We flew from Budapest to Copenhagen, where we will be departing on a Baltic cruise aboard the Norwegian Star. Getting to Budapest Ferihegy terminal 2 was surprisingly easy. We hopped on the metro line 3 and then a public bus to the airport. Transferring was a breeze and the whole 1 hour trip only costs 360 forint per person (less than $2). However, the transit on the Copenhagen side was surprisingly slow. Due to some signaling problems near Copenhagen Central Station, the S-Train was delayed by almost half an hour.

We stayed the night in the relatively cheap (by Copenhagen standards) Wake Up Copenhagen hotel. The rooms are tiny, but the price is right, and it is conveniently located just blocks from the train station. The following morning we boarded the S-Train and headed to Nordhavn where our cruise ship awaited.

The Norwegian Star is an older ship than we usually sail on. So, why did we pick this ship? 1) It fit our schedule. 2) It does somewhere we haven’t been before. 3) It was really cheap. Upon boarding, we noticed that the crowd skewed much younger than Royal Caribbean or Holland America. The cruise staff seems to be trying to foster a fun and lively atmosphere, and it is admittedly more fun than RCL or HAL, but not as fun as Carnival.
On our first night, we ate dinner at the Cagney’s Steakhouse specialty restaurant. The food was only so-so and not worth the $30 per person surcharge. For those of you who are planning an NCL cruise, skip the steakhouse and save your money for something better like an excursion or a refreshing beverage.