If cruising is your passion then a Europe cruise vacation has to be on your agenda at some stage.

Bear in mind, cruising through Europe will be a little different than cruising the Caribbean simply because of the different cultures. While fun is the obvious theme for many cruises a European cruise also offers the chance to experience culture and history.

And there is a lot of history contained within Europe. The best times to travel on a cruise to this history-rich continent is between April and November.

Yes, this is also peak time but you’ll also enjoy the best of the weather. Cruise lines such as Carnival are offering great deals most of the time and it will pay to check their site for these specials.

If you find something you like then always check with a travel agent before you go ahead and book. It’s always more prudent to deal with travel professionals when booking a cruise because you are likely to get a much more attractive deal.

Best Cruise Deals

For example, Carnival are offering 12 day cruises in October 2008, still prime cruising time for just over $1000. That’s pretty good value considering the cruise will last almost two weeks. You’ll need to be quick though as these trips fill up quickly.

The benefits of a European cruise lies in the fact you get to visit many ports in a short range of time. Europe is a pretty compact continent so you have the advantage of seeing many different cultures in a short space of time.

Most of the traveling is done at night because of the close proximity of many destinations within Europe you get to enjoy most of the day sightseeing.

The famous Mediterranean is a haven of fun, adventure and romance and the ability to view and film some of the most spectacular coastlines in the world is worth the price of the cruise alone.

Are there any drawbacks? Sure and biggest one for North American visitors is the extra travel time.

That is, traveling from the US for example to your European destination will usually take at least a day so if you’re planning a Europe cruise, make sure you give yourself an extra 2-3 days of vacation time.

Another drawback is the amount of time spent at each port-of-call. A Europe cruise is often packed with several destination points and while this may be a little too rushed for some, most will appreciate the fact that they can at least see a destination for a short time and then perhaps plan to re-visit it at a later date.