Feel perfectly-chilled vodka slide down your throat while sitting snugly inside a Scandinavian “ice bar.” Smell fresh-cut grass while swinging your 9-iron across championship golf courses in Ireland. Hear the Russian Imperial Guard march to symphonic crescendos while welcoming you to the royal Catherine Palace. Taste homemade goat caramel amongst Norwegian fjords. View Stockholm by hot-air balloon. These are but a sampling of the extraordinary sensory adventures travelers can savor as part of Crystal Cruises’ Northern European voyage collection beginning this May.
Other shore-side excursions include:
• Pop culture-related destinations such as Stieg Larsson’s Stockholm; the Beatles’ Liverpool; Belfast’s Titanic shipyard; and St. Andrews University, where Prince William and Kate Middleton met, and the Da Vinci Code’s Rosslyn Chapel (Edinburgh).
• Historical journeys related to Vikings in Stockholm, Dublin, and Roskilde (near Copenhagen); genealogical emigration and the Cold War in Hamburg; and life behind Berlin’s Iron Curtain.
• Architectural tours spanning the Art Nouveau in Ålesund, Norway, to the Modern in Berlin.
• Eco-conscious trips including bird watching in Runde Island (near Ålesund) and Shetland (Scotland), kayaking the Finnish Archipelago (Helsinki), or exploring the wind-powered town of Paldiski (near Tallinn, Estonia) by 4x4.
• Adrenalin-fueled adventures like racing rally cars in Estonia; cosmonaut training, including zero gravity weightlessness, near Moscow; and, in Crystal’s most over-the-top excursion of 2011, flying a MiG fighter jet over Russia, for US$39,300.
• Complimentary “You Care—We Care” voluntourism excursions where guests can “give back” by packing and donating food at the Estonian Food Bank or volunteering at the Rostock Zoological Garden.
Additional opportunities include visits to Royal stomping grounds; private art gallery and museum tours; and culinary expeditions ranging from tasting Irish Whiskey to replicating the Titanic’s inaugural menu.
Following her US$25 million makeover, Crystal Serenity will offer 11-day Baltic cruises including St. Petersburg overnights, 14-day North Cape/Arctic Circle voyages, and an 11-day golf-themed British Isles itinerary.
Promotional two-for-one fares start at US$6,730/person, including free air from North American gateways (or generous air credit) and US$1,000/person “All Inclusive—As You Wish” shipboard credit. Additional savings are available for Verandah and Penthouse bookings and/or round-trip Stockholm or Copenhagen combination cruise packages.
The Crystal Difference
Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony cruise to six continents range from seven to 108 days. They are the two highest rated ships in the world, ranked #1 and 2, respectively. Aboard the ultra-luxurious vessels, refined elegance meets casual simplicity. With an emphasis on innovative product differentiation, the renowned Crystal experience is distinguished by warm, gracious service, abundant space, extensive choices and superior quality. Recently celebrating a record 17th year being voted “Best Large-Ship Cruise Line” by the readers of Condé Nast Traveler, and 16th consecutive year as “World’s Best” by the readers of Travel + Leisure, Crystal has been recognized as #1 more than another cruise line, hotel or resort in history.
