May 2013 baltic cruise which line?

Im having trouble picking a cruise line! We always cruise Royal Caribbean so we are def looking at that one from London! Heres what we are looking at

1) Celebrity from Amsterdam 12 days Constellation

2) Celebrity from Southhampton 14 days on tge Eclispe

3) Royal Caribbean from Harwich 12 days on Brillance of the seas

4) Norwegin from Cophenhagen 9 days on the Sun

Which would be best for.us? Or do you recommend??? It will be me my wife and 2 teen grandsons! Thanks!

We can't tell what is best for you, as we don't know you. I would only recommend something important like this if we knew things like your interests, limitations, likes and dislikes.

When I chose our Baltic cruise, my focus was on the ports rather than the cruise lines. My selection criteria included:

(1) starting and ending ports that we would like to spend extra time pre- and post-cruise. We chose a cruise with different starting and ending ports. Flying open-jar is not necessarily more expensive.

(2) whether the cruise stays 2 days in St. Petersburg.

(3) whether the cruise sails through the Swedish Archipelago: Some cruises stop at an outside port near Stockholm but don't sail through the archipelago.

(4) whether the itinerary includes my "must-see" ports.

I am sure that you and your family will have different selection criteria. However, many people will agree that itinerary is more important than the cruise line when choosing a Baltic cruise.

When I chose our Baltic cruise, my focus was on the ports rather than the cruise lines. My selection criteria included:

 

(1) starting and ending ports that we would like to spend extra time pre- and post-cruise. We chose a cruise with different starting and ending ports. Flying open-jar is not necessarily more expensive.

(2) whether the cruise stays 2 days in St. Petersburg.

(3) whether the cruise sails through the Swedish Archipelago: Some cruises stop at an outside port near Stockholm but don't sail through the archipelago.

(4) whether the itinerary includes my "must-see" ports.

 

I am sure that you and your family will have different selection criteria. However, many people will agree that itinerary is more important than the cruise line when choosing a Baltic cruise.

I agree with your excellent points. We also had to consider how much time off of work we could take when choosing our Baltic cruise ( we are leaving in 15 days woohoo!), although I realize that is not an issue for everyone. Whatever you choose have a terrific time :)

Im having trouble picking a cruise line! We always cruise Royal Caribbean so we are def looking at that one from London! Heres what we are looking at

1) Celebrity from Amsterdam 12 days Constellation

2) Celebrity from Southhampton 14 days on tge Eclispe

3) Royal Caribbean from Harwich 12 days on Brillance of the seas

4) Norwegin from Cophenhagen 9 days on the Sun

 

Which would be best for.us? Or do you recommend??? It will be me my wife and 2 teen grandsons! Thanks!

Not to sound finicky or anything, but you are basically asking us to select a cruise for you. Now isn't that silly???

You have to be the one to do the research and select one that YOU feel will make you and your family happy.

So far you have gotten some excellent points. Add to those, the starting and departing city or cities as to airfares getting to them. Places like London will be cheaper than Copenhagen. Also if you are doing any pre or post cruise stays, the hotels in a city like London, though fairly expensive, are no where near what it might cost in Copenhagen for similar accommodations.

As was said, the number of days in St Petersberg are very important.

Read thru many of the threads on this site about many of the different cities you might want to stop at. See which cruises do those ports and for how long at each port. You might really want to see say Oslo and some cruise lines do not dock there.

How many seas days there are on each cruise might play a factor. Some people want little or no seas days, we enjoyed them as a chance to 'catch up on sleep' and just realize were we were and what we have to look forward to.

Size of the ship plays a factor for others also. Some like larger ships while others prefer the smaller ones.

It is easy for us to give you hints, but we sure cannot suggest which cruise you should take.

Cheers

Len

Since you want one of us to make the choice for you...I choose RCI out of Harwich..which is what I chose for myself except it was on the JOS :D...ENJOY what ever "you" decide !!!!

I was just wondering what you guys would pick! Tganks!

I was just wondering what you guys would pick! Tganks!

RC is our line of choice too however itinerary is always our first priority. You need to decide what is most important to you. If the line and/or ship can make or break a cruise or you, that is where you should start. When researching for our upcoming Baltic cruise RC just didn't have what we were looking for. We loved the ports and schedule for Norwegian and eagerly look forward to our first trip on that line.

Have yet to have a bad cruise and feel the trip is what you make of it, but a quick glance of member reviews will show that a little rust and chipped paint can ruin an entire vacation for some cruisers :eek:

Take your time choosing your trip, then enjoy the planning.

