b’
‘
From the Vikings who first zig-zagged across its waters to today’s sleek liners, the Baltic has always been best explored from the water.
Nine countries boast a Baltic shoreline: Germany, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Russia, and cruises visit all but the latter, where sailings have ceased in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Some voyages do a grand sweep, visiting places you know along with those you really don’t, while others concentrate on smaller sections. Either way, the excitement of exploring colourful and charming former Eastern Bloc nations alongside the best of the West makes for an interesting cruise holiday.
Expect fairytale castles, charming old towns, world-class museums, vibrant waterfronts and vast untamed landscapes. Here’s our pick of the six best Baltic cruises to book now.
Find by cruise type:
Best for an overview of the Baltic
Baltic: Germany, Sweden and Poland
Norwegian Cruise Line
Norwegian Sun is one of the larger ships that sails the Baltic – Rick Diaz Photograph/Norwegian Cruise Line
Key stops: Warnemünde for Berlin (Germany), Gdynia for Gdańsk (Poland), Klaipeda (Lithuania), Riga (Latvia), Nynäshamn for Stockholm (Sweden), Tallinn (Estonia), Helsinki (Finland)
Departure port: Copenhagen (Denmark)
Duration: Seven nights
Ship: Norwegian Sun
You can’t do more than this on a week’s cruise – seven calls, eight Baltic nations, including those farther afield, and no sea days. This is also one of the few opportunities to explore the region on one of the bigger ships; Norwegian Sun, a stylishly refurbished NCL ship from 2001, caters for 2,000 passengers.
Port calls include the pretty, historic city of Klaipeda in Lithuania; Poland’s magnificent city of Gdańsk (you dock just along the coast in Gdynia); Latvia’s capital, Riga, on the Daugava river and rich in Art Nouveau buildings; and Tallinn, where the old town is an easy walk from the cruise terminal.
Add two pretty beach towns, Sweden’s Nynäshamn and Germany’s Warnemünde (the former an hour south of Stockholm, the latter a much longer excursion to Berlin), and you have a perfect mix of cities and sunny retreats. Oh, and a glimpse of Copenhagen at the start and Helsinki at the end.
Insider tip
In Klaipeda, take a bicycle excursion on a ferry over to the Curonian Spit – a spectacular expanse of wooded dunes that stretches for 60 miles to the self-contained Russian outpost of Kaliningrad Oblast.
How to do it
A seven-night Baltic, Germany, Sweden, and Poland voyage departing August 22, 2026, costs from £1,400pp for an inside cabin. Excludes flights.
Best for seeing wildlife
Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea: Coasts, Islands and Archipelagos
National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions
Visit the medieval city of Visby with a stop at the Swedish island of Gotland – Schon/Moment RF
Key stops: Stora Karlsö, Gotland (Sweden), Utö for the Finnish Archipelago (Finland), Bornholm and Copenhagen (Denmark)
Departure port: Stockholm (Sweden)
Duration: Seven nights
Ship: National Geographic Endurance
This is an expedition cruise through the wilder waters that are often overlooked in this part of the world. Two days are spent in the Finnish Archipelago: you don’t get to visit all of the 6,700 islands, but you get a stop at the tiny, inhabited island of Utö and a good look at others during Zodiac and kayak excursions led by expert guides.
There’s also Sweden’s Stora Karlsö, a National Park island alive with guillemots and other seabirds, and calls into bigger islands such as Sweden’s Gotland with the medieval city of Visby and Denmark’s Bornholm.
National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions pioneered expedition cruising, and this itinerary is no different. Endurance carries just 138 guests and has a library, a spa (complete with an infinity hot tub to warm up in and soak up the views), and dedicated areas for films and presentations.
Insider tip
Those with a keen eye for capturing wildlife should consider choosing this date for sailing, as you’ll be joined on board by National Geographic Photography Expert and two-time Wildlife Photographer of the Year winner, Martin Gregus.
How to do it
A seven-night Coasts, Islands and Archipelagos voyage departing on June 6, 2026, costs from £5,526pp for a category two cabin. Includes drinks, excursions, and tips. Excludes flights.
Best for combining a river and ocean cruise
From Copenhagen to Berlin: Baltic Sea and Oder, and Havel Rivers
CroisiEurope
Victor Hugo’s sun deck makes for the perfect spot to take it all in
Key stops: Rostock, Hohensaaten, Wolgast and Berlin (Germany), Szczecin (Poland), Usedom (Germany/Poland)
Departure port: Copenhagen (Denmark)
Duration: Seven nights
Ship: MS Victor Hugo
What CroisiEurope does so well is cruises that blur the edges between sea and river, and this is a great example. It begins with a night at a hotel in Copenhagen, from which guests hop on a coach to the southern port of Gedser for a ferry journey across the Baltic to Rostock, in Germany.
Passengers board MS Mona Lisa at nearby Stralsund and cruise through the lake-like waterway dividing the mainland and the large island of Rügen. Other itinerary highlights include the island of Usedom, shared by Germany and Poland (the Second World War V-2 rocket was developed here), or just enjoying the sail along the 50-mile Oder-Havel Canal to the Havel river, before reaching the outskirts of Berlin.
CroisiEurope’s food is excellent, often reflecting local cuisine, and the ambience is as relaxed as the path Victor Hugo follows takes you through the coast and country – the ship’s sun deck makes for the perfect spot to take it all in.
Insider tip
Take the excursion to Rügen, a world of beaches, bays and Jasmund National Park, a Unesco World Heritage Site famous for its mammoth chalk cliffs, topping out at the almost 390ft Königsstuhl or King’s Chair.
