If you had to choose: Cruise Tour Baltic or Greek Isles

[MudderBear]

Princess does cruisetours to both the Baltic and Greek Isles.  I've only been on one cruise....hubby none.  Our first is Alaska next year (after Covid cancellations)....and would like to book something for 2023 while prices are still "low" (yea, right...LOL).  Anyway, can't choose between the Baltic and/or Greek Isles.  Both look tempting.

 

Also, how much does having a large balcony really matter with either one of those two cruises.  I have a large balcony for Alaska (want to really get a great impact of the Glaciers)....and not sure I want to upgrade for the European cruise as it will cost plenty even just going....

 

Thanks for your thoughts.  

[wowzz]

Do you like history,  imposing buildings, and want to get an understanding of European civilisation over the last 400 years, or do you want sun drenched Greek villages, where time has largely stood still,  (but the charm of the villages will  be destroyed a little when 6000 cruisers descend on them) ?

Only you can decide, but the cruises are so different that you and your husband need to decide what your specific interests are.

[Rick&Jeannie]

Well, we have yet to do a Baltic cruise but we just got back from a Greek Isles cruise week before last.  Granted...it was not Princess (NCL).  We usually do Princess but we were tagging along with another couple...they picked the cruise & cruise line.

 

That was our first Greek Isles trip...it was GREAT!  Highly recommend it.  We'll do the Baltic probably within the next year or so.

[roxievegas]

We did a cruise that hit the Greek Islands in 2011 - another cruise line.  We loved the history and the designations but the Baltic cruise was our favorite.

 

We are planning a "big" & "long" trip for 2023 - We want to go transatlantic, then tour British Isles and then redo our Baltic cruise.  Would be around 40 days and cost alot, but it would be our last to Europe.

[ChangeOrder]

Do you want to be warmer or colder? Since you're doing a colder weather cruise to Alaska, I'd vote the warmer cruise to Greece comes next.

[007colocruz]

I’ve done both of these cruises with Princess. Worth it to do both IMO  

[nocl]

Go back 10 years ago and the Greek Islands such as Mykenos and Santorini were wonderful. Just before the pandemic the number of cruise ships and passengers made them extremely over crowded. If one visits before cruising gets back to full steam they will be less crowded.

 

Otherwise we go to Crete and Rhodes.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Europe cruises are amazing! A balcony is not necessary there because you were touring sometimes 12 hours a day and exhausted when you get back, however it sure is nice to be able to go out on your balcony and watch sail in and sail away. I recommend doing the Greek Isles first. Both are excellent cruises, but personally, my favorite region in the whole world is the Mediterranean, including the Greek Isles. The scenery, the food, everything about it is spectacular. Happy planning!

[MudderBear]

So, if we were to choose Baltic, what is the best time of year as far as weather and crowds......

[PRNole47]

I still hold our 2 Baltics as "the standard" against which to compare all other cruises.  But, then, I prefer "history" over other considerations.

[jimbo1683]

I haven't cruised to either but we have travelled extensively in the Greek islands. It is a VERY different experience if you are there when a cruise ship has docked vs. when one is not in port. Mykonos and Santorini are very old with mazes of narrow streets. I love the Greek islands and if cruising them is your only opportunity to visit then go for it, but if you have other options I would personally choose to cruise the Baltic and visit Greece by other means.

[dog]

Baltic’s would be much more comfortable weather during summer months & less crowded then Greek Islands. 

[mr_reiter]

Hello,

 

Just one person's opinion . . . 

 

My wife and I went on a Baltic cruise with Oceania three years ago.  By any measure, it was outstanding.  The typical Baltic cruise covers a relatively small geographic area, but the countries you visit (we hit ports in 10 countries), are all quite different and each offers unique modern and historical attractions.  If you go, I encourage you to look for a cruise with two overnights in St. Petersburg; there are so many fascinating places to see (and you get an understanding of why they had a revolution 100 years ago).  We went in July, and the weather was great; I only needed a light jacket on two days.

