Date
Port
Info
Arrive
Depart
11 Aug 2024
Warnemunde
–
19:00
The Warnemünde quarter in Rostock is a famous German seaside resort that you can visit when you reach the German coasts on your MSC cruise of northern Europe. At the mouth of the river Warnow, in the Baltic Sea, Warnemünde will surprise you with its villas, hotels and the large white and silver beach. Its heart is Am Strom, next to the port, where the homes of old captains and fishermen have been turned into coffee shops and boutiques. With an excursion during the cruise, you can continue towards Schwerin. Surrounded by lakes and with a fairytale Schloss that tickles the imagination, the town represents a pleasant surprise, given by the architecture and spirit of a historic capital. Continuing the excursion you can admire Lubeck, one of the few cities along Europe’s northern coasts that preserves the glory of medieval times. For more than two centuries the standard bearer of the Hanseatic League, this was one of the wealthiest and most powerful of European cities, the Venice of the Baltic. The commercial opulence is best expressed in its architecture: from the oldest Rathaus in Germany to the churches with the tallest bell-towers to the merchants’ mansions. Lubecca is the first city in Northern Europe to be included in the list of UNESCO world heritage sites in 1987. Finally, you should not leave out a visit to the cosmopolitan Berlin, the largest and liveliest city in Germany. Amongst the monuments to visit are the Brandebourgh Gate. Situated close to the Reichstag, the seat of the German parliament, the monument, designed on the model of Athens’ Acropolis, was built as the city’s arch of triumph in 1791 and soon became the symbol of unified Germany. The Brandenburg Gate looms over the ornamental gardens in Pariser Platz which extends eastwards towards the wide, tree-lined Unter den Linden avenue, that means “Beneath the linden trees”, flanked by shops and cafés.
12 Aug 2024
Ronne
08:00
18:00
Rønne is the largest town on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,772. Once a municipality in its own right from 1970 until 2002, when Bornholm was a county with an area of 29.11 square kilometres, it is now the administrative centre of the Bornholm municipality.
13 Aug 2024
Gdynia
08:00
19:00
When you arrive in the Bay of Gdansk on your MSC cruise, you come into the most fascinating regions of the Baltic Sea and of Northern Europe. In Gydna, along the southern pier (the Poludniowe pier), you find two interesting museum ships: an imposing, three-mast frigate, the Dar Pomorza, launched in 1909 and used for many years as a school ship by the German navy; and the torpedo boat destroyer, the Blyskawica, that managed to escape a German attack in 1939. When you come ashore from your MSC cruise ship, outside the interesting oceanographic museum and aquarium (Muzeum Oceanograficzne i Akwarium Morskie) you will find a statue of Jozef Konrad Korzeniowski, more commonly known as Joseph Conrad, born in 1857 in Berdicev, Ukraine. As you arrive at the Bulwar Nadmorski, along the seafront with its inlets and beaches, that connects Gdynia, Sopot and Gdansk, you will find the interesting Naval Museum (Muzeum Marynarki Wojennej). While on your MSC cruise of Northern Europe, don’t miss an excursion to Gdansk, a city which, because of the importance of its port, has a very rich history. Visit the Old Town (Główne Miasto), along the Motlawa river, once the port centre. Here you can see a large, blue, port crane made of wood, the largest machine if its kind in Europe. Built in 1444, it was used for loading and unloading ships, as well as for fitting masts. Leaving the river behind you, you can walk down the Royal Stretch, the road that brought kings and dignitaries into town, closed by two imposing gates, the Golden Gate and the Green Gate. Along this road you can admire the Court of King Arthur, one of the lively centres of city life. In the museum-home of Uphagen you can get a taste of the life of a wealthy Gdansk family of the 18th century. At the end of the Royal Stretch instead, you will find the gothic church of the Virgin Mary: amongst the tallest brick buildings in Europe.
14 Aug 2024
Visby
08:00
17:00
Today a thriving holiday resort, Visby has become famousas “the town of roses and ruins” – a living relicof a medieval heyday when this Hanseatic port viedin riches and fame with the great capitals of mainlandEurope. Now its narrow cobbled streets and ruinedchurches reside behind the two-and-a-half mile 13thcentury city wall, a haunting monument to a lostglory. Sights include Visby’s medieval cathedral, theruins of St. Nicolai Monastery, and the FornsalenMuseum, which exhibits Viking silver.
