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Baltic


reps23
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There is no one "best" cruise line for the Baltic. Many, if not most, of the cruise lines, have Baltic sailings. There are some idiosyncrasies...such as which line gets to dock in close at a couple of key ports, and which doesn't. But if you are familiar and happy with one cruise line, you will do just fine in the Baltic with them.

 

Most Baltic cruises are 10 or 12 days. There are only some many ports, and the vast majority of cruise lines hit all the key ports. 2 days (or even 3 if possible)(as opposed to only 1 day) in St Petersburg is probably the most desirable trait of Baltic cruises.

 

Some reading around the board will get you tons of info on Baltic cruises.

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JMHO: If at all possible, I would opt for a cruise that included 3 days in Saint Petersburg. I know that Celebrity, Oceania, RCL & Azamara offer such cruises (there are others as well). I would also look for cruise lines that offer the maximum amount of time in each port of call.

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While you could easily fill 3 days in St. Petersburg, many of the major cruise lines (e.g. HAL and Princess) only spend 2 days there. But you’d be surprised by how much you can see on a good guided tour in St. Petersburg in 2 days. After our HAL cruise, I left St. Petersburg feeling as if I had seen a lot that the city had to offer.

 

I do agree that multiple days in some of the other ports is a big asset. We had 2 days in both Copenhagen and Stockholm. And I highly recommend finding a cruise that docks in Stockholm itself as opposed to Nynashamn, which is about an hour away from Stockholm. By docking at Nynashamn, you miss going through the incredibly scenic Archipelago.

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This cruise is all about the ports, so the actual ship is a little less important than the itinerary. You might want to be careful with the larger ships (such as the Princess royal/regal and NCL getaway), as they dock in Stockholm with little extra clearance. That means any mildly adverse weather will prevent you from docking directly in Stockholm, and missing the archipelago. A smaller ship might have an easier time dealing with customs in St, Petersburg (there's anew law allowing passengers on cruise ship tours to disembark first) and private tours need to wait and a small ship might also be able to dock in Helsinki city center.

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I agree with CruiserBruce. There is no best.

 

Yes, if you can get more days in St. Petersburg that would be nice.

 

I would look at all of the itineraries for the dates you have in mind and start with the itinerary and then as you find ones you like then read about the amenities of the cruise line and look at pricing.

 

Keith

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Agree with the above that itinerary is more important than the ship. With regard to the Stockholm/Nynasham, be mindful that large ships may not end up at Stockholm after all - we picked our Getaway sailing as it was supposedly the last of the season to go to Stockholm (and we wanted to see the archipelago) and only found out when we checked in that NCL changed us to Nynashamn after all. We started in Copenhagen and loved it so would recommend a couple of days there pre-cruise if your itinerary starts there.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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Thank you all for your quick responses. On our last cruise in December to Asia, we met a couple from Israel who will be travelling with us to the Baltics. They would like to go in August and leave from Amsterdam. We were thinking about booking Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas. Anyone been on that ship?

 

I am going to check the itinerary especially Stockholm and see where the ship docks.

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Thank you all for your quick responses. On our last cruise in December to Asia, we met a couple from Israel who will be travelling with us to the Baltics. They would like to go in August and leave from Amsterdam. We were thinking about booking Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas. Anyone been on that ship?

 

I am going to check the itinerary especially Stockholm and see where the ship docks.

 

If you wish to learn about the Brilliance of the Seas, best to look at the reviews, and on the RCI board. Tons of info in those places.

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Thank you all for your quick responses. On our last cruise in December to Asia, we met a couple from Israel who will be travelling with us to the Baltics. They would like to go in August and leave from Amsterdam. We were thinking about booking Royal Caribbean Brilliance of the Seas. Anyone been on that ship?

 

I am going to check the itinerary especially Stockholm and see where the ship docks.

 

We are on a Baltic cruise on the Brilliance that departs May 1. I haven't sailed the Brilliance, but I have sailed her sister ships in that class & I can tell you they are absolutely my favorite class of the Royal Caribbean ships. Lots of glass looking out to the sea!

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  • 2 months later...

Hello khank....we are doing the Baltic on Brilliance in July, first time. How was your cruise? Any tips? Did you use euros or cc for purchases?

Edited by biebz
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