The city center is a charming mix of old city walls and a large modern shopping centre. With multiple restaurants, museums, cinemas and theatres there is plenty to be explored. Time spent at embarkation and disembarkation ports may be limited which may restrict availability of shore excursions.

Kiel is a port city on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast. In the old town, the rebuilt, medieval St. Nikolai Church hosts classical concerts. Holstenstrasse and Dänische Strasse are streets lined with shops. Along the Kiel Fjord, the Maritime Museum displays model ships and nautical instruments in a former fish auction hall. Cruise ships dock at the Ostseekai Terminal in Germania Harbor.

Surrounded by the sea and its own archipelago, Helsinki, the Finnish capital, retains its nautical feel with many sailing events during the summer. Exploring the fascinating sights of Helsinki, cruise guests will discover the city is also the country‘s main cultural focus, offering dance, ballet, opera, and other festivals. The striking onion-shaped cupolas of the Uspensky Cathedral (modelled on the one in Odessa) are just one example of the Soviet influence on a country which achieved independence less than 100 years ago. Highlights of cruises to Helsinki also include some of the traditional Finnish building in the Senate Square and the North Harbour. Helsinki is a compact city – ‘a pocket-sized metropolis‘, as it was once described – so it is easy to get around, especially in the historical centre. Or you can take the touring ‘pub tram‘ and drink in the views, including the colourful flower market near the harbourfront. After months of dark, cold winter, it is hardly surprising that the Finns pull out all the stops to celebrate the genuine warmth of their summers with outdoor events all around the city such as the Coming of Spring, Midsummer, the Helsinki Festival, and the Annual Night of the Arts.

Surrounded by the sea and its own archipelago, Helsinki, the Finnish capital, retains its nautical feel with many sailing events during the summer. Exploring the fascinating sights of Helsinki, cruise guests will discover the city is also the country‘s main cultural focus, offering dance, ballet, opera, and other festivals. The striking onion-shaped cupolas of the Uspensky Cathedral (modelled on the one in Odessa) are just one example of the Soviet influence on a country which achieved independence less than 100 years ago. Highlights of cruises to Helsinki also include some of the traditional Finnish building in the Senate Square and the North Harbour. Helsinki is a compact city – ‘a pocket-sized metropolis‘, as it was once described – so it is easy to get around, especially in the historical centre. Or you can take the touring ‘pub tram‘ and drink in the views, including the colourful flower market near the harbourfront. After months of dark, cold winter, it is hardly surprising that the Finns pull out all the stops to celebrate the genuine warmth of their summers with outdoor events all around the city such as the Coming of Spring, Midsummer, the Helsinki Festival, and the Annual Night of the Arts.

Estonia‘s cruise port Tallinn is also a fascinating medieval capital. This multi-faceted jewel of a city and its architecture – a legacy of Teutonic, Polish and Russian rule – will have your eyes on stalks. From the spectacular onion domes of the Nevski Russian Orthodox Cathedral to the Baroque Toompea Castle (home of the Estonian Parliament) and the elaborate Gothic façade of the 13th century Raekoda, Europe‘s oldest town hall, all can be explored from our Tallinn cruises. Another highlight of a Tallinn cruise is the magnificent St Mary‘s Cathedral, with its display of more than 100 coats of arms – but do take time out just to stroll the winding streets and cobbled squares of the city‘s atmospheric old town, where you will find exquisite amber jewellery, fine lacework and gorgeous woollen jackets at bargain prices. Visit the workshops in Catherine‘s Passage to watch artisans creating leatherwork, jewellery and ceramics, or simply retire to a pavement cafe and relax while enjoying alfresco performances from brass bands, string quartets and strolling players.

A small but perfectly formed Hanseatic town, no wonder Visby is described as the ‘Pearl of the Baltic‘ or, even more evocatively, as the ‘town of roses and ruins‘. This popular Swedish cruise port on the west coast of the Baltics largest island, Gotland, was once a Viking trading post but it later developed into the Baltics main Hanseatic centre between the 12th and 14th centuries. Embark on one of our cruises to Visby and you will discover more than 200 warehouses and wealthy merchants stone dwellings from that time remain within its two-mile long medieval walls, making it the best-preserved fortified commercial settlement in northern Europe and earning it World Heritage site status. From here, your Visby cruise tour will take you on a stroll through rose-scented alleyways to the lovely Botanical Gardens. Visby bring cruises here a mixture of ancient and modern, with plenty of lively cafes and interesting shops to go with the living history and fascinating selection of museums.

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen was the adopted home of Hans Christian Andersen – commemorated in the waterfront sculpture of his Little Mermaid. And, true to the spirit of its most famous resident, Copenhagen has a fairytale magic all of its own. Discover the beauty of the Copenhagen cruises while visiting the delightful Tivoli Gardens, where you can soar above the city in a hot air balloon suspended from a Ferris Wheel. Stroll down leafy byways as dusk falls and hundreds of lights twinkle through the trees or in the shops and cafés of Stroget, Europe‘s longest pedestrianised shopping street. With a variety of destinations to explore, cruises to Copenhagen have plenty to offer. Enjoy another stroll along the Nyhavn Canal, browsing the market stalls and looking at the fine old sailing ships moored near its banks. You will find more history at the magnificent Christiansborg Palace, the National Museum – home to fascinating Viking relics – and at Kronberg Castle – the former Elsinore of Shakespeare‘s ‘Hamlet‘.

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen was the adopted home of Hans Christian Andersen – commemorated in the waterfront sculpture of his Little Mermaid. And, true to the spirit of its most famous resident, Copenhagen has a fairytale magic all of its own. Discover the beauty of the Copenhagen cruises while visiting the delightful Tivoli Gardens, where you can soar above the city in a hot air balloon suspended from a Ferris Wheel. Stroll down leafy byways as dusk falls and hundreds of lights twinkle through the trees or in the shops and cafés of Stroget, Europe‘s longest pedestrianised shopping street. With a variety of destinations to explore, cruises to Copenhagen have plenty to offer. Enjoy another stroll along the Nyhavn Canal, browsing the market stalls and looking at the fine old sailing ships moored near its banks. You will find more history at the magnificent Christiansborg Palace, the National Museum – home to fascinating Viking relics – and at Kronberg Castle – the former Elsinore of Shakespeare‘s ‘Hamlet‘.

The city center is a charming mix of old city walls and a large modern shopping centre. With multiple restaurants, museums, cinemas and theatres there is plenty to be explored. Time spent at embarkation and disembarkation ports may be limited which may restrict availability of shore excursions.