NCL Star, Baltics, July 4 review

[meanjean80]

A brief, belated review of my July 4 cruise on the NCL Star.

 

Greetings all. I’ve been meaning to do this for some time, but I wanted to pass on my thoughts, experiences, and observations on my NCL Cruise in the Baltics from July 4.

 

Me: I’m an experienced cruiser, primarily on Carnival. Sailed with my older sister Donna and my friend Karen in a mini-suite. First time on NCL for all of us. We chose this cruise primarily for itinerary…Karen and I have traveled a lot of Europe, we both wanted to go to St. Petersburg, but neither of us wanted to actually fly in to and stay in Russia.

 

Pre-cruise. A lot of ugliness, nothing to do with NCL. Had the misfortune of flying (or trying to fly) on Delta on July 1 from JFK to Copenhagen. Flight took off 16 1/2 hours late. No, that’s not a typo. Worse, Delta didn’t do anything handy like tell us up front that the flight would be that late, they just kept postponing it an hour at a time until 3am when they finally admitted we wouldn’t leave until 12 noon July 2nd. (We actually left at 2:30pm). My first life experience of this vacation was sleeping on the floor of JFK Terminal 4. Let’s just say that Delta set the customer service bar so low that the rest of the trip could only go uphill from here.

 

Once in Copenhagen, we stayed at the Hotel Alexandra. Wonderful little place, reasonably priced, centrally located. They were very kind as we kept in touch with them about the uber late flight and immediately brought us to our room when we arrived at 4:30am on the 3rd. Would definitely recommend them.

 

So at some point as we are in a jet lagged haze walking around Copenhagen on the 3rd, Karen gets a text from NCL…the Star has had a technical issue and will not be arriving until 2pm so do not head to the port until 4pm for boarding. Coming off of the Delta debacle, this was almost an official “our vacation is cursed” moment. Then we laughed and had more wine, because, what else?

 

(My only issue with the NCL boarding notice was that the only notification we received was by text. Karen was the only one of us who had international calling. I was using my phone with wi-fi to access email but could not get phone or text. No emails were sent. And for my sister, who has a “dumb” phone, if she weren’t with us, she’d have been at the port at 10am. I actually logged on to cruise critic to confirm that Karen's text wasn't some hoax.)

 

However, the delay did mean we were able to make up touring time in Copenhagen which was lost to JFK Terminal 4, so we spent the morning and early afternoon at Tivoli Gardens before heading to the port.

 

Once there, we learned it would be even later than originally texted, and we were offered a chance to take a free shuttle bus back in to downtown Copenhagen and be transported back at a later time. Now, we all looked at each other, and pretty much thought the same thing…head back to town, then arrive back here with other busloads of folks all trying to board at the same time. Or stay in the terminal and be one of the first on line to board. So we pulled up chairs and hung out, played a few games, and relaxed. (Our decision would be validated when, from our balcony, we watched the shuttle buses returning well after 8pm and the lines out the door to get on the ship).

 

Once the Star pulled in there was a bit of disorganization between where boarding passengers should go as opposed to the streams of angry folks trying to get off at the same time. However, I will say once a line was formed NCL was incredibly efficient in getting people through the terminal…once there we were given a zone number, and there were an ample number of folks walking around with beverages and sandwiches. However, NCL was so efficient our zone was called before we could even get near a server.

 

Boarding was painless at that point and we were on board by 6pm (and may I say I am stunned, stunned at how quickly they turned the ship around).

 

ON BOARD.

 

Understandably our room was not ready yet, and I am pretty sure our only dining option was the buffet. I would have pushed harder to attempt Sheehan’s, but Karen and Donna were two steps ahead of me and hungry. So for the only time this trip I broke my cardinal rule: I ate at the buffet. Now, this isn’t a cruise thing, it’s a me thing…I don’t eat buffets on Carnival, or on RCL, or when I’ve been to Vegas…and I certainly never touch a buffet table in a NY Deli. No matter how clean the establishment, the buffet is only as good as the people in line in front of you. I’ll get an omelet from a station, or a sandwich or burger from someone making it and handing me the plate, but never touch the hot food, or worse yet, the salad bar. Total paranoia and I admit it. But as a result, I can’t say if the buffet was better or worse than Carnival’s…I wasn’t terribly impressed that evening but that could be just as much a result of the scramble for provisioning than anything else. It was edible and we didn’t get sick. :)

 

The room was excellent. We had a mini-suite, a bit bigger than a standard Carnival balcony, with a much better bathroom overall (we had a tub). It was perfect for the three of us. Karen took the pull out sofa because there was a room dividing curtain which gave her some privacy, important because Donna and I are morning people and Karen emphatically is not. The blackout curtains also worked quite well, helpful given that our sunset most evenings was around 11pm and the sunrise was around 3am.

