Favorite port- Europe

[tx121]

What is your favorite port in europe? Thinking of a Greek cruise or a Baltic cruise.

Edited February 12, 2020 by tx121

[XuGator]

Must have port if Greek Isles is Santorini

Must have port on Baltic would be St Petersburg

[ppcox]

Having cruised both itineraries its a tough choice. Very different experiences I think I would say the Baltic ports just. Yes St petersburg because there is so much to see ( I’ll never forget the Faberge egg collection or the fountains at Peterhoff) but we also loved Helsinki and had a good time in Stockholm and Copenhagen. There is something gentle and polite about the culture of Scandinavia that as a visitor is very appealing.

[FranknBeans]

On 2/1/2020 at 11:13 AM, Blessed Tex Cruiser said:

 

 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2020 by FranknBeans

[FranknBeans]

Our favorite is Venice then Croatia for the Gothic buildings and  beautiful waterfront

[Wannacruise81]

Right now this itinerary on the Jade looks very attractive.  And it's in Santorini for most of the day.

 

Edited February 12, 2020 by Wannacruise81

[sprint180]

St. Petersburg  Russia then Tallin Estonia

[tallnthensome]

Rome, St Pete/ Moscow, Estonia were are favorites .... Athens and Mykonos are great too .....

[Bostonjetset]

Hands down St. Petersburg.  Copenhagen is another fave. Greece is beautiful too and you can’t go wrong with either itinerary but something about the Baltic region is just special. 

[Wannacruise81]

Go with Greece!😁

Edited February 12, 2020 by Wannacruise81

[tx121]

Thanks everyone for the information. We are looking to do this cruise May 2021. I'm looking at the Escape to the Baltic or the Getaway to Greece. I'm leaning towards the Baltic. How are the prices for the excursions in that area? I heard Scandinavia can be quite pricey. 

Edited February 13, 2020 by tx121

[Bostonjetset]

11 minutes ago, tx121 said:

Thanks everyone for the information. We are looking to do this cruise May 2021. I'm looking at the Escape to the Baltic or the Getaway to Greece. I'm leaning towards the Baltic. How are the prices for the excursions in that area? I heard Scandinavia can be quite pricey. 

Whilst the Baltic can be expensive, that cruise is also $200/pp less so that will cover *most* of the excursion in Russia [by far the most expensive one of the trip] depending on what you select.  Tallinn can easily be done on your own as the old town is lovely and walkable from the port [free except for spending money and food if desired].  Warnemunde is lovely in its own right and Berlin is quite far so you may want to stay in that area [we did].  Stockholm and Copenhagen are expensive for sure but you can always find things to do on a budget.  We took a similar itinerary with HAL in 2017 [though ours was 12 nights and we actually went to Stockholm rather than Nynashamn and we had an overnight.  We also went to Kiel, Germany but otherwise it was similar] and I did a photo review.  I'll attach it below in case you are interested in whetting your appetite for the Baltics.  It is seriously one of my favorite cruises.

 

 

[janabanana1701]

Loved the Baltic Cruise - St. Petersburg is stunning, but also loved Copenhagen and Helsinki. Did a Grand Med cruise as well and Athens was amazing - but Venice was probably my favourite on that cruise. I don't think you can go wrong with either a Baltic or a Greek Isles cruise - I only saw Athens and Mykonos on my grand Med - but Santorini is on my bucket list! 

[XuGator]

Of the 2 itineraries posted above, the Baltic looks better to me. Greek Isles without Athens doesn't seem right on the Mediterranean cruise.

[Bostonjetset]

2 hours ago, XuGator said:

Of the 2 itineraries posted above, the Baltic looks better to me. Greek Isles without Athens doesn't seem right on the Mediterranean cruise.

Agree. Anyone with even a remote interest in the history of western civilization would want an itinerary that includes Athens. A lot of people say how dirty it is but we found it quite interesting and authentic. We did a Greek cruise in 2016 and chose RCCL due to NCL’s lack of Athens on the itineraries that fit our timeframe. 

[fastpitchdad]

I have kind of (Venice which included stops in Greece) done both (reviews below). They are very different. For me the Baltic cruise ports were far more interesting largely because the ports were less cruise ship touristy but the Mediterranean was very enjoyable as well. 

[yoolykeme]

17 hours ago, tx121 said:

Thanks everyone for the information. We are looking to do this cruise May 2021. I'm looking at the Escape to the Baltic or the Getaway to Greece. I'm leaning towards the Baltic. How are the prices for the excursions in that area? I heard Scandinavia can be quite pricey. 

 

 

So funny....I was picking between those two also, except I ended up booking the 11 day Greek Isles option, which includes Athens.

 

I wanted to do the Baltic one, but the restrictions for being able to stay in STP overnight were too expensive.

 

But my needs are different from yours.  I can probably see Greece, Italy, and France pretty easily, and the Baltic region is less likely, so whichever one is less "accessible" to you might be the one that you want to choose.

[casofilia]

My favourite port is always the one I am next going to board a cruise from!!

[tx121]

22 hours ago, Bostonjetset said:

 

 

 

Wow..Thanks for sharing! Great photo review. I really enjoyed it. 

I am 75% sure we will choose to do the Baltic Cruise. I'm trying convince the rest of my group to pick this itinerary. A few want to experience the beaches of Greece and culture. But like others have pointed out, the cruise on the Getaway doesn't include Athens, so I could maybe sway them my way! lol! Thanks again!

 

 

 

[tx121]

4 hours ago, yoolykeme said:

 

 

So funny....I was picking between those two also, except I ended up booking the 11 day Greek Isles option, which includes Athens.

 

I wanted to do the Baltic one, but the restrictions for being able to stay in STP overnight were too expensive.

 

But my needs are different from yours.  I can probably see Greece, Italy, and France pretty easily, and the Baltic region is less likely, so whichever one is less "accessible" to you might be the one that you want to choose.

 

That is very true! If we want to see Greece, Athens is a MUST! I may use this to convince my group to do the Baltic! lol!

 

[fastpitchdad]

1 hour ago, tx121 said:

 

That is very true! If we want to see Greece, Athens is a MUST! I may use this to convince my group to do the Baltic! lol!

 

 

If you do the Baltic cruise use Alla tours for your SPB days. They are awesome and about half the price of booking through NCL. 

[Tricialy]

They're both amazing cruises.  My favorite port in Europe is Invergordon, Scotland (I know, not what you asked)   We also used Alla tours on our Baltic cruise and they were great (and much cheaper than NCL)

[mugtech]

Barcelona was our favorite Med port, spent 3 days there, could have done more.

[jemz1949]

Flew into Barcelona three days early last year and did the Western Med on the Epic then jumped on a plane to Copenhagen for the Baltic cruise on the Getaway a day later.  Many wonderful ports but my favorite is by far, Barcelona.  Returning soon to do the 10 day out of Rome which goes to Croatia, Greece, Montenegro with stops in Florence and Naples.  

[milolii]

1 hour ago, jemz1949 said:

Flew into Barcelona three days early last year and did the Western Med on the Epic then jumped on a plane to Copenhagen for the Baltic cruise on the Getaway a day later.  Many wonderful ports but my favorite is by far, Barcelona.  Returning soon to do the 10 day out of Rome which goes to Croatia, Greece, Montenegro with stops in Florence and Naples.  

 Wow,  My kind of vacation. Well done!

  We are cruising  the Baltic this summer.  We took a Spirit Grand Med Cruise several years ago and it was fantastic!  We visited most ports mentioned.  But my favorite was Istanbul. Not much of a chance to go there right now, though.