Northern European Cruise feedback

[99Wendy]

Im in the beginning stages of planning a Northern European cruise for summer 2020.
I’m scouring the trip reports for others experiences
We have been on 2 Disney cruises to the Caribbean so I’m familiar with the ships. There will be 4 of us including my DDs who will be 13 & 15 at travel time.

What was your experience like?
Did you feel like you had enough time in ports?
Will teens still enjoy the ship, they say they will ?
What other cruise lines (gasp!) did you look at? I’m so pulled to DCL, but feel like I need to do my complete research - DH isn’t as Disney crazy as the rest of us!
What else should I know? This is would be our first trip to Europe
Thanks so much

 

[HakunaMatataNoWorries]

Quite a few people have joined cruise meets groups for 2019 to shadow plans, and where Trip reports from prior cruisers are available.
The July 21st Dover Iceland Norwegian Sweden Copenhagen Group has some 2020 shadowing pending the release of 2020 where contributions include prior trip reports.

 

[99Wendy]

Thanks for the tip!

 

[mmmears]

We took the Norway/Iceland/Scotland last summer and loved it. My DD is in college, so older than your kids. We loved all the ports, thought it was a good amount of time in them considering how much of the map we covered, and also really liked that it started in Copenhagen and ended in Dover. We added a few days on both ends, which added some expense but also time to see more of Copenhagen and London. It's nothing like a Caribbean cruise, in that it's port intensive and we were so tired most days we didn't stay up late. Best thing was not worrying about packing and unpacking constantly, or worrying about food. Also these countries are seafaring nations, so even the smaller towns we visited were right on the water so we didn't waste time getting from the port to town. It was truly a spectacular trip and I'd love to take that cruise again. If you have any other questions, ask me here or PM me.

 

[Geomom]

Which Northern European cruise are you thinking of? Norway or Baltic Sea? We did the Baltic sea one this past summer and had a fantastic time! (My trip report is in my signature.) We felt like we had enough time in the ports and loved starting in Copenhagen--so much to do there! We loved Tallinn, Estonia the most--did the DCL excursion with Marzipan making and old town tour--loved Old Town as it felt like you were walking through a fairy tale village.

It was our first trip to Europe for all but our oldest daughter (who did a school trip to Germany at 17.) I'd definitely suggest coming in 2-3 days early to have some time to adjust to the new time zone and time to explore the departure port. My girls were 14 and 18 on the trip. DD14 immediately made a friend in Vibe on the first day and hung out with her all around the ship--they both love BTS. DD18 did a few of the 1820 society events, but mostly hung out with us--happy to do the 'adult' things like the 'anyone can cook', and the evening adult entertainment in Fathoms. We all loved seeing the characters in their regional outfits! How many people get a pic with Russian Mickey? So cool!

And which ships have you been on--have you done the Wonder or Magic yet? Or just the bigger Fantasy and Dream? The Wonder and Magic are sister ships and the 'smaller' ones. We've now been on the Wonder once (for Alaska) and the Magic once (Northern European)--love that size ship!

We're hoping to do a Norway trip in 2020...if it aligns with our school schedules...and if Disney doesn't raise the price too much!

 

[99Wendy]

Thanks so much! I loved reading your trip report! I’m leaning toward the Baltic Sea trip. It sounds sounds amazing
We’ve been on the Wonder & Dream and enjoyed both.

 

[Ladybugx87]

We did the Baltic in 2017 and it’s absolutely amazing. My kiddos were younger but they loved it and I believe they’d love it when older too.

Feel free to check out my blog - http://jmsadventure.blogspot.com/2017/06/northern-europe-cruise-day-1.html?m=1
There are separate posts for each day. It’s not the easiest to navigate as I use it for travel journal more than anything.

 

[mmmears]

The Baltic cruise is definitely on our list of things to do. We really enjoyed seeing N. Europe on the Magic, and it really did make the planning part much easier than doing a land tour on our own (I've done that before, in more land locked areas).

 

[DahliaRW]

The Baltic is great and the easiest way to visit Russia You get way more bang for your buck if you book your St. Petersburg tour with a private company (cheaper for a private tour for just my family of 5 than all of us doing a group one through DCL). You do sometimes wish you had more time, but it's a great way to visit a lot of places and then decide which you'd like to go back to on a future land-based vacation. The only one I really felt was way too short was Tallin and that's because it was a half day visit.