 

(Note: if you are a Carnival regular and book a mini-suite, the one issue I had with the bathroom was less storage than I am used to. There were no glass shelves for holding toiletries that are the carnival standard. Having the tub more than made up for this, but it did cause us to have to get creative, because, well, three women, you know?)

 

Our room steward was wonderful and did a great job keeping our room clean and stocked. I would like to give you his name, but I swear I never did get it. He may have told us when we first got there, but in our still travel weary haze we never heard it, and kept trying to find it out for the rest of the cruise, but he moved too fast for us to catch his name tag, and we were too embarrassed to ask him. But he was terrific.

 

We loved the “fishies” on the carpet, and after a couple of days realized that the doors on one side of the ship were red, the other side, blue. So “red doors against the fishies” became a thing.

 

FOOD/BEVERAGES/ENTERTAINMENT

 

So, maybe because we were three adults in a room, but the only perk we got was the 200 internet minutes. No UBP or meal plan. We did pre-purchase a 3 meal package because we figured we’d want to try some of the specialty restaurants, but didn’t do more than that because we knew the trip was port intensive.

 

I am a big proponent of set time dining, and I actually love sitting with more than just my sister at dinner, so the freestyle concept was certainly NOT a selling point for me. However, I missed set time dining less than I thought I would. I made reservations in advance for the Steakhouse one night, Le Bistro one night, and La Cuccina one night. We would end up booking one more night at La Cuccina (we LOVED their food) and the remaining nights were in Versailles. The main dining room I found comparable to Carnival…neither better nor worse. Our second time in Versailles we found a waiter we loved and successfully requested him for our third time. Service was good, but yes, I missed the silly song and dance routines from the wait staff. The steakhouse was solid, as was Le Bistro. We also ate at Sheehan’s several times for lunch, found it to be solid pub food, but often quite slow. Still, it was nice to have a casual non-buffet option for lunch.

 

Adult beverages…one of the few places I have issues with NCL on. Remember, we didn’t have UBP…but it seemed like everyone else and their mother did. I have never had such a hard time getting a drink on a ship in my life as I did on this cruise. Some nights we would sit in a lounge for half an hour before a server got to us. Most often we would have to go to a bar rather than be served. I wasn’t entirely unprepared for this…there was a lot of scuttlebutt about this on the boards here. But it was still surprising at how few servers we saw. I felt like we should have held a sign over our head with “Extra Tips Here.” Additionally, one morning my sister and I decided to get mimosas…and had one heck of a time finding a bar to get one at. No bar service at breakfast in Versailles that I saw, no central bar in the lobby (coffee bar), pool bar not open at 10am, bier garten not open…we ended up at Sheehan’s. Mind you, were not THAT big drinkers…we’ve never bought the beverage package on Carnival because it’s a 6 drink minimum to break even, and we would never get to that point. But still, it was peculiar, and sometimes frustrating.

 

Also…the drinks on NCL are significantly higher than Carnival. By significantly, I mean my $5.50 glass of Sambuca on Carnival became a $9.50 Sambuca on NCL. So if I ever NCL again, it will be if we get the UBP package thrown in.

 

I found the Entertainment somewhat lacking. Again, “me” quirks…I do not do Vegas style shows. I live in NYC. I see a lot of Broadway. Lip Syncing dancers aren’t my thing. No big deal, because I usually prefer the smaller venues like the piano bar or the lobby singers. But there was no piano bar on this ship…there was often a Piano player, sometimes singing, in Gatsby’s, but he was clearly not there to entertain the crowd…no attempt to get folks singing. Ditto the guitar player, who was little better than background music. There was a classical/jazz trio who were very good, and a band called Exotique who were excellent and who I would pay to see again.

 

Overall, I do have to say that I feel like the Star in particular was lacking in public space. Not nearly as many lounges, not nearly as much variety as I am used to. It seemed as if the placement of specialty restaurants significantly cut in to potential lounge areas. But that’s probably more a function of this ship than NCL as a whole.

