I am looking at taking a Baltic Cruise this June 18 on NCL's Norwegian Dream. It had the best dates and closest itinerary that I was looking for. Royal Caribbean has one on 6/9, that might be possible to take instead, but costs another $1000. Any advice on excursions, cruise lines, what to see, etc.?

Our family of 7 is also planning a Baltic cruise this summer and found that Costa Lines has the best deals out there, especially w/children. You may be able to find lower price to free up more money for your port visits.

Barbara_S,

you might want to elaborate which ports will be visited - it would be easier then to give some advice as to what's worth seeing.

Other than that, the June cruise is definitely preferable over the September one. June is a glorious month at the Baltic Sea due to the long daylight hours and a good chance of sunshine.

Hello, If You will visit Estonia's capital Tallinn, then take some time to visit medieval city.
If You have more time, please visit countryside and islands.
take a look:
http://visitestonia.com/index.php?page=2

Also is wery beautiful Latvian capital Riga and its medieval city.

Thanks for the feedback! I haven't been on the Costa Line; I'll look it up. The ports NCL hits are: Tallin, St. Petersburg, Moscow (optional), Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, & Berlin. RCCL stops at Oslo instead of Berlin. I've never been on the NCL line, and it seems to get mediocre reveiws. The stops looked great, though!

Barbara- Some of the downrating of the Dream is that it has been "stretched"
to add more staterooms (and passengers). You didn't mention that it
went through the Kiel Canal. This isn't as spectacular as the Panama, but you can see people & countryside close up and it cuts 2 days off the cruise (= $). Might be close to filling right now. Hope you enjoy!

My husband and I are sailing on the Radisson Seven Seas new Voyager leaving Stockholm Aug 27th. We are doing a pre cruise in Moscow for 4 nights. I am now wondering about the weather. Will it be cold already? We will be 2 nights in St. Petersburg Aug 29 & 30. This cruise line is wonderful; known for their great food and service. Free wine with dinner and a fully stocked bar in the cabin. No charge for water or soft drinks and NO TIPPING! In the long run with the special pricing it ends up less expensive than other lines. We booked Red October for the tours in St. Pete's. Judy