This unusual new cruise may be the most epic way to see Europe ever

21.08.2024 - 20:46 / thepointsguy.com / Claude Monet

Call it the most epic Europe cruise ever.

Small-ship line Windstar Cruises is out with an ambitious new Europe itinerary for 2026 that includes a whopping 67 stops across 20 countries.

Dubbed the Grand Europe Adventure, the voyage will last an unusually long 81 days — more than 10 times the length of many of Windstar's sailings.

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It'll also cost a lot more than is typical for a Windstar cruise, with rates starting at $31,099 per person.

For that price, bucket list-ticking travelers (with a lot of time on their hands) will be able to see many of the most famous destinations and attractions across Europe, from the fjords of Norway to the ancient ruins of Greece — all in a single trip.

Kicking off in Helsinki on July 14, 2026, the sailing — on Windstar's 312-passenger Star Legend — will begin with a nine-day circling of the Baltic Sea. Stops will include Tallinn, Estonia; Stockholm (where the ship will stay overnight); Riga and Ventspils in Latvia; Gdansk, Poland; and Copenhagen and the island of Bornholm in Denmark.

Related: The 5 best destinations you can visit on a Windstar ship

From there, Star Legend will cruise up the scenic coast of Norway to such destinations as Haugesund, Alesund, Adnalsnes and Bergen before heading west for an extended exploration of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Stops in the latter destinations will include Invergordon in Scotland, which served as a setting for the hit television show "Outlander," and the Isle of Man, as well as Oban, Portrush, Dublin, Belfast, Londonderry, Killybegs, Galway, Dingle and Cobh (the port for Cork).

The voyage continues from there with an extended series of calls along the coasts of France, Spain and Portugal.

Among the highlights of this next portion of the trip will be an unusually long three-day visit to Rouen, the famed cathedral town in northern France that was the subject of many Claude Monet paintings. Star Legend will also spend four full days docked in Bordeaux, France, for exploration of the town and its surrounding wineries.

There will also be unusually lengthy overnight stays during this portion of the trip in Bilbao and Seville, Spain, and Lisbon.

Additional stops in Spain will include Malaga, Cartagena, Valencia and Barcelona.

The final three weeks of the trip will bring stops along the southern coast of France, Monaco, Italy and Greece.

Related: Don't miss these loyalty perks when booking Windstar

In Italy alone, there will be stops at six destinations: Portofino, Portoferraio, Porto Ercole, Civitavecchia (the port for Rome), Sorrento and Messina.

A visit to Kusadasi, Turkey, the gateway to the ruins of Ephesus, is also on the schedule.

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