Cruises have long been my favorite type of vacation and throughout the years I have been fortunate enough to see much of the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and Scandinavia through a variety of cruise packages. Last year my husband and I decided to shake things up a little bit so we decided to take a Baltic cruise. I must say that despite a little but of apprehension beforehand, it actually turned out to be one of the best trips that I have ever taken. A Baltic cruise is not something that everyone knows too much about, so I wanted to talk a little on here about what destinations you can expect to find, If you decide to treat yourself to a Baltic cruise holiday.

St.Petersburg, Russia

During the cruise we had an overnight stay in the wonderful city of St Petersburg which offers a great insight into imperial Russia and the buildings and culture which shaped it. This was probably my favorite destination during the cruise as there was something new to discover around every corner, from the spot where Rasputin was poisoned to the intricate Yusupov Palace there is plenty here to enjoy. If you happen to arrive during May or June a real treat awaits you in the shape of the White Nights, which are the evenings when the sun doesn’t set, and festivities take place throughout the city.

Helsinki, Iceland

Helsinki was somewhere that had been on my list of places to visit for a very long time and it was actually one of the motivating factors in taking this cruise in particular. Helsinki is a colorful and vibrant capital which is absolutely packed with art and design. The Icelandic capital is widely considered to be one of the most forward thinking cities in the world in terms of innovation, something which can be witnessed in the architecture, the art installations which adorn the streets, as well as in the charming and eye-opening art galleries such as the Anteneum

Stockholm, Sweden

The Scandinavian cruise which we took in the 90s didn’t actually stop in Stockholm, so we were pleasantly surprised to find that our Baltic cruise would take in the Swedish capital. Something which I wasn’t aware of was that Stockholm is actually a collection of 14 islands. The fact that the city is an archipelago means that there is a real outdoors feel to the city, resulting in busy streets and at times, a touch of chaos. The city is colorful and still looks much like it has done for centuries, with cobbled streets, ancient walls, old squares and traditional boats all around. We only had a day in Stockholm as part of our cruise, probably not a bad idea given the high price of just about everything in the city!

These were my top 3 places on the cruise but you can also expect to see these other wonderful European destinations;

• Estonia
• Norway
• Finland
• Poland
• Denmark

If you are looking for a cruise which offers something a little different, this is the perfect choice.