The world's best cruises
Honey, can I take a sunset cruise with you? Photo: Jeff Weese, Flickr CC
What is the best cruise destination? The Caribbean is of course the world's most famous cruise destination, but even Caribbean cruises offer more unforgettable experiences than cruises to Antarctica and the Galapagos Islands.
The world's most famous cruise destination: Caribbean cruises
The most legendary of cruises are of course Caribbean cruises – the great international cruise culture began in the Caribbean. A Caribbean cruise is a must-experience in your lifetime.
The world's largest and most luxurious cruise ships cruise the turquoise waters of the Caribbean and Central America, which are already tourist attractions in themselves (or what else should we think of the aforementioned Harmony of the Seas® ship?).
Booking a cruise in the Caribbean is convenient from a Finnish perspective, also because otherwise exploring the Caribbean would require several trips and would be expensive.
A large part of Caribbean cruises start in Miami, so you can also explore wonderful Florida on the same trip.
In the Kingdom of Ice: Antarctic Cruises
Pirkko Arstila has aptly written about Antarctica (Mondo 3/2006): “Antarctica is one great superlative: it is the driest, highest, coldest and emptiest place in the world. In contrast to the North Pole, its fauna is abundant and adapted to the sea. It is the world's largest nature reserve and does not belong to anyone. Antarctica is dedicated only to science and research.”
Antarctica is one of our dream destinations on this site. You can only imagine what a wonderful experience it is to see penguin parties and huge icebergs and experience the great, snowy wilderness.
You can get to know Antarctica on cruises that usually depart from Patagonia, either in Chile or Argentina.
If Antarctic cruises seem too far away, a more affordable option is a cruise to Svalbard in Norway, where you can see polar bears in addition to glaciers!
A cruise in the Galapagos Islands – like being in a nature film
A trip to the Galapagos Islands is like stepping into the middle of a nature film. A popular way to explore the amazing animal world of the Galapagos Islands is to take a nature cruise for a few days. Cruise ships make 3–7-day trips, where you explore the natural wonders of a couple of different islands each day.
In the Galapagos Islands, tourists can visit carefully marked landing sites for about two hours at a time. Expert guides are on hand.
A Hurtigruten cruise takes you to the stunning Norwegian fjords
Hurtigruten, or “The Fast Route,” is one of the world’s most spectacular cruise routes. Hurtigruten is a ferry route that connects Norwegian coastal towns and villages on a 2,000-kilometer journey from Bergen to Kirkenes. The entire journey takes six days (11 days round trip), but you can only cruise part of the way. The ships operate year-round.
What about Mediterranean cruises, are they worth taking?
Is it worth taking a Mediterranean cruise? Mediterranean cruises divide opinions: some believe that you should explore the Mediterranean Sea from the sea, while others think that Mediterranean cruises may seem a bit pointless, as it is cheaper to fly within Europe and visit destinations even on weekend trips.
Our opinion: yes, a Mediterranean cruise is a must-try at least once in your life! And it is worth inviting someone you know who lives outside of Europe, for whom a cruise is a convenient way to see many destinations on the shores of the Mediterranean at once.
There are many routes for Mediterranean cruises, but one of our favorites runs from Athens via the Greek archipelago to Istanbul.
A Thousand and One Nights experience: a cruise from Dubai to Oman
You can also cruise the Arabian Sea to experience the Arabian Nights. One of the highlights of the cruises from Dubai to Oman is the Musandam Peninsula, whose beautiful fjords have given it the nickname of the Norwegian of Arabia.
In the footsteps of Columbus: sailing across the Atlantic
Many people dream of sailing across the Atlantic in the footsteps of Columbus. Read our report on what it's like to cruise across the Atlantic.
Cruise around the world
The 28-day cruise sold by Olympia Kaukomattatoimisto under the name “Around the World Trip” starts in Singapore and takes you to Los Angeles via Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti and Hawaii. So in practice, the Olympia travel agency cruise is “just” a cruise around the world. But we certainly wouldn’t complain if we could afford to go on that cruise ourselves (just under 9,000 euros/person including flights).
