European Cruise Vacation

Are you like me? A European cruise vacation holds a lot of appeal for me for a number of reasons.

1. My only language is the one I'm sitting here writing in
2. I have not traveled extensively in Europe
3. I'm not a great planner. I like to have things laid out for me

So you can probably see why a European cruise vacation speaks to a lot of my needs.

I know that the cruise ship--guests and crew members--will be filled with people who speak my language.

I know that the destinations are pre-planned by people with a lot more knowledge than I have.

I know that when I arrive in a port, I'll be faced with a manageable number of choices about what to do, that I'll be with other travelers who don't know much more than I do, and I trust that the guides chosen by the cruise company will be reputable and competent.

In other words, a European cruise vacation is a no-brainer!

Now don't get me wrong

I'm not saying that I don't want to take a land tour of Europe some day.

I'm just saying that I want to do a little research first. And what better way to do some research than to get a little taste of a variety of beautiful European port cities.

So here's a little taste. I'm going to list just some of the gorgeous and historic European ports of call available on various European cruise vacations. (If you want a more complete list, you're just gonna have to start doing some looking yourself!)
Consider:

• London
• Paris
• Rome
• Amsterdam
• Venice
• St. Tropez
• Monte Carlo

Not to mention:

• Berlin
• Brussels
• Cannes
• Cartagena
• Dublin
• Glasgow
• Oslo
• Stockholm
• Amalfi
• Corfu
• Marseilles
• Mykonos
• Florence
• Portofino
• Gdansk
• Gibraltar
• Lisbon
• Nice
• Copenhagen
• Helsinki
• St. Petersburg (Russia, not Florida!)

Overwhelmed?

Don't feel bad--anyone would be. Fortunately, the cruise lines make it easier to select your European cruise vacation by grouping together different ports of call.

Is it the Riviera you hear calling your name, or is it the Greek Isles? Perhaps you get enough sun at home and it's the history and culture of Northern Europe that beckons you.

Find the European cruise vacation that's going to take you where you want to go. I'm looking at one cruise line right now (no names!) that boasts 46 different European cruise itineraries!

The first thing you should probably consider is how long a trip you can afford to take, both money-wise and time-wise. Are you free to take a transatlantic European cruise? It takes a lot of extra time, but what a vacation! That same cruise line I was just talking about offers no fewer than 9 different transatlantic itineraries.

One of them lasts 56 days.

Okay, that's a little crazy

But if you're willing and able to start your trip in Europe, you'll be left with a wide range of options, and...

You'll be able to spend extra time in one special city. European cruise vacation ports of departure include:

• Amsterdam
• Barcelona
• Rome
• Copenhagen
• Venice, and
• Lisbon

Information overload? Don't think of it that way. Use all of these options to narrow your choices. Because the quicker you can select your European cruise vacation...

...the sooner you can get there!

Also discover European river cruises