HeinBloed

Found also now one company doing it for 90 EUR from Airport to Port in private car:

http://www.autonoleggiomz.it/booking.php

And 110 EUR from City Center to Port.

Since Princess does not give me the answer which hotel is the pick-up point for 2010 and the transfer costs 260 USD for two persons...

200 EUR for both transfers is less than 260 USD for two persons I think that we will maybe book with them.

Regards,

HeinBloed

Another cheap and easy option is driving yourself and renting a car.

Following car rental companies do have locations at the airport and in Civitavecchia:

US brands

AVIS

Budget

Europcar (= National/Alamo)

Hertz

Non-US brands

http://www.easycar.it

http://www.targarent.it

As long as you are limiting yourself to drive outside Rome it can be an easy option. We make the experience that renting a car with the Italian brands can be a very cheap option. Especially one-way.

You can easily first drop-off your bags in the port and then return the car and walk to the port entrance and get on your ship by the complimentary port shuttle.

We are going in fall 2010 on a PRINCESS cruise out of Civitavecchia.

Checking around for transport options NOT from cruise-industry-mafia-for-Americans-who-pays-every-price (sorry but if I do the research in English I am only only surprised about the overpriced quotations) we found this company:

http://www.airportshuttle.it/

They provide shared mini-buses which might be interesting subject to your number of persons. Obviously it's possible to reach Civitavecchia for a 2-digit-Euro-amount.

What you can also do is to check on Google yourself with the Italian expressions:

Trasferimenti Aeroporto Fiumicino Porto di Civitavecchia

I was surprised how many more companies you find beside the cruise-industry-mafia-for-Americans-who-pays-every-price companies...

Maybe it's only 30 EUR or 50 USD saving but if you book two legs it's already nearly 100 USD which I can spend better on a ship.

We have not decided yet as we are waiting for Princess confirmation where the shuttle out of town will start.

Regards,

HeinBloed

We've been to Amsterdam many times but this will be the first time taking a cruise out of Amsterdam. We'll be on the Celebrity Constellation next May for a Baltic cruise. Where exactly in Amsterdam does Celebrity dock their ships?

At the so-called Passenger Terminal in Amsterdam right next to the Mövenpick Hotel.

Just few minutes walk or tram from Central Station and Downtown:

Regards,

HeinBloed

If you have further Amsterdam questions you better post here or check for possible other threads:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=233

If you were just walking (without luggage) the train stop to the ship is not that far, however pulling luggage might not be the best way to go. The cab was $40 I think. Tivoli - If you have already been to a boardwalk/amusement park I would not suggest Tivoli. IT is expensive to just get in, even if you don't plan on going on any rides. The restaurants are okay, but very overpriced. You have to pay to get in, to pay to go eat.

 

We had no problem getting a cab, they are lined up outside the cruise ship, and controlled with meters. You may get a driver that will try to double the fare, just watch and make sure you are paying what is up on his meter. The cars are equipped to take debit or charge cards. Drivers of course would rather get cash, they attempt to add some $$ onto the price and pocket the money.

I am confused...

A taxi ride from Freeport Cruise Terminal to Central Station (opposite of Tivoli) is about 120 DKK = 23 USD

A single ticket for the admission of Tivoli is 85 DKK = 16 USD.

A single ride ticket in Tivoli is 20 DKK = 4 USD

or I take a multi ride ticket for 210 DKK = 40 USD

40 USD for the multi-ride ticket

plus 16 USD for admission fee

= 56 USD

For Disneyland I am paying 72 USD for a day pass.

What's expensive to visit Tivoli???

Regards,

HeinBloed

The metro/train cost around $15 for the 5 of us.

The current price (2009) is 31.50 DKK/adult for a single trip from the airport to Nordhavn train station or with transfer to bus to Freeport.

31.50 DKK = 6.00 USD

Pre-booked taxis are around 300 DKK.