 

I would say, I would NOT book this ship in the Caribbean. For a ship this size with this number of passengers to have only one adult pool? Not a problem in the Baltics, where there was exactly one afternoon where sitting on a deck chair was comfortable. In the Caribbean? I can’t even imagine.

 

PORTS OF CALL

Yes, I am one of those cowards who book ship tours. So all of the following are via NCL.

 

Germany…Warnemunde. We did not tour Berlin. None of us saw any appeal in taking a two hour train ride to the capital and then two hours back as part of our day. Instead we booked “Enchanting Wismar and Brewery.” Had a very nice tour of a medieval town, got a fair bit of history, got rained on (NCL poncho best $3 bucks I spent on this trip) and drank beer. The beer was excellent. Getting on and off the ship was quite easy, in fact easier than most Caribbean ports.

 

Tallinn, Estonia. Loved this place. These are a people with a great sense of humor. We went to a medieval town, and Rakvere Castle. Interesting facts that Estonians do not consider that they have anything in common with Russia OR the other “Baltic” states (Latvia and Lithuania). Our tour guide had very vivid memories of their revolution as well. I think I learned more European history on this trip than I did in all my years of schooling. Lunch was included, as well as a shot of vodka and a choice of beer, wine, or mead. Food was quite tasty and filling, and the vodka was warming (we were both wet and cold by this point). For anyone considering this itinerary, pack as if for Alaska.

 

St. Petersburg, Russia. This was the entire reason we booked this trip, and is the one place we have zero desire to go back to. Not that the city wasn’t beautiful, but the bureaucracy was worse than anything I could have imagined, and I imagined a lot. Customs was a royal pain. Staying with the tour group (a must unless you’ve procured your own visa) felt like a forced march. “Here’s a painting…let’s go to the next room now!!!!!!” For my friend, who is in the museum field, this was agonizing. I cannot understand how a tour couldn’t drop you off at the Hermitage, give you two hours to wander, and set a meeting point for return, I don’t know , but apparently not possible. Seven cruise ships in port probably did not help, either. Day one was Pushkin/Hermitage, day two was the Cathedral of the Spilled Blood and waterway tour. This was better than day one, but still felt rushed and forced (it is however one of the most beautiful Cathedrals I’ve ever seen).

 

Helsinki. I fell in love with Helsinki. We initially planned on an architecture tour, but that was cancelled, so we did Traditional City and Highlights. Loved the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum…wish it hadn’t been raining for the first half of the tour, because we would have loved to just wander the island and enjoy the nature. Also got to see the Rock Church…it was Sunday, and wish we’d had a chance to attend the service earlier in the day. But overall, just a very mystical and natural place, clean and beautiful. (More history…did not realize that the Finns were left with a choice of siding with Germany or the USSR in World War 2. Talk about damned if you do…)

 

Stockholm. As I’d expected, vacation exhaustion was beginning to set in. We chose a later “highlights” tour because we weren’t sure what to do, and that almost came back to bite us when the driver nearly forgot to show up, so all we’d have seen of Stockholm would have been the immediate port area. Fortunately, we did end up getting to the Vasa Museum (absolutely fascinating and a must see) plus a scenic drive. But I am not insulting Sweden when I say the best part of Stockholm is leaving it. The ship sails through an archipelago of islands, very slowly, almost gliding. The beauty of this defies description. It didn’t hurt that this was the one fully sunny day of the cruise.

 

Debarkation:

Efficient. Too efficient. We were off the ship by 8am, and at the airport before 10. Unfortunately our flight was at 2:30 and CPH seemed completely unable to handle this…we could not check our bags until 11:30 when Delta posted our flight. Not checking bags = not going through security = way too many folks wandering around trying to find somewhere to go. We got lucky and secured spots at a bar that was selling coffee and rolls against their will (seriously, the manager did nothing but complain that the airport made him make coffee).

 

Overall, I’d grade this trip a solid B+/A-. My experience on NCL was very positive. As I am platinum on Carnival, it would probably remain my top choice, but NCL would be a more than viable option based on price and itinerary.

[kmurph22]

Thank you for your review Meanjean80!

 

Sailing the Baltics next year on the Getaway and I'm very interested in your review, especially the details re: the weather. I'll bundle up and bring the rain gear I guess.

 

Your story underscores why we will fly into Copenhagen 2 days early!

