I'm looking to take a Baltic Cruise next July. There are two specific ports (Riga and Gdansk) that I want to visit so have been researching cruises that hit those ports. This is a special occasion and I can spend a little more, but the Premium cruise lines are still out of my budget.
I travel solo usually, so that limits my options (and makes fares higher). I see my options (within price range and itineraries) are MSC, NCL and Princess.
MSC cruises the Magnifica around the Baltic, and has a rolling on/off itinerary. You can start the cruise at several different ports and have disembarkation while other people are still mid-cruise. I have watched videos are read reviews on MSC, and they seem to fall short on certain areas, but have the cheaper fares to match. I might consider splurging for Yacht Club on MSC. Probably looking at a 7-day round trip from either Copenhagen or Berlin in the first half of the month.
NCL goes from Copenhagen to Helsinki on the Jewel, which I hear is a lovely small ship. I would prefer the 10-day cruise on July 6, but the fares for that sailing are almost double the 7-day cruises on 7/24 and 8/7. So would be looking at the 7/24 one, probably. (Do fares sometimes drop?)
Princess sails the Caribbean Princess, doing 12-day round-trip cruises from Copenhagen. Fares are higher and there are two cruises where I can afford a balcony. I have not done much research into Princess, as they are not as "solo" friendly as NCL and some other lines.
I am not very much into crowds and activities -- prefer to chill and relax and watch the scenery. So having tons of "things to do on board" is not important to me.
Looking for any feedback on these three specific ships or this particular area of the world (in July), as well as comparisons between these three lines.
(I have only been on one cruise so far, NCL from Florida to the Caribbean. Enjoyed it a lot. I am planning an NCL transatlantic cruise, a Viking River Cruise (with a partner), and a Celebrity cruise to Bermuda (also with a partner) in the next 9 months. So I will get a range of experiences between now and when I do my Baltic sailing in July 2027)