I would choose the Eclipse because I've done that cruise and can tell you how fantastic it is :D

We were making the same decision and we choose the Constellation. We preferred the itinerary. We ended up canceling when Royal Caribbeans 2013 itineraries came out for the Vision. They have a June & July Baltic cruise that includes three days in St. Petersburg.

I was just wondering what you guys would pick! Tganks!

We would upgrade the cabins on the Sun and stay the extra days in a

St. Petersburg apartment. We have done it twice.

Not to sound finicky or anything, but you are basically asking us to select a cruise for you. Now isn't that silly???

 

Len

Of course, the OP knows the preferences of his family. He just requests more information/additional aspects that other people might be aware of.

To the OP: Constellation has a T-pool which other ships probably do not.

Cheers,

Voyager

The three things that were most important to us were the length of the cruise (we really couldn't do more than a 10 day cruise due to work), having two days in St. Petersburg, and the number of and timing of sea days. In the end we were torn between HAL and Oceania, but decided on HAL because Oceania didn't have any sea days and with such a port intensive tour, we knew we would want a "day off".

Of course, the OP knows the preferences of his family. He just requests more information/additional aspects that other people might be aware of.

 

 

Thanks for your help in answering this question. I guess your 33 posts here make you the voice of reason. No offense meant.

Cheers

Len

Thanks for your help in answering this question. I guess your 33 posts here make you the voice of reason. No offense meant.

 

Cheers

 

Len

Not every one, at least on this board, has the communication skills of a lawyer. Meaning that instead of making a laugh of somebody's post, it is better and, probably, a little bit more human, to try to understand what actually was asked.

No offense here, but do you really think the reactions like this would encourage people to submit more posts?

When I chose our Baltic cruise, my focus was on the ports rather than the cruise lines. My selection criteria included:

 

(1) starting and ending ports that we would like to spend extra time pre- and post-cruise. We chose a cruise with different starting and ending ports. Flying open-jar is not necessarily more expensive.

(2) whether the cruise stays 2 days in St. Petersburg.

(3) whether the cruise sails through the Swedish Archipelago: Some cruises stop at an outside port near Stockholm but don't sail through the archipelago.

(4) whether the itinerary includes my "must-see" ports.

 

I am sure that you and your family will have different selection criteria. However, many people will agree that itinerary is more important than the cruise line when choosing a Baltic cruise.

We used the above criteria, plus

(5) make sure ship docks in Stockholm and not somewhere outside of Stockholm (maybe that's redundant with point (3), I'm not sure.

(6) avoid UK or Amsterdam ports that require longer sea trips to get to the Baltics.

And, we booked Eurodam Gems of the Baltic with HAL, roundtrip Copenhagen.

We are in the process of deciding who to sail with and I think it will be Princess on the Emerald because of the itinerary. We also wanted the two days in St Petersburg. There are also two at sea days that I think we will really need to rest up. Eleven days is a long cruise for us.

One of the things that we were interested in was whether the ship sailed through the Kiel canal, and whether it did that in daylight or overnight. We particularly wanted to see the canal so will be sailing from the UK and passing through in daylight on FO Balmoral next July.

Im having trouble picking a cruise line! We always cruise Royal Caribbean so we are def looking at that one from London! Heres what we are looking at

1) Celebrity from Amsterdam 12 days Constellation

2) Celebrity from Southhampton 14 days on tge Eclispe

3) Royal Caribbean from Harwich 12 days on Brillance of the seas

4) Norwegin from Cophenhagen 9 days on the Sun

Which would be best for.us? Or do you recommend??? It will be me my wife and 2 teen grandsons! Thanks!

There are many, many variables to consider. Given our experience last June on the Solstice in the Med, I would probably lean a little towards its sister ship, the Eclipse. You can see much more on the features, food, entertainment, etc., for these ships on my live/blog noted below. Great classy and nicely-designed ship with many wonderful options and features for you and your family.

For the Baltics, in my view, they are so much about the ports, the great cities and places you can visit and experience. It's not as much about the ship. That's nice, but it's not the main choice/decision. What are your personal interests and travel style, past Europe experiences, etc., for you and your family? Tell us more!! How much for history, architecture, culture, nature, shopping, etc.???

Then, there is the key factor/option of starting and ending port or ports. In 2008, we departed from Dover in the southern UK, allowing five days prior in southern England to see many great locations there before starting our cruise. We finished in Stockholm and did an extra day there before flying home. Copenhagen is a great city from which to start and/or finish your cruise. As correctly noted, you have to look carefully on where the ship docks and how long you have in each port. A few ships will say "Stockholm", but then dock an hour away, costing you valuable time and wasting lots of effort getting up and back. Not good.

