Northern Europe - Advice Please

Brand new to these boards but not to cruising, we have taken 5 all with Disney (members of their vacation club). Very satisfied with their product but seems they have priced it outrageously higher than other lines, so looking to branch out. Interested in Northern Europe (either Norway or Baltic) if that matters. Any suggestions? TIA!!!

You say little about your age and tastes so it is hard to answer....but basically all of the major cruise lines will give you a comparable experience to Disney without the price premium.

Part of that premium is based on the fact that Disney has no casino for ancillary revenue. And it is...."Disney". Kind of like "Lexus, BMW or Cadillac".

Personally we usually go with Princess, with HAL in 2nd place, but Celebrity and RCL are very competitive, too.

Oh...and welcome to CC!

Can't help with the cruise you are asking about, but I can say welcome to the cruise addicts forum! :cool:

Hi, Peggyalto, and welcome! :)

Either Norway or the Baltic are served by most of the lines sailing from the UK, and honestly, you can choose from vast, action-packed, to large, busy and to small, adult only with quieter activities. There's the brand new Anthem of the seas(RCI) which has every activity I can think of, which I suggested to relatives with active teens; there's sophisticated Cunard, there's even the oldest cruise ship sailing, the classic Marco Polo (Cruise and Maritime).

Perhaps it will depend on the ages of those sailing with you?.....the adult only ships have a reputation for older travellers, but there's plenty to do on board.

I hope I haven't just set your mind in a whirl! ;)

Keep in mind the bigger the ship, the longer it takes to get everyone off, particularly at tender ports. We watched them still running full tenders for over two hours from a large European flagged ship in Santori and just shook our head at the whole notion.

If you have the option, consider a smaller ship--1000 guests at most.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

We did a Baltic cruise on Princess and loved it.

Most of the Baltic cruise include an overnight stay in St. Petersberg. This is an absolute necessity.

Thank you all for the welcome! We definitely do not want a mega ship, tried one of Disney's and prefer a midsize (no larger than say around 2000 passengers). Plenty big for us. We are empty nesters but still both working, not interested in a "party" ship, want to be able to relax. Husband has back issues so moving from room to room every couple of days is not his idea of a good time...one of the reasons we love cruising. Obviously Disney caters to families so having lots of kids onboard is not a problem for us (assuming they're reasonably under control;)) but kid's programming is not a draw either. Disney's service really is top notch and we'd be looking for that in a cruise line...I am assuming some are stronger than others. Never thought about the lack of a casino driving the prices up but it makes total sense!

Considering your demographic I strongly suggest you look at Windstar cruises. They do everything DCL does right--plus some. A whole lot of some.

I am checking Carnival every day for the release of a 14-day roundtrip itinerary in 2016 that may be of interest to you. Two years we did a Carnival Legend repo from Dover to New York, via Iceland and Greenland. Pricing was excellent and the cruise outstanding.

Perhaps the 2 smaller Cunard ships will be right for you? Excellent service, although they're formal, if that's a concern.

P&O's Aurora is a beautiful ship, with an indoor pool which has good seating areas around it where you can sit in comfort and watch the fjords (it can be cold outside). There's also Oriana, the same, but that is for adults only...an older ship, but quite classy.

HAL usually has a small ship sailing from the east of England, and there's plenty of even smaller ships such as Fred Olsen and Cruise and Maritime. (adult)

If you are looking at the Baltics make sure the cruise has at least 2 or preferably 3 days in St. Petersburg. We did the Baltics on Crystal & really enjoyed the cruise. There weren't too many kids on board. We also liked that it was a smaller ship. None of our ports were tender ports. Crystal may seem expensive up front but with the all inclusive it turned out to be a great deal. Loved not being nickel & dimed all the time.

I am checking Carnival every day for the release of a 14-day roundtrip itinerary in 2016 that may be of interest to you. Two years we did a Carnival Legend repo from Dover to New York, via Iceland and Greenland. Pricing was excellent and the cruise outstanding.

We did a Baltics from Dover too on the Legend and adored it.

Unfortunately, it seems Carnival has announced most of its summer 2016 plans and the only ship in Europe next year is the new Vista and shes doing the Med.

I think Royal would be a good alternative to Disney.

You could check out the premium or luxury lines the ships are smaller but not sure what your budget is so that may be a big factor

Enjoy whatever cruise you choose

If you wish St. Petersburg to be your focus for a Baltic cruise then look at small ships that cater to less than 800 guests. They can dock in sight of the Hermitage in the heart of St. Petersburg while larger ships dock much farther away. Azamara, Oceania, Regent, Seabourne, all use the canal piers and most itineraries have a three day stay. If you have never been there before 3 days is not nearly enough but it is much better than anything else offered by any cruise line other than river cruise lines.

For Norwegian cruises you can book almost any line including coastal steamers.

There is a lot of information about both areas on the Ports of Call boards. One of the biggest aides to planning your cruise will be the Roll Call for your chosen sailing.

Go to http://www.cruisetimetables.com and choose some ports you would like to visit from the second list of ports. then choose the time you would like to travel. It will tell you who is calling there, and their full itineraries. EM