Be Forewarned - Debarkation at Copenhagen's Ocean Quay Terminal

[Astro Flyer]

My DH and I will be disembarking the Royal on Aug 30th. We plan on doing the express walk off in the first group and take a taxi to the airport. Our flight leaves at 10:10am. Is this doable? Or should we take the Princess transfer? Will Princess assure us that we will not miss our flight? It looks like the will be 3 ships in port that day.

Based on what others are saying if you walk off very early with the first group it may be doable. With 3 ships in port that single lane road is going to be jammed with traffic. I know that you already have your flight booked however for me after learning about these delays I would not feel comfortable with such an early flight.

 

Princess has an earliest recommended flight time...what time is it for your cruise? I rarely use the Princess shuttle so I don't know but wonder if the shuttles are not guaranteed to get you there before that suggested flight departure time. And if it's gridlock at the port there's nothing they can do to get the bus to the airport any quicker because it's stuck in the same traffic jam.

Edited May 27, 2014 by Astro Flyer

[Jonza]

See my map in post 21. It would be over a two mile walk through an industrial port area with uneven walking surfaces. It was just as bad at the old dock last year. Nothing will change until they make the access road two lanes. Check Danish viking's Wonderful Copenhagen thread for updates but I highly doubt there will be any changes or improvements this year

 

The number of lanes does not really matter in this type of a situation. The queue is caused by something stopping the traffic flow of the single lane - most likely the first traffic signal coming out from the port area. The signal which seems to be at the intersection of the main road O2 and the road to the port (map: https://*******/maps/XPuWu) if the satellite images and street view are still accurate, the fact that there is only a single left turn lane might lower the throughput of that intersection for cruise traffic.

 

As the O2 has two lanes per direction, having two left turn lanes that are long enough to feed the O2 with vehicles for the entire green phase given to the port road would probably do more good than converting the entire port road to two lanes per direction. The theoretical capacity for a single lane is over 2000 vehicles per hour, the capacity at the limiting intersection is likely a lot less.

 

Speaking of numbers, the worst case situation for Oceankaj is three large ships doing simultaneous turnarounds. That would mean about 10,000 people exiting the port, another 10,000 coming in later in the day and all the deliveries for the ships being made. 10,000 people leaving the ships could translate to about 200 buses or 5,000 taxis or to anything in between. As a result offering public good public transport or even an additional port shuttle between the cruise terminal and the nearest train station would likely help a lot. Currently the options are the expensive cruise line transfers, twice an hour public bus only on weekdays, and taxis. It is no wonder there are significant delays.

 

Naturally some delays have to be accepted as transporting 10k people from the port to the airport and multiple different places around the city is not trivial. Especially you have to keep in mind that the cruise season in Northern Europe is fairly short meaning that for most of the year the port will not see any cruise traffic. During the 2014 cruise season the Oceankaj will have three ships in port on seven days and two ships in port on 20 days.

[Shutterbug623]

Based on what others are saying if you walk off very early with the first group it may be doable. With 3 ships in port that single lane road is going to be jammed with traffic. I know that you already have your flight booked however for me after learning about these delays I would not feel comfortable with such an early flight.

 

Princess has an earliest recommended flight time...what time is it for your cruise? I rarely use the Princess shuttle so I don't know but wonder if the shuttles are not guaranteed to get you there before that suggested flight departure time. And if it's gridlock at the port there's nothing they can do to get the bus to the airport any quicker because it's stuck in the same traffic jam.

 

9:30 is the earliest recommended flight time.

[Astro Flyer]

The number of lanes does not really matter in this type of a situation. The queue is caused by something stopping the traffic flow of the single lane - most likely the first traffic signal coming out from the port area. The signal which seems to be at the intersection of the main road O2 and the road to the port (map: https://*******/maps/XPuWu) if the satellite images and street view are still accurate, the fact that there is only a single left turn lane might lower the throughput of that intersection for cruise traffic.

