Princess Cruises’ Baltic Heritage destinations offer passengers the chance to savour some of the world’s greatest art and architecture. Lesley Bellew made each port of call a treasure hunt but had special designs on Finland.

“How much do you know about Finland?” Students with an unnerving enthusiasm for their design-conscious Scandinavian homeland quizzed commuters at Victoria station, London.

Most people pushed past, too worried about getting home to answer, but I had just missed my connection so in a weak moment offered ‘architect Alvar Aalto?’. At once I was bombarded with pictures of his work - furniture, glasswork and buildings.

Did I know Finland was the World Design capital last year? Did I know about the Museum of Finnish Architecture and Design Museum in Helsinki? I had to give a ‘no’.

Unperturbed, the evangelical students suggested: “Why not visit the Aalto House and his nearby studio? They’re close to the capital’s centre and you can see his Finlandia Hall and the museums…”

The quirky art students and Aalto Foundation had put the city on my radar so when Crown Princess sailed into Helsinki’s cruise port, there was only one man on my mind, the late, great Aalto.

Sure enough, a tram into the city centre and another to the lakeside suburb of Munkkiniemi, took little more than 40 minutes.

Tiilimaki, a peaceful avenue of bespoke, mainly contemporary homes was opposite the tram stop and worth the journey alone.

Red squirrels skipped up the giant pines which reflected in plate-glass windows and a few yummy daddies on Saturday morning duty walked with their children stopping every now and again to pick up a stone or take an apple from trees overhanging garden walls.

A long white brick wall heralded the first clue to Studio Aalto, a 1950s masterpiece at first sight. Aalto built the streamlined property to create space to deal with large commissions and visitors can see just how the architect’s workplace was used.

The desks and Anglepoise lamps, shelves of plans and plywood scale models are all in place, as if Aalto had just walked out of the building.

The studio’s clean lines wrap round the tiered garden to create an amphitheatre where movie-mad Aalto would project films against a huge wall. Inside, light pours in to the main studio which contains Aalto’s signature furniture, including the Paimio chair and stacking tables alongside remarkable models of the Aalto Theatre in Essen.

In the top corner of the high-ceilinged studio hang a dozen lights on rods which allowed Aalto to test their effectiveness at differing heights. Attention to detail is a by-word for Aalto and testament to his insistence on functionality.

Even the staff dining room contains iconic Aalto furniture, practical black composite table tops edged with pine and discreet downlighters. Sixty years on, everything has a striking form, intrinsic strength and requires little maintenance.

Ten minutes’ walk away is Aalto’s former home but add an extra 15 minutes for dawdling and gawping at other properties along the way.

Aalto and his first wife Aino lived at Riihitie 20 from 1936. From the outside, the flat-roofed house is severe but softened by Virginia creeper which climbs up white wooden poles close to the wall to give the property a new look every season, changing from white to green to red before being cut back for the next year.

The property is a total work of art – not just the building but the couple gave special treatment to the interior surfaces, furniture design, lamps, furnishings and glassware. It displays a softer, romantic functionalism which created a home-cum-office-cum-showcase for clients.

The living space is defiantly stylish and the built-in cupboards, linoleum flooring, pale pine and birch-sourced plywood and moulding have proved strong and practical.

The clean lines, echoing a ship’s cabin, were a stark reminder to get back to the Crown Princess before we sailed on St Petersburg where there would less modernism but an abundance of baroque.

Back on board, passengers swapped their stories of the day over dinner; some loved the unusual shops, others were taken with the abstract Sibelius Monument, made up of 600 hollow steel pipes welded together like a wave ‘capturing the music’ of composer Jean Sibelius, while others insisted the neo-classical Senate Square and cathedral should not have been missed.

The general consensus was that Crown Princess had introduced a country that cries out, as the students at Victoria insisted, to be visited time and time again.

The Crown Princess

Lesley Bellew travelled on the Crown Princess.

The biggest surprise about the 3,000-passenger Crown Princess is how quietly she sails through the seas.

From a cabin balcony, more or less in the middle of the ship, the lapping of waves was the only sound.

For more action, that’s inside the ship with activities arranged from morning to night including specialist lectures to Zumba fitness classes, musical interludes or West End-style shows. A jam-packed daily newsletter keeps guests informed about the day’s activities.

There is a choice of swimming pools, a spa and beauty salon, expansive gym, open-air movies and a nightclub.

Dining options are plentiful. Choose from an informal buffet in the Horizon Lounge or enjoy formal dining in Davinci’s or Boticelli’s.

For an additional charge you can choose Sabatini’s for fine dining or the Crown Grill.

A pizzeria and ice cream bar are open all day for complimentary treats.

Shopping options include duty free fashion, gifts and jewellery stores. There are deals to be had with, for example, two litres of Bombay Gin at 39 dollars.

A similar 14-night Baltic Heritage cruise on Emerald Princess sails on a Southampton round-trip on June 28, 2014 to Zeebrugge, Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Helsinki, two days in St. Petersburg, Tallinn and Gdynia.

Price from £1,399 per person (based on two adults sharing an inside stateroom) includes all accommodation, main meals and on board entertainment. Call 0843 373 0333 www.princess.com

Alvar Aalto Foundation tickets must be booked in advance for the house and studio. Email riihitie@alvaraalto.fi