European Cruises Itineraries Choosing Your Ideal Cruise

Typical cruise itineraries
* The Greek Isles/Eastern Mediterranean: The Aegean Sea and sometimes the Adriatic as well, with port calls in the Greek islands (Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos, and so on), Athens, Kusadasi, Turkey, and sometimes Istanbul. Some of the cruises also visit Dubrovnik or other ports in Croatia.
* Western Mediterranean: The area from Barcelona or Lisbon to Rome and including port calls in Spain, France, and Italy.
* The Rivieras: The French Riviera (with ports such as St-Tropez), Monte Carlo, and small Italian Riviera ports (such as Portofino). May also include Rome.
* Scandinavia & Russia: The Baltic Sea; Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; Tallinn, Estonia; and St. Petersburg, Russia. May also include Oslo.
* The British Isles: England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, and sometimes France; sailing in the North Sea, Irish Sea, and English Channel.
* Norway & the Fjords: Norway from Bergen up to Honningsvag and the North Cape.
The Black Sea/Middle East The area from Athens or Istanbul to Yalta, with port calls in Bulgaria, Romania, and the Ukraine. Europe cruises may also be combined with the Red Sea (Egypt and Israel).

Special itineraries
* The best of Europe: One of the best ways to see Europe if you’ve never been here before is on one of the 2-week cruises that visit the major cities. These cruises tend to combine aspects of the above itineraries to give passengers a comprehensive (albeit quick) look at Europe. An example is Holland America’s 14-day Northern Europe Capitals cruise from Copenhagen to Rome/Civitavecchia, which visits Oslo (Norway), Antwerp (Belgium), Le Havre/Paris (France), Lisbon (Portugal), Barcelona (Spain), and Monte Carlo, among other ports.
* And there are some Grand Mediterranean–type sailings like Princess’ 12-day Med: from Venice to Barcelona, with port calls in Monte Carlo (Monaco), Livorno and Naples (Italy), Athens (Greece), and Kusadasi and Istanbul (Turkey). You can extend your stay with hotel nights in Venice and Barcelona.
* River cruises: Europe’s inland waterways offer a wealth of cruise opportunities on smaller vessels specifically designed for river and canal travel, including luxurious barges that ply the waterways of inland France, Holland, Ireland, Belgium, and England, offering a close-up view of the local culture.
* There are also larger river ships in France, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and the former Soviet counties, as well as in Italy and Portugal.

Tags:Cruises in Princess First Lines Royal Caribbean Mediterranean Cruise Norwegian Cruises Carnival Cruises Transatlantic Europe River Cruises Costa Cruises Discount Celebrity Cruises Vacations