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JMHamburg and others please help with Hamburg


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Such a great thread -- thanks so much JMHamburg. It really helped us plan our day and a half in Hamburg.

 

For those leaving from Altona, the ferry is a really great way to get to your ship. You pass right by it and get a great look at it from the water. We found it to be an excellent way to get excited about our cruise. We were staying near the train station, and so had to change from the s-bahn to the ferry at Landungsbrucken. You can take the s-bahn or the u-bahn, but the former is better, because there is a elevator from the s-bahn at Landungsbrucken. It was a bit of a chore with luggage, but worth it.

 

Also worth it is the HVV app. You can pre-select the tickets you want and then, once you get to Hamburg, buy them with one click. I bought a group ticket for four of us on the app while waiting for our luggage in the airport. It was about 11 euros, and was good all day. We ended up using it for the s-bahn in from the airport, the u-bahn, the ferry, and a bus. It's a great deal. The s-bahn from the airport, as others have noted, is really convenient.

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After the harbour tour, I'm not sure what else we should see/do in the afternoon. Any suggestions?

 

The U-Bahn line U3 is very scenic between Landungsbruecken and Baumwall, but it takes only 1 short minute. You could alternatively take the Bus Line 111 (the same line that departs at Cruise Center Altona, but please miss the ferry), the bus arrives close to Miniatur Wunderland at stop Am Sandtorkai, or, you exit 1 stop earlier at Am Kaiserkai (Elbphilharmonie), take a look to Hamburg's celebrated new Elbphilharmonie concert house and walk. Zoom map Landungsbruecken to see, where Bus Line 111 departs towards east to Baakenhoeft, it is departure area d. You can fill in 'Miniatur Wunderland' into the HVV timetable search, btw.

 

In the afternoon, well, it is really a thing with the weather. North of the Alps, summer doesn't seem to occur anymore. Unfortunately, my former picture host converted itself to a pay service, thus I had to move my

 

Hamburg Photo Album

 

to a new host; just get inspired, what you may be interested in, and would like to see. Please don't get confused by all the blue skyed and sunny photos of Hamburg, I only take pictures at such good weather conditions, which are definately not normal here in Hamburg. If the weather is really bad, I mean rain, or even storm, Hamburg offers plenty of high class shopping malls with restaurants, for example. Here are some photos from the Elbphilharmonie observation platform called Plaza. Access is free, but limited to a specific number of visitors at the same time. Alternatively, you can purchase date and time fixed tickets only for just €2, and get guaranteed access to the Plaza.

 

8e3gfo4w.jpg 7t3m2cie.jpg izeqtvie.jpg

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  • 3 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

We took a cruise from Altoona in Hamburg in July. We stayed at the Madison which was an excellent hotel. Staff was very helpful there. On the morning before our cruise, we could easily walk to Miniatur Wunderland. We got there when it opened and it was almost empty. We loved it. Then we walked to the church and toured the cellar and tower ( I think it is St Michael's??). My husband loved seeing Bach's son's grave there. From there we walked to the harbor and took the Rainer harbor cruise which we enjoyed. Then we took a taxi to Altoona. We didn't know about the ferry. We appreciate all the help we received here.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

I have found all the information on here so helpful to start to try to figure out where to stay before our cruise. We are flying into Hamburg the day before our cruise with MSC in march. We are looking for recommendations as to where we should stay the night before we head to the ship that will be docked in Steinwerder if I have read what you guys have posted correctly. We will be traveling with 4 kids so 6 of us total which makes planning ahead so important. We would love to stay somewhere near public transportation and restaurants and near enough to the cruise port we can easily get all 4 kids there. Any help and advice would be really appreciated we are getting excited to see Hamburg!

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I have found all the information on here so helpful to start to try to figure out where to stay before our cruise. We are flying into Hamburg the day before our cruise with MSC in march. We are looking for recommendations as to where we should stay the night before we head to the ship that will be docked in Steinwerder if I have read what you guys have posted correctly. We will be traveling with 4 kids so 6 of us total which makes planning ahead so important. We would love to stay somewhere near public transportation and restaurants and near enough to the cruise port we can easily get all 4 kids there. Any help and advice would be really appreciated we are getting excited to see Hamburg!

 

I like the Hotel 25 Hours in the Hafen City. It would be a 10 minute taxi ride, it's close to transport and the city, and it's quite new and reasonably priced.

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  • 2 months later...

Just an update on the public transport in Hamburg:

 

- single ticket €3.30 (from airport or city center to any cruise terminal for example)

- day ticket €6.40 (valid from 09:00am; all day on Saturdays / Sundays / public holidays)

 

Please be prepared for paying public transport tickets with cash ! If you are a lucky one and can find one of the few ticket machines that accept credit cards (if at all, at the airport and the central station maybe), please be prepared that you need to enter your credit card PIN at the machine. It is normal to pay small amounts with cash in Germany!

 

Public harbor ferry lines (for example: 61 / 62 / 72 / 73) can be used as well with the single or day tickets. Please be aware that harbor ferries can be overcrowded on weekends and even just sunny afternoons and evenings and definitely during 'Harbor Birthday' from 10 May 2018 to 13 May 2018 therefore. Ferry lines 61 and 62 connect Cruise Center Altona ('Norwegian Jade' / 'MSC Magnifica') with downtown Hamburg.

