Cruising Europe [Any little secret cruises that are unique and outstanding?]

[Deleted member 29185]

Is there any hidden cruising gems in Europe? Croatia seems to sound nice but are there any little secret cruises that are unique and outstanding?

I had intended to bareboat Croatia but the certification is not something I'm even remotely interested in obtaining, to then pay through the nose for a comfy bareboat cat in the Adriatic, so now I'm thinking a niche cruise may be nice.

Any suggestions? (not necessarily in the Adriatic, but that seems the most logical)

 

[Franky]

Is there any hidden cruising gems in Europe? Croatia seems to sound nice but are there any little secret cruises that are unique and outstanding?

I had intended to bareboat Croatia but the certification is not something I'm even remotely interested in obtaining, to then pay through the nose for a comfy bareboat cat in the Adriatic, so now I'm thinking a niche cruise may be nice.

Any suggestions? (not necessarily in the Adriatic, but that seems the most logical)

Good morning Swanny - not recently, we looked at the bottom part of Turkey which is the Med but nice anyway. There were a choice of stink boats or yachts. From memory, you could self drive or have a crew and they ranged from as short as three days and upwards. We looked more than 10 years ago now, all looked lovely, but never went ahead with it. Either place you would enjoy I think.

 

[tgh]

I find the responsibility for staying afloat quite onerous in my own back yard, let alone the other side of the world.
For all it's faults cruising takes away all the worry ; I have often sailed through bad weather and really enjoyed the experience mostly because it was not my problem to keep us afloat.
There are a squillion ways to get around, little boats get into little bays but everything aboard is…er little.
The common behmoths disgorge 3000 happy campers, sometimes 2 or 3 at the same time and the result is not pretty especially in the med.
So the sweet spot for us is a 200>500 passenger vessel.
We choose all inclusive lines like Silversea and Seabourn because I hate being nickel and dimed and pestered to sign for stuff.
Pushka did a neat tr recently off a small ship in the med.
You will get plenty of opinions as everyone has different

 

[Pushka]

I find the responsibility for staying afloat quite onerous in my own back yard, let alone the other side of the world.
For all it's faults cruising takes away all the worry ; I have often sailed through bad weather and really enjoyed the experience mostly because it was not my problem to keep us afloat.
There are a squillion ways to get around, little boats get into little bays but everything aboard is…er little.
The common behmoths disgorge 3000 happy campers, sometimes 2 or 3 at the same time and the result is not pretty especially in the med.
So the sweet spot for us is a 200>500 passenger vessel.
We choose all inclusive lines like Silversea and Seabourn because I hate being nickel and dimed and pestered to sign for stuff.
Pushka did a neat tr recently off a small ship in the med.
You will get plenty of opinions as everyone has different

Loved our Croatia cruise and you will find one to suit your budget. There are probably charter options available too.

 

[Limewood]

We did the 8 day island hop over 50's cruise on the brilliant MV President out of Split about 4 years ago was best holiday we ever had.

 

[Pushka]

We did the 8 day island hop over 50's cruise on the brilliant MV President out of Split about 4 years ago was best holiday we ever had.

Yep. Same boat here.

 

[coriander]

We're doing a SPU-DBV next year one on of these small ships (Mama Marija)- very much looking forward to it.....

 

[ExpeditionCruiser]

For something a little different there are some fabulous schooner cruises in Scoresby Sund in East Greenland (the world's largest fjord region and a great place to view the Northern Lights). Ships are very small, carrying 9 to 24 people and are quite rustic, but a fabulous experience. They operate over the northern summer only and start / finish in Point Constable with return flights from Iceland included. More information on our website if you are so inclined...

 

[bPeteb]

Intrepid offer a whole lot of different eastern Med cruises now. All small boat, some yacht. We'll be ticking that box in 2020 unless something else jumps in front of us.