Norwegian Star Review
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When a 14 yr. old boy wants to travel with his grandmother, you seize the moment. Right up front, though, I have to confess that I do not like cruise ships. Yes, I have been on boats like French canal barges and small ships on the Yangtze and the Dalmation Coast with OAT, but traveling with 2300 of my "closest" friends is not the way I travel. That being said, the teen club on board was the "almost" perfect way for my grandson to travel. There were lots of activities and companions for him and he really would have stayed with them constantly when on board if I had let him. But, spending that much money to be alone while on board was not my idea of a vacation. I wasn't traveling as a "solo" so participating in meeting solos wasn't appropriate. Being nickel and dimed to death by playing bingo or going to the casino (I avoid Las Vegas like the plague) or drinking incessantly wasn't appealing. No lectures, no interesting events, a joke for a pool that had constant noise, and blasting a/c and music everywhere kept me in my quiet room too much of the time.
My grandson and I walked into all of the ports but St. Petersburg (and I can't praise Alla Tours enough - they are great and give you the best bang for your buck of all of the others), and roamed around interacting w/the people as much as it is possible in the few hours in some of the ports. At the Helsinki port we met a Danish mother and her 15 yr. old daughter who were on the cruise and, finally, some delightful and intelligent conversation w/a kindred spirit for the rest of the cruise and there's nothing like a Danish girl to brag about when an American boy gets home.
I'm glad I got a cabin w/a balcony though sitting out there while cruising was not generally possible - too cold and windy. Gilbert, our steward, was wonderful and the cabin was kept tidy and clean (except for the pile of clothes dumped on the couch by my grandson). And, since he is an eating machine, the "buffet" which is really a cafeteria, was very appealing to him. The entire staff was friendly and genuinely charming.
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Balcony
Port Reviews
Helsinki
I hesitated about walking into Helsinki as it is the longest distance from the ship, but all of the excursions appeared too structured and "just riding and looking" and, with a teen, potentially boring. Yes, you can walk in. It's 2 miles if you go direct, but we went to the outdoor flea market first which was fun. Maps are tricky to follow here and roads wind around and change names. On the return to the ship if you start off on the coastal route, be advised that you will have to stay on it all the way (3 miles) as the map is deceptive no matter which one you use.
The regular market downtown is interesting and actually has some nice local artists and crafts that are worth looking at as well as some local food worth trying (though the fried, salted smelt looked strange, but I've eaten stranger stuff).
Tallinn
Tallin is an interesting combination of the occupiers and the native Estonians. Its Russian influence makes it appealing historically, but just walking around and seeing the architecture is interesting in itself. We roamed the city (and there are only a few ways to get to the top to the Old Town, and, frankly, the not-old town is just as delightful), and then realized that we could skirt the edge of the town for a more direct way back to the ship. Shops are interesting w/a few items that are worth purchasing there rather than what appears to be the same item in booths on the street since the quality is negligible there.
Berlin
We did not go into Berlin but stayed in Warnemunde (why spend the majority of your time just traveling to and from Berlin?) and found it a delightful coastal town with a pretty port. Yes, if you stay waterside it is touristy, but there's plenty of town only a few blocks in that the locals call home and is fun to roam around. It was too windy that day to go to the beach, but it looked good for a less windy time.
Copenhagen
I am sure that if we had arrived on a more typical weather day, we would have enjoyed Copenhagen, but we got the heat wave day and after a long trip, heat just added to the exhaustion. The Radisson Blu turned out to be the perfect hotel (and with a/c in a town where even many major hotels don't have it) w/wonderful location (a few minutes walk from the train station where you arrive from the airport in a short time and the only bargain in Scandinavia). As it turned out, MAD Co-op in the train station is also the best place to eat fresh, local food w/o crowds and easily accessible.
Though we could see Tivoli Gardens from our hotel room, it didn't look appealing in the heat. The main shopping street so reminded my of the main square in Istanbul and the shops were all the same w/high prices and questionable quality. We took the Hop On-Hop Off bus, but, be advised that it may decide to stop at #1 and not go any further as it gets close to 5 and pretend that it doesn't have to go any further even w/people on the bus. We were goofy tired along w/hot by then, and walking back to Radisson (there was a stop right at the hotel if the bus had just done its route) wasn't high on our list.
Public transportation is doable in Copenhagen, but to get to the Norwegian Star which had changed its port destination really requires a taxi ($28 from the hotel) and knowing what port to direct the driver to.
Taking the Norwegian Star's bus back to the airport is a bargain ($30) and it is absolutely not necessary to put your luggage out the night before and then have to search for it when you can just take it to the bus and they stow it underneath. It is easy to get this transport directly on the ship.
The Copenhagen airport seems like the picture of efficiency when you get there w/kiosks that print out your baggage tags, etc. Unfortunately, the line to check your baggage is ridiculously long (at least for Delta/KLM) and you are going through the same passport check, etc. again even though you have a boarding pass (and you have to already have it so don't think you can get in that line without it). It brags that it is the safest airport, but it is the most frustrating too.