(Tribune Media Services) -- You can cover a lot of territory in Scandinavia without ever checking into a hotel. Overnight luxury cruise liners stacked with saunas, smorgasbords and duty-free shopping sail nightly between Stockholm and Helsinki. Imagine enjoying a Scandinavian feast with a vista of archipelago scenery. Budget travel rarely feels this hedonistic. Boats between Stockholm and Helsinki offer the delights of a luxury cruise ship at an affordable price. Two fine and fiercely competitive lines, Viking and Silja, connect the capitals of Sweden and Finland. Each line offers state-of-the-art ships with luxurious meals, reasonable cabins, plenty of entertainment (discos, saunas, gambling), and enough duty-free goodies to sink a ship. Of the two, Viking has the reputation as the party boat. Silja is considered more elegant (but still has its share of sometimes irritating and noisy passengers).
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Rick Steves writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows
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His TV series, "Rick Steves' Europe," airs on PBS stations
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Steves' company, Europe Through the Back Door, conducts European tours
Scandinavia
Scandinavian
The ships are big -- at 56,000 tons, nearly 200 yards long, and with 2,700 beds, they're the largest (and cheapest) luxury hotels in @placeholder.
Viking
Viking
@placeholder has an older, less luxurious fleet, but caters better to low-budget travelers, offering discounts to students, seniors and railpass-holders; selling cheap "ekonomi" cabins (shower down the hall); and allowing passengers to pay for deck passage only and sleep for free on chairs, sofas and under the stars or stairs.
Finland
The boats are filled with about 45 percent @placeholder, 45 percent Swedes and 10 percent cruisers from other countries.
Scandinavia
Scandinavian
The next best thing to being in these @placeholder capitals is cruising there.