Non-DCL Europe Cruises

[owensamo]

We recently returned from a 10 night Celebrity Reflection cruise out of Civitavecchia to Messina, Sicily, Valetta, Malta, Santorini, Rhodes, Mykonos and Athens Greece, and Naples, Italy. We really enjoyed the cruise and the Reflection! For less than our 12n Oceanview in the Baltic on DCL 2 years ago, we had concierge class, unlimited beverages and Wifi, paid gratuities and $300 OBC plus we had specialty dining on 6 of our 10 nights (which was excellent!). The ports were awesome, the ship was comfortable, the service and friendliness of the staff was DCL-level, and even the stage shows were better than anticipated (though not DCL-level shows). All in all, a great cruise - and I would cruise Celebrity again! We're hoping for a British Isles or Norway cruise at a good time for us in a couple of years, and I have my fingers crossed for a Celebrity ship.

 

[Piper23]

I've sailed twice on DCL- Western Caribbean and Bahamas and I just booked for June 2018 on the Norwegian Breakaway for a Northern Europe 9-day cruise (Scandinavia/ Russia). Will be staying in one of their studio cabins- and am looking forward to the adventure.

 

[KashasMom]

Our cruise last year on RCI's Serenade of the Seas was amazing! It was the 13 night Ultimate Scandinavia and Russia cruise, the highlight being 3 full days in St. Petersburg. We had only one sea day and were constantly on the go, which we loved. We met great people (on the cruise and in each city) and had delicious food!

Our itinerary was:

Stockholm (2 days)
Helsinki
St-Ptersburg (3 days)
Tallinn
Riga
Klaipeda
Rostock
Fredericia
Copenhagen

We flew into Stockholm a day early and went to the Vasa Museum, did a walking tour of Gmala Stan, an under the bridges boat trip, and a lot of exploring while we were there. We did Helsikni on our own - took a bus from the ship and explored the city by subway and on foot. In St. Petersburg we went with TJ Travels and saw so many amazing sights. I had always wanted to go to St. Petersburg and I was not disappointed. The highlight for us was probably having dinner with a local family in their home. Excellent food, company, and vodka! In Tallinn we did a private walking tour. In Riga we did an Art Nouveau walking tour - great architecture. In Klaipeda we took the ferry to the Curion Spit, went to Nida, and Witches Hill. In Rostock we did a tour of Warnemunde/Rostock/Schwerin. In Fredericia we went to Egeskov castle by private bus with a stop at Hans Christian Anderson's house. We stayed an extra day in Copenhagen and explored on our own including a private walking tour - everything from Amelienborg Castle to the Little Mermaid to great meals at Nyhavn.

We had been on the Serenade before (another great cruise) and like the ship very much. We literally were so exhausted each day that we never ate in the MDR or saw any shows. We had a great group on Cruise Critic and a bunch of us arranged private tours. It was a lot of fun being with the same group(s) of people and many of us are still friends.

 

[KashasMom]

It appears that our next duty station will be Naval Base Rota (in Spain), so I am dreaming up all the cruises in Europe that we can take over the next 3-5 years.

How lucky you are?! Europe is a great base not only for cruises but for being able to drive from country to country as well as taking advantage of insanely low airfares! Enjoy!

 

[cscream13]

We took a 10 night Mediterranean cruise on Oceania Riviera during her inaugural season in 2012. It left out of Athens, then hit Santorini, Ephesus, Taormina, Amalfi, Rome, 2 nights in Livorno (Florence), Marseilles and finally ending in Barcelona. I am pretty sure they do the same itinerary in reverse, too. We absolutely loved it!! The food and the service were both spectacular! I would recommend it without hesitation.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

River cruises!

 

[kaseyC]

Have you taken a non-DCL cruise somewhere in Europe?

What was the cruise line?

What was your itinerary?

Did you enjoy it?

It appears that our next duty station will be Naval Base Rota (in Spain), so I am dreaming up all the cruises in Europe that we can take over the next 3-5 years.

We've also done a number of land trips in Europe in the years between and with our cruises. Airfare within Europe and trains are quite reasonable, add in an inexpensive apartment rental and you have an easy and inexpensive getaway to a nearby city.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

We just got back from a cruise with Viking. It was a two week Viking Homelands cruise. We were absolutely spoiled rotten on Viking. Love their included tours. It was port heavy with one sea day and 7 countries. We added days in Stockholm and days in Oslo, Norway. A couple of years ago we took a Viking River Cruise. It was their Grand European tour. We added days in Amsterdam and Budapest. There is nothing like a European river cruise. I would do either again in a heartbeat.