I'm not bagging on Princess by the way, but as a resident of Stockholm I just think it's a crime and a dis-service to this beautiful city as well as the passengers to make them jump through the hoops in Nynashamn.

 

Just my opinion.

 

Skål

 

Al

[MTemple212]

It sounds like your bagging on Princess to me. It just seems like everytime you talk about Princess, it is negative. I'm sure all of these cruises or cruiselines have their positives and negatives wether it be prices locations or whatever. I'm sure your points are well taken concerning getting to Stockholm and having to tender,etc but this isn't the only stop on the itinerary. By the way, I haven't used Princess to date but plan on doing so in July in the Baltics.

[dbh62ark]

I agree with Al, and I do like Princess generally. I've cruised the Swedish archipelago twice (four times if you count the ins and outs), and this is one of the highlights of a Baltics cruise. Everyone is out on deck, and the scenery is spectacular. Also, if you look at the surveys of favorite ports in the Baltics, Stockholm is always 2nd or 3rd, so Princess limiting their passengers's time in Stockholm is a big deal on this itinerary, and that was the reason I chose not to sail with Princess. I don't know why Princess would choose not to dock in Stockholm directly because all of the other cruise lines do, but Al's opinion on this subject is dead on. Yes, there are good and bad about each ship and itinerary in the Baltics, but I would advise my family and friends not to miss the wonderful experience of the scenic sailing in Stockholm and to spend as much time as possible there. I think that those who think otherwise just simply don't know what they're missing because I would be very surprised to hear anyone saying that this didn't add to their cruise experience if they have been there.

 

Donna

[dbh62ark]

duplicate post (site acting up again)

[MTemple212]

Well, it's good to hear from someone else on this subject about the Princess stop in Stockholm. I just seem to think the itinerary on Princess from Copenhagen is better than the 12 and 14 day itineraries' from Celebrity. I like Celebrity but their prices are more as there are more days involved which really turn out to be sea days for the most part. I can do without sea days for this itinerary. I just can't justify the extra $600pp or more to experience the archipelago which lasts about 4hours or so. Maybe I am being too cheap or frugal about this. Anyway, what is wrong with Nynasham? All we have to do is catch a train to Stockholm, right? I may look at the Holland America schedules.

[Hoser]

Cruising is a very individual choice. Have you considered Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas? We did that in May. It's 12 days from Harwich . It's a beautiful ship and seems to dock at better piers in the sense that they're all very easily accessible to the city centers and public transportation is all close by. eg. in Stockholm, it's 20 min stroll to Old Town, or take the bus whose terminal is 2 min walk from the pier as the Viking ship terminal is right next to it. In Copenhagen, it's 10 min walk to the Little Mermaid, and the shuttle to town is right by the Mermaid. Or it's another 10 -15 min walk to the palace. In Oslo it's docked right next to the fortress and all major bus or tram routes are at the end of the pier. In Tallin, the Jewel has a free shuttle even tho we read on the website that it costs $4.

There is a direct cruise train ( coach) from London to Harwich on the day of sailing at a very reasonable cost. Transportation from Heathrow airport to Harwich is very easy too. My friend who cruised with Princess around the same time we did has recommended Jewel of the Seas to her parents for their cruise next year.

[dbh62ark]

I just seem to think the itinerary on Princess from Copenhagen is better than the 12 and 14 day itineraries' from Celebrity. I like Celebrity but their prices are more as there are more days involved which really turn out to be sea days for the most part. I can do without sea days for this itinerary. I just can't justify the extra $600pp or more to experience the archipelago which lasts about 4hours or so. Maybe I am being too cheap or frugal about this. Anyway, what is wrong with Nynasham? All we have to do is catch a train to Stockholm, right? I may look at the Holland America schedules.

Well, whether the Celebrity or Princess itinerary is better depends on what you want. We always choose our sailing based on itinerary, and the Celebrity itinerary we sailed was best for us for 2005. We had excellent weather and loved the sea days on our Celebrity cruise, but I'm not touting Celebrity over the other ships that sail the Baltics itinerary. I can tell you for sure that after you have 5 full port days (and nights) in a row like we did on Celebrity in the Baltics, if you are not ready for a sea day, you are definitely in a very small minority. I'm very outgoing and talk to a lot of passengers everywhere I go, and everyone was talking about how tired we all were. And the same for my 2003 Baltics cruise. One thing that you may not be considering in discounting the days at sea is that you lose an hour a day three times before you get to Russia; that fact in addition to early port calls makes for some happy but tired puppies on the ship. I understand the mentality of wanting to be in some port somewhere in Europe if you're paying to go that far and agree to a certain extent, but those sea days are so much fun spending time with fellow passengers and my husband as well as sitting on my deck with a good book, and I like them more and more. I'm 43, so you can magnify what I said for most of the passengers that are older than me. If you don't stay out in port as long as possible--I was the last one back on the ship in St. Petersburg and nearly last in Stockholm--maybe you won't be as tired, but that's some food for thought for you.

