Claire Benktander

My favourite thing about travel is the people, rituals and customs of somewhere new; I find it fascinating and like to explore as much as possible, whether it's a tiny village or big city.

My favourite destination

My favourite destination is Sweden.

I may be biased as I am half-Swedish, but I truly believe it's an undiscovered gem. You have the beautiful snow-covered Lapland and Northern Lights in the north during winter, but it's summer when the country comes alive - evident in their obsession with Midsummer, the longest day of the year (a magical time to head north to the Midnight Sun).

If you love laid-back cities, medieval towns, seafood, coastal living, swimming and boat trips, then it's perfect choice - Visby on Gotland in Sweden is a real jewel, while Stockholm and Gothenburg offer charming city life with easy access to their outlying archipelagos. And, it's so easy to cruise to other Baltic cities like beautiful Oslo for the gateway to the fjords, lesser-explored Tallin and Riga and stylish Copenhagen, another favourite city of mine.

Explore Scandinavia

My top cruising tip

Look for cruises that offer overnights in port or late-night departures to really make the most of the region you're in - and plan ahead!

Fact File

Years in travel: 8 years

Years working at Mundy Cruising: I recently joined the Marketing team.

First job in travel: I worked at Hostelworld, a hostel booking platform for backpackers.

Best cruise dining experience: Up there with the best dining experience I've ever had is dining on board Regent's Seven Seas Splendor and their Pacific Rim pan-Asian fusion restaurant; I still think about the tuna tartare!

Best non-cruise holiday: A month travelling around Thailand and Vietnam. For me, there's not many places that can compare to the culture, history, architecture, cuisine, kindness of the people, beaches - and occasional chaos - of Southeast Asia. I'd go back in a heartbeat!

Interesting fact about yourself: I am bilingual and fluent in Swedish. Sort of a useless language, but interesting nonetheless!

Ocean cruise lines sailed: Seabourn, Ponant

Areas you've cruised: Galapagos, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Northern Europe

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