How to do it
A seven-night Baltic Sea and Oder and Havel Rivers itinerary departing on June 29, 2026, costs from £1,899pp for a main deck category two cabin. Includes drinks, Wi-Fi, a pre-cruise hotel night with dinner and breakfast, a guided Copenhagen tour and transfers. Excludes flights.
Best for history and culture
Fairytale Castles and Old Towns of the Baltic
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines
Fred Olsen’s Balmoral ship gives a distinctly British charm
Key stops: Skagen (Denmark), Tallinn and Saaremaa (Estonia), Riga (Latvia), Klaipeda (Lithuania), Gdańsk (Poland)
Departure port: Newcastle (UK)
Duration: 12 nights
Ship: Balmoral
This is a history-focused trip with a cruise line that itself has a 175-year heritage. Fred Olsen’s Balmoral, with its distinctively British charm, accommodates 1,325 guests. With five days spent at sea, there is ample opportunity to indulge in afternoon teas and attend lectures covering the six destinations, as well as wildlife and nature.
An unusual call is Saaremaa, an Estonian island ringed by unspoilt beaches and covered in pine forests. In the picturesque little town of Kuressaare, the moated, Gothic 14th-century castle is as fairytale as it comes. Few cruises call twice in Estonia, but here there’s also a visit to see the cathedral, castle and cobbled streets of Tallinn.
Elsewhere, the contemporary museum in Denmark’s Skagen (pronounced “skeyne”) focuses on the town’s 19th-century artists’ colony. A call into Poland’s Gdańsk is a whirl of classical buildings, and be sure to dedicate time to the Latvian capital, Riga, known for its 800 art nouveau buildings. Klaipeda in Lithuania is a major medieval port with half-timbered waterfront buildings and the Lithuanian Sea Museum in the 19th-century Nerija Fort.
Insider tip
There’s nowhere more magical than Grenen, a sandbar on the edge of Skagen, Denmark’s northernmost town, where the Baltic laps up against the North Sea. An excursion gets you close for a breezy walk across the sands, or it’s a pretty hour’s stroll from the ship.
How to do it
A 12-night Fairytale Castles and Old Towns of the Baltic voyage round-trip from Newcastle departing May 28, 2026, costs from £2,399pp for an interior cabin. Includes guided walks, drinks with meals and tips.
Best for good value
Hidden Gems of the Baltic Sea
Ambassador Cruise Line
Lesser-visited Bornholm is a Danish island with vineyards and beaches – Westend61
Key stops: Gothenburg (Sweden), Copenhagen and Bornholm (Denmark), Kiel and Warnemünde for Berlin (Germany), Klaipeda (Lithuania), Gdynia for Gdańsk (Poland)
Departure port: London Tilbury (UK)
Duration: 12 nights
Ship: Ambience
Not many cruise passengers are likely to have visited Bornholm, a Danish isle with vineyards and beaches. Another surprise on this itinerary from Ambassador is a visit to Germany’s biggest Baltic coast city, Kiel, which is pretty and historic, sitting on Kiel Fjord at the entrance to the Kiel Canal.
Green and pleasant Gothenburg, at the Baltic’s northern tip, is more of a mainstay on Scandinavian cruises, while Warnemünde is a delightfully relaxing German seaside town. Then several Baltic musts – Gdańsk in Poland, Klaipeda in Lithuania and Copenhagen.
Ambience is a smartly refurbished ship, carrying only 1,400 guests, with excellent restaurants and lively shows and entertainment – including comedic theatrical vignettes in the bars, and pleasing places to sit back on four sea days.
Insider tip
Make the most of Warnemünde – although there’s the temptation of a day in Berlin, it’s an awfully long drive.
How to do it
A 12-night Hidden Gems of the Baltic Sea voyage departing July 20, 2026, costs £1,376pp for an inside cabin.
Best for luxury
Copenhagen to Stockholm
Silversea Cruises
The 596-passenger Silver Dawn provides luxurious accommodation to explore the Baltic
Key stops: Bornholm (Denmark), Gdańsk (Poland), Liepaja and Riga (Latvia), Tallinn (Estonia), Helsinki (Finland), Stockholm (Sweden)
Departure port: Copenhagen (Denmark)
Duration: Seven nights
Ship: Silver Dawn
Enjoy exploring a new country each day on this itinerary, and also a double helping of Latvia – with stops in both the capital, Riga and Liepaja, European Capital of Culture 2027. The latter is rich in the arts, but on a day’s visit, the long, white beaches and the parks, dotted with sculptures and monuments, will be the attraction.
Tallinn, Gdańsk, Helsinki and Bornholm are all highlights. However, if you’ve got this far in the style stakes, you’re probably ready to add a pre- and post-cruise stay, which means the bonus of exploring Copenhagen and Stockholm, too.
This is the way to see the Baltic in luxury, whether from Silver Dawn’s pool deck or from the observation library. The 596-passenger Silversea ship features all-suite accommodation, most with verandas, and butler service for all. Book ahead for Salt Kitchen, which showcases a changing menu reflecting regional cuisine.
Insider tip
When in Tallinn, Silversea’s Soviet Flashback tour ($99 or £75) is worth the splurge. Expect a ride with a freedom fighter guide in a clunky Russian bus that brings home the reality of life before 1991, when Estonia won its independence.
How to do it
A seven-night Copenhagen to Stockholm cruise departing July 1, 2026, costs from £7,500pp for a Deluxe veranda suite, all inclusive, including butler service and gratuities. Excludes flights.
About our expert
Nick Dalton
Nick has written about cruises from Barcelona to Bora Bora, Venice to Vietnam, and delights in seeing the world in day-by-day slices. He’s only torn away from oceans and rivers when skiing – the two passions don’t meet.
Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.