 

Unfortunately, my description above on Hamburg Cruise Terminals how to get to and from there has not changed, there is still no good public transport service to and from Steinwerder Cruise Terminal ('MSC Meraviglia' / 'Queen Mary 2').

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Regarding public transportation (it may be mentioned in the thread and I missed it), some buses are Express and charge a supplement in addition to a day ticket. How does one identify an Express bus before boarding?

 

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Thank you very much Rhea for pointing it out!

 

Distinction between normal bus lines and a surcharge bus line 'Schnellbus' is that lines of 'Schnellbusse' do have 2-digit numbers from 31 to 39 plus 48 and 49. The display above the windscreen shows the type of the bus line 'Schnellbus' in the first row, the destination of the bus thereunder.

 

Have a nice cruise!

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  • 1 month later...

Some updates and information about Hamburg for you ...

 

Hamburg Airport Baggage Claim :

Be prepared for longer waiting times at the baggage claim at Hamburg Airport. If you receive your baggage already about 30 minutes after landing, you are a very very lucky one!

 

Accessibility Of Hamburg Steinwerder Cruise Terminal :

Unfortunately, nothing has been improved since I wrote about it in thread JMHamburg and others please help with Hamburg last year. From rapid transit S-Bahn station Veddel, the Cruise Gate Shuttle operates to and from the Steinwerder Cruise Terminal with limited capacity.

 

Stamp Tickets :

It is not necessary, and also not possible to stamp public transport tickets in Hamburg!

 

Travelling By Train In Germany :

I recently was on the way from Hamburg to Warnemuende, several incidents and the loss of 1 of a total of 3 connections resulted in a delay of 76 minutes. The track between Rostock on the one hand and Schwerin and Hamburg on the other hand is closed due to repair and construction works until at least the end of June, which also is later than planned. Be prepared for no available support in English language, be prepared for displays at stations and in trains that may misguide you, information in the app also may not be correct, even clocks can go wrong, as I had to learn then, and again. On the way back, a train was late, and I had to rush through a station for the connection, there were only 3 minutes between arrival and departure. If you like to travel on the ailing German railroad system, or if you cannot avoid it, better always have a plan B or even C that does not include any train services, if you could miss a ship or a flight. I refuse to say that the train service in Germany is reliable!

 

Paying With CreditCard :

Once again, in Germany we are still paying with cash usually, local bank cards are widely accepted, but credit cards could be rejected in stores, supermarkets and restaurants. Ticket machines accept credit cards only sometimes, then you will very likely asked to give your PIN.

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  • 2 months later...

Another question about transport in Hamburg. Are there day tickets that cover both the ferry service and the bus and metro, or are they separate? We are docking at Altona in September and want to take the ferry to near city center, then the bus 111 or metro to Rathaus, they same thing on the way back. We are two adults. What would be the price of tickets, please? Thank you.

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It is the same ticket for the ferry service and the metro/bus ( only not sure if there are some fast bus at them you can´t use the ticket?? i only used the metro and the ferries in Hamburg ),

 

The dock in Altona is near to Dockland, take a ferry to the Landungsbrücken. Mostly it is the 62 a circle line, the ferrys coming from the right site are going to landungsbrücken, the ferrys coming from left are from the landungsbrücken.There is a ticket machine at dockland, can´t say if it takes visa oder mastercard, sorry.

 

https://www.hvv.de/pdf/fahrplaene/hvv_linienplan_hafenfaehren.pdf

 

At the Landungbrücken is a metro station ( go stairs up into the green building ). For example you can use the S1 or S3 to Jungfernstieg ( it is between Altster Lake and town hall). Metro station in Hamburg are easy to handle, wenn you walk down to the track there are after the stairs signs, one for the left and one for the right track. At this sign there are all lines and the stations what they hit ( you can follow all station for every line what is in service at this track). so have a look for the station you are looking for and you know what is the correct site and line.

https://www.hvv.de/pdf/fahrplaene/hvv_linienplan_schnellbahnplan_usar.pdf

 

a day ticket per person: 7,47 EUR

day ticket after 9am: 6,21 EUR / group ticket up to 5 persons: 11,64 EUR

that´s are online prices ( i buy my tickets with the hvv app ), i think the online discount is 3%, so maybe it es about 3% more expansive at the ticket machine.

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JMHamburg, you’re a wealth of knowledge, thanks for all of your posts and help. We will be in Hamburg 10/3 10/4 and are going to Stade, mentioned in post #26 from several years ago. We lived in Stade and have returned several times, it’s always interesting to see the changes. Thanks for bringing it up.

 

 

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Hamburg was the first city in the world introducing a public transport network with network ticket system, that was back in 1965. So, don't worry, you can use your single or day ticket on the entire HVV network with metro, ferry and bus, fast buses with surcharge. You can also use HVV tickets on regional trains to Lubeck or Stade, you would just have to pay attention to the tariff zones shown on the maps in the stations. Single ticket is €3.30, day ticket on weekdays from 09:00am is €6.40, day ticket on weekdays for entire day is €7.70, day ticket on weekend and public holidays for entire day is €6.40. There are also short distance tickets if you only travel some stations or stops. If you plan to travel to Kiel for example, tickets are available at HVV ticket machines as well. For your journey from Dockland to Rathaus and back, you may take a day ticket.

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