 

The more I read, the more I am thinking about booking a private tour in SPB so we can at least dictate the pace, even if we have to be with a guide the entire time. It's $$$$ but since I don't plan on going back maybe it makes sense. We shall see.

 

Sounds like I also need to make a plan or book a hotel room for debarkation day, as our flight home isn't until 6:00pm.

 

Thanks again.

[meanjean80]

You're welcome.

 

In St.Petersburg on our day 2 tour we met a woman who had applied for a visa in advance and arranged a tour through the museum directly. She however at least read Cyrillic, which nobody in our party did. Still, it seemed like she had an entirely different experience of the Hermitage than we did.

 

With a 6pm flight you could do a tour through the cruiseline that includes airport transfer. Unfortunately not an option for us because you could only book if your flight was after 3pm.

Edited August 11, 2016 by meanjean80

[fabnfortysomething]

I know you said you book ships tours but St Petersburg is the place where you are better off booking an independent tour with one of the well recommended companies on the Baltics ports of call forum

It may even work out cheaper than the ships tours especially if you can get together a group of like minded cruisers on your roll call

You said you were frustrated at the rush through the Hermitage and that is exactly why a private tour catering to your requirements is such a good idea

[cml4958]

So if I ever NCL again, it will be if we get the UBP package thrown in. Don't forget about the service charge if you're based in the US or Canada. And, I'm not trying to be snarky, just want you to be aware.

 

 

St. Petersburg, Russia. This was the entire reason we booked this trip, and is the one place we have zero desire to go back to. Not that the city wasn’t beautiful, but the bureaucracy was worse than anything I could have imagined, and I imagined a lot. Customs was a royal pain. Staying with the tour group (a must unless you’ve procured your own visa) felt like a forced march. “Here’s a painting…let’s go to the next room now!!!!!!” For my friend, who is in the museum field, this was agonizing. I cannot understand how a tour couldn’t drop you off at the Hermitage, give you two hours to wander, and set a meeting point for return, I don’t know , but apparently not possible. Seven cruise ships in port probably did not help, either. Day one was Pushkin/Hermitage, day two was the Cathedral of the Spilled Blood and waterway tour. This was better than day one, but still felt rushed and forced (it is however one of the most beautiful Cathedrals I’ve ever seen).

 

Y'all should have definitely booked either a private tour or tried to set one up on your roll call. We had a private tour with TJ in September. They had wifi and bottled water in the vans. Helen was excellent and although we did have headsets, that was more so that we could hear her with all the other sounds around. We selected a basic itinerary but my Dad requested to see some place and they were able to locate it via Google and they drove us by there. And I imagine if we'd wanted to see specific things at any of the locations we visited, she would have done her best to accommodate us.

 

Helsinki. (More history…did not realize that the Finns were left with a choice of siding with Germany or the USSR in World War 2. Talk about damned if you do…) :D

 

Thanks for the review. We greatly enjoyed ours on the Star in September. I wish you'd had a bit better time.

 

Sailing the Baltics next year on the Getaway and I'm very interested in your review, especially the details re: the weather. I'll bundle up and bring the rain gear I guess.

Depending on the weather, you may also want to wear layers. In September, we had wonderful, sunny weather for the majority of our trip. Temps were in the 70's and 80's during the day.

 

Your story underscores why we will fly into Copenhagen 2 days early!

 

A very good idea to fly in especially early. Even if you're not in Copenhagen, if you're in Europe, you should be good to go.

 

The more I read, the more I am thinking about booking a private tour in SPB so we can at least dictate the pace, even if we have to be with a guide the entire time. It's $$$$ but since I don't plan on going back maybe it makes sense. We shall see.If you don't want to spend the money for a private tour, see about setting one up on your roll call. This is very common for the Baltic ports. And if you decide to do a tour with a company in St Petersburg and are thinking about a tour in another city, they generally offer discounts. Most of the private arranged tours travel in Merecedes vans that could probably seat eight, if needed.

 

Safe travels on your trip.

Edited August 12, 2016 by cml4958

[hun]

Enjoyed reading your review - thank you! We'll be heading to the Baltics next September [emoji5]

[rocklinmom]

Hi MeanJean80, I am considering this cruise for next July on the Getaway and was wondering about your Tallinn shore excursion...was that the NCL Medieval Experience? If so, can you please tell me what food was provided for lunch? Also if teens would be interested in this tour? I read that Rakvere Castle has weapons, dungeons, etc. But since it's such a long excursion the lunch is important for us, as my teens are both picky eaters and always hungry. Thanks for any info you can give me.