Regards,

HeinBloed

We will fly from Bergen tot he main airport

a taxi was outrageous $140.00 or so back tot he FreePort cruise terminal

Can we take a train from the airport tot he cruise terminal

we will have two small suitcases for the 2 night trip there

thanks

Steve

If you like to walk about 15-20 minutes from the train station to the Cruise Terminal.

If you are going on a weekday you can also transfer at Central Station to Bus 26 and it's only a walk of 8-12 minutes.

So train/bus-tickets are 31.50 DKK (around 6 USD) per person.

Regards,

HeinBloed

I got one Oslo-taxi quote $135 US from the airport to the cruise terminal

Thanks for any advise

Steve

You cannot compare Oslo with Copenhagen.

Oslo's airport is far away about 30 miles.

Copenhagen's airport is a 25 minutes ride from the Cruise Terminal and it is around 60 USD - it's about 10 miles from the Free Port.

Regards,

HeinBloed

Thanks for the update on the bus fare and on the opening of Terminal 1. I'll add that into my notes for when we are in BCN again.

As you are going in October... in September IBERIA and the oneworld-Partner like British Airways and American Airlines will move to Terminal 1 as well.

Regards,

HeinBloed

Once again, Thanks so much! In the other post, they said to look out for luggage thieves..does someone actually want to walk off w/your luggage?:eek:

It's a big city like New York City, London England, Chicago, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Athens, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney Australia, Cape Town, Cairo...

Just keep your eyes on your belongings and for acitivities in your surrounding.

Do not show your money and have a seperate wallet for foreign currencies and some of your credit cards.

Of course: within a walk of 500 yards from the bus stop to your hotel you can be a better victim then from the trunk of your taxi to the entrance of your hotel...

Barcelona is not worse than other big cities in the world.

Have a great time there. We love it and will be back in November again.

Regards,

HeinBloed

BCN Airport Terminal A or B to Downtown Placa Catalunya:

· Aeropuerto Bus 4/leaves every 15 minutes in front of each terminal (credit cards are accepted on board to pay.) Watch for Luggage Thieves and Pickpockets on bus! Time to Plaza Catalunya: 30 mins.Fare: €4

You might also want to know that there is an ATM inside the air terminal in case you want to pick up currency when you get off your plane.

 

This information is a little outdated.

The Aerobus stops at

Terminal 1 (new operation since this summer)

Terminal 2A

Terminal 2B

and Terminal 2C

So once you arrive at Terminal 1 or 2C you do not need to transfer by bus to Terminal 2A/B (former A and B) to get on the bus.

The new price for Terminal 1: 5 EUR

http://www.emt-amb.com/links/DetalleLinea.asp?pagLinea=lineas/aero.asp&CodLinea=%27A1%27&idioma=eng

The new price for Terminal 2: 4.25 EUR

http://www.emt-amb.com/links/DetalleLinea.asp?pagLinea=lineas/aero2.asp&CodLinea=%27A2%27&idioma=eng

Regards,

HeinBloed

Hi...if I decide to take the bus(I am staying at hotel 1898) will it be easy to get the luggage (1 piece w/roller wheels and 1 carry on) on and off or should the taxi be the better option? Thanks so much!

Have a look here:

http://www.hotel1898.com/en/barcelona-how-to-arrive.php

Best would be the Aerobus and walk down La Rambla.

Regards,

HeinBloed

Who has taken the train from the Airport to Las Ramblas. I have been on the TMB websight and it looks like you have to make a few transfers. How easy is this to do with luguage? Anybody have a "step by step" way of doing this?

 

Or should we take the RENFE? Or the Aerobus?

TMB = Metro-and-Bus-Operator... does not go to the airport...

RENFE = Train-Operator... Route 2 North is going from the airport but not to La Ramblas...

AEROBUS = Airport-Bus-Operator... If you hotel is close to Placa de Catalunya then this would be good option to go to La Ramblas.

If you prefer to take the train:

Only makes sense if you arrive at Terminal 2 (IBERIA and OneWorld-Partner and some others) because here you have a direct access to the train terminal.

