Europe - Northern Europe Cruise Reviews

Not really knowing what to expect from a Baltic Cruise, I have to say we had a great time. There were a few exceptions to that statement, but overall it was wonderful.

We truly had the most wonderful time and felt so well cared for!!  We were thrilled with each meal, our room, the waiters, the shows in the theatre and especially the dancers, singers and musicians! The movies under the stars was a delight and appreciated the choose of shows on our TV. We especially  liked the ability to hear about each port and all the things we could do there.  We appreciated all the entertainment on board and loved our 40th Wedding Anniversary pictures!!

The ports we visited were all very interesting but the best part of the trip was the time on the ship.  The crew members were all very congenial and happy to make our days fun.  We had a suite and it was definitely worth the extra money.  Tallinn, Estonia and Helsinki, Finland were my favorite ports along with our 3 days prior in Amsterdam.

Still waiting on refund from an alcove rental that had to be cancelled due to change in itinerary.

If you want a snapshot of the Baltic this is the cruise to take.  The ship was very comfortable and our cabin near the Centrum deck 9 was very quiet.  Centrum entertainment was very good and half of the Showroom presentations were of high quality while the rest was just OK.

The food and variety was very good, especially lunches in the Windjammer.  Unfortunately Windjammer experiences can be poor as there is not enough seating or staff to continuously clear tables.  We only had dinner there once after a long excursion to Berlin; however this was a terrible ordeal because many excursion returned to the ship late forcing most people to the Windjammer and not the Dining Room.  My Time dining in the Reflections dining room was very good. Reasonable variety and very good service.

The quality of the excursion guide often dictated the quality of the excursion.  If your guide had a clear loud voice or provided headsets and receivers.  This should be a requirement for all excursions!  Since Royal Caribbean provides little information on the excursions or the ports you really have to do your homework to decide an itinerary.  

We have used the excursions offered by United Cruises and found then to be of high quality and good value.  Groups are smaller and they are offered at lower prices.  Since we tend to be risk averse we only use them when the ship is not leaving port.  With the higher priced ship excursion you are guaranteed that the shop won't leave with out you.

we just completed another magnificent Crystal Cruise. The consistently high quality of every aspect of the trip is amazing and the friendly, efficient service of the entire staff makes traveling on Crystal a wonderful experience.

Excellent ship and crew.  A few of the port excursions were poorly planed and the WIFI ($30.00 per day) did not or hardly worked.  The food and service were excellent.  I learned portion control on the cruise and with no bread or lunch, I lost three pounds.  We are planning another RC cruise for next year.

Full ship but with only 950 people it doesn't feel crowded.  Great entertainment and food and beverages, all inclusive.  Mark Ferris in the piano bar was terrific.  Shore tours are very good.  Lots of families so something for everybody.  Definitely recommend Crystal.  Hard to accept less after cruising Crystal.

We cruised the Baltic 15 years ago and enjoyed the entire experience but especially we loved St. Petersburg.  We wanted to see and compare the changes since our last visit (on a different line.)  We were impressed with RCI and the quality of the cruise experience.  The ports have changed (different locations and better dock facilities) and the cities are better prepared for visitors.  There were 4 ports that we did not visit our first time around and they were a delight.  St. Petersburg is wonderful and the fact that we had 3 days in port was a deciding factor.  The Baltic was our second cruise and also our twenty-third cruise. 

The food on the ship isn't that good, and almost all the shows we went to were terrible, with the exception of two. This is also the first time we've been on a ship that didn't have karaoke. On a brighter note, the service on this ship is very very good, and we were pleased with the friendly and attentive dining room staff.

We chose this specific sailing primarily because of the three-day stay in St. Petersburg, which allowed us to take the full-day excursion to Moscow and still have two days in the port city. Royal Caribbean is not our preferred cruise line, but the ports-of-call, coupled with our pre- and post- hotel stays in Stockholm and Copenhagen (respectively), made this an ideal itinerary to see Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and Russia (day trip to Berlin from Warnemunde was a plus, but be aware that more hours are spent traveling to/from Berlin than in the city itself).

NOTE: U.S. citizens do not need a visa to visit Russia if traveling via cruise ship in port for less than 72 hours. You can only leave the ship without a visa, however, if you are taking an escorted tour (including a day trip to Moscow) booked through RC or a local tour provider.

Very good overall. Ship was nice but had no stairs in the middle of the ship which made for long elevator waits at times.  Food was great but buffet was very crowded during busy times when other dining rooms were closed and many food items were empty during the peak times. 