 

As the O2 has two lanes per direction, having two left turn lanes that are long enough to feed the O2 with vehicles for the entire green phase given to the port road would probably do more good than converting the entire port road to two lanes per direction. The theoretical capacity for a single lane is over 2000 vehicles per hour, the capacity at the limiting intersection is likely a lot less.

 

Speaking of numbers, the worst case situation for Oceankaj is three large ships doing simultaneous turnarounds. That would mean about 10,000 people exiting the port, another 10,000 coming in later in the day and all the deliveries for the ships being made. 10,000 people leaving the ships could translate to about 200 buses or 5,000 taxis or to anything in between. As a result offering public good public transport or even an additional port shuttle between the cruise terminal and the nearest train station would likely help a lot. Currently the options are the expensive cruise line transfers, twice an hour public bus only on weekdays, and taxis. It is no wonder there are significant delays.

 

Naturally some delays have to be accepted as transporting 10k people from the port to the airport and multiple different places around the city is not trivial. Especially you have to keep in mind that the cruise season in Northern Europe is fairly short meaning that for most of the year the port will not see any cruise traffic. During the 2014 cruise season the Oceankaj will have three ships in port on seven days and two ships in port on 20 days.

Thanks for the information and if the traffic light phasing is a problem I'm surprised they don't rephase it or provide traffic officers to better facilitate the flow of traffic. Hopefully they'll implement one (or both) of these measures to minimize the lengthy delays being experienced. Other ports are capable of handling large crowds without gridlock so hopefully something can be done to alleviate these delays in Copenhagen.

 

Hopefully 'sandyoftheseas' will make their 10:10 AM flight because there'll be 3 ships in port on that day.

[pkfort]

Is anyone having problems going to the ships. We'll be there on 9/10 and we were planning on taking a taxi from hotel at airport to ship. Any advise is welcomed.

[Astro Flyer]

9:30 is the earliest recommended flight time.

That's good & hope that Princess took into account the traffic delays when making that recommendation. It's been posted that first walk off was 5:15 AM with the first shuttle at 6:15 AM & also read that some of the other ships arrived later in port. All of this seems to indicate that it would be doable and hope it works great for anyone with early flight departures. :)

[Sea Breezer]

So I'm assuming there is a similar problem in Copenhagen with Embarkation, or does embarkation take a different route??

 

Thanks

[Astro Flyer]

So I'm assuming there is a similar problem in Copenhagen with Embarkation, or does embarkation take a different route??

 

 

 

Thanks

 

I don't know for sure but seem to recall reading there were also delays arriving at the cruise terminal. To me that would make sense because with 1 lane in & 1 lane out any bottleneck would probably affect traffic in both directions.

[Jonza]

Thanks for the information and if the traffic light phasing is a problem I'm surprised they don't rephase it or provide traffic officers to better facilitate the flow of traffic. Hopefully they'll implement one (or both) of these measures to minimize the lengthy delays being experienced. Other ports are capable of handling large crowds without gridlock so hopefully something can be done to alleviate these delays in Copenhagen.

 

I would suppose that the location of the intersection is too central to heavily prioritize the cruise traffic coming from the port especially during the morning rush hours. I would hope that Copenhagen authorities looking at what they can do to the intersection, but Danish Viking is definitely the expert on all things Copenhagen and how fast and what their city might do to ease the problem.

 

To put it simply the Oceankaj is too centrally located, the intersection to the port area being about 2 miles from downtown Copenhagen, for it to be possible to add great spike in traffic without causing delays. On the other hand the actual berths are so remote (almost 2 miles from the port entrance) that it is not walkable and public transportation is sparse.

 

Here is the map link of the intersection I suspect of being the bottleneck in the long format, as the forum's security understandably destroyed the shortened url: https://www.google.com/maps/@55.7090905,12.589524,191m/data=!3m1!1e3

[livelovelaugh12]

We just did that cruise - so here is what we experienced.

 

Princess does indeed try to scare people into taking the shuttle they provide or the city drive which are both not necessary and very expensive

 

We arrived at the port at 5 AM and there was Eurodam and another ship that came shortly there after. All 3 berths were full.