 

I can tell you the good and bad on my Celebrity Baltics cruise, but it sounds like you are not interested in sailing that line. The bad thing about the Princess port (I can't even spell that port name!) is that by the time you tender in, that's going to take up an hour or more back and forth to the ship, and that's assuming that you're an elite member or in a suite and get priority tender tickets. Then even if you arrive at the train station at the point of departure and don't have to wait for a train, you're looking at 2 hours roundtrip on the train. So that's going to definitely cut into your time, and I'm guessing somewhere around and average of 4 hours less time in Stockholm. It just seems silly to me that Princess would subject their passengers to that, and you miss the archipelago too. I can't say enough good things about Stockholm and the archipelago, and the cruise passengers love it. And so I'm grateful to Al for continuing to point this out to board members--these boards are all about education, and I want to hear the good AND the bad--because I hate to think about anyone missing time in Stockholm and missing the archipelago too. I like Princess and wish they would do better by their passengers in this area.

 

I've sailed Holland in Europe but not the Baltics and highly recommend Holland. It's a great cruise line. I think Celebrity has a ship that sails 12-day itineraries out of Amsterdam, and you might like that if the idea of a pre-cruise stay in Amsterdam is appealing to you. Amsterdam is a great place to visit, and Copenhagen is too. Oceania, Crystal, and Royal Caribbean also sail the Baltics.

 

One additional warning about the NCL Dream that I noticed when I received an e-mail solicitation from an on-line agency yesterday. The itinerary I saw, which may not be the same itinerary for the whole season, cut the 2nd day in St. Petersburg to a 2:00 p.m. departure. On my private tour itinerary, we went to the suburbs to palaces both mornings (Catherine's Palace one morning and Peterhof the next morning), so that means that you would like have to miss at least one of the major sites to be on the ship by 1:30 p.m. So in addition to the Dream being a dump, now the time in St. Petersburg has been reduced too. That's the only ship that I know of in the Baltics that's bad; I wouldn't sail that broken down ship if it were free. My vacation time is too valuable to me, and there are too many great alternatives.

 

Your point about Stockholm being only one port on this itinerary is well taken, and I've already said that the Princess limitations in Stockholm would steer me to another line. I would suggest printing itineraries for the various cruises you are considering and comparing them side-by-side. I love Tallinn, but if my time there were limited to 5 hours, I could live with that because you can see a lot in Tallinn in 5 hours (it's very compact). However, limiting time in St. Petersburg or Stockholm is a deal breaker for me.

 

I have not reviewed all the 2006 itineraries for the Baltics, but there may be something in between as suggested by Hoser. I read lots of positive comments on the Jewel of the Seas too.

 

Donna

[Bill S]

We did a Baltic Cruise in July on HAL's Prinsendam, it's "Elegant Explorer", which became our favorite ship. It carries only about 800 passengers and it IS small enough to transit the Kiel Canal, so HAL does have a ship that is capable of doing that transit. It was one of the most enjoyable "sea" days we have ever had. Our cruise was fantastic. The Prinsendam cabins have true walk-in cabins and it is such an easy ship to learn your way around. Our itinerary included stops at Ronne, Visby, Tallinn, St Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Amsterdam. This was our 11th cruise and we ranked it as the 2nd best cruise we have ever taken, surpassed only by our cruise to SA and Antarctica. Hope you give HAL some consideration!

[tiggrrr]

One additional warning about the NCL Dream that I noticed when I received an e-mail solicitation from an on-line agency yesterday. The itinerary I saw, which may not be the same itinerary for the whole season, cut the 2nd day in St. Petersburg to a 2:00 p.m. departure. On my private tour itinerary, we went to the suburbs to palaces both mornings (Catherine's Palace one morning and Peterhof the next morning), so that means that you would like have to miss at least one of the major sites to be on the ship by 1:30 p.m. So in addition to the Dream being a dump, now the time in St. Petersburg has been reduced too. That's the only ship that I know of in the Baltics that's bad; I wouldn't sail that broken down ship if it were free. My vacation time is too valuable to me, and there are too many great alternatives.

