Baltic Cruises - Cruise Destinations around the World
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Enter the Baltic Sea and the dramatic scenery of Scandinavia will rise out of the mist to greet you. Cruise up the coastline and you will discover a world of cross-topped towers, fur hats and steamy-sauna-birch-twig combinations. A Baltic cruise takes in more than just the Baltic States. Not only will you discover the delights of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, you also have the chance to explore the Viking heritage of Scandinavia, Finland, Czarist Russia and Poland.
In terms of operators, tourists wanting to take a Baltic cruise will be spoilt for choice. Most of the major cruise lines cruise the Baltic as the stunning scenery makes it a very popular destination. From the ultra-luxurious Canard through to more basic ResidenSea, there will be something to suit most budgets. The leading cruise operator in the Baltic Sea is Silja Line, carrying over 5 million passengers each year. They run full Baltic Sea cruises as well as cheaper and shorter city to city trips. You can cruise from Helsinki to St Petersburg in just four days on boats complete with Finish saunas and the requisite ice-cold plunge pools. Or journey from Helsinki to Riga in Latvia in only 3 days. Cabin prices vary from the cheapest and most claustrophobic inside cabins, up to suites with private balconies and personal waiter service.
It is thought that the word Balitc comes from the Lithuanian word baltas, or white -as in the white, wind-swept sea. With its sometimes harsh and unpredictable weather, the Baltic is not a sea for the weak stomached. Even if you have a stomach of iron and the weather doesn't get you, daylight hours will. The Baltic cruise season only runs from May to September, with the most popular, and therefore most expensive, months being July and August when the weather is at its best.
Having been for so long desperate to escape Moscow's firm grip, the Baltic States are now pulling further and further away from their neighbour and into the waiting arms of the West. Cruise to these lesser known countries and you will find a tourist industry and a people waiting to greet you.
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