This Well-Appointed Sailing Vessel Is the Best Way to Explore Scandinavia This Summer
Now part of the Abercrombie & Kent family, Crystal curates culturally-rich voyages on board their gracefully remastered ships, like the Crystal Serenity
It’s no surprise that everyone is suddenly falling in love with Scandinavia. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland are stunningly beautiful and wealthy, well-educated, welcoming countries with the world’s highest standards of living.
The history of these nations is fascinating and their renowned talent for strikingly minimalist design in everyday objects, clothing, and architecture gives daily life here a quietly exhilarating avant-garde edge. Scandinavia has also been at the forefront of inventing a creative locavore cuisine for the 21st-century gastronomy that privileges good health, foraged produce, seasonality, zero waste, sustainability, and bold juxtapositions of unexpected ingredients.
As I discovered on an eight-day Copenhagen to Copenhagen cruise via Skagen at the very tip of Jutland, Kristiansund, and Oslo in Norway and Göteborg in Sweden on the just completely renovated Crystal Serenity, Scandinavia beyond the acclaimed Norwegian fjords is an ideal cruising destination, too, since most of its cities and scenic attractions are seaside. Mediterranean cruises have been the bread and butter of European summer-time cruising for decades, but the spring-like summer temperatures of the Nordics and the lack of crowds even in high season explain why Norway had its busiest cruise calendar ever in 2025, with major gains also reported in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.
On a sunny morning in the port of Copenhagen, the Danish flags flying from the masts of the elegant yachts anchored nearby snapped several times in the refreshingly stiff salty breeze coming off the Baltic Sea. Matted on the backdrop of a cerulean blue summer sky, the natty national banner—a white cross on a red field—was a perfect expression of the Danish talent for graphics.
Boarding the aptly named Crystal Serenity, which can accommodate 740 guests (with almost one crew member per passenger), was unexpectedly swift and efficient. Originally founded in 1988, Crystal earned a reputation for kid-gloves service before its former owners shut it down in the wake of the pandemic. Now it’s been resurrected by Abercrombie & Kent, which bought the company and two of its ships, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Symphony. Both vessels were heavily renovated in an Italian shipyard before reentering service in 2023. Currently, two more ships are expected from Fincantieri, the Italian shipyard in Trieste.
What immediately impressed about the Crystal Serenity was the low-key elegance and spaciousness of its public spaces, including the Palm Court lounge, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering sweeping views of the sea; the beautiful library with an excellent selection of books; and the very good new Beefbar restaurant—don’t miss the paparadelle with Wagyu beef bolognese sauce or the roasted cauliflower steak with green tahini sauce, pomegranate, and sesame. Among the ten dining outlets, Uma Uma by the celebrated Japanese chef Nobu Matsuhisa was a standout for its superb sushi and dishes from the Peruvian-Japanese kitchen Matsuhisa had made internationally famous.
Our Sapphire Veranda Suite on deck 9 featured a striking modern glass artwork installation on the wall of the living area and was done in a palette of taupe, sand, oats, and cream with accent pieces like a blueberry-colored settee and a built-in granite topped desk. The well-lit bath was fitted with a double vanity in green stone, a commodious rain-forest shower with body jets, and ample storage drawers.
The Serenity also offers the stylish Casino de Monte-Carlo as part of an exclusive collaboration with Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer (SBM) in Monaco. The ship’s Aurōra Spa is exceptionally comfortable with a sauna that offers sea views through a big picture-window porthole.
What we liked best about our Scandi interlude with Crystal, however, were the shore excursions. These outings are often one of the weakest links in the cruising experience due to bad logistics, uncomfortable transportation, and indifferent guides.
Under the aegis of Abercrombie & Kent, Serenity’s experiences were expertly researched and scripted with excellent guides giving substantial information on the history, geography, economics, and daily life of the places we were visiting. Skane impressed us as a Danish version of Provincetown, Massachusetts, or a remote and very beautiful artists’ colony cum fashionable holiday destination, while the heritage village of antique wooden houses in Kristiansund was humbling for conjuring up the poignant austerity of rural Norwegian life before the discovery of oil in 1967 made the country rich.
Scandinavia is so civil, sane, and scenic that it’s the perfect escape from the hullaballoo of daily life or a welcome reprieve from the more harried resort destinations that often appeal to those who “summer.”