 

I would be interested to see this "e-mail solicitation" you have as NCL website is very clear on the Dream times in St Petersburg and it doesn't sail until 7pm on day two.

 

You obviously have a grudge against the Dream and of course you are quite entitled to have your opinions, but they are just that an opinion. Having read numerous positive reports regarding the Dream's Baltic cruise and travelled that itinerary myself, I would have no hesitation in recommending to friends and family - of course that is also only my opinion. But being able to sail the Kiel Canal and Stockholm archipelago and all of that in a 13 day cruise from Dover was a big positive to me. Plus I didnt want to pay the extra that Celebrity charge and the even more that Oceania cruises charge, plus Oceania excursions are higher priced than all other cruise lines, then the Dream fitted me very well, as it did all of my fellow guests on the cruise that I spoke to.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=246454

 

As for why Princess dont dock in central Stockholm, well that is because the Star Princess is too large to sail the archipelago.

[Al_Frescoe]

It sounds like your bagging on Princess to me. It just seems like everytime you talk about Princess, it is negative. I'm sure all of these cruises or cruiselines have their positives and negatives wether it be prices locations or whatever. I'm sure your points are well taken concerning getting to Stockholm and having to tender,etc but this isn't the only stop on the itinerary. By the way, I haven't used Princess to date but plan on doing so in July in the Baltics.

 

LOL, I was afraid this would happen. I have been around these boards for a couple years now so I am not at all surprised. That is the reason I added that little disclaimer about "I'm not bagging on Princess", and made sure to state at the end of my note that it was only my own personal opinion. Sure enough you took exception ... lol, oh well.

 

Seems you booked on Princess, huh? I sincerely hope, in fact I am pretty darn sure you will have a great time. However, even though you won’t get to see the Stockholm archipelago, and you will be spending a few more hours on a tender boat, a bus or a commuter train than others, I still feel my opinion on this subject is valid and hopefully helpful to others that may be on the fence about choosing a cruise or cruise line for a Baltic trip. As a resident here I am proud of this city and its surroundings and this is one issue I really feel like speaking up about. My opinion is not meant to reflect negatively on the choice that you made.

 

You stated that: “It just seems like everytime you talk about Princess, it is negative”.

 

I have not sailed with Princess, and have not said a negative word about them as far as a cruise experience. The only issue I have with Princess and the other line* that calls at Nynashamn is the simple fact that they call at Nynashamn. I have no problem whatsoever pointing out on this board that there are other choices available. I hope that does not sound too harsh, or negative, but that’s the way I see it.

 

*P&O Cruises also calls at Nynashamn and advertises it as Stockholm. I believe P&O owns Princess or vise versa… surprise, surprise.

 

Skål

 

Al

[dbh62ark]

However, even though you won’t get to see the Stockholm archipelago, and you will be spending a few more hours on a tender boat, a bus or a commuter train than others, I still feel my opinion on this subject is valid and hopefully helpful to others that may be on the fence about choosing a cruise or cruise line for a Baltic trip. As a resident here I am proud of this city and its surroundings and this is one issue I really feel like speaking up about. My opinion is not meant to reflect negatively on the choice that you made.

 

I have not sailed with Princess, and have not said a negative word about them as far as a cruise experience. The only issue I have with Princess and the other line* that calls at Nynashamn is the simple fact that they call at Nynashamn. I have no problem whatsoever pointing out on this board that there are other choices available. I hope that does not sound too harsh, or negative, but that’s the way I see it

 

Skål

 

Al

I don't know that I've read all your posts, but the posts that I've seen by you comment on the Princess itinerary and not on the Star. I'm glad that you are pointing this out to passengers because it's a significant difference in the Baltics itineraries, and it's something that I would want to know if I were choosing an itinerary. Since you live in Sweden, I would think that board members would give extra weight to your opinion, and I appreciate your efforts to educate the board members.

 

Donna

[Al_Frescoe]

I don't know that I've read all your posts, but the posts that I've seen by you comment on the Princess itinerary and not on the Star. I'm glad that you are pointing this out to passengers because it's a significant difference in the Baltics itineraries, and it's something that I would want to know if I were choosing an itinerary. Since you live in Sweden, I would think that board members would give extra weight to your opinion, and I appreciate your efforts to educate the board members.

