Northern European Cruises

By David Barclay | September 11, 2024

The mention of a European cruise likely brings up images of cruising the Mediterranean. Sailing the Spanish & French Riviera, navigating around Italy, or stopping at multiple Greek islands. But there’s more to European cruising than the Mediterranean, and Northern Europe ports have a lot to offer travelers.

The waters off the coastlines of Northern Europe are vast, offering numerous ports to explore. There’s no standard Northern European cruise itinerary. Travelers can cruise along the coasts of Portugal, Spain, and France, or they can cruise the Baltic Sea. Some cruises will circumnavigate the British Isles. There are even itineraries that just circumnavigate Iceland, a great way to explore this island country. I haven’t included any cruises of the Norwegian coast, since I view those as unique expedition-like cruises and believe they deserve their own dedicated Cruise News Newsletter (see my previous newsletter devoted to Cruising the Norwegian Fjords).

Below are a few of my recommended lines, ships, and itineraries. This is just a sampling of cruise options to show you the variety in itineraries available. If you don’t see a cruise itinerary that looks perfect for you, reach out to me and we can discuss other options.

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Silversea (Silver Spirit)

7-night Copenhagen to Stockholm
June 24 – July 1, 2025

This is a very typical Baltic Sea itinerary, starting in one capital city and ending in another. Starting and ending in large cities ensures good outbound and return flight options. Guests can also spend a few days pre & post cruise exploring these cities. While there are numerous other ports on the Baltic that ships can visit, most itineraries will have stops in Denmark, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Sweden. And hopefully some day soon, St. Petersburg can be added back as a common port of call for Baltic Sea cruises.

The Silver Spirit had been the flagship of the Silversea fleet until the launch of the three Muse class sister-ships, and she was completely refurbished a few years ago. At ~600 guests, she’s comparable in size to the Muse-class ships and offers all of the onboard amenities and services guests expect from a Silversea ship.

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Regent Seven Seas (Seven Seas Voyager)

10-night Lisbon to London
June 27 – July 7, 2025

This itinerary on Regent Seven Seas is a classic example of a cruise along the Portugal, Spanish, and French coastlines. This cruise ends in London, but others can disembark in Brussels or Amsterdam. And as is common with this Northern Europe cruise route, there is an overnight stop in Bordeaux, giving wine lovers even more time to explore this treasured wine region.

The Seven Seas Voyage accommodates up to 680 passengers and offers guests 7 different dining venues. Cruise fares include shore excursions in each port and guests can add economy or business class airfare. When adding airfare, Regent includes transfers both between the guests’ home and home airport and the destination airport and the ship.

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Seabourn (Sojourn)

7-night Castles, Lochs & Scottish Highlands
Aug 2-9, 2025

An example of an itinerary that focuses on the British Isles, this 7-night cruise provides guests with highlights of Scotland. Longer itineraries (~2 weeks) can provide a more intensive exploration of Scotland, Ireland, and England.

The Sojourn is a 450 passenger ship that offers guests a very intimate experience. The country club casual vibe Seabourn is known for can be felt throughout the ship, and guests will enjoy both classic spaces like Seabourn Square and the newly introduced Solis restaurant.

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Crystal (Serenity)

8-night Portsmouth to Copenhagen
June 22 – 30, 2025

For a slightly more unique itinerary, consider this one from the newly reincarnated Crystal Cruises (now owned by A&K). Starting from England, guests will visit popular cities including Bruges, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen, while also getting a taste of the Norwegian coast with stops at Stavanger and Kristiansand.

The Serenity was complete refurbished in 2023. During the refurbishment, Crystal combined numerous suites and reduced the overall passenger capacity from 900 to 740. Crystal also had over 80% of its former crews return and since relaunching the general consensus is the classic Crystal onboard experience was retained while adding incremental new experiences brought by the new ownership.