 

Yes there is traffic but if you plan properly it can be avoided.

 

We were very nervous after all we kept hearing on the cruise that there would be delays upon delays. What we did was we spoke with the port lecturer who gave us the number of the taxi company and we made other arrangements. We arranged with the taxi to pick us up at the UNICEF building which is at the top of the street. From there it was not a bad ride. Yes it could have been faster but traffic is to be expected anywhere. The total cost was 45 US$. No big deal and we arrived at the airport 45 minutes. We also took a cab to the ship when we embarked and it was a 30 minute drive. So it was not much different with the time.

 

On the other hand, we had friends who we travelled with that were on bus #3 (silver) and made it to the airport at 1:30 PM when they were supposed to leave the ship according to the shore excursions people at 9:30 AM.

 

Apparently someone made an announcement claiming that it was due to the traffic but it was just poor planning as we had many people on our flight to Iceland (enentual destination Colorado) that were on the other ships who left their ships at 10:30 and 11:00 AM and had no major traffic delays.

 

In other words, I would recommend that you take your chances on planning your own ride to the airport. One thing you will notice is that nothing shore excursions says about leaving and arriving even on tours is accurate. Ask the port girl to get you the taxi company's phone number and call them yourself (she is the only one that seems to answer questions anyways) and pre-arrange a meeting place usually by the UNICEF building or just off the small road that leads into the area of the 3 berths. It is a very short walk to both the bus stop and the UNICEF building parking lot. Before you get into the cab tell the driver how much you are willing to pay flat rate. If you have a late flight, wait until passengers are coming to embark and hop in a taxi then.

 

Also remember bus #26 does not run on weekends so taking the bus to the station is not possible. The train station is 2 km away. Let me know if you need the info sheet that we got from the port lect. It has all the directions, prices and best ways for every port.

 

Hope this helps

[Astro Flyer]

I would suppose that the location of the intersection is too central to heavily prioritize the cruise traffic coming from the port especially during the morning rush hours. I would hope that Copenhagen authorities looking at what they can do to the intersection, but Danish Viking is definitely the expert on all things Copenhagen and how fast and what their city might do to ease the problem.

 

 

 

To put it simply the Oceankaj is too centrally located, the intersection to the port area being about 2 miles from downtown Copenhagen, for it to be possible to add great spike in traffic without causing delays. On the other hand the actual berths are so remote (almost 2 miles from the port entrance) that it is not walkable and public transportation is sparse.

 

 

 

Here is the map link of the intersection I suspect of being the bottleneck in the long format, as the forum's security understandably destroyed the shortened url: https://www.google.com/maps/@55.7090905,12.589524,191m/data=!3m1!1e3

 

I greatly appreciate your sharing information about the situation at the cruise terminal. Thanks for confirming that it's not wise to walk through the port & with our arrival next May on a Saturday there won't be any bus service either so an even longer walk to the train station. Thanks for the map so I can better visualize the situation at the port...how can I read Danish Viking's information?

 

I searched to find a way to say thanks and finish and hopefully this is correct...Kiitos!

I search the way to say thank you again – and hopefully it's correct

[Astro Flyer]

I searched to find a way to say thanks in Finish and hopefully this is correct...Kiitos!

Jonza...here's what it should've said but Cruise Critic crashed for the second time in less than 18 hours and didn't allow me to "correct" the AutoCorrect of my "voice to text" function. :o

[IECalCruiser]

So I'm assuming there is a similar problem in Copenhagen with Embarkation, or does embarkation take a different route??

 

 

 

Thanks

We had a major problem at embarkation last year at the older Orientkaj piers. There were three ships in port and to crawl the approximately one mile route vehicles had to take on the one lane road took over 45 minutes and the waiting time added about $25 to our taxi fare. Going to Oceankaj is about two miles and the first part will be shared by passengers on any ships docking at Orientkaj so it could be even longer.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[koolprince]

Hi quicklovelifelaugh12 ,

Could you let me have the info sheet or post it on here!