Once you arrive at Barcelona Sants you can change to Metro Route 3 which will stop 3 times at La Ramblas (depends to the section you need to be - makes only sense for the central and Southern part. The Northern part is Placa de Catalunya. There it's easier to take the bus.

Regards,

HeinBloed

Heinbloed .... thanks for the picture ..... :)

 

I think i have it now! .. Frihavn is Freeport ? and the nearest station is Nordhavn where you took your photographs from which is in reasonable walking distance.

 

So if we took a Train to Osterport it would be further to walk to Frihavn ?

It was already by train an eternal ride from Österport to Nordhavn...

So I would change to the S-Train to Nordhavn for one stop.

Have a look again on this picture:

Personally I would not do it with big bags... It's not a direct way but a zick-zack-course.

On transit and just doing shore excursion I would do it.

But it's your decision.

Regards,

HeinBloed

HeinBloed ... is the station in your photographs Nordhavn ? is this also where the Freeport is? .... do you know if Osterport is the same place?

 

Dave.

The picture is taken from the platform of Nordhavn and you can see on the right side EURODAM and COSTA ATLANTICA in Frihavn.

Österport is port ahead of Nordhavn:

Regards,

HeinBloed

The PIN thing confuses me. We used our Visa to purchase tickets and we have a Visa that does not have a PIN number. Whenever we were asked for a PIN number we just punched in 4 random numbers and all our transactions worked. I guess I should count my blessings on that!:rolleyes:

We purchased at all three machines last week tickets by credit cards:

Metro

old DSB-machine

new DSB-touch screen-machine

all three requires PIN for the credit card transaction.

You must ask your credit card company who will give you a PIN for your card.

Regards,

HeinBloed

Thanks so much for the information.

But you need PIN!!!

Regards,

HeinBloed

From the platform:

and here the lay-out:

you need first to go the left side of the tracks...

along side ALDI (cheap alcohol...)

before you need to make a turn to the right under bridge to the Frihavn-side

And that's the view from the portside:

On the left the station:

and on the right the port entrance you get in.

Regards,

HeinBloed

You can go to

http://www.lehavretourisme.com/Rent_A_Car_Croisiere_2008.pdf

They have an office just at the cruise terminal.

Subject you do not have an excess-waiver-insurance of your own: they do not provide. But you can easily book one idependently:

http://www.worldwideinsure.com/WWTswitcher.php?policy=ERI&partnerID=128&partner=null

There are also taxi tours available:

which are available for walk-ins as well. But if you have a language request you better pre-book the car:

http://www.taxis-le-havre.com/taxitour/abbayes.htm

Here is the price list...

http://www.taxis-le-havre.com/taxitour/tarif.htm

You can also easily take the train:

schedule from July 13 to August 30, 2009:

http://www.ter-sncf.com/Images/Rouen-Le%20Havre%20-%20horaires%20du%2013%20juillet%20au%2030%20ao%C3%BBt%202009_tcm25-62022.pdf

schedule before July 12 and after August 31 until September 17, 2009:

http://www.ter-sncf.com/Images/Rouen-Le%20Havre%20-%20horaires%20du%2029%20juin%20au%2012%20juillet%20et%20du%2031%20ao%C3%BBt%20au%2017%20septembre%202009_tcm25-21583.pdf

Rouen was great:

Some impressions from our tour by car rental:

http://heinbloed-cruiseguides.blogspot.com/2009/05/le-havre-france-private-tour-car-rental.html

Regards,

HeinBloed

http://www.taxis-le-havre.com/taxitour/paris.htm

http://www.taxis-le-havre.com/taxitour/tarif.htm

A 10 hours tour would be 480 EUR for 4 persons and 580 EUR for 6 persons.

They are waiting just in front of the berth.

But if you need special language I would pre-book them.

We did not use them - so no idea how good they are.

Regards,

HeinBloed

Hi HeinBloed, thank you for all your good and quick info. I think we are leaning towards Hamburg but probably after Lubeck. As for driving, I'm terrified of driving in Europe so that rules that out. :)

 

So if we do Lubeck first, you said it would work with bus or commuter train.

