Be Forewarned - Debarkation at Copenhagen's Ocean Quay Terminal

(I meant "disembarkation") Just left Royal's 26 transatlantic/Baltic trip. Had a great time overall (4 out of 5) but I have to warn others who may be leaving the ship at this port in the future. First, it took forever to get a taxi. Princess warned of limited taxis - but that wasn't the problem. There only is a one-land road going in and out of this particular warehouse port area and the backup was horrendous. It typically is about 350 Danish Kroner from the port to the airport but many people paid over 700 Kroners but it took 40 minutes of creeping along just to depart the port area. I negotiated a 450 Kroner fare (the meter was at 710 Kroners upon arrival at the airport) and the taxi driver agreed, just wanting me to exit his cab, I'm sure. The line of cars and taxis was so long. Just be forewarned that this is the current situation in Copenhagen for the Royal (and probably will be for the Regal). The access to the ship is inadequate and your taxi ride may end up costing you well over $100 unless you do what I did - tell the taxi driver what I was prepared to pay him.

Thanks for posting this info.

Very useful information. It might be helpful (and cheaper) to use the ship's transportation...

(I meant "disembarkation") Just left Royal's 26 transatlantic/Baltic trip. Had a great time overall (4 out of 5) but I have to warn others who may be leaving the ship at this port in the future. First, it took forever to get a taxi. Princess warned of limited taxis - but that wasn't the problem. There only is a one-land road going in and out of this particular warehouse port area and the backup was horrendous. It typically is about 350 Danish Kroner from the port to the airport but many people paid over 700 Kroners but it took 40 minutes of creeping along just to depart the port area. I negotiated a 450 Kroner fare (the meter was at 710 Kroners upon arrival at the airport) and the taxi driver agreed, just wanting me to exit his cab, I'm sure. The line of cars and taxis was so long. Just be forewarned that this is the current situation in Copenhagen for the Royal (and probably will be for the Regal). The access to the ship is inadequate and your taxi ride may end up costing you well over $100 unless you do what I did - tell the taxi driver what I was prepared to pay him.

Did you negotiate the rate prior to taking the cab or did you just refuse to pay the full fare once you got to the airport? If the later then you were lucky that the cab driver did not push the issue since you owed the amount on the meter.

Very useful information. It might be helpful (and cheaper) to use the ship's transportation...

I agree. It sounds like even private transfers would have a hard time getting into, and out of, the port area.

We had a Princess xfer from the airport and were glad we did. Also used Princess for a city tour before a late flight out of CPH. Traffic is a nightmare both coming and going at the port in Copenhagen.

49er

The port is backed up due to the single lane in and out road and all the construction and heavy delivery vehicles exiting the new port terminal area. We departed after the TA and it took over 1.5 hours of standing in the taxi line to get a taxi, and then as noted, about 30 minutes to clear the port traffic. Please note that the taxi drivers were very nice, and just as frustrated. This is truly a port area, and not set up well at all for a cruise terminal. But, be patient and hope there is a widening project in the near future.

Did you negotiate the rate prior to taking the cab or did you just refuse to pay the full fare once you got to the airport? If the later then you were lucky that the cab driver did not push the issue since you owed the amount on the meter.

I asked for a flat rate at the time I entered the cab - he declined. Then I asked him the normal fare to the airport. He said 350 Kroners. I said ok. As the delay progressed, he agreed that I shouldn't have to pay an exorbitant amount just to get the airport. I told him I was willing to be flexible but I wasn't prepared to pay double the regular fare (as many people apparently did - talked to a few at the airport and they talked to a few, etc.). He seemed willing and kept driving. When we arrived at the airport, I told him I thought 450 was a reasonable amount - he agreed. It never hurts to negotiate. The Princess transfer was $88 for the two of us (me and daughter), so I think I paid about the same or a little less than that. The transfer buses were just as delayed. Copenhagen needs to widen these streets as the access situation is unreasonable. Hopefully, the city will undertake this soon. That port area is just inadequate for a ship that large. However, the people getting on the ship had no trouble getting there. :)