[meanjean80]

Hi MeanJean80, I am considering this cruise for next July on the Getaway and was wondering about your Tallinn shore excursion...was that the NCL Medieval Experience? If so, can you please tell me what food was provided for lunch? Also if teens would be interested in this tour? I read that Rakvere Castle has weapons, dungeons, etc. But since it's such a long excursion the lunch is important for us, as my teens are both picky eaters and always hungry. Thanks for any info you can give me.

 

Yes, that was the tour. The castle was very interesting, the section with the dungeons was a bit hokey in a way...the tour guide apologized for it being "our little bit of Disney world". We'd have spent more time exploring it and walking around had it not been a very rainy day.

 

Lunch in Estonia was very good. Excellent bread, salad, and I think roast chicken...it seems to be the one meal I didn't take a photo of, but I remember enjoying it very much.

 

I would say it would depend on the teens as to the level of enjoyment. They had folks demonstrating archery and a bunch of stuff that could be climbed on and over, and they fired the cannon at noon.

[Huntingdon1701]

Thanks for the description of the tours. I'm doing this on the Getaway next year and several of them sound like my sort of thing (I book ship tours too).

[Shawnino]

Thanks for a useful, detailed review. You write really well in a clean, crisp style. I wish every review on here was at least half as good as yours.

 

On a point of history: no, the Finns weren't given a choice between aligning with the N-zis and with the USSR. The USSR simply attacked Finland. (The USSR and the N-zis actually opened the war in the same side, carving up Eastern Europe between them.) Finland then aligned herself with the Axis.

 

On a point of travel: yes, Helsinki is absolutely amazing. And seemingly everyone under 40 speaks rich, clear English. A good thing, as the Finnis language is unintelligible to most of us outsiders (it's heard to even pick out words).

Edited August 12, 2016 by Shawnino
A certain word got bleeped out by the software..

[rocklinmom]

Thank you meanjean! Sounds like a great tour for us.

[ollienbertsmum]

I know you said you book ships tours but St Petersburg is the place where you are better off booking an independent tour with one of the well recommended companies on the Baltics ports of call forum

It may even work out cheaper than the ships tours especially if you can get together a group of like minded cruisers on your roll call

You said you were frustrated at the rush through the Hermitage and that is exactly why a private tour catering to your requirements is such a good idea

 

I am also a cheerleader for private tours in St P. We went nine years ago and took Anastasia tours for 17 of us. We planned everything beforehand and we paid much less than for a ship tour. We had no problems with customs, my daughter and I slipped out in the evening to go to the ballet and were taken from the ship and met outside the theatre by 'our' driver. The next day, with the same guide we did not get a repetition of the same story of St P .

 

I chose the lunches, one worked, one was disliked by most of the group. They still remind me how terrible borscht is. I still like it.

 

It really was a highlight of a totally fabulous cruise. I feel sad that you do not share my memories of St P.

[Badger-Badger]

We were on this same cruise :).

 

I'm surprised you had trouble getting a drink. We had the UBP and never had to wait for a drink anywhere and they often came by and checked to see if we needed a refill.

 

Like you, I enjoyed O'Sheehans. Easy pub food with a bar right there.

 

We did all private tours or were independent at all ports. We found immigration in Russia easy and pretty painless (maybe because we weren't with a big group so it was less crowded still when we came through). And since it was just my husband and I with the guide we weren't rushed anywhere. It was expensive, but for anyone looking to go to SPB it is worth every penny.

 

I agree, disembarking was soooo easy! We actually arrived at our hotel before 8AM! We stayed at the Hitel Alexandra too .... We were upgraded at no charge to the top floor corner suite and it was tough to drag ourselves away to go see the city! Lovely hotel.

 

I really liked the more laid-back, chill atmosphere on board. I hate the dancing waiters and such on Carnival so appreciated the more low key ambiance, which I felt fit the Baltics. With that said, I'm with you in that this ship would likely not be my choice in the Caribbean. I can't put my finger on it but there is something about the Star which doesn't quite "feel" tropical cruise ship.

 

Aside .... we went to the Q&A with the captain and he said it was his first time in 42 years missing an embarkation port like what happened to the cruise before us!

 

 

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