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When an opportunity to travel arises, there is no good reason not to. That is the motto we have adopted and based on that statement, when asked if we wanted to go on a Baltic cruise, it did not take long to make the decision, let's hold off on the trip to Thailand and Vietnam and visit the land of the midnight sun.

Although we are not really cruisers, the planning for the journey has been enlightening and we have discovered a number of things about cruising that differ from a normal travel plan. During the next couple of posts we'll introduce you to the itenerary, talk about some of the tips and tricks we have learned from our research and finally include some highlights from the trip while we are travelling.

First off we had to decid on the boat. While many companies offer Baltic cruises, each cruise line has its own personality. Unlike a regular trip, where you are going to be staying at Hotels, AirBnB's or a variety of accomodations, on a cruise, the dhip is your base for quarters, food, and some entertainment. Based on this, it's important to decide what typ of trip you want. Typically the ships are as follows:

Upmarket
Celebrity Cruises - Sails the world - Asia, Europe, the Americas, and beyond. Attracts couples, with and without their children. Ships carry on average about 2,000 passengers, though its Xpedition ship in the Galapagos Islands accommodates only 92.

Hapag-Lloyd Cruise Line - This high-quality, century-old line has four small-to-medium-sized traditional style cruise ships offering refined service and style. (Hapag-Lloyd also operates an airline and an extensive fleet of container ships). Cruise destinations include the Mediterranean, Baltic, Arctic, Antarctica, Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific. Most passengers are German-speaking.

Holland America Line - The onboard atmosphere is more traditional, less contemporary than most other cruise lines. Cultured clientele. Food and service are refined and exemplary. Worldwide destinations. One trip circumnavigates the planet, visiting 38 ports in 26 countries (prices start in the neighborhood of $20,000 per person).

Mid-Priced
Carnival Cruise Line - Ships are large (up to several thousand passengers). They sail to North American and Mediterranean ports. Carnival Cruise Lines is widely popular and has a party-boat reputation. It's the most glitzy Vegas-like cruise line afloat and is fun for the right audience. Appeals mostly to mid-income couples, singles and families.

Costa Cruise Line - This Italian line sails the world with a strong Mediterranean-itinerary presence. Costa operates over a dozen big ships. Most passengers are European. The line appeals to mid-income families and young adults. It is part of the Carnival family of cruise lines.

Disney Cruise Line - Pleasing kids is the obvious priority, but there are onboard facilities and activities designed for the parents. You can book a seven-day land-and-sea vacation package. Your family spends half the time enjoying Walt Disney World in Orlando, the other half on the Disney Magic or Disney Wonder ship cruising to the Bahamas.

MSC Cruise Line - It's an Italian line with over 10 big ships. It focuses on European (especially Mediterranean) destinations, but also sails to ports in the Americas. Passengers are mainly middle income European families and young adults.

Norwegian Cruise Line - This large cruise line sails worldwide. One ship, the Pride of America, has a Hawaiian themed cruise with shore excursions to various Hawaiian Islands. Norwegian Cruise Line innovated the "freestyle dining" concept (you have the option of dining in different onboard restaurants).

Princess Cruises - Global itineraries. Caribbean and Mexican west coast cruises are popular. Princess Cruises has a dozen cruise ships (mostly quite large) and an imaginary one (the "Love Boat" of TV fame). Its overall quality level is the highest in the "$$ Mid-market" category.

Royal Caribbean International - Its large cruise fleet sails worldwide, with a Caribbean emphasis. Some ships carry 3,000 passengers. Royal Caribbean appeals to middle income families (with children and teens) and young couples. Organized activities are many and varied.

As you can see, each cruiseline has a distinct personality that will certainly the makeup of the passengers onboard. Ifyou are looking for a party on the seas, you go with Carnival, if you are looking for a kids focused cruise, go with Disney. Wit the type of travelers we are, we were looking for a port intensive cruise that would allow for plenty of time to get in the the locals and not be shipbound or herded around with large groups of other tourists.

Based on the personality of the various line, we chose to cruise with Celebrity on their Baltic Capital Cruise. In the next few blogs will continue with more on Celebrity and their itenerary.