Who Will Enjoy This Cruise
A European Cruise will appeal to a wide spectrum of passengers in today’s search for a new cruise vacation experience. Those passengers who have traveled to the Caribbean or Mexico in previous cruise vacations, will find it easy to embrace the idea of a cruise vacation to Europe. It is a fabulous opportunity to get an overview of a number of different countries while enjoying the benefits of unpacking one time only and letting your floating hotel transport you from one country to another.
Because the ports offered in this general destination are so varied, you can take a European Cruise vacation a number of times without repeating your visits to the same places. If you are interested in history and culture of the countries of Western and Northern Europe including France, Denmark, Holland, Germany, Finland, Sweden, and Russia, this is the destination for you.
While the subject matter one encounters along the way is mature, the activities offered on board the ships traveling there provide a well rounded ambiance for those who are taking children along. But to be sure, Europe, due to the expense of getting there and the focus on history and culture that is placed on it by the cruise lines does serve as a qualifier for participation by young children to be more minimal by far than other cruise destinations.
Why Cruise To Europe
A European Cruise is an excellent way to introduce yourself to Europe itself. You will get a taste of the European capitols located within each region and come away with a decided multi cultural vacation experience.
In the old days a European Cruise was a long cruise, taking the passenger on a trip of 21 days or more and covering only the largest of cruise ports. Only the wealthy and mature travelers were able to embrace this cruise itinerary. Today, European Cruises one will find range in length from just a very few days, 3 to 4 days, all the way up to 21 plus days in length. The most popular length for this type of cruise remains 10, 12 and 14 days, however. Most passengers feel that if they are going to travel such a long distance (so many coming from the United States), that they want to see enough on the trip to make it worth their while, and yet the trip will still work with their vacation time allowed each year. And just as the diversity of cruise length has changed, so has the cost of this trip for the average traveler improved greatly.
Who Goes To Europe – Large Ships and Small Ships
Fortunately, the major European capitols are located within a range that makes it possible to visit many of them in one of the regional cruise itineraries that are popular today. The main regions of cruises you will find offered when thinking about a European Cruise are a Baltic Cruise, a British Isle Cruise, and a Northern European Cruise. Mediterranean Cruises are considered a separate destination and are also divided up for cruise itineraries by regions. We cover them under the separate heading of Mediterranean Cruises.
A Baltic Cruise has the distinction of being known for the stops made in St. Petersburg, Russia, Copenhagen, Denmark, Stockholm, Sweden, and Tallinn, Estonia. These cruise itineraries are overwhelmingly 10 to 12 nights in length, however, only very recently has Princess Cruises as well as a few of the small ship luxury cruise lines offered a 7 night cruise to this region, making it a great paring with a land trip for a full two week vacation experience.
St. Petersburg is always offered as an overnight stay by all cruise lines, but the small ship lines tend to offer two overnight stays in this region as opposed to one night offered by their big ship sisters. This writer was fortunate to experience St. Petersburg for two full nights and also have an overnight stay in Stockholm, Sweden on the same 12 night cruise itinerary. This is something only a small ship line like Azamara Cruises, or Oceania Cruises will offer as they pride themselves of extended port stops on their itineraries.
Azamara Cruises, Princess Cruises, Holland America, Oceania Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines, as well as Celebrity Cruises, Regent Seven Seas, Silverseas Cruises, and Yachts Of Seabourn will all have this region covered in their cruise calendar. Because this is the most popular European Cruise itinerary and there are so many ships servicing this region it is definitely in your best interest to contact us to do a price and ship comparison for you. Each cruise line has a different approach to the type of ships they use in these waters. And if traveling on a new ship is of interest to you, it is very important that you deal with a travel professional when making your selection of ship as well as itinerary in order to reap the maximum benefit to your experience.
A British Isles cruise vacation is a bit easier to research as this region is not offered by all the major cruise lines. Those who regularly offer this cruise itinerary are Princess Cruises, Holland America, and Norwegian Cruise Lines. Just as the name implies this itinerary stays within the areas of Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland, and at times the Channel Islands. It is the perfect selection for those who are interested in the intertwined history of these three gorgeous countries.
Least traveled of the three regions is the Northern Europe Cruise itineraries, that take you to the furthest north areas of Finland, Sweden and Norway. These you will find offered by Princess Cruises, and Holland America most often. In recent years both lines have added cruise itineraries to Iceland and Greenland to this region and they are gaining in popularity as avid cruisers are constantly seeking a new cruise experience.
When To Go On A Europe Cruise Vacation
European Cruises, regardless of the region being considered are strictly a summer trip. The season starts the end of May and ends in August each year. Any later than that and the temperatures start to turn cold and the skies are cloudy and rainy.
Be prepared for much longer days as you are so much further north that the sun will be out until almost midnight local time, which is great when you want to pack as much sight seeing into each day as possible, but may throw your internal clock off a bit. The sunsets are glorious though and will leave you breathless and your camera filled with fabulous shots at sea and dockside alike. This is a truly special destination and one that should be on everyone’s list of ‘must do’s’ in life!
Why Book A Europe Cruise With Us
When we research this trip for you we will look at ALL the cruise lines that meet your established criteria which saves you an ENORMOUS amount of time. It is extremely important to have a professional agent working for you to identify which of the routes offered will best suite your needs as well as which ship is the best match for your cruising preferences. We also compare the amount of port time on each itinerary to make sure you are getting the most for your purchase and it goes without saying that VALUE is a priority when assisting with a Transatlantic Cruise vacation. We have countless dates that we have negotiated our own pricing with each cruise line, plus added our own special value benefits.