North Sea Cruise Ports
For those who may not know, the North Sea is the body of water between the east coast of Great Britain and northern coast of Europe taking in Denmark, Norway, Germany, Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
It connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Norwegian Sea, via the English Channel and is one of the world’s busiest shipping areas and one of the busiest cruise regions in the world.
The North Sea is the body of water that in many ways started my love of cruising from a young age when my parents would take me on cruise ferries from Newcastle, Harwich and Hull to places such as Esbjerg (in Denmark), Hook of Holland and Rotterdam in the Netherlands and to Zeebrugge in Bruges.
That interest in the region has continued into my adult life and I have now enjoyed a number of cruises exploring the cruise ports of the North Sea, but just where can those wanting to cruise this region visit? In this guide I will take you through all of the cruise ports on offer along the coastlines of the countries located in the North Sea.
Cruises To North Sea
Cruise Holidays in North Sea
If you want to explore all that North Sea cruise ports have to offer, and why wouldn’t you, the good news is that cruisers have a great mix of turnaround port, ports of call, cruise lines and cruise ships to choose from.
North Sea Cruise Guide
There are many turnaround cruise ports in the North Sea, including some of the leading ones in Europe and across a wide range of countries.
For those wanting to stat their adventures in the North Sea region, many of these turnaround ports are also close to international airports and have decent links to local metro systems.
Turnaround Ports
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is one of Europe’s most popular cities for tourists and with good reason.
From its canals to its world class art galleries and from its floating flower markets to its great shopping opportunities, there is something for everybody in the Dutch capital city and from our point of view, it is also a great cruise port with a number of lines offering ships that homeport there.
The Norwegian city of Bergen is a popular stopping off port for cruise ships sailing between Northern Europe and the Norwegian fjords but it is also the starting port for most Norwegian coastal cruises, offered by lines such as Hurtigruten, but some itineraries also start there for more mainstream lines.
Dover
The port of Dover is best known as a ferry port, but it has been growing steadily as a cruise port for the last decade or so and now offers a range of lines and ships.
Sitting at the very southern edge of the North Sea, Dover offers itineraries sailing through the region and onto Norway or across to the Baltic.
Dundee is one of the smaller turnaround ports in the region and it also offers one of the most limited range of lines, ships and itineraries but if you want to set sail from the west coast of Scotland, it does offer the opportunity to do just that.
Edinburgh is an incredible city and somewhere well worth visiting on any cruise visiting the British Isles and whilst it is possible to start or end your cruise holiday in the Scottish capital, it is unfortunately only a limited number of smaller, more luxurious cruise ships that allow you to do so.
Newcastle has long been a ferry port for ships setting off across the North Sea but now some smaller cruise ships use the ports infrastructure for itineraries often going to Scandinavia including the always popular Norwegian Fjords.
Oslo is the capital of Norway and offers a great day ashore for those visiting there but to really make the most of your time in the city, you need to spend a few days there, which you can do when starting or ending your getaway in Oslo.
Whilst not the busiest cruise pot in terms of turning around ships, there is a decent range of lines that offer adventures from there with most itineraries taking in Northern Europe, the Latic Sea, the Norwegian Fjords and heading up the north Atlantic to Iceland.
Rotterdam is one of the worlds biggest ports and whilst that normally means cruise ships have to dock far away from the city and visitors must be shuttled through the commercial parts of the port, in Rotterdam you sail past all of that and dock in the city centre and next door to a metro station.
That makes it a great port for those who love to explore on their own and there is plenty waiting in this bustling and vibrant city that often gets overlooked by tourists.
North Sea Cruise Destinations
There are lots of popular cruise ports spread all across the countries with a coastline on the North Sea but there are also plenty of hidden gems as well.
Belgium is a country of contrasts, history, culture and chocolate- what more could you want from a cruise destination?
Well thankfully, there is a good range of cruise ports, each with something different to offer including historic towns, seaside holiday resorts and bustling cities with Zeebrugge, Antwerp and Ostend all welcoming cruise ships and cruise holidaymakers.
Whilst many think of Denmark as just been Copenhagen, and from a cruising point of view it is the largest cruise port in the country, there is lots more to the country than its capital.
The Jutland Peninsula stretches from the top of Germany and separates the North Sea from the Baltic Sea and includes one cruise port of call, the port of Esbjerg.
France is home to many cruise ports including those on its southern Mediterranean coast and its western Atlantic Ocean coast and whilst its northern coast is a bit more limited, especially on its North Sea coast, there are a couple of options for those wanting to visit the northeast of the country.
The port of Calais is one of the busiest ferry ports in the world, but it does welcome some cruise ships whilst the port of Dunkirk, near to the Belgium border, offers the most options for those wanting to explore the region, although it will most likely have to be onboard a smaller ship.
When it comes to cruise ports, Germany is split into two with Jutland separating its Baltic Sea ports from its North Sea ports.