It's a regional train.

It looks like the HBF is within walking distance to the Old Town. Should walking be adequate to see the Old Town?

Check here:

http://heinbloed-cruiseguides.blogspot.com/2008/12/lbeck-germany.html

Hbf - Holstentor: 8-12 minutes walk

Holstentor - Niederegger/Town Hall: 8-12 minutes walk

I was reading up on Cafe Neideregger. Perhaps we can pick up some marzipan for our train ride to Hamburg.

You should do it!!! It's a must.

For Hamburg, if we buy the Schleswig Holstein ticket, can I use it for all forms of transportation in Hamburg?

But not the Alster River Cruise...

Commuter Train: S-Bahn

Subway: U-Bahn

Bus/Metrobus - but no Expressbus (Schnellbus due to additional surcharge)

Port Ferry

I just started doing the research on things to see in Hamburg. Any recommendations?

Check here:

http://heinbloed-cruiseguides.blogspot.com/2008/12/hamburg-germany.html

Do you know if most of what we need to see is near the HBF?

You have a lot of attractions in Central Station area:

Let's do a mini-sight-seeing tour by public transport:

U3 (subway) towards Barmbeck to Landungsbrücken

62 (ferry) towards Finkenwerder to Fischmarkt

112 (bus) towards Hamm Braune Brücke to U St. Pauli (walk to Reeperbahn)

S1, S3 towards Poppenbüttel/Airport/Neugraben/Stade/Harburg to Jungfernstieg

Have a look around Rathausmarkt/Binnenalster/Jungfernstieg

Walk back to Central Station...

You will see a lot on this mini-tour...

Should we buy the Schleswig Holstein ticket in Kiel or Lubeck?

Any - I would do it in Kiel. You have enough time...

And then finally, do you know where our ship will dock in Kiel? I've read that you said depending on where the port is, the walk could be 5 - 20 minutes.

You will be at Ostseekai - that's the 20 minutes to walk alongside of the water...

There are two ships of HAL on the same time at the terminal: ROTTERDAM and EURODAM and a third ship. So make sure that you are early ready to leave and grab a cab from pier to town.

I will be May 2 in Kiel if you need something more to be researched.

Regards,

HeinBloed

Hi HeinBloed, it's me again. I posted a question for you for Berlin and now I need help for Lubeck.

 

We are a party of 2 on Holland America Eurodam and we will be in Kiel on June 11 from 6am to 5pm.

Still no damages please...

We would like to go to Lubeck from Kiel. We don't want to take the 9:44am train to take advantage of the Schleswig Holstein Lander ticket since we think we should leave earlier for more sightseeing.

Due to your early arrival I would suggest to go to Hamburg first.

Everything is still sleeping while you are on the way to Hamburg.

It's 19.20 EUR with Regional Trains and 27.00 EUR with ICE... but ICE is only 8 minutes faster... so save the money...

07.21 hrs from Kiel

08.37 hrs at Hamburg

I would walk towards Jungfernstieg/Rathaus (Town Hall) area or you take with the same ticket the bus or commuter train.

Then it's 09.00 hrs and time to buy Schleswig-Holstein-Ticket for 30 EUR which is also valid for public transport in Hamburg.

11.11 hrs from Hamburg

11.51 hrs at Lübeck

Now you can go around in Lübeck.

14.03 hrs from Lübeck

15.15 hrs at Kiel

or the other way around:

07.44 hrs from Kiel

08.56 hrs at Lübeck

15.20 EUR per person one-way

11.10 hrs from Lübeck

11.51 hrs at Hamburg

14.20 hrs from Hamburg

15.36 hrs at Kiel

both options: we say in Germany: no fish - no meat...

So, we would probably take the 7:44am or 8:44am. Can you tell me how much we should expect to pay for the one way ticket on the RE? Then for the return, I guess depending on how much the one way ticket is, we may buy the Schleswig Holstein Lander Ticket for 30 euros.