Our oldest at the time was 13 and he loved having the freedom to come and go from edge and various activities. He did not get bored.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We did Norway/Iceland/Scotland on a B2B on the Magic in 2015. It was unbelievable. However, my DS, at the time, was 7 years old and he LOVED the kids club. It made a port-intensive, European itinerary much easier with a younger child. If your children don't need the Disney experience any longer and would enjoy a more subdued cruise line, you may want to look at Celebrity. It's definitely much more low-key than DCL, but the service is very good and they do have kids' clubs, they are just much, much smaller than DCL's. We just did a Celebrity cruise over Christmas (my DS is now 11) and he really enjoyed it, but he is happy making one or two friends on a cruise and shooting hoops on ship sports courts. My DH and I enjoyed it as well as DS would go to the kids club after dinner and we would usually go to the casino, which, you obviously can't do on a DCL ship! You would, most likely, save a ton of money by booking with another cruise line. That being said, DCL does an amazing job with their European cruises.

 

[drcarter]

We did the Baltic one 2 years ago, kids were 8 and 10. Great cruise!!! We got to see so many places off the usual path. Boys loved Tivoli in Copenhagen, Vasa museum in Stockholm, we did Helsinki on our own using Rick Steves guide. St Petersburg did a tour with TJ tours that was fantastic and a great value...very easy and a lot of stuff, but felt like we saw a lot in limited time. Tallin walked on our own using Rick Steves guide and enjoyed it so much, very easy to do on your own. I highly recommend the cruise. Lots of cool places without having to worry about logistics. I knew that food in those countries might be unique...kids are fairly adventurous but knew it would be nice to come back to comfort zone of ship!

 

[aggiedog]

We did the Baltic on the Magic a few years ago. It was amazing. Definitely find your own excursions - they'll be smaller, better, cheaper. Lots of good info on TripAdvisor for that, and CruiseCritic. Some companies offer discounts if you book in multiple cities. They were long port days, but the weather was great when we were there - cool and breezy, so not as draining as a long day in the Med. My teens had taken AP world history and knew more about the region than we did. They enjoyed that. Try to spend a few days acclimating to the time change before the cruise. That also gives you a buffer in case your flight is delayed. We are 2 for 3 in delayed or canceled European flights.

We cruised MSC for the Med. Their Yacht Club (concierge) is amazing and the cost was insanely cheaper than DCL. Enough we could do a week in France prior and still come out saving money. While I didn't like the ship as much as DCL, for $10,000 less, I could live with it! And really, the YC made you feel pretty darn special. European cruises are about the ports, and you won't spend as much time on the ship anyways.

 

[99Wendy]

We did the Baltic one 2 years ago, kids were 8 and 10. Great cruise!!! We got to see so many places off the usual path. Boys loved Tivoli in Copenhagen, Vasa museum in Stockholm, we did Helsinki on our own using Rick Steves guide. St Petersburg did a tour with TJ tours that was fantastic and a great value...very easy and a lot of stuff, but felt like we saw a lot in limited time. Tallin walked on our own using Rick Steves guide and enjoyed it so much, very easy to do on your own. I highly recommend the cruise. Lots of cool places without having to worry about logistics. I knew that food in those countries might be unique...kids are fairly adventurous but knew it would be nice to come back to comfort zone of ship!

I have a very picky eater and having that safety net of familiar food is a big reason we are trying a cruise as our first European trip! That a getting to see so much without me having to deal with trains or long bus rides!

 

[mmmears]

I have a very picky eater and having that safety net of familiar food is a big reason we are trying a cruise as our first European trip! That a getting to see so much without me having to deal with trains or long bus rides!

Honestly, DCL makes it so easy. We aren't picky exactly, but usually we waste time trying to find a place to eat when traveling. With the cruise we only ate off the ship if we wanted to - we were never in a place where we felt we had to find a restaurant. This made things so much easier for the planner of the trip (me). Also we could tour and tour and I knew that if we returned to the ship and were very hungry we could get food in about 2 mins from the time we boarded (might have happened once to us). I'd also recommend getting to your port city a few days in advance. You'll get a different taste of the area if you stay there for a few days. If it's Copenhagen, there is so much to see and do there. It's a great port city.