The northwest of the country can be explored from ports including Bremerhaven (close to the city of Bremen), Hamburg (which does need a cruise down the river Elbe), Cuxhaven (where only smaller, older ships tend to visit) and you can also enter into the Kiel canal.
Great Britain, or rather England and Scotland, have plenty of options for those sailing in the North Sea and who want to visit the UK and whilst some are amongst the busiest tourist cities in Europe, some are perhaps not even known to many who live there.
That is because there has been a big change in the cruising industry in the UK over the past decade, with more and more places welcoming cruise ships of differing sizes.
Starting in the southeast of England, the port of Dover is one of the biggest passenger ports in Europe and whilst most of the traffic is related to the ferry industry, it has dedicated cruise facilites.
Then you have London Tilbury, close to the centre of London, Newcastle in the North East of the country and then a wide range of ports in Scotland including Leith, Dundee, Aberdeen, Invergordon (close to Inverness and the gateway to the Scottish Highlands) and Scrabster, a small fishing community close to Thurso and numerous islands.
The Netherlands is home to aforementioned major turnaround ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, two of the biggest and busiest ports in Europe, but there are a few more options for those wanting to explore more of what the Netherlands has to offer.
The next busiest is the port of Ijmuiden with other ports such The Hague and Harlingen also welcoming some cruise ships, although they tend to only accept smaller ships.
Norway offers one of the widest ranges of cruise ports in the world but many of those are outside of the North Sea, either on the Atlantic Ocean or even in the Arctic Ocean.
Its two leading turnaround ports, Bergen and Oslo are both on the North Sea as are popular ports such as Kristiansand, Stavanger, Haugesund and Arendal all welcome a range of ships throughout the main summer cruise season.
Popular Cruise Lines
The region is one of the busiest in the world for cruise ships, so it is no surprise that just about every line in the world offer at least 1 itinerary sailing in the region, with many of the big mainstream lines having at least 1 ship homeporting in one of the North Seas great turnaround ports.
Amongst the lines to base the most ships in the region are P&O Cruises, Ambassador Cruise Line, AIDA Cruises, Hurtigruten, Holland America Line, Cunard and Fred Olsen Cruises whilst global brands such as Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, MSC Cruises, Princess Cruises and Celebrity Cruises all offer a variety of ships and itineraries in the region.
North Sea
The North Sea has an incredibly long history of enabling the nations on it to become powerhouses of the world with everyone from the Vikings to the British and Dutch Empires using the ports found in the region to explore and control much of the world.
To this very day, the sea remains at the forefront of the shipping world as it hosts many of the key shipping lanes in the north of Europe but from our point of view, the most important aspect of region is that it is also one of the world’s leading cruise areas.
Our Visit
As mentioned, I have been fortunate enough to visit many of the cruise ports on the North Sea either on a cruise ship, on a cruise ferry or just on regular ferry, but no matter which port I have visited and how I got there, I have never had a bad experience.
The North Sea is where my love of cruising really started to develop, and it was on a cruise ferry from the UK to the Netherlands that was the first holiday my now wife took together as students.
In terms of cruising, I have visited Belgium (Zeebrugge), Norway (Bergen, Stavanger, Haugesund) whilst I have of course sailed out of the port of Southampton in England.
I have also visited Ostend, Esbjerg, Calais, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and most port towns and cities across the UK onboard cruise ferries, ferries or another mode or transport.
This guide is based on my experience of exploring the North Sea and all that it has to offer.
Best Time To Visit
The North Sea can be explored all year around and it really does depend on where you want to visit and what you are wanting to do.
For those wanting to see the majestic beauty of Norway, it is arguably best to visit during the summer when the days are longer and the weather warmer and drier.
If you are wanting to explore the regions incredible cities, such as Amsterdam, London or Hamburg, it is best to visit in late spring or early autumn when the weather is still decent, but the temperatures are a bit cooler, and their attractions are not quite so packed.
Lastly, Northern European ports across Belgium, the Netherlands, London and especially Germany make for great places to visit in winter when Christmas and Winter Markets bring the towns and cities close to the ports alive.
North Sea Cruises From The UK
If you want to explore the North Sea on a cruise, where better to start your adventure than the UK.
Not only does the UK offer the widest range of turnaround ports on the North Sea but it also offers one of, in not the, widest range of lines, ships and itineraries to choose from.
North Sea Cruises From Southampton
Whilst there is a great selection of ports to choose from where you can start your adventure, if you want to sail on a larger ship and with a mainstream line, the widest range of options is to cruise from the UK’s leading cruise port of Southampton, which itself is just off of the North Sea in the English Channel.
Here at CruiseHols.co.uk we bring you all of the information you will ever need to choose the right cruise destination for you and your family.
Our destination guides include everything from ports to attractions and excursion to the positives and negatives of the destination.
