Sweden

Baltic Sea cruises

"Our level of drunkenness was normal for a cruise of this kind." The managing director of shipping company Tallink gave an interesting quote after his and the entire board's drunken rampage on one of Tallink's cruise ships in 2006. The accusations against the VIP's included sexual harassment against female staff, beating up a bartender and causing a fire by putting a fish in a toaster. The director's explanation clearly shows the main PR problem about the cruise ships on the Baltic Sea: they have a reputation as trashy booze boats, far from the glamor of other international cruises. This is largely due to the fact that the tickets can be dirt cheap - sometimes less than 50 SEK - and that tax-free alcohol shopping is among the main attractions. Still, some of the new ships are really pretty, and it is an easy and cheap way to get a glimpse of a country on the other side of the Baltic Sea. Also, not all cruises include obnoxious drunks trying to toast fish. Stockholm is the main port in Sweden for the cruises, and the main destinations are Helsinki, Åland and Turku in Finland, Tallinn in Estonia and Riga in Latvia. Ships are operated by Silja Line (http://www.silja.com/en/), Viking Line (http://www.vikingline.se/), Birka Cruises (http://www.birka.se/) and, of course, Tallink (http://www.tallinksilja.c...), MSC cruises (http://www.msccruises.se/). To get the cheapest tickets, try to go on a weekday in low season, share a four-bed cabin with some friends and make sure to keep your eyes peeled for last minute offers.