 

[DCLCrazy64622]

We took the Norway/Iceland/Scotland last summer and loved it. My DD is in college, so older than your kids. We loved all the ports, thought it was a good amount of time in them considering how much of the map we covered, and also really liked that it started in Copenhagen and ended in Dover. We added a few days on both ends, which added some expense but also time to see more of Copenhagen and London. It's nothing like a Caribbean cruise, in that it's port intensive and we were so tired most days we didn't stay up late. Best thing was not worrying about packing and unpacking constantly, or worrying about food. Also these countries are seafaring nations, so even the smaller towns we visited were right on the water so we didn't waste time getting from the port to town. It was truly a spectacular trip and I'd love to take that cruise again. If you have any other questions, ask me here or PM me.

How was the sea going out to Iceland? That’s the part that makes me nervous.

 

[pjacobi]

If this is your first trip to Europe, read up on how to handle jet leg. It's a serious issue that you need to prepare. If you give into your body, it will only make it worse.

-Paul

 

[mmmears]

How was the sea going out to Iceland? That’s the part that makes me nervous.

Very smooth. That was the day I was worried about, too. I'm really sensitive to motion (can't go on coasters, wear a patch on the ship, etc.) and it was smooth that entire time (2 nights and a day). Ironically it was quite rocky the evening we sailed from Stavanger to Alesund. Even with the patch I felt awful, couldn't finish dinner and went to bed early. Later our server, who kept telling me it was nothing, had to go lie down and missed the 2nd seating. She said 12 others did the same, so this isn't just my being sensitive. But we woke up bright and early to the most amazing and beautiful sail in I've ever seen. And it wasn't ever rough again. Luckily it was a short sailing since it got rough around 5:30 or 6pm and at 6am when I got up it was calm again. Seriously this is an amazing itinerary and I'd love to do it again.

 

[mmmears]

We cruised MSC for the Med. Their Yacht Club (concierge) is amazing and the cost was insanely cheaper than DCL. Enough we could do a week in France prior and still come out saving money. While I didn't like the ship as much as DCL, for $10,000 less, I could live with it! And really, the YC made you feel pretty darn special. European cruises are about the ports, and you won't spend as much time on the ship anyways.

Your post has me thinking about all of this, since I am considering different cruise lines, and it helps to know that you've been on both DCL and another line in Europe. I'm asking this sincerely (no sarcasm or anything) because I've been thinking about this... I agree that a cruise in Europe is port intensive and that you don't get as much out of the ship as you would sailing around the Bahamas, so why the need for the YC? We sailed in a normal cabin on DCL and I was happy with it (and won't be paying the crazy concierge prices for Europe when we would have no need or time to use the perks). I'd love to hear your take on this one. We do like DCL since we are comfortable with the ships, the dining, the way things work, etc. but we were definitely too tired to take advantage of all they had to offer. Was it the same with the YC, or different somehow?

 

[angie7911922]

We did the Baltic, and it was the best cruise we have ever done. I think we had enough time in each port, except for maybe St. Petersburg, but I think I could spend 2 weeks there and not see everything I want to see. In this region, don't use the ship excusions, use an independent operator. There are some really good ones out there (Anastasia's Travel was amazing) and not only will they take you on your tour, they will help you plan it based on what you want to see. They are usually less expensive than the ship also.
Yes, your teens will still like the ships.
We've also cruised Royal Caribbean with our boys. And they do like them as well.

Good luck planning!

 

[99Wendy]

We did the Baltic, and it was the best cruise we have ever done. I think we had enough time in each port, except for maybe St. Petersburg, but I think I could spend 2 weeks there and not see everything I want to see. In this region, don't use the ship excusions, use an independent operator. There are some really good ones out there (Anastasia's Travel was amazing) and not only will they take you on your tour, they will help you plan it based on what you want to see. They are usually less expensive than the ship also.
Yes, your teens will still like the ships.
We've also cruised Royal Caribbean with our boys. And they do like them as well.

Good luck planning!

Thanks! We actually decided on doing the Western European cruise. It was a tough decision! I told my DH we can always do the other one another time- he rolled his eyes