They call it a cruise ship - it does have a casino and several classes of cabins - but the Princess Maria is really just a big ferry, with cars and trucks on board to prove it. Star Tallinn has no such pretensions; it is a ferry. And we waltzed smoothly from one to the other after a smooth crossing back to Helsinki and a smoother trip back through EU immigration. Two and a half hours later we docked in Tallinn, capital city of Estonia, #98 for Connie and #82 for me.
Guiding on the prominent church steeple we wended our way up the twisting, cobbled streets towards Old Town Tallinn and the Olevi Residence Hotel. Room rates in Latvia are more sane than in Scandinavia and our room is spacious with all the conveniences, even if it was once a 14th Century storage room or wine cellar, judging from its and vaulted ceilings and subterranean location, 47 stairs below street level.