Cheers Ash

[livelovelaugh12]

PS if you are embarking go late as when we embarked we had to wait until all the passengers from the cruise that was ending was off the ship. We got there early as in 9:45 and had priority boarding but got stuck waiting until after 1:30 in the afternoon. So eat before hand or take a snack as there is not much in the way of restaurants in the terminal (nice way of saying there is none). I think there is a couple of vending machines but did check. There is wi-fi but its slow and hard to connect to

 

There is also not much in the area of the new terminal well as far as berth 1 goes. There is a couple souvenir shop outside, a currency exchange that only accepts cash or does transfers but no ATM and a nice jewelery store.

 

If you want to kill some time and save money take the train and bus (assuming its not a weekend) to the ship. It is really easy from the airport.

 

 

If you need to get money, be warned the ship charges $4.50 for every transaction and the currency exchange machine charges the same amount plus the exchange rate is a joke. For Russia get rubles ahead of time as in before you get to the ship.

 

One other thing, if you do use the cruise ship shuttle to get back to the airport your luggage is dropped off at terminal 1 and most if not all people fly out of terminal 2 & 3. At the airport you will need to take a free shuttle to get to 2 and 3. Terminal 2 & 3 are connected. Just expect the airport to be super busy.

 

Let me know what else you need as we were lucky we had a lot of help from the American port lect. I am trying to scan and add the sheets she gave us but cannot figure out how to post them as an attachment. Can someone help please.

[BRScity]

Through our Travel Agents, we have booked a return transfer between the airport and the port for our cruise aboard the Royal. Princess are aware of our flight time of 1040hrs on the day of disembarkation. The return cost is £60 each. Yes more than we would like to have paid, but peace of mind and all that.

 

Rob

[CI66774]

Through our Travel Agents, we have booked a return transfer between the airport and the port for our cruise aboard the Royal. Princess are aware of our flight time of 1040hrs on the day of disembarkation. The return cost is £60 each. Yes more than we would like to have paid, but peace of mind and all that.

 

Rob

 

Is this a transfer to Copenhagen airport? If yes, then Princess charges only $44 per person for the transfer not 60 Euros (or around $100). I think they're charging you way too much for the transfer.

[IECalCruiser]

PS if you are embarking go late as when we embarked we had to wait until all the passengers from the cruise that was ending was off the ship. We got there early as in 9:45 and had priority boarding but got stuck waiting until after 1:30 in the afternoon. So eat before hand or take a snack as there is not much in the way of restaurants in the terminal (nice way of saying there is none). I think there is a couple of vending machines but did check. There is wi-fi but its slow and hard to connect to

 

There is also not much in the area of the new terminal well as far as berth 1 goes. There is a couple souvenir shop outside, a currency exchange that only accepts cash or does transfers but no ATM and a nice jewelery store.

 

If you want to kill some time and save money take the train and bus (assuming its not a weekend) to the ship. It is really easy from the airport.

 

 

If you need to get money, be warned the ship charges $4.50 for every transaction and the currency exchange machine charges the same amount plus the exchange rate is a joke. For Russia get rubles ahead of time as in before you get to the ship.

 

One other thing, if you do use the cruise ship shuttle to get back to the airport your luggage is dropped off at terminal 1 and most if not all people fly out of terminal 2 & 3. At the airport you will need to take a free shuttle to get to 2 and 3. Terminal 2 & 3 are connected. Just expect the airport to be super busy.

 

Let me know what else you need as we were lucky we had a lot of help from the American port lect. I am trying to scan and add the sheets she gave us but cannot figure out how to post them as an attachment. Can someone help please.

Use the Post Reply option. At the top of the menu is a paper clip. Click that and you will be taken to Manage Attachments. Select Browse to find your scanned file, select Upload and then Close this window. The file should be attached for viewing when people click on the file. You can actually post and view through CC if you can save your scan as a jpeg rather than pdf file. Let me know if you have any questions.

[IECalCruiser]

Is this a transfer to Copenhagen airport? If yes, then Princess charges only $44 per person for the transfer not 60 Euros (or around $100). I think they're charging you way too much for the transfer.

