One of my favorite cruises that I went on in 2019 was the Scandinavia and Russia cruise I sailed with Royal Caribbean. This cruise was a great way to visit some destinations I knew I would probably never get to on my own, and helped me experience and see places I had never even thought of!
Royal Caribbean’s Scandinavian and Russia Cruises sail from Stockholm, Sweden, or Copenhagen, Demark. These sailings usually occur in the summer months and early fall. Royal’s Serenade of the Seas sailed from Stockholm last July. This is a great time to sail to these destinations because the weather usually isn’t too hot. Of course, we arrived back to Stockholm to a major heatwave making it as hot as it was in Florida with little to no air conditioning, but that is a rare occasion. There was one point on our day at sea that I wrapped up in a sweatshirt and towels because it was pretty chilly, which is usually the case with Baltic sea cruises!
Our Scandinavia cruise had us visiting St. Petersburg, Russia with an overnight stop there (total of 2 days), Tallinn, Estonia, Helsinki, Finland, and Visby, Sweden. Every single one of these stops was absolutely magical and I loved getting to spend time in places I have never even thought to visit in the past. When you visit these countries around the Baltic Sea, you can expect to see forests, lakes, fjords, cities, and so much more. The Baltic cruises through Scandinavia offer cities and towns full of medieval heritage. I loved these destinations so much because of the amount of history that has taken place in each location. For example, UNESCO World Heritage listed Old Town in Tallinn, Estonia as one of the most preserved medieval cities in the world.
What to Expect:
Most cruises sailing Scandinavia and Russia destinations depart out of locations like Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Oslo because they sit on the water. Not only are these destinations a great place for your cruise to leave, but you can use these destinations as another way to tack on extra days to visit your departure city. Because these ports are so close to your destinations on your cruise itinerary, you will usually only have a day or two at sea. We only had one day at sea on our itinerary because of how short the distances were to each port of call, so we made sure to use this day as our day of rest and relaxation knowing we were going to be going full steam ahead for the next 5 days. Since the ports of call are all pretty close together, you do get to spend the majority of the day visiting each location and having the full day to explore. It’s the perfect amount of time to see a lot in a short travel window.
Weather:
Most Scandinavian cruises will depart in late spring, summer, and early fall. The weather is much better for sightseeing and it is not as cold or hot.
Cost of a Scandinavian Cruise:
Depending on the cruise line, these prices can vary. Remember, because you are going to some hard to visit destinations (like Russia) the cost for these cruises tends to run a bit higher than say a typical Caribbean vacation. Royal Caribbean does a great job keeping prices right in the moderate range and I truly feel that you get what you pay for, especially when it comes to service and cleanliness with Royal Caribbean.
Why cruise and not travel to each destination on your own?
I knew I wanted to visit Russia, and didn’t think my first time to Russia should be as an individual trip. Sailing with Royal Caribbean ensured I was safe and knew that if something were to happen, I knew they “had my back” (in a sense). We used a local tour company while we were in Russia, which made it even better walking around with a local who could speak Russian. To be honest, I had never even heard of Visby, Sweden, and didn’t think it would even be that great to visit. I honestly thought Royal Caribbean just needed another port of call and threw it on the itinerary because I found NOTHING in advance when I was researching all about our destinations. It turned out to be my absolute favorite and am so glad I got to see a place I had never even heard of before booking this cruise. I was also very pleasantly surprised by Estonia. I didn’t really have this location on my “To Visit” list, so when I saw the opportunity to go somewhere I didn’t think I’d ever really visit on my own, I jumped at the chance. Sometimes cruising to places like this allows you to visit places for the day that you may have never even considered visiting.
If you’re looking to visit these ports of call on a future cruise, check out my posts on each destination to see how to make the most use out of your days in each port:
If you are thinking of visiting any of the above destinations, I highly recommend a cruise as a way to explore and get around. While I love traveling through countries on my own and exploring that way, a cruise is a totally different type of vacation and is well worth it!
Love and Travel Dust,
Molly
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