Norwegian Star Review
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First, i have been on several cruises with Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and one previous cruise with Norwegian. I didn't like the previous Norwegian ship, and it was not my choice to do this cruise on Norwegian, but I was pleasantly surprised in some ways, but not in others.
First the design of this ship is good, with a few oddities. The casino is way front so that you don't have to pass through it all the time like you do on many ships. I liked that because I didn't have to walk through clouds of cigarette smoke all the time. Most of the shops were also at one end of the ship so we didn't walk through the shopping alley in the lobby as most ships have it. That was fine with me, but I wonder if it hurts their business at all.
The other pleasant surprise was the food. As some others have said, my impression is that the food is not as good in the main dining rooms as on other cruise lines because they really want you to pay the surcharge to eat at the specialty restaurants. We all bought the meal package that allowed us to eat in the restaurants at no extra charge and it was worth it. The food was spectacular at the Moderno Brazilian grill and at Cagney's Steakhouse. The rack of lamb I had at Cagney's was one of the most memorable meals of the trip. We did eat two nights in the main dining rooms, and I was pleased with both the variety and the quality of the food there. Overall, the ship was pleasant, attractive, with good bars, restaurants and recreational facilities.
Cabin Review
Port Reviews
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is an amazing, fabulous city! We stayed at the Scandic Palace-adequate hotel in a great location. The hop on, hop off boat tour was a highlight.
Tallinn
Charming old town. We arranged a walking tour on our own, and it was great to have someone tell us about the history. Other than that, it's just a delightful place to walk around, do a little shopping, sit at an outdoor cafe and have a pleasant day. Having been in Lithuania, I have to say that I was shocked at the prices of amber. I don't know if it's the affect of the euro or because Tallinn is now flooded by cruise ship tourists, but the prices are really horrific.
Helsinki
Helsinki was a lot more interesting than I expected. We picked up the HOHO bus right at the terminal, so got some historical highlights as we went around. We got off at the market, having seen Rick Steve's video about eating salmon there, and found the wonderful indoor market that a lot of people miss because there are no signs. Then we ate lunch at the outdoor market (salmon, of course), and did more shopping there than anywhere else. They had anything imaginable made of deer antlers, and lots of skins and furs. You can see how they would be useful in the long cold winters! The venders were lovely, took credit cards, and spoke English. The U.S. gymnastics team was there for a competition, and we spoke to several of them. Not much else to do in the city, but enough for a very pleasant day.