Cruising Europe 2026, now is the time to act

October 19

It’s all about 2026 for cruising in Europe.

Cruise companies have been announcing itineraries and releasing packages for 2026, and building more ships than we’ve ever seen. We’ve calculated that more than 25 ocean cruise ships are on order worldwide to be built between the start of 2025 and the end of 2027.

It all means that cruise enthusiasts can move their focus forward to “the year after next”.

“Guests should book early as our best pricing will be when these cruises first go on sale,” advises Terry Thornton, chief commercial officer for Princess Cruises.

I’ve picked just a few key cruise lines, to give you a snapshot of what is already lined up and selling for Europe 2026.

Another development is the quality and value of pre and post-cruise extensions that will be offered to “top and tail” voyages in Europe in 2026. More than just hotel accommodation, more of these build in private visits to museums, local cuisine, and activities like market visits and cooking classes.

Camera IconBreakfast pancakes in Mamsen’s Norwegian Deli, Viking Jupiter. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West AustralianGETTING INTO THE DETAILViking

Viking’s focus is on 2026 for its fleet of medium-sized ships — which, with less than 1000 passengers, manage to feel unobtrusive and intimate. (And live by the company mantra of “no children and no casinos”, of course.)

The emphasis is on the quality of experiences on shore.

“We have always done things a bit differently. At Viking, we are contrarians,” says Torstein Hagen, chairman of Viking. “We design travel experiences for thinking people, with no children and no casinos. We are pleased that our approach has resonated with so many.”

Its newest ship, Viking Vesta, will join the fleet in July 2025, to sail the Mediterranean and Scandinavia. The ship will have 499 staterooms that can carry up to 998 passengers.

The Viking team says its most popular voyages for 2025 include:

+ Viking Homelands, 15 days, Stockholm-Bergen. There are overnight stays in Stockholm, Oslo and Bergen. The ships visit Alborg and Gdansk, as well as the cities of Berlin and Copenhagen. And, of course, there’s time in the Norwegian fjords — the homelands of the Vikings.

+ Iconic Western Mediterranean, eight days, Barcelona-Rome. This is luscious Europe, for sure, from sailing the southern coast of France to seeing the sparkle of Italy’s Renaissance treasures. There is an emphasis on Catalonian and Tuscan art, architecture and history during overnights in Barcelona and Tuscany. In the south of France, the itinerary includes Montpellier, Marseille and Monte Carlo.

+ Empires of the Mediterranean, 10 days, Venice-Athens. There are nine destinations in this sharp itinerary in the Adriatic and Aegean. With Venice and Athens at either end of the voyage, guests visit the ancient ruins of Olympia and the Acropolis. Between, there’s medieval Zadar and Dubrovnik, the picturesque Greek islands of Santorini and Corfu, and Koper, gateway to Slovenia.

+ British Isles Explorer, 15 days, Bergen-London. I like the inclusion of so many itineraries around the British Isles — interesting places which always seemed “missing” on the cruising scene. This voyage includes overnight stays in Bergen, Norway and Greenwich, England. It calls at the western isles of Scotland and its capital, Edinburgh. The itinerary also includes the Shetland and Orkney Islands in Scotland, Belfast (Northern Ireland) and Dublin (Ireland), and Snowdonia in Wales, and (in England) Liverpool, Dover and London.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconViking Jupiter with local wreck in Seydisfjordur, Iceland. Credit: Stephen Scourfield/The West AustralianPrincess Cruises

Europe is a big focus for Princess Cruises for 2026.

The cruise line has announced its 2026 European cruise and cruise/tour season, with a spokesperson saying it will be the company’s biggest year ever. Five Princess ships will sail 222 cruises in Europe.

The season, which includes sailings on the new Sun Princess, runs from March through November 2026. The spokesperson gives us the statistics:

+ 59 itineraries.

+ 101 destinations.

+ 29 countries.

+ Five to 42 nights.

Highlights include the opportunity to experience the 2026 total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026; sail on the newest Princess ship, Sun Princess; the return of round-trip cruises from Copenhagen and new itineraries from Rome.

Sun Princess will sail seven, 14 and 21-night Mediterranean voyages from Civitavecchia (Rome), Piraeus (Athens) and Barcelona.

As an example, a seven-night Mediterranean voyage sails round-trip from Piraeus to Barcelona and will call at Santorini, Kotor, Corfu, and Messina, in Sicily.

The newest Princess ship has 30 inviting restaurant and bar venues and lots of entertainment options, but also The Dome — a geodesic, glass-enclosed structure at the top of the ship inspired by the terraces of Santorini. Sphere Atrium is “outward and suspended” as the central “piazza hub” of the ship.

The 3660-guest Sky Princess returns to Europe for its sixth year, and will home port in Southampton and sail seven to 28 night itineraries. Destinations include northern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands.

The spokesperson adds: “On August 12, Sky Princess will sail directly into the ‘path of totality’ on a special 14-night Total Solar Eclipse cruise which also visits France, Spain and Portugal. The cruise departs Southampton August 8, 2026.”

A new itinerary for 2026 is the 28-night Northern Europe and Mediterranean itinerary. This round-trip calls at Skagen, Copenhagen, Warnemunde (for Berlin), Stockholm (overnight), Helsinki, Tallinn, Visby, Zeebrugge (for Brussels/Bruges), Southampton, Vigo, Cadiz (for Seville), Malaga, Cartagena, Gibraltar, Lisbon, Bilbao, Le Verdon (for Bordeaux). It departs on September 12, 2026.

