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Copenhagen one day and Tallinn a few days later is entirely possible on a Baltic cruise. Stockholm and Helsinki may be somewhere in between. Passengers stay in the same cabin while the scenery outside keeps changing.

The trip into Stockholm can be interesting before anyone gets off the ship. Roughly 30,000 islands, skerries and rocks make up the surrounding archipelago, and some are visible during the approach. Copenhagen comes with canals and a busy waterfront. In Helsinki, ferries leave from the harbour beside Market Square and head toward islands just offshore.

Tallinn’s Old Town has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1997. Parts of its medieval street network and architecture date from the 13th through 16th centuries, but it is not an empty historic district. People live there. Old buildings now hold shops, cafés and museums.

The capitals are not the only stops that turn up on Baltic routes.…