 

I have not taken a Greek cruise, but I've booked a Med cruise next year that includes Corfu and Crete.  I did, however, work in Athens for a summer and spent three days on Santorini.  I would go back in a heartbeat, but I feel the typical one-day stop in Santorini is too short for such a beautiful place.

 

You can't go wrong with either, but if I had to choose between the two, I would choose the Baltic.  Better yet, win the lottery and do both!

[SargassoPirate]

5 hours ago, MudderBear said:

Princess does cruisetours to both the Baltic and Greek Isles.  I've only been on one cruise....hubby none.  Our first is Alaska next year (after Covid cancellations)....and would like to book something for 2023 while prices are still "low" (yea, right...LOL).  Anyway, can't choose between the Baltic and/or Greek Isles.  Both look tempting.

 

Also, how much does having a large balcony really matter with either one of those two cruises.  I have a large balcony for Alaska (want to really get a great impact of the Glaciers)....and not sure I want to upgrade for the European cruise as it will cost plenty even just going....

 

Thanks for your thoughts.  

 

Book an inside and book both cruises with the savings.  In twenty years you'll regret more the things you didn't do than the things you did - Mark Twain.

[yamanid]

5 hours ago, MudderBear said:

Princess does cruisetours to both the Baltic and Greek Isles.  I've only been on one cruise....hubby none.  Our first is Alaska next year (after Covid cancellations)....and would like to book something for 2023 while prices are still "low" (yea, right...LOL).  Anyway, can't choose between the Baltic and/or Greek Isles.  Both look tempting.

 

Also, how much does having a large balcony really matter with either one of those two cruises.  I have a large balcony for Alaska (want to really get a great impact of the Glaciers)....and not sure I want to upgrade for the European cruise as it will cost plenty even just going....

 

Thanks for your thoughts.  

You really have to do BOTH of these Cruise  -  so choose one this time and the other next time LOL

You will have a fantastic time on both, different cruises but AMAZING.  Done both of these a few times

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, MudderBear said:

So, if we were to choose Baltic, what is the best time of year as far as weather and crowds......

If you are going in the summer season, choose the Baltic.  If the shoulder season, choose the Greek Isles.

 

We have done the Baltic cruise and it is WONDERFUL.  I am sure the Greek Isles are nice too - we are doing them (and more) in OCT 2022.  Hope you get to do both, so I would pick based on the season you need to travel.  We did Baltic in first half of June and weather was PERFECT.  We had the best weather as the voyage before was rainy and then it starts to get hotter.  Of course, the weather is unpredictable and never the same one year to the next.

[4cats4me]

7 hours ago, MudderBear said:

Princess does cruisetours to both the Baltic and Greek Isles.  I've only been on one cruise....hubby none.  Our first is Alaska next year (after Covid cancellations)....and would like to book something for 2023 while prices are still "low" (yea, right...LOL).  Anyway, can't choose between the Baltic and/or Greek Isles.  Both look tempting.

 

Also, how much does having a large balcony really matter with either one of those two cruises.  I have a large balcony for Alaska (want to really get a great impact of the Glaciers)....and not sure I want to upgrade for the European cruise as it will cost plenty even just going....

 

Thanks for your thoughts.  

We wouldn’t cruise without a balcony in the Caribbean or tropical destinations where you can lounge for hours,  but have found the balcony to be a complete waste of money while sailing in Europe, so much so, that we booked obstructed window cabins thereafter due to NEVER using the balcony on the preceding Med Cruise.   Main reason is these cruises are port intensive and we were off the ship for 10 -11 hours.  Depending on the time of year, it will be almost dark  by the time you get back onboard, and dark when you leave for your tours as well  (October) 

our schedule was high impact.   awake T 5:00 am, wait in line to get tender early tix (on Royal Caribbean ) some itineraries have several tender ports, so if you don’t have status you won’t be able to disembark early unless you take a cruise ship sponsored excursion, which  are way pricier than touring independent ly 

my point being ,  when we toured with another cruise line and we had no status whatsoever, we were touring independently, so we need to be first off the ship to meet with our tours, and that could only be accomplished by getting up two hours earlier to be in line to try to get priority tickets for tendering so a balcony was of no use    Because it was dark when we arrived and then we were gone all day and it was dark when we came back and it was completely wasted money  

 We did not miss having a balcony at all  On the last cruise  and we opted to spend a lot more on airline tickets to be comfortable on the plane and forgo having a balcony, which was the best decision  Ever.  