15 Aug 2024
Stockholm
08:00
18:00
Without a doubt Stockholm is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and a vacation in Sweden with an MSC cruise will prove it. Built on no fewer than fourteen islands, where the fresh water of Lake Mälaren meets the brackish Baltic Sea, clean air and open space are in plentiful supply here. An MSC cruise of Northern Europe will give you the opportunity to appreciate its port front, reach the Baltic Sea and experience the atmospheres with a tour of the town where broad boulevards lined with elegant buildings are reflected in the deep blue water, and rows of painted wooden houseboats bob gently alongside the cobbled waterfront. But Stockholm is also a hi-tech metropolis, as you will find out on your excursion on land during your cruise, with futuristic skyscrapers and a bustling commercial heart. The old town, Gamla Stan, is a district with cobbled streets and narrow alleyways huddled together on a triangular-shaped island. Today the area is an atmospheric mixture of buildings surrounded on all sides by a latticework of medieval lanes and alleyways. The district of Norrmalm swaps tradition for a thoroughly contemporary feel: this is downtown Stockholm where you’ll find shopping malls, huge department stores and conspicuous, showy wealth. In the green island of Djurgården you can see an extraordinary 17th century warship, the Vasa, rescued and preserved after sinking in Stockholm harbour. Cross Norrbron or Riksbron from the Riksdagshuset and up rears the most distinctive monumental building in Stockholm, Kungliga Slottet – a low, square, yellowy-brown construction, with two arms that stretch down towards the water. It’s uniform and sombre outside, but with a magnificent Rococo interior that’s a swirl of staterooms and museums. Itssheer size is quite overwhelming: you should not miss the Royal Apartments and the Treasure Room. The former are used for royal receptions and the second keeps a collection of crowns studded with precious stones.
17 Aug 2024
Copenhagen
09:00
18:00
COPENHAGEN is Scandinavia’s most vibrant and affordable capital, and one of Europe’s most user-friendly cities. Small and welcoming, it’s a place where people rather than cars set the pace, as evidenced by the multitude of pavement cafés and the number of thoroughfares that have been given over to pedestrians and bicycles. Amenable and relaxed, it also offers a range of entertainment which belies its relatively modest size. Cultural attractions, including major national museums, a selection of magical art galleries, a healthy assortment of performing arts events and one of Europe’s most interesting film scenes
18 Aug 2024
Warnemunde
07:00
–
The Warnemünde quarter in Rostock is a famous German seaside resort that you can visit when you reach the German coasts on your MSC cruise of northern Europe. At the mouth of the river Warnow, in the Baltic Sea, Warnemünde will surprise you with its villas, hotels and the large white and silver beach. Its heart is Am Strom, next to the port, where the homes of old captains and fishermen have been turned into coffee shops and boutiques. With an excursion during the cruise, you can continue towards Schwerin. Surrounded by lakes and with a fairytale Schloss that tickles the imagination, the town represents a pleasant surprise, given by the architecture and spirit of a historic capital. Continuing the excursion you can admire Lubeck, one of the few cities along Europe’s northern coasts that preserves the glory of medieval times. For more than two centuries the standard bearer of the Hanseatic League, this was one of the wealthiest and most powerful of European cities, the Venice of the Baltic. The commercial opulence is best expressed in its architecture: from the oldest Rathaus in Germany to the churches with the tallest bell-towers to the merchants’ mansions. Lubecca is the first city in Northern Europe to be included in the list of UNESCO world heritage sites in 1987. Finally, you should not leave out a visit to the cosmopolitan Berlin, the largest and liveliest city in Germany. Amongst the monuments to visit are the Brandebourgh Gate. Situated close to the Reichstag, the seat of the German parliament, the monument, designed on the model of Athens’ Acropolis, was built as the city’s arch of triumph in 1791 and soon became the symbol of unified Germany. The Brandenburg Gate looms over the ornamental gardens in Pariser Platz which extends eastwards towards the wide, tree-lined Unter den Linden avenue, that means “Beneath the linden trees”, flanked by shops and cafés.