First Time Going to Europe 2 Itineraries Which One to Pick?

[penutbutterjelly]

Day 1 Amsterdam, Netherlands Mon, Aug 21, 2023 Departs 5:00PM	Day 1 Amsterdam, Netherlands Sat, Sep 2, 2023 Departs 5:00PM
Day 2 At Sea - Cruising	Day 2 At Sea - Cruising
Day 3 Berlin (Warnemunde), Germany 14 hrs at port	Day 3 Portland, Dorset, UK 9 hrs at port
Day 4 At Sea - Cruising	Day 4 Cork (Cobh), Ireland 9 hrs at port
Day 5 Stockholm, Sweden Arrival: 9:30AM Overnight	Day 5 Waterford (Dunmore E.), Ireland 12 hrs at port
Day 6 Stockholm, Sweden Sat, Aug 26, 2023 Departs 3:00PM	Day 6 Liverpool, England 10 hrs at port
Day 7 Helsinki, Finland 9 hrs and 30 mins at port	Day 7 Belfast, Northern Ireland 11 hrs at port
Day 8 Tallinn, Estonia 9 hrs at port	Day 8 Glasgow (Greenock), Scotland 11 hrs at port
Day 9 At Sea - Cruising	Day 9 At Sea - Cruising
Day 10 Copenhagen, Denmark Arrival: 11:00AM Overnight	Day 10 Lerwick, Scotland 9 hrs at port
Day 11 Copenhagen, Denmark Thu, Aug 31, 2023 Departs 5:00PM	Day 11 Inverness/Loch Ness Scotland 9 hrs at port
Day 12 At Sea - Cruising	Day 12 At Sea - Cruising
Day 13 Amsterdam, Netherlands Arrival: 6:00AM	Day 13 Amsterdam, Netherlands Arrival: 6:00AM

[Esprit]

The Baltic one, but I'm bias as I live in the UK 😉

[thebutlerdidit]

I’ve never been to any of those ports but I’d love the itinerary that overnights in Stockholm and Copenhagen. 

[BigAl94]

Baltic - no competition. Great scenic interesting ports.

[Provence55always]

Baltic…..fabulous cruise we did this cruise 2017 which was 14 days and included St. Petersburg. Now 12 days but overnights in Sweden and Denmark which should be fabulous. We are booked on this cruise again June 2023.

[jelayne]

Baltic.

[GreenFamily]

I’m jealous because both look great to me.
The best Baltic cruises include an overnight in Russia (St Petersburg). Obviously that’s not an option now. I would wait a year or so to take a Baltic cruise. Also, if it were me, I would not travel to Europe in August. I would travel in September to avoid the crowds. Finally, I have travelled all over Europe and love Scotland more than any other country. I love the history, scenery beauty and the people. 

[Orator]

Been on both cruise and you can't go wrong with either. I prefer the itinerary on the Baltic, but the British Isles is a fine cruise. I would look at the ship and when it's going. As said: August might be less desirable and Berlin is a long bus ride from the port. It's just what you prefer and only you know the answer. 

[Stealthdog]

I have yet to do a Baltic or British Isles cruise but have been to several of the stops on both itineraries.  I would go with the Baltic capitals cruise, but I think both have pros and cons.

 

A con to the Baltic itinerary is those stops will all have so much to do so you may feel a little rushed, particularly Berlin - it is so far away from the port.  If you just want a taste, it may not be so bad.  Having two overnights helps a lot because you can plan 2 days at Stockholm and Copenhagen.

 

The British isles has fewer sea days, but they go to much "smaller" locations.  But it stops at a few places you probably wouldn't visit unless its a stop on the cruise.  

 

Can't you do a B2B and do both? 🙂 

[upwarduk]

33 minutes ago, GreenFamily said:

, I would not travel to Europe in August. I would travel in September to avoid the crowds

We did the Mediterranean in August 2022 and the temperatures were horrendous (45+).

 

We actually did a round Britain in August 2021, as places that we could go to were limited. We had never been to some places on the itinerary, so we saw parts of our country that we had never seen before. The temperatures were not as warm as they have been this year, as can be seen by my husband’s rain wear.

 

Liverpool 2021

 

 

 

 

We have done 3 Baltic cruises, but missed St Petersburg on the last one, as we were not allowed in due to high winds.Some of the countries are too close to Russia for my liking.

