How to Choose a Cruise to Europe
Embarkation Ports and Best Itineraries on Europe Cruises
Jul 6, 2009
Europe is a growing segment of the cruise industry as evidenced by the increased number of ships deployed there for 2009. For example, Royal Caribbean will have eight ships in Europe for 2009 offering cruises ranging from four to 14 nights. But with so many itineraries, home ports and ports of call, how does one choose? Here is a breakdown of what ports to expect on popular Europe cruises throughout the industry.
Types of Europe Cruises
- Mediterranean Cruises – Eastern Mediterranean cruises usually feature Greece, the Greek islands, Turkey, Italy and Croatia. Ports of call may include Athens, Santorini, Istanbul, Kusadasi, Venice and Dubrovnik. Western Med cruises may feature a number of Italian ports such as Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Genoa, Naples and Civitavecchia (Rome). Other Western Med ports include Barcelona, Malaga, and the French Riviera.
- Northern Europe and Baltic Cruises – Many Northern Europe cruises feature European capital cities such as Stockholm, Berlin, Helsinki, Oslo, Amsterdam and Brussels. But other interesting cities such as Bergen, Rotterdam and St. Petersburg are also popular ports on a Baltic or Northern Europe cruise. For a cruise that includes the fjords on the western coast of Norway, make sure the cruise includes Bergen. And for cruises visiting St. Petersburg Russia, expect to spend at least one night.
- British Isles and Iceland Cruises – From golf cruises to pub crawls, a cruise in the British Isles features ports of call in England, Ireland and Scotland. Notable ports include Dublin, Edinburgh, Inverness and Belfast with shore excursions that include scotch distillery tours, golf excursions, visits to castles and swimming in the therapeutic water of the Blue Lagoon in Iceland.
Best Europe Embarkation Ports
- Mediterranean Cruises – Depending on the cruise line, departure ports for Mediterranean cruises include Venice, Rome (Civitavecchia), Barcelona, Malaga, Athens (Piraeus) and Southampton.
- Northern Europe and Baltic Cruises – Cruise passengers can choose from Southampton, Harwich, Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen to start their cruise for Northern Europe and the Baltic. Copenhagen is the popular gateway for a cruise to Russia.
- British Isles and Iceland Cruises – Two of the most popular embarkation ports for cruising in the British Isles are Oslo and Southampton. A few major cruise lines, such as Princess Cruises are offering cruises to Iceland and use Southampton as the embarkation port for this cruise.
Not all Europe cruises are roundtrip, therefore choosing a cruise that starts and ends in the same port of call will be cheaper from an airfare perspective. But selecting two different ports to embark and disembark will provide more opportunity to explore two different cruise ports more extensively by staying in hotels on either end of a cruise.
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