I asked for a flat rate at the time I entered the cab - he declined. Then I asked him the normal fare to the airport. He said 350 Kroners. I said ok. As the delay progressed, he agreed that I shouldn't have to pay an exorbitant amount just to get the airport. I told him I was willing to be flexible but I wasn't prepared to pay double the regular fare (as many people apparently did - talked to a few at the airport and they talked to a few, etc.). He seemed willing and kept driving. When we arrived at the airport, I told him I thought 450 was a reasonable amount - he agreed. It never hurts to negotiate. The Princess transfer was $88 for the two of us (me and daughter), so I think I paid about the same or a little less than that. The transfer buses were just as delayed. Copenhagen needs to widen these streets as the access situation is unreasonable. Hopefully, the city will undertake this soon. That port area is just inadequate for a ship that large. However, the people getting on the ship had no trouble getting there. :)

Thanks for the clarification. Did not want people to think that they could just ignore the meter.

We are taking the Royal in August and our flight is fairly tight (9:35 am, Princess recommends no flights before 9:30 am). Would we be better off with a Princess transfer or trying to do public transport (NOT a taxi)? Or any other ideas/suggestions? Thanks

We are taking the Royal in August and our flight is fairly tight (9:35 am, Princess recommends no flights before 9:30 am). Would we be better off with a Princess transfer or trying to do public transport (NOT a taxi)? Or any other ideas/suggestions? Thanks

You will need a Princess transfer. Our docking was a bit after 5 AM, but it was a bit after that when folks could leave (6:15 am or so, I think?). I left at 0900 since I was staying in-town for a few days, and it still took about 1.5 hours to get a cab (standing in line) and another 30 minutes to clear the port (and, yes, there were another 500+ people behind me in line). You will need to be on the early transfer - and I'm pretty sure with the traffic and port loading, it's your only real option.

There was no public transportion the I saw/knew of - but, someone else might have seen it.

A big thanks to everyone who shared info on this gridlock at the new but 'not improved yet' cruise terminal.

A couple of years ago at the other terminal Princess said that cabs would be very limited & to use their shuttles. However we had no trouble at about 9:30 getting a cab to our post-cruise hotel stay. Obviously with the new terminal's construction it's worse than before & hope that it's completed by early next May when we disembark on the Regal Princess.

I found a news article dated May 2, 2014 that the new terminal just opened & hopefully they'll soon get over their growing pains.

Interesting, I was planning on taking the hop on hop off bus from the terminal back to Nyhavn. Will ask the hotel to investigate when we arrive if the bus is still going to the terminal.

All of the forms of transportation were stuck in this horrible traffic jam. So the only difference would be the price - not the time it takes to get anywhere. I saw hop-on-hop-offs coming to the ship but don't know the price. If you have time to spare then that may be the best bet. Sitting in a taxi, watching your hard-earned money slip away because of lack of roads is not pleasant. I would say take Princess or the hop on if you're not comfortable negotiating with the taxi driver. I negotiate for a living so have no problems with that but Princess transfer or hop-on may be easier for most. The other issue was this port is an active trucking/warehouse area and a million huge trucks were entering/exiting the road. This contributed to the delay.

As a local I'm very sorry to hear this.

The problem as I see it for now is that there isn't any public transportation provided in weekends and public holidays.

Those arriving on a regular day has 2 busses every hour to choose from.

The other problem has been some road construction on this single lane road.

Also the taxi drivers need to figure out this new terminal with acces points, ships arrival times because it shouldn't be necessary to wait that long for a taxi.

But maybe if the OP send this message on a email to wonderful Copenhagen tourist board or the cruise Copenhagen network they will also realize this problem if they not already does.

As a local I'm very sorry to hear this.

 

The problem as I see it for now is that there isn't any public transportation provided in weekends and public holidays.

Those arriving on a regular day has 2 busses every hour to choose from.

 

The other problem has been some road construction on this single lane road.

