Northern Europe-Baltic Cruise – 2019


June 2019 found Hubby and me on the Oceania Marina for a Northern Europe (Baltic) Cruise.  (Photo of cruise itinerary from Oceania’s website at https://www.oceaniacruises.com/

Lots of “Firsts:”  First time in any of those countries; first time on an Oceania Cruise ship; first time on Lufthansa Airline; and first time to primarily rely on a credit card for purchasing items internationally.  I was a little concerned about using a credit card rather than cash, but all the research said it is the best way to go – so – this is our trial run.  I did not really want to take the bank credit card we regularly use for our purchases, so I researched credit cards and decided on the Capitol One – Venture One card.  THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT of a credit card.   I chose it because it advertises no foreign transaction fees, no annual fee, and I will get points for travel. In fact I will get enough points for a $100 credit if I charge $1000 in the first three months. This was easily accomplished while we traveled in the Baltics. It seemed to work well.

I made separate posts on each city of the tour.   Hope you enjoy

The first two days are in Stockholm Sweden at the Sheraton Stockholm Hotel.

Day 1: Stockholm, Sweden

Day 2: Tallin, Estonia

Day 3: St. Petersburg, Russia Day – 1

Day 4:  St. Petersburg, Russia Day 2

Day 5: – Helsinki, Finland

Day 6: – Riga, Latvia

Day 7: – Klaipeda, Lituania

Day 8: – Gdansk, Poland

Day 9: – Cruising the Baltic Sea

Day 10: – Berlin (Rostock) Germany

Day 11: – Copenhagen, Denmark

An absolutely amazing, port-intensive itinerary.