And also new for 2026, on board the 3660-guest Enchanted Princess, are five, seven, eight, and 14-night Mediterranean itineraries, round-trip from Civitavecchia (Rome). One example is a seven-night Mediterranean and Adriatic sailing round-trip from Rome.

Majestic Princess will also sail from Southampton, with a focus on the British Isles and northern Europe. The spokesperson reveals: “British Isles voyages take guests to historic ports across England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland, while the Northern Europe itineraries include stops in Scandinavia, Iceland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium.”

After six years away, the 2670-guest Sapphire Princess returns to home port in Copenhagen. It will be sail 12-night northern Europe itineraries to Skagen, Oslo, Gdynia, Klaipeda, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki, Nynashamn (for Stockholm) and Visby.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconNorwegian Sun Credit: ecruising.travel/ecruising.travelNorwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian Cruise Line has put on lots of additional cruises for its 2026 spring and summer season in Europe.

Eight NCL ships will sail northern Europe, the Mediterranean and Greek Islands.

There are more seven-day itineraries throughout Europe, and many voyages have limited or no sea days, so that guests can spend more time on shore.

An NCL spokesperson says: “Select seven to 14-day sailings also offer overnight stays in Reykjavik, Iceland; Copenhagen, Denmark; Istanbul, Turkey and more. There are a total of 22 overnights in Europe this season, where cruisers can choose to enjoy late night dinners and nightlife on shore.

From June through October 2026, Norwegian Sun will sail a full Baltic season with seven to 10-day voyages. Guests can join the ship in Copenhagen, Denmark or Helsinki, and visit a port almost every day, including towns in Norway, Germany, Poland, Lithuania and Sweden.

“With 11 unique embarkation ports offering voyages across 10 different European countries, including Helsinki (a brand-new homeport for NCL), the company is providing travellers the opportunity to begin and end their vacation in the destination that best fulfils their European travel desires.”

Among the more interesting ports are Portree, Scotland; Leirvik (Stord), Norway; and Palamos, Spain — for the first time.

+ Norwegian Sky begins its second full Europe season on April 19, 2026 — starting with four seven-day sailings to “the Northern Capitals”. Embarking in Le Havre, France, and Copenhagen, Denmark, there are overnight stays in Hamburg, Germany, and visits to Zeebruge, Belgium; Tilbury, United Kingdom; and IJmuiden, Netherlands.

The vessel will then cruise 10 and 11-day British Isles voyages from May through September 2026.

+ Norwegian Star has 10 or 11-day Extraordinary Journeys between May and September 2026 between Iceland and the UK, embarking in Reykjavik or Southampton. As an example, during its May 21, 2026 voyage, the ship will cruise to Leirvik (Stord) in Norway for the first time, and revisit the port on some 10-day cruises.

Leirvik has a pretty harbour, and guests can spend time in Sunnhordlandstunet — an open-air museum with historical courtyards.

+ From April 2026 and through October 2026, NCL’s newest ship, Norwegian Viva, will cruise nine and 10-day Western Mediterranean and Greek Islands voyages.

A big aim has been to give guests more time in port.

As an example, some itineraries include an overnight stay in Istanbul, Turkey, so that guests can spend time in the city at night.

Itineraries visit popular towns in Turkey, Malta, Italy, Greece, Montenegro and Croatia.

There are options to embark and disembark in Barcelona, Spain; Venice (Ravenna), Italy; Istanbul, Turkey; and Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy.

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconNorwegian Sky sundeck. Credit: Norwegian Cruise Line/TheWestAzamara Cruises

Azamara Cruises has 77 new itineraries in its 2026 summer sailings — as Azamara Journey, Azamara Quest and Azamara Onward spend that year’s northern summer in Europe.

The ships will sail from the Mediterranean to northern Europe, and spend lots of time in Greece and around the coasts of Ireland and the British Isles.

There are five new ports — Sarande in Albania; Fredericia in Denmark; Turku in Finland; Menton in France; and Karlskron in Sweden.

There are three solar eclipse voyages in August 2026.

Pre and post-cruise extensions

An important part of the cruising scene for Europe in 2026 is the value (and ease) of pre and post-cruise “extensions”.

This simply means that travellers can add on accommodation at either or both ends of a cruise and turn it into a bigger holiday, with some settled time in key destinations.

There are more and more extensions, and companies have been putting a lot of effort into making them high quality, and high value, additions for Europe 2026.

For example, Viking has six new “immersive pre and post-extensions”, says a spokesperson.

They add: “Pre and post-extensions are increasingly popular with travellers. Over 45 per cent of all Viking guests choose to add such extensions to their voyage.

“The new, fully guided, three-night extensions are offered in the iconic cities of Barcelona, Istanbul, London, Rome, Stockholm and Venice and feature ‘privileged access’ to museums, local cuisine for lunches and dinners, market visits and cooking classes — as well as more time to personalise the journey with optional excursions.”

There are new extensions for Barcelona (Spain), Istanbul (Turkey), London (UK), Rome (Italy), Stockholm (Sweden), and Venice (Italy).

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