Baltic Cruises

If you’re interested in Baltic cruises, then be sure to visit a new website, www.cruisebaltic.com. Ten countries have paired up to promote tourism in the Eastern European region. You can hop aboard a number of cruise lines, including Carnival, Fred Olsen, Holland America, MSC, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Oceania, P&O, Princess, Regent Seven Seas, Royal Caribbean International, Seabourn, Silversea Cruises and Swann Hellenic Cruises for your Baltic/Scandinavian cruises. The website provides you with all you need to know about Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia and Sweden so you can decide where you’d like to visit.

There are many Baltic cruises offered but here are some of the best itineraries. Regent Seven Seas Cruises offers a 7-night Russia and Baltic cruise leaving from Stockholm and wrapping up in Copenhagen (or vice versa) in July and August, spending three days in St. Petersburg. Prices start around $3,604 per person, including gratuities and drinks. The UK’s Fred Olsen Cruise Lines offers a 14-night “Treasures of the Baltic” adventure leaving from Southampton en route to Berlin, with three days in St. Petersburg starting at $2,266 per person for the cruise only. Costa Cruises’ “Baltic Discovery” offers 12 nights starting in Amsterdam on August 5th, calling at all major ports and spending two days in St. Petersburg for $1,970, including flights and transfers. Princess Cruises has great Russian and Scandinavian cruises that run 10 nights from May to September, departing from Copenhagen and stopping at Gdynia, as well as two days in St. Petersburg for $1,678 including flight. Lastly, Swan Hellenic’s 16-day “Journey to the Land of the Tsars” cruise departs from Dover in July, spends three days in St. Petersburg and tours the Kiel Canal starting at $3,975 per person, not including flight.

Baltic cruises are appealing because there is so much culture, history and world-class entertainment, all within reach of the other European countries. The downside is that not all the countries have opted for Euro currency, which means you’ll need krone in Norway, krona in Sweden, kroner in Denmark, zloty in Poland and rubles in Russia. The only places where you can use your Euros are Estonia and Finland. Yet on Scandinavian cruises, you can visit the balsa Kon-Tiki raft and Ra II reed ship used by Norwegian ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl at Oslo’s Kon-Tiki Museum. In Helsinki, Finland, you can shop at the esteemed local markets or visit the Church in the Rock. In St Petersburg, Russia, you can see the massive Hermitage art museum, catch a ballet or opera, visit the Peterhof summer palace or see where Raputin was poisoned at Yusupov Palace. Germany houses some of the world’s best food and music in Berlin, not to mention historical locations like Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gates and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. In Poland, you can see where the first two shots of WWII were fired in Westerplatte and Stockholm invigorates with its tour through the archipelago.

Practically speaking, Baltic cruises are ideal for people who dislike those long treks from the ports to the epicenter of adventure. For instance, you’re dropped off right in the heart of Oslo, Norway. Tallinn is just a ten minute walk from the port and Stockholm offers a 20-minute walk or 15-minute taxi ride. In Helsinki, you’ll take a fifteen minute shuttle to all the action. Even though these tours are often overshadowed by the Eastern and Western Mediterranean cruises, you’ll find that the traffic isn’t as congested in Eastern Europe and you’re treated to more offbeat adventures.