 

Donna

 

Thanks Donna. It really is hard sometimes to give an opinion without upsetting someone. Tis the nature of written text I suppose. I swear, there have been times I have spent as much time writing a disclaimer (differnet forum, entirely different subject matter, but it applies here) to a post as I have writing the post itself. Frankly, it discourages me from posting as much as I might otherwise.

 

I got into a similar little bru ha ha when I stated my opinion about the Ice Bar. People that had already booked the Ice Bar were not interested in hearing my opinion. However, that did not stop me from giving it. :) For the record, the people that were upset with my opinion of the Ice Bar ( a recurring topic here) never returned to the Baltic board. I don't know what that says ... :)

 

Skål

 

Al

[MTemple212]

Al, I am sorry that you took offense to my response about Princess but I think I accomplished what I wanted to about this topic and that was to get other opinions popping up here and there and got this board to talking about it! I do realize that you are from Stockholm and that you would like all of us cruisers to see your country in the best possible way and that apparently is cruising up the archeplego(sp).

 

To dbh62ark, I have sailed Celebrity before and actually they are my favorite line to sail on. But the simple fact is that price is a big part of my decision as far as which line to choose. Also the amount of days a cruise is as well. And as I stated that it would cost at least $600 more to sail Celebrity from Dover or Amsterdam for the Baltics. I have never sailed Princess before and am actually looking forward to cruising this line. I have sailed NCL and will never do them again and have also sailed Holland America and RCCL.

[dbh62ark]

To dbh62ark, I have sailed Celebrity before and actually they are my favorite line to sail on. But the simple fact is that price is a big part of my decision as far as which line to choose.

Yes, it's definitely a consideration in my house too, and I understand where you're coming from. I was surprised to see how much the Constellation prices went up for 2006 Baltics sailings. You might be interested to note that on my 8/27/05 Constellation sailing, the ship had a large percentage of European passengers, so Celebrity is marketing the cruise heavily in Europe. I don't know whether or not that had anything to do with the fact that we were on the last Baltics sailing for the season, but I've heard others say that they didn't have many Europeans on their Celebrity Baltics sailing. It made me wonder if Celebrity's decision to greatly increase prices (we would pay $800 more each for a total of $1,600 extra to take the same cruise in the same cabin this year, and that's with a group rate!) means that they need to market heavily in Europe to find passengers willing to pay more. I don't think I would pay $1,600 more to go on the cruise that I went on this year. That's getting really close to the prices for luxury lines like Crystal, and Celebrity's just not in the same league. I also am not loyal to a particular line and choose the best cruise for me from year to year too. I hope you have a great one, and there's lots of great info on the boards to help.

 

Donna

[CPALong]

Thanks everyone for all of the great opinions about the best cruise espically about the archipeligo. I think we would love it so it's on my list of must sees. Also, for anyone offended with someone's opinion, one opinion is just that "one opinion", but two or more of the same opinion,then it needs to be heeded. So I won't be booking NCL's Dream ship. My money and vacation time is valued too. But I still want to thank all of you. I would appriciate any more suggestions you may want to write.

 

One more question, What is an Ice Bar?

[Al_Frescoe]

One more question, What is an Ice Bar?

 

:rolleyes: My lips are sealed (frozen shut)

 

Seriously though, you can do a search of this board using something like "Stockholm Ice Bar". As a matter of fact I believe someone ressurected a post about the Ice Bar just last week. Just scroll down the page a bit or use the search function.

 

Skål

 

Al

[cruisemom42]

In response to the question about Princess and Stockholm, we sailed on Star Princess this summer, and the cruise director told us that the cruise used to be a 14-day cruise and it did go through the archipelago (which takes quite a while to go in and out again). When they cut the cruise to 10 days, the archipelago had to go as it took too much sailing time. A pity, but then again, I don't know that I would have been able to take enough vacation time from work for a longer cruise, so there you are. It's all in what works for you. I did feel we were short on time in Stockholm.

 

BTW, Star Princess is a beautiful ship and offered great service, good food and entertainment for the $$ spent. The main focus for us was the ports, but it was nice to come home every night to such an elegant ship. My parents have done this itinerary on a smaller HAL ship and loved it (they did cruise the archipelago and the Kiel canal). Due to my teen son, Princess was the right choice for us.