Pre cruise suggestions

[irishcropper]

We are on June 17, 2017 Baltic & Russia cruise leaving from Copenhagen. Would love to stop in another country on our way...any suggestions on where might be a convenient place for flights from US to head and then economical way to connect to Copenhagen ? I've been looking on message boards for ideas, but thought I would just ask here. With flights so expensive I'm hoping to check off some other countries. I should add we've been to Western Med, England, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Paris.... Everyone on here is so helpful...love reading Terry from Ohio posts & pics. Just thought someone with more travel experience might have some ideas!!! Thanks!

[KeithJenner]

How about stopping at Reykjavik on the way. I've never used them, but I understand that Iceland Air do fairly good deals and you have the option of a few days stay over there.

 

Some friends of ours went there a couple of weeks ago and their photos look fantastic.

[CruiserBruce]

Well, if a "new" country is the main goal, look to see what Aeroflot can do. Chicago to Moscow and back to Copenhagen. Or Turkish Air to Istanbul and then up to Copenhagen. Or Ailitalia to Rome, then back to Copenhagen.

 

Just takes a little research.

Edited June 12, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[Hlitner]

Two good options. You can fly Icelandic via Iceland and have a free stop-over (for many days). Or, you could book Aer Lingus and get a free stopover (for multiple days) in Ireland :). Another option is to fly to a place like Paris (DW's favorite city) for a few days pre-cruise...and then continue to Copenhagen via train or plane.

 

In fact, there are about as many options as your imagination. Europe is actually a relatively easy continent to get around...so for us, it is just a matter of getting to someplace on the continent...and then we simply figure out the best way to get to our final destination (air, train, or even rental car). In fact, since we are retired and time is not an issue, we will often use a repositioning cruise (or the Queen Mary 2) to get between the USA and somewhere in Europe...and then go from wherever.

 

Hank

[hun]

We're going to the Baltics in September 2017 and are investigating flying over on Icelandair so we can do the stopover and do the Golden Circle/Blue Lagoon

[Desdichado62]

How about Northern Sweden and the High Coast area? The high coast area is together with the Finnish Kvarken archipelago known as the High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago world heritage site.

 

It have been formed over the past 10'000 years in a process that is known as post glacier rebound. A process that is a result of several kilometres of ice pushing down the land but when the ice melted the land started to rebound and thus rise up from the ocean.

 

http://www.hogakusten.com/en/hk.html

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/898

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Coast

https://translate.google.se/translate?sl=sv&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=sv&ie=UTF-8&u=www.h%C3%B6ga-kusten.se&edit-text=

 

 

You live in Indiana, which is not that far from Chicago from where you can find direct flight to Stockholm, where you can connect to a flight to Örnsköldsvik.

Edited June 15, 2016 by Desdichado62

[pjs678]

We're on a similar cruise this summer. Right now we are about to board our flight to Moscow via London. Then we will fly to stockholm to cruise the Baltic. The Russian visa process was fairly straightforward. We can now do our own thing in St Petersburg too.

[CruiseMGM]

How about stopping at Reykjavik on the way. I've never used them, but I understand that Iceland Air do fairly good deals and you have the option of a few days stay over there.

 

Some friends of ours went there a couple of weeks ago and their photos look fantastic.

 

I have to agree with this idea! We did a Baltic cruise last year and flew Iceland Air, with a stopover on the way to Copenhagen. We stayed just 2 nights but had a fantastic time. Rented a car and saw as much as we could possibly see in such a short time before continuing on to Copenhagen. We enjoyed Iceland so much that we went back, with the adult nephew in November to try to see the Northern Lights. Got lucky enough to see them the first night (in November, not June!) and then it was socked in after that.

 

Good luck with your quest!

[Trickypony]

How about stopping at Reykjavik on the way. I've never used them, but I understand that Iceland Air do fairly good deals and you have the option of a few days stay over there.

 

Some friends of ours went there a couple of weeks ago and their photos look fantastic.

 

We are on a Baltic cruise in June too. We are flying IcelandAir with a 5 night stopover in Reyjkavik. It was the cheapest option, and it has been a decade-long dream to visit!

 

I'm sure you've decided by now, hope you enjoy whatever you picked. Post some more info and pics when you are back.

 

Safe travels, X

[TMLAalum]

We've always added a land week or more to our European cruises. With trains and budget airlines it's a piece of cake to visit a landlocked city or country.

 

Iceland is a great suggestion. I believe Icelandair now flies from O'Hare, but we made the drive from CLE to fly from YYZ last year with a stopover enroute to Paris, then a Flybe/Air France flight to Southampton for our Eclipse cruise followed by 2 weeks in England.

 

This summer we are using American miles and wanted to avoid connecting thru London, so are instead flying to Berlin for 3 nights, taking the train from there to Prague where we are 2 nights and from Prague flying EasyJet to Amsterdam fro 2 nights before we board the Silhouette. Our flight routing home is on Finnair via Helsinki!

 

Other times we've spent time in Hungary (post-Baltic cruise), Italy (pre-Adriatic cruise) and the Auvergne region of France (post-Greek Isles cruise).

 

You have lots of time to dream and plan!

[Desert Cruizers]

We will be flying to Copenhagen a year from this August and found Norwegian Air very competitive with E 2 Air. Our plan is to book from home in So Calif to Boston Round Trip then non stop, Boston to Copenhagen ( 9:30 PM flight ), 1 way arriving at 10:20 AM the next morning.

[ljandgb]

While I hesitate to recommend Iceland (purely selfishly - too many tourists these days!), it is beautiful, and Icelandair will give you up to 7 days stopover. What is particularly nice is that it is only 5 hours from the east coast, which really breaks up the transatlantic travel time.

 

Plan well ahead, as accommodations book many months in advance.

 

Consider a 2-3 day overnight tour to farther flung parts of the island. Less tourists, more nature, accommodations and most food is usually included, and you can let someone else do the driving while you gawk at the amazing sights.

 

We did a 2 day stop over before our Baltic cruise. I went back with a friend 8 months later, and I'm trying to figure out how to get there again.

[estebofarr]

We flew to Prague, pre-cruise, loved the city. Then flew to Copenhagen to stay a dew days pre cruise. Best decision we ever made.

[TLCOhio]

We are on June 17, 2017 Baltic & Russia cruise leaving from Copenhagen. Would love to stop in another country on our way...any suggestions on where might be a convenient place for flights from US to head and then economical way to connect to Copenhagen ? I've been looking on message boards for ideas, but thought I would just ask here. With flights so expensive I'm hoping to check off some other countries. I should add we've been to Western Med, England, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Paris.... Everyone on here is so helpful...love reading Terry from Ohio posts & pics. Just thought someone with more travel experience might have some ideas!!! Thanks!

 

Appreciate so much this kind mention by our "neighbor" from Indiana about my pictures and posts. Glad to know you're a person of such high class, great taste and wonderful judgment to make these generous comments.

 

YES, working out good pre- and/or post-cruise stops can be an excellent strategy to see and do more in and around Europe. Copenhagen is a great city and lots of pre-stops options mentioned by others on this thread are very good. BUT, things can be challenging on getting the air connections, at the right/best pricing, can be difficult. Give it a try!! Work hard at being creative in exploring the complex airline rules and options.

 

For our 2010 Norway cruise to the top of Europe as detailed below on my live/blog, we got some time in London both coming and going. That allowed some nice time at Windsor Castle and then on the return doing a West End play in London. Lots of good options in and around London for exploring the Cotswolds/Oxford, south of London for Kent, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

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 199,849 views.

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