 

I haven’t looked at your itinerary,  but we’ve been to the Greek Isles, Italy, Montenegro, Spain, And love them all  and love them all  Not sure when you’re thinking of going but it will be very hot in July October has been perfect early September can be very warm.  Not sure when you’re thinking of going but it will be very hot in July October has been perfect early September can be very warm  I think you’re fine most cruisers enjoy sailing there in April, May, September and October  

there are some pics in my profile from our last Med Cruise    

If you click on my profile you should be able to find a photo link I think.   

Update I just checked  so click on my profile name and when you are in my profile click on albums 

Edited September 25, 2021 by 4cats4me

[wowzz]

It is interesting to read the responses from the Americans on this thread. All this talk about being off the ship  for 11 hours, and being port intensive. 

It is all a very "tick the box " type of experience. 

Why not just go ashore in somewhere like Cadiz or Lisbon or Barcelona,  and just stroll  around, sit in a bar, and soak up the atmosphere. You do not need to cram in every sight to have a good holiday.  

[Steelers36]

58 minutes ago, wowzz said:

It is interesting to read the responses from the Americans on this thread. All this talk about being off the ship  for 11 hours, and being port intensive. 

It is all a very "tick the box " type of experience. 

Why not just go ashore in somewhere like Cadiz or Lisbon or Barcelona,  and just stroll  around, sit in a bar, and soak up the atmosphere. You do not need to cram in every sight to have a good holiday.  

To each their own.....

[vjmatty]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

It is interesting to read the responses from the Americans on this thread. All this talk about being off the ship  for 11 hours, and being port intensive. 

It is all a very "tick the box " type of experience. 

Why not just go ashore in somewhere like Cadiz or Lisbon or Barcelona,  and just stroll  around, sit in a bar, and soak up the atmosphere. You do not need to cram in every sight to have a good holiday.  

Not everyone can visit European countries multiple times per year with a short jaunt in an hour or so from Britain. When you have an ocean to cross, there is an opportunity factor. 

[kapear]

We cruised the Baltics on another line in the summer 2019. I highly recommend this cruise. We were grateful that we had two full days in St.Petersburg as there was so much to see. We used a private tour in St. Petersburg. We had a balcony, but really only spent time on the balcony sailing into Stockholm. We will most certainly do this itinerary again some day. This summer we are scheduled for a cruise that includes some Greek ports. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

On 9/25/2021 at 2:19 PM, wowzz said:

It is interesting to read the responses from the Americans on this thread. All this talk about being off the ship  for 11 hours, and being port intensive. 

It is all a very "tick the box " type of experience. 

Why not just go ashore in somewhere like Cadiz or Lisbon or Barcelona,  and just stroll  around, sit in a bar, and soak up the atmosphere. You do not need to cram in every sight to have a good holiday.  

I’ll only speak for myself and my husband as Americans because everyone has different goals and styles of travel…We strive to see and do as much as we can at each faraway port in Europe because we just don’t know if/when we will make it back there. Though we are blessed to have made it back to Europe multiple times, life is never certain, and we are thankful for all of our vacation memories. 

[nini]

In the Fall of 2018, we went to Europe for the very first time. This was found trip from Rome with about 4 ports in Italy and 4 in Greece. We LOVED Italy and for us, Greece was ok. We had a four ports in Greece and a great shore excursions in Athens. In June of 2022, we have a Baltic planned and are really looking forward to it.

[Tedferg]

5 minutes ago, nini said:

 In June of 2022, we have a Baltic planned and are really looking forward to it.

Look into SPB tours we used them and were very pleased. We did Berlin and St Petersburg with them

Edited October 3, 2021 by Tedferg

[nini]

2 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Look into SPB tours we used them and were very pleased. We did Berlin and St Petersburg with them

Thank you! That is one of the companies on my list. I really want to visit St. Petersburg.