Newbie: Where to start?

We've traveled all over the world independently for the past 30 years, but never have taken a cruise. We're thinking of doing our first one next year. We'd like to start in Scandinavia and end in St. Petersburg, possibly adding on a couple more days at the end before flying home (to allow time on our own to see more of the Hermitage than one day's worth).

We don't want one of those mega-ship sort of things. We aren't big party people, so the whole casino, nightclub, formal dress thing is irrelevant to us. If there is an art or history slant to the cruise, perhaps with lectures on the culture of various ports of call, that would be very appealing.

Where does a newbie even begin? There are SO many cruise lines and itineraries, options, etc. I will be doing the usual mounds of research and reading reviews, etc., but if someone can offer a bit of advice to start us off, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Other factors to consider before suggesting a line are:

How important is the food?

How much do you want to spend? There are mass lines, mid level and then luxury.

How active do you want to be with activities on the ship?

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We are trim, health conscious, and don't over eat, so a huge buffet is not a draw at all.

Although we don't travel "luxury," we are not as concerned about price as we are having the cruise match our travel style. Probably mid-level price would suit us fine.

I doubt we would be much engaged in ship "activities," but then, we have never been on a cruise.

I would visit a travel agent specializing in cruises. Just to warn you, I am not sure their are any that start or end in St. Peterburg.

I'm not aware of any Baltic cruises that start in Scandanavia and end in St. Petersburg. There are Copenhagen to Copenhagen cruises.

None of the mega ships do Baltic cruises, and due to the price/length of Baltic cruises, they don't tend to attract a lot of partiers.

I agree with the suggestion to consult a cruise specialist.

Roz

I would visit a travel agent specializing in cruises. Just to warn you, I am not sure their are any that start or end in St. Petersburg.

Per above, not aware of any either.

Some River Boat Cruises begin in Moscow and end in St. Petersburg. Friends were on one doing that last year. That might be a possible consideration for you.

LuLu

I would visit a travel agent specializing in cruises. Just to warn you, I am not sure their are any that start or end in St. Peterburg.

I would echo seeking the help of a cruise specialist. They can find and book one a cruise or an alternative one if the start/end ports aren't possible.

Sounds like a river cruise is right up your alley.

Check out the forum here on CC

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=191 :)

A River Cruise would work for what you want. there are also some foreign lines that might have the itinerary you want. i used Silja out of Helsinki, Finland a few years ago. But I don't know how that would be now.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

You really need to see a travel agent and sit down and talk. Not an online TA where you don't really get to ask a lot of questions and can't look at brochures.

A River cruise might be a solution for your Russian portion of travel.

Check out ferries for Scandinavia.

We cruised from Copenhagen rt to Copenhagen on the Emerald Princess and the ship stayed in St. Petersburg port for 2 full days.

I loved St. Petersburg and we experienced a lot such as the Hermitage, Peterhoff, Catherine's Palace, shopping on our own, cathedrals, etc.

This cruise was fantastic and the Scandinavian countries were beautiful. One of the best cruises we have ever taken!

Keep in mind that if you want to explore St. Petersburg on your own, you will need a visa which is pretty expensive. Some private tour companies will get one for you if you are taking their tours but I'd check ahead. I don't know of any cruises that begin or end in St. Petersburg.

And, no one speaks English like you may have experienced in many countries all over the world. On your own, this might be problematic if you are not fluent in Russian.

I's suggest you consult a cruise specialist TA and look into Princess, HAL and Viking (river cruises) as a starting place.

I would get some cruise books out of library, Berlitz, Frommers, Fodors all good.Berlitz does ALL cruise ships, annually. On euro cruises you are in port most days so fancy cabins not necessary. Consider the middle range, mid sized ships of Celebrity. Princess and Holland America, Holland does really attract the aged group. Celebrity, to my taste, has best food and its latest ships; Reflection and Silhoutte, most beautiful. I would leave the little River ships for later, Remind me of a squished container ship.Also do not understand their high prices.