For most of us, we may only have one opportunity to see Europe. There are so many different countries in Europe, all with something unique to offer – from interesting history, culture, beautiful scenery to amazing food. It could take months to see it all!  Although I haven’t personally finished with Europe just yet, I believe that one of the best ways to experience Europe is aboard a European Cruise.

Let’s face it, aboard a cruise you get to visit several different European countries within the space of a couple of weeks. Once aboard you only need to unpack your suitcase in your comfortable cabin and each day you sail into a new port. Nothing else to worry about as everything is provided on the ship – delicious meals, room service, great entertainment and shore excursions are all provided.

In 2017 we embarked on a European Cruise as a treat for a very special birthday. It was a “12 Day Adriatic Dream” cruise aboard the Holland American Westerdam ship. The cruise departing from Rome and visited Malta, Sicily, Corfu, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia and terminated in Venice. All in all we visited six different countries.

So if you’re short on time and want to discover all the wonders of Europe check out some of the fantastic cruises on offer. Here’s how to find the right European cruise for you.

Finding the Right Cruise Ship

Cruise ship in port at Kotor, Montenegro

Firstly you need to look at the different types of cruise ships that are available to you and decide which one appeals. Cruise ships are classified into 3 different categories:

• Luxury ocean liner cruises or large resort ships that carry between 1200 to 6000 passengers.
• Mid-size ships carrying 500 to 1200 passengers
• Boutique & river ships catering for 50 to 500 passengers

The Pool Area aboard a Cruise Ship

Personally I wouldn’t want to sail on a ship with 6000 passengers! I feel 2000-3000 would be my limit. Although I’ve heard that these massive ships offer a lot more variety with attractions on board, entertainment and choice of restaurants.

The small boutique type ships really appeal to me. We once did a small ship cruise in Halong Bay in Vietnam with about 40 passengers aboard and this was an amazing experience. It really gets down to personal preference.

Selecting a Cruiseline

Cruise Ships moored on the island of Corfu

There are so many to select from that this can make the decision very difficult. As we have experienced four different cruiselines, we can now compare them. We discovered that some had specific features that were better than others but overall they were all excellent, with fabulous amenities, well appointed cabins, great activities and a wide array of delicious food.

Enjoying a cold beer in the Lounge Bar aboard a Cruise Ship

But if you really want to get an idea of what people’s opinions are of the different cruiselines check out Cruise Critic. I found this website invaluable when trying to select a cruiseline for our European cruise. It gives you all the information you need about the different ships, cruises and then honest down-to-earth passenger reviews.

Selecting an Itinerary

Views over the port in Kotor, Montenegro

Maybe just as important as the cruiseline is the itinerary of the ports that the ship is going to visit. You need to have a basic idea of which country or countries you would like to visit in Europe and then see which cruiselines visit these countries. Most of the European cruises either depart from Barcelona in Spain, Rome in Italy or Venice in Italy.

Rome in Italy

In my instance I wanted to visit mainly the countries in the Adriatic Sea; like Greek Islands, Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia. The reasoning behind this is because I was going to spend some time in Italy both prior to and after the cruise, so visiting a lot of ports in Italy wasn’t as important.

Otherwise you can choose to depart from Barcelona in Spain and cruise along the Riviera in France, the coastline of Italy, Turkey, Greece and Croatia. Or there are cruises that target the Greek Islands, the Baltic countries, cruise the Danube and Rhine Rivers or the British Isles. The choices are endless really.

A Danube River cruise includes the city of Budapest

A river cruise down the Danube is something that has been on my bucket list for a while and after doing my research I’ve found that they are a great way of seeing the delights of Bavaria and Eastern Europe.

The cruise itineraries can take you through the riverside gems of Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania. These are all European countries that I would love to see.

Take it from me, cruises really are one of the best ways to see the world.

Thanks to Saga Travel for the inspiration for this post.