Below are a small sampling of my highlight visuals on some of the super stars you can see and experience in the Baltics. The cruise ship is important, but in my view, it is only maybe one third of the total question to consider. Look forward to hearing more details back from you on your specific interests.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 86,833 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 72,693 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Appreciate those who have “tuned in” for these two posts. Don’t be shy and feel free to comment and/or ask any questions of interest.

At Stockholm’s Royal Palace, the changing of the guard is one of the key highlights and is handy, close to the next-door historic old town area. :

Here are some of the fountains and water at the spectacular Peterhof outside of St. Petersburg. The greatest technological achievement of Peterhof is that all of the fountains operate without the use of pumps. Water is supplied from natural springs and collects in reservoirs in the Upper Gardens. This elevation difference creates the pressure driving most of the fountains for the Lower Gardens, including the Grand Cascade.: : [/b]

As we entered Catherine's Palace outside of St. Petersburg, here was the welcoming band.:

Dancers marching in Tallinn’s festival parade near the stone towers of the famous Viru Gate:

At St. Petersburg’s Hermitage, just one of many, many great galleries, art, design, etc.:

Copenhagen’s Nyhavn or “new” Harbor is actually old and charming. This waterfront entertainment district is lined by brightly colored 17th and early 18th century townhouses and bars, cafes and restaurants. Serving as a "heritage harbor", the canal also has many historical wooden ships. Lots of people and fun activity!!:

Our decision is the Emerald Princess June 3 out of Copenhagen. Many factors enter into any cruise decision and we usually go with the one with fewest compromises for us. Some factors include cost, dates, times in each port, departing/returning ports, flight costs, etc etc. These are unique to each person/family.

I would choose a Fred Olsen Cruise from the UK. They have various Baltic itineraries. The ships are smaller and service charges are not automatically added.

We did the Constellation cruise out of Amsterdam some years back and loved the whole Baltic experience, it remains one of my top fav cruises till date. You absolutely need to pick a cruise which stays 2 days in St. Petersburg, IMO this was the high point of the trip. As one of the posters said you want to decide which starting port you'd like to explore, we spent a week in Brussels and Amsterdam pre-cruise. One thing I can assure you is that you won't regret doing this itinerary, happy travels:)

Does anyone have any knowledge of whether they think the Baltic cruise would be interesting for our 3 sons, ages 20, 18, and 15? They are not overly interested in history, but do love cruising.

Does anyone have any knowledge of whether they think the Baltic cruise would be interesting for our 3 sons, ages 20, 18, and 15? They are not overly interested in history, but do love cruising.

Only they can answer that. I would have them look at some of the tour guides of the cities you would visit and ask what appeals to them -- lots of very interesting history in the Baltics from Vikings to the Tzars to recent times. These are very port intensive cruises.

I have not yet taken a Baltic cruise, but with the help of people on this board, I have booked a cruise for July 2014. I was looking largely at the cruises on two particular lines, but these were my considerations:

1. Stockholm. I wanted at least a day and a night in Stockholm, which meant that the cruise had to begin or end there. Cruises that simply stop in Stockholm are there for a limited time period, and I wanted more time there.

2. Copenhagen. Because of responses I received on this board and elsewhere, I became convinced that Copenhagen was a city we needed to visit. Once that decision was made, I wanted to spend a day and a night there. As a result, I booked a cruise that ends in Copenhagen (and begins in Stockholm).

3. SPB. I wanted two days in SPB. The cruise I booked has three days there, allowing an option to take on the second day a Moscow excursion (which I doubt we will take because Moscow is just not on our "bucket list"). Three days in SPB was not a necessity for us, but we wanted at least two days.

4. Berlin. I was looking at a shorter seven night cruise with a pre-cruise trip to Berlin. As it worked out, we are taking a 10 night cruise with a stop in Warnemuende for a Berlin excursion. Unlike Moscow, Berlin is on the bucket list. And as an aside, there are Princess cruises that begin or end in Warnemuende, and Azamara cruises that spend 18 hours there rather than the standard 14 hours, allowing for (with some effort, creativity and a tad more money) more time in Berlin on an excursion.

5. Time. How long do you want to be away and on a cruise ship. For us, seven nights is too short, but nine or so is just right, so we are taking a 10 night cruise with a day extra in Stockholm and a day extra in Copenhagen. Or so that is the plan if all goes well.

6. Sea day(s). For us, a sea day was not a requirement, but a plus.

I hope the thought process of someone else helps. About 10 days ago, I had a similar question, asking for opinions on two particular seven night itineraries I was then considering. In the end, I selected neither, opting for a 10 night cruise because of a major promotion by Azamara this month. But the comments I received on my thread were very informative and guided my decision.