07.44 hrs see above

08.44 hrs - First departure after 09.00 hrs is Preetz - exactly 09.00 hrs...

3.85 EUR

We were thinking of taking the 40 minutes train ride to visit Hamburg but maybe that will be too much and too rushed not allowing enough time for both. What is your advice?

see above... no fish - no meet...

Do you think 2 hours spent in Lubeck should be sufficient?

If you just there to take pictures but no time to have a cup of coffee and cake in Niederegger...

Then we can take the 11:10 am train to Hamburg and get there at noon for lunch, walk around for 2 hours and take the 14:20 train back to Kiel?

see above...

Or do you think a ferry to Travemunde would be better from Lubeck?

I think I would do this more than going to Hamburg...

http://www.koenemannschiffahrt.de/english/04_timetable_pricelist.html

Take the 10.00 hrs ride and you arrive at 11.30 hrs in Travemünde.

Have lunch there in Niederegger...

13.31 hrs from Travemünde Strand

13.53 hrs at Lübeck

Honestly spoken: Travemünde in combination with Lübeck: yes - but the boat ride is too long 1 1/2 hours....

Would the Schleswig Holstein ticket cover the Travemunde ferry?

No - 10 EUR per person...

Honestly spoken:

Rent a car with AVIS which is in walking distance to the Cruise Terminal.

Then you can do much more better Lübeck in combination with Hamburg.

30 EUR + 2 x 15 EUR = 60 EUR = you can get a car...

Regards,

HeinBloed

Our ship, the MSC Lirica, docks at Ostseekai Terminal. I'm not worried about getting to the train station. If the ship doesn't provide a shuttle to the town center, we'll just take a taxi to the train. It still has to be cheaper than the ship's tour!

Have a look on the picture above:

MSC LIRICA is just before berthing Ostseekai.

Remember the two buildings at the waterfront left of MSC LIRICA:

one darker in the background and one brown in the front...

Now see this picture:

The brown building which you have seen before is now on the right.

Remember the higher glass/red roof building on the left of the picture before you see the next picture:

The glass/red roof building is now on the right.

Do you see the row of the trees going to the left:

This row just end in front of the Central Station Building (Hauptbahnhof)

In the station building you find ATM but right of the building it's just the shopping streets.

But did not MSC mention that you can go from Copenhagen and from Kiel on this cruise???

I. e. you'll find something like this in front of the Ostseekai Building:

This is a free shuttle for those cruisers who are disembark and embark in Kiel.

So just to the front entrance of the Ostseekai and just enter this bus... to get free of charge to Kiel Central Station...

But do not tell, that I told that such a service exists... Psssst....

Here you see on the right MONA LISA is on the Ostseekai and you are heading the Kiel Fjord towards downtown. You should be ready to see the entry to Kiel...

Now let's see, do you want me to send you our leftover British pounds, Danish Kroner, Swedish krone, German Euros, Russian rubles, or whatever it is they use in Estonia?:rolleyes: Thanks goodness for ATM's near the port!

Have not I mention that I also all major creditcards???

Estonia uses also Crowns like Sweden, Denmark and Norway...

I take also Finnish Euros, Dutch Euros, Belgian Euros, Luxemburg Euros, French Euros, Irish Euros, Spanish Euros, Portuguese Euros, Italian Euros, Maltese Euros, Cyprus Euros, Austrian Euros, Slovenian Euros, Greek Euros...

Only the reverse side of the coins are different. Bills and front of the coins are the same... So you can mix them to use in Euro-Zone...

But if you have Monaco Euros, San Marino Euros or Vatican Euros... they are more valueable than the value on the coin... You should send me these if you get some... I can give you German Euros for the amount stated on the front...

So have a great time in Germany.

HeinBloed

Heinblod, can you help me?

Of course...

I've been reading your posts about suggestions for our day in Kiel. We've decided to go to Lubeck. The ship charges $115/person for a bus tour, so for four of us that's kind of ridiculous!