Last year our Princess transfer to CPH was only $39/person. Looks like the cost has increased $5/person for 2014. You shouldn't be paying 60 Euros per person for a Princess transfer. Even with the additional charge for the 45 minutes wait time, our taxi fare was less than $90 from the Airport Hilton to the pier.

[DJVKN]

I am following this thread and wanted to say thank you to all who are posting for those of us yet to sail from this port. I currently have a Princess transfer as a backup but plan on walking off early and catching a cab.

Livlaughlove12: Can you tell me how far was the walk to the UNICEF bldg? And if you have the cab company number that would be great.

A special thank you to Astro Flyer and IECal Cruiser for the maps and great information you are sharing.

I'll keep following along :)

Edited May 27, 2014 by DJVKN

[livelovelaugh12]

I do have maps. It is about a 5 minute walk. Just waiting on my husband to show me how to scan and attach all the info sheets I have.

 

Once you see the map you will see how simple it is to walk to the end of that small road.

[IECalCruiser]

PS if you are embarking go late as when we embarked we had to wait until all the passengers from the cruise that was ending was off the ship. We got there early as in 9:45 and had priority boarding but got stuck waiting until after 1:30 in the afternoon. So eat before hand or take a snack as there is not much in the way of restaurants in the terminal (nice way of saying there is none). I think there is a couple of vending machines but did check. There is wi-fi but its slow and hard to connect to

 

There is also not much in the area of the new terminal well as far as berth 1 goes. There is a couple souvenir shop outside, a currency exchange that only accepts cash or does transfers but no ATM and a nice jewelery store.

 

If you want to kill some time and save money take the train and bus (assuming its not a weekend) to the ship. It is really easy from the airport.

 

If you need to get money, be warned the ship charges $4.50 for every transaction and the currency exchange machine charges the same amount plus the exchange rate is a joke. For Russia get rubles ahead of time as in before you get to the ship.

 

One other thing, if you do use the cruise ship shuttle to get back to the airport your luggage is dropped off at terminal 1 and most if not all people fly out of terminal 2 & 3. At the airport you will need to take a free shuttle to get to 2 and 3. Terminal 2 & 3 are connected. Just expect the airport to be super busy.

 

Let me know what else you need as we were lucky we had a lot of help from the American port lect. I am trying to scan and add the sheets she gave us but cannot figure out how to post them as an attachment. Can someone help please.

Our taxi picked us up at the Airport Hilton at about 10:00 and with the waiting in line, we made it to the Orientkaj pier at about 11:30. Boarding started about noon. At least last year, when you arrived, you went through security and were assigned a row to sit in. When boarding started, they directed people to the check in desk. As soon as you checked in and got you cruise card you were able to board.

 

I agree that you should avoid exchanging money on the ship as it can cost between 15% and 20% in exchange and transaction fees. We had no need for Rubles in Russia. They readily accepted Dollars, Pounds and Euros in the shops that the Princess and private tours stop at. I don't know about the museum shops such as at the Hermitage or Catherine's Palace as we didin't buy anything there.

 

It was a pain to go from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 with our luggage last year, although there was a Global Blue desk on our way and we were able to apply for our VAT refunds that totaled over $30.

Edited May 27, 2014 by IECalCruiser

[livelovelaugh12]

In case I did not mention, Royal Princess was at the new terminal Ocaen Quay which is about 7 km from the city centre. This is where they will be berthing for the entire season.

[knittinggirl]

The Royal Caribbean airport transfer dropped us off at Terminal 2, and our flight was from Terminal 3. Fortunately, they had free luggage carts to use.

[IECalCruiser]

It was a pain to go from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 with our luggage last year, although there was a Global Blue desk on our way and we were able to apply for our VAT refunds that totaled over $30.

The Royal Caribbean airport transfer dropped us off at Terminal 2, and our flight was from Terminal 3. Fortunately, they had free luggage carts to use.

I looked at the airport map and we were probably dropped off at Terminal 2, not Terminal 1. There were free luggage carts available but it is still quite a walk if you have any mobility issues.