 

Also the taxi drivers need to figure out this new terminal with acces points, ships arrival times because it shouldn't be necessary to wait that long for a taxi.

 

 

But maybe if the OP send this message on a email to wonderful Copenhagen tourist board or the cruise Copenhagen network they will also realize this problem if they not already does.

Already sent it. I love Copenhagen (I'm of Danish heritage) but this left a very bad taste in my mouth. Everyone was quite considerate (no honking, etc.) but with thousands more people traversing this tiny road, it's really a nightmare and people shouldn't be ending their cruise in the midst of a cluster @@@@. :)

There were problems last year getting to the old Sunkaj Quay. It was one lane going in and our taxi from the airport Hilton to the pier was $95 which included about $25 for wait time as it took 40 minutes to crawl the last mile or so. There were no police attempting traffic control. I truly doubt the situation will improve with time. We had a Princess transfer to the airport after the cruise but with a late fight we didn't leave until almost 10:00 and there was no problem by them. The new pier is well over a mile from the entrance to the port area and goes through a commercial port area. Not a good situation :( I wouldn't try an early flight because once you get to CPH it is another disaster as you need to stand in line to get your boarding pass, stand in line to check your bags, check in line to go through security, check in line to go through immigration and I must have missed at least one other line or two. Also, of you are flying SAS, you need to walk to another terminal from the Princess shuttle drop off point. What a pain :( :(. I am not a fan of CPH

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The new pier is well over a mile from the entrance to the port area and goes through a commercial port area.

Based on comments from a Copenhagen resident it's 3.3 km or about 2 miles...guess we'll not be in a rush to get to our hotel.

All of the forms of transportation were stuck in this horrible traffic jam. So the only difference would be the price - not the time it takes to get anywhere. I saw hop-on-hop-offs coming to the ship but don't know the price. If you have time to spare then that may be the best bet. Sitting in a taxi, watching your hard-earned money slip away because of lack of roads is not pleasant. I would say take Princess or the hop on if you're not comfortable negotiating with the taxi driver. I negotiate for a living so have no problems with that but Princess transfer or hop-on may be easier for most. The other issue was this port is an active trucking/warehouse area and a million huge trucks were entering/exiting the road. This contributed to the delay.

I don't negotiate for a living but I would not have any issues doing it. However, it just seems a waste to pay for a taxi and then pay for the hop on hop off bus as that is what we are planning to do that day anyway.

Hopefully, the fact that we will be disembarking on a Sunday will help the situation a little bit as there will be no trucks (I hope or at least decreased traffic).

Based on comments from a Copenhagen resident it's 3.3 km or about 2 miles...guess we'll not be in a rush to get to our hotel.

We are taking the Royal in August and our flight is fairly tight (9:35 am, Princess recommends no flights before 9:30 am). Would we be better off with a Princess transfer or trying to do public transport (NOT a taxi)? Or any other ideas/suggestions? Thanks

There is no way you will make this flight with the traffic situation. It doesn't matter who's trying to get you out of the terminal - it is just gridlock. Princess has huge buses and they do hit move any faster. People walking were the only ones getting anywhere yesterday! Nightmare!

There is no way you will make this flight with the traffic situation. It doesn't matter who's trying to get you out of the terminal - it is just gridlock. Princess has huge buses and they do hit move any faster. People walking were the only ones getting anywhere yesterday! Nightmare!

Thanks Gwen...I was hoping that you'd post about your disembarkation experience. Did you hear whether this was due to being recently open & maybe not completely finished with construction? Or is it a poor design which will always be a problem? :confused:

Thanks Gwen...I was hoping that you'd post about your disembarkation experience. Did you hear whether this was due to being recently open & maybe not completely finished with construction? Or is it a poor design which will always be a problem? :confused:

In talking to our cab driver it is just a function of a one lane road in and out of the pier and how many cruise ships are there that day. It was absolutely the worst I have ever seen! Took us 2 hours to get to the Airport Hilton!

GweninTX could you give a guess as to the walk out toward the metro ?more an 1 kn.? We are planning to walk out if possible. Thanks