Yes - I help you under one condition... are you participating to PayPal???

4 x 115 USD = 460 USD = 300 EUR...

Let's do 50:50...

If you start 9.44 hrs...

29.00 EUR for all four... (incl. a 5th person if you find someone nice onboard you want to take with you...)

Buy a day pass for State of Schleswig-Holstein (Laenderticket Schleswig-Holstein)

300 EUR ./. 29 EUR = 271 EUR difference...

50:50 means you should transfer 135.50 EUR to my PayPal account...

Did not we talk about before???

OR if you are able to work with the local ticket machine:

Destination Luebeck Zone 6000

Kleingruppenkarte for Price Level 12 = 28.30 EUR, i. e. 35 Cent more for me...

(DayPass just for Kiel - Luebeck but incl. public transport...)

It's more comfortable to buy the Laenderticket as I am sure that the ticket machine "speaks" English and accept Credit Card. I am not sure if credit cards are accepted for the other tarif. But it's only 70 Cent = 1 USD difference.

We only have 8 hours in port. Can we take the train to Lubeck, walk around, have lunch, and get back in time? The bus evidently takes 90 minutes each way. How long would the train take, and would we have to transfer?

 

Also, can you decipher the train schedule for me? We'd like a train that leaves Kiel about 9 am and returns from Lubeck at about 2 pm.

The trains need 1.12 hrs.

Leaves every hour from Kiel 44 minutes past the hour and arrives 56 minutes past the FOLLOWING hour.

Leaves every hour from Luebeck 03 minutes past the hour and arrives 15 minutes past the FOLLOWING hour.

You should let me know which ship/date to check the Cruise Terminal. If your ship berth at Norwegenkai it's opposite of Central Station - 5 minutes walk. If your ship is berthing Ostseekai it's about 20-30 minutes walk or transfer on ferry. All other terminals are in between...

Have a great day in Luebeck!!!

Willkommen in Deutschland!!!

Welcome to Germany!!!

HeinBloed

Hello,

as I stayed the last weekend in Kiel I did some researches which might be interesting for all future cruisers as HAL will call Kiel more frequently.

First some actual impressions from Kiel:

The night before at Kiel Castle:

The next morning:

Some interesting places to visit:

In the city of Kiel (all walkable distance from cruise terminal Ostseekai):

Sophienhof Shopping Center

Sparkassen-Arena (former Ostseehalle)

Kiel Opera

Port of Kiel

City Museum

St. Niklas Church

If you are willing to drive:

AVIS is at the Port Authority Building with the red roof of last picture

ENTERPRISE is next to Train Station / left part of the last picture

EUROPCAR is 7 minutes walk from the Train Station but accept to deliver to Ostseekai

... then you can also see in Kiel area:

Plön Palace

Sea Resort of Hohwacht

Sea Resort of Schwedeneck

Lake of Lank

Eutin Palace

Historic Farm House Altenhof

Plön Lake

Preetz Monastry

Historic Farm House Emkendorf

Keller Lake

Panker Palace

Most of the links are in German. But one picture says more than thousand words.

If one picture attracks your attention and you would like to see it, just post it here. I will help to translate the essantials and to find a way to get you there.

Regards,

HeinBloed

Hello,

besides Lübeck and Hamburg which is already recommended, you can go to the beaches around Kappeln an der Schlei.

Around there is Schönberg with the Steam-Train-Museum which runs on certain days the trains.

Therefore you'll need a car. But it's driving like in Maine.

Subject your ship calls Ostseekai:

the AVIS-location is about 10 minutes walk from the cruise-terminal apart.

Some impressions from Kiel:

The train station is about 20 minutes walking apart from Ostseekai. Subject you are lucky that your ship will call Norwegenkai you are just opposite of the train station.

Lübeck

Hamburg

We'll go on a one-nighter from Hamburg to Kiel next Saturday...

Have a great day in Kiel or whereever you are going!

Willkommen in Deutschland!

Welcome to Germany!

HeinBloed