[Crazy planning mom]

2 hours ago, penutbutterjelly said:

Day 1 Amsterdam, Netherlands Mon, Aug 21, 2023 Departs 5:00PM	Day 1 Amsterdam, Netherlands Sat, Sep 2, 2023 Departs 5:00PM
Day 2 At Sea - Cruising	Day 2 At Sea - Cruising
Day 3 Berlin (Warnemunde), Germany 14 hrs at port	Day 3 Portland, Dorset, UK 9 hrs at port
Day 4 At Sea - Cruising	Day 4 Cork (Cobh), Ireland 9 hrs at port
Day 5 Stockholm, Sweden Arrival: 9:30AM Overnight	Day 5 Waterford (Dunmore E.), Ireland 12 hrs at port
Day 6 Stockholm, Sweden Sat, Aug 26, 2023 Departs 3:00PM	Day 6 Liverpool, England 10 hrs at port
Day 7 Helsinki, Finland 9 hrs and 30 mins at port	Day 7 Belfast, Northern Ireland 11 hrs at port
Day 8 Tallinn, Estonia 9 hrs at port	Day 8 Glasgow (Greenock), Scotland 11 hrs at port
Day 9 At Sea - Cruising	Day 9 At Sea - Cruising
Day 10 Copenhagen, Denmark Arrival: 11:00AM Overnight	Day 10 Lerwick, Scotland 9 hrs at port
Day 11 Copenhagen, Denmark Thu, Aug 31, 2023 Departs 5:00PM	Day 11 Inverness/Loch Ness Scotland 9 hrs at port
Day 12 At Sea - Cruising	Day 12 At Sea - Cruising
Day 13 Amsterdam, Netherlands Arrival: 6:00AM	Day 13 Amsterdam, Netherlands Arrival: 6:00AM

I would definitely do the Baltic one.

[Presto2]

The Baltic Cruise definitely. To be honest, if you can go further and over to Italy or Greece I'd go with one of those instead.

[kwokpot]

Baltic 

[wineoclock]

5 hours ago, Esprit said:

The Baltic one, but I'm bias as I live in the UK 😉

Snap! 
 

Definitely the Baltics. 

[TMLAalum]

Baltic, although keep in mind that your 14 hours docked in Berlin (Warnemunde) is actually a three hour journey each way from Warnemunde to Berlin! So essentially less than 8 hours in that city. We opted to stay in the port area on our Eclipse Baltic cruise thinking that we'd visit Berlin for a longer time in the future. We did about half a decade later and saw and did so much more than possible on a limited port stop!

[TeaBag]

I would choose the Baltics also but would wait till St P is open again.

[kwokpot]

30 minutes ago, TMLAalum said:

Baltic, although keep in mind that your 14 hours docked in Berlin (Warnemunde) is actually a three hour journey each way from Warnemunde to Berlin! So essentially less than 8 hours in that city. We opted to stay in the port area on our Eclipse Baltic cruise thinking that we'd visit Berlin for a longer time in the future. We did about half a decade later and saw and did so much more than possible on a limited port stop!

Nearby Rostock is a lovely little town and actually I was quite impressed with the boardwalk (wide concrete pathways) at the beach in  Wardenmude. 

Edit: photos of Wardenmude, Rostock. 

Edited November 15, 2022 by kwokpot

[roxette]

24 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

I would choose the Baltics also but would wait till St P is open again.

I agree about the Baltics. But there is no chance that St Petersburg will be an option until, earliest, 2026, I would guess.

[FourNines]

Baltic for sure. We did it awhile back on the Silhouette and is one of our favorite cruises. 

St Petersburg was amazing. Too bad Russia had to go mental earlier this year... 

[gordylad]

Baltic....I live in the UK and most days it is baltic lol...for us we would pick a warmer cruise 

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, TMLAalum said:

Baltic, although keep in mind that your 14 hours docked in Berlin (Warnemunde) is actually a three hour journey each way from Warnemunde to Berlin! So essentially less than 8 hours in that city. We opted to stay in the port area on our Eclipse Baltic cruise thinking that we'd visit Berlin for a longer time in the future. We did about half a decade later and saw and did so much more than possible on a limited port stop!

 

Yes, one wonders why one of the overnights wasn't allotted to Warnemunde, since Berlin is such a long trip in a day...

[dani negreanu]

3 hours ago, TeaBag said:

I would choose the Baltics also but would wait till St P is open again.

 

This.

[GreenFamily]

I don’t know how to edit my comment above.
 

Looking at your itinerary again, I don’t love the either cruise. The Baltic cruise has too many sea days and only visits three ports. There are so many interesting itineraries in the Baltics. I would do more research.

 

The British cruise stops at a lot of industrial areas that I don’t think you would enjoy. Again, there are so many interesting itineraries. Keep looking.

[upwarduk]

1 hour ago, GreenFamily said:

don’t know how to edit my comment above.

Hit the 3 dots at the top right of your post. Then choose Edit.

Unfortunately you have to do it within 20 minutes of posting.

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, GreenFamily said:

I don’t know how to edit my comment above.
 

Looking at your itinerary again, I don’t love the either cruise. The Baltic cruise has too many sea days and only visits three ports. There are so many interesting itineraries in the Baltics. I would do more research.

 

The British cruise stops at a lot of industrial areas that I don’t think you would enjoy. Again, there are so many interesting itineraries. Keep looking.

Where are you getting three ports? It's FIVE. Wardenmude, Stockholm,Copenhagen,Helsinki,Tallin.