Embarkation and disembarkation was great.  I was unable to get coffee after dinner (without a charge) and they were going to charge me for regular water at dinner.  I've never known a cruise line to do that.  I'm not sure my sheets were changed once during our entire cruise.  I thought the buffet was pretty sparse compared to all other cruise lines.  I didn't like the fact that they charged for room service.  I felt like they were nickel and dimming me on the cruise.  I highly doubt that we will ever do another Costa cruise.  

I have been on more than 20 cruises (much of them on Royal Caribbean).  

Passenger service; cabin service; and food service were all as expected (quite good).

I will be cruising again on Royal Caribbean.

The boarding experience at the port of Harwich, England was incredible. From the time we entered the terminal until we boarded the beautiful Brillance of the Sea it was evident that professionals were in charge of the procedure. The time on board the ship, the excursions, and the service could not have been handled any better.  Every part of the adventure was delightful.

The ship is well maintained but showing it's age. The dining room was better than expected with a nice selection and tastefully prepared and presented dinners. The ports were more than we hoped for, Scotland was memorable, stark and beautiful, many castles and ruins in multiple stops, a delightful afternoon tea, Exciting Edinburgh and Dublin and a disappointing scenic railroad excursion.

All in all, a memorable cruise.

Our cruise was excellent and memorable.  High point was  certainly the two day stay in St. Petersburg viewing the churches, museums and lovely buildings in this historic city.  Another high point was the Vasa museum in Stockholm.......utterly astounding!  Except for a few notable exceptions, the food was superb even without paying for the specialty restaurants.  We thought the cabin was unusually small with no access to the porthole without climbing up on the bed.  However, the service was excellent in all cases.  The entertainment at night was the best we have seen on any cruise ship we have sailed on..

We went on this cruise as a 30th birthday present to my wife having never been on a cruise before.  We were admittedly a little apprehensive as we are pretty active travelers and have never done a cruise before.  Our fears were immediately allayed as we boarded the ship.  We were amazed by the variety of activities and dining options available to us.  Having purchased the dining package we were able to take advantage of all the specialty restaurants.  El Bistro (french), Cagney's (steakhouse), and La Cucina (Italian) all stand out as excellent meals.  Portions were also very reasonable as we were afraid we may over eat like everybody warns about cruising!  The evening entertainment was also lots of fun.  We saw a few shows, listened to lots of music (MoTown Stan and The BG Band both were excellent and played almost every night), and even participated in one of the game shows (and won!).  Each day trip was excellent, with Estonia being a particular highlight.  The excursions were always well organized and the tour guides knowledgable and personable.  Lastly, the staff on the Star were top notch.  From our room attendant Noel to Vladimir who was an assistant cruise director all the way on down, the staff was always ready to help and answer questions with a smile.  We were very pleased with our experience and would definitely cruise with Norwegian again on the future!

Just returned from a very nice cruise.  I have been asked what was the highlight of the trip and that is a hard question to answer.  We loved Stockholm. Tallin was very historic. The palaces and churches in Saint Petersburg were very ornate. Copenhagen was a  good city to explore. The Eurodam was very nice. Our cabin was very comfortable and well maintained. The ship staff was very friendly. The food was good. We normally prefer smaller ships but found the Eurodam size of 2100 passengers to be nice and it actually didn't feel that large. My only complaint is that the shore excursions are overpriced.  We only purchased 4 shore excursions and explored the other ports on our own.

We were very impressed with the ship, staff and service.  We had heard great things about Oceania, and our experience was consistent with those recommendations.   St. Petersburg was fantastic, but other ports of call, such as  Tallinn, Gdansk and Riga, were more interesting and beautiful than anticipated.  The variety of tours offered makes for some difficult choices, but we were pleased for the most part with our selections.  By the time we reached Amsterdam and Bruges, we were ready to explore on our own and sample the local fare. 

The evening entertainment and after-hours dancing in Horizons was great fun, and an unexpected bonus. 

We had high expectations for the food and overall were satisfied.  A few dishes were unsatisfactory, but quickly replaced by the attentive staff.   Don't miss the Sea Bass at Red Ginger - outstanding!

This was a great cruise because it visited so many countries in the 12 days we were on the ship.  All of the tours I took were guided by knowledgeable people..My only complaint was that we had to hurry from one site to the next and didn't really have much time for bathroom stops or any shopping.  I am 76 and Holland America caters to older people.  We can't all walk as fast as some of the guides.  My only suggestion would be to consider one or two less important sites to avoid the feeling of running a marathon.