Flew into Heathrow on Virgin Airways.Got our bags & went through customs in 1 hr. Pre & post cruise accommodations through Celebrity with the Grosvenor House - about 2 blocks from a tube stop and buses. Great hotel featured a full breakfast as part of the price. Bus picked us up at 9:30 & we arrived in Dover about 12:00 with quick check in. Good start. Our room was SS 9123 which is located mid-ship and is a handicap accessible room. This was an upgrade from our booked CC room. Liked the room's size but didn't like the open shower as we always had to put towels on the floor to prevent the shower water running over. If you are a light sleeper this is not the room for you. It is located below the ping pong table and the casual dining dish storage locker. However we did work things out with guest services to compensate for the noise. This cruise is port intensive & we made full use of our time in port. We were too tired to see the evening shows after our late dining. Had breakfast delivered to our room each morning - much more relaxing than going up to the buffet and trying to find a table & get our beverages. Usually got the end of lunch service. They had regional fare of German & Scandinavian food. One day they had an Italian antipasti bar that had all my favorites. Dinners lacked creativity & at least 3 times the standard shrimp cocktail was listed as the evening specialty appetizer. We mostly had warm weather with just a couple of days of light rain in port. Even with excellent walking shoes discovered that cobblestone streets can still wear out your legs and feet. Made good use of the hot tubs and T-pool on each return to the ship. Only booked 2 ship's excursions - the evening at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen for $22 which included the shuttle and admission. Not handled well by Celebrity. Apparently booked too many people so there was a 30-40 minute wait for more buses to arrive. Tivoli Gardens is charming, a throwback in time when you went to an amusement park to have a relaxing dinner and listen to music played in their 4 bandstands. The rides and games are mild compared to today's high cost amusement parks. Also did a 90 minute walking tour (www.copenhagenwalks.com) done by a man dressed in Hans Christian Anderson attire. Not meant for slow walkers, he keeps the tour moving & entertaining. Highly recommended!

Did ship's tour of the twin cities of Helsingborg/Helsingor as this was a tender port and we wanted to make sure we got off the ship in a timely manner. Good tour but not as informative & fun as the Copenhagen tour. Did the ship's tour by train to Berlin - warm day and no a/c on train. Bus had a/c and a great tour guide who described Berlin past (watching the video) and present looking out the window. Enjoyed our free time of walking around before return to bus. Most of the towns we visited did not have a/c in shops or restaurants and it was had to find more than 1 internet cafe. As the dollar is so badly devalued right now expect to pay at least 50% more for anything you buy. The ship's shuttles to downtown now cost $12 round trip - all major cruise lines now charge this fee.

Did our own walking tours of Riga, Tallinn & Klaipeda. Make sure you have a good map and good description of what you are looking for to make it easy to find. Riga has the largest outside market in Europe which is where the locals shop for anything from brooms to clothes and all types of food. It's a few blocks away from the tourist spots and fun to visit to learn more about the culture. Read more