Hamburg Cruise Center Steinwerder

[glennbtn]

So quick question

 

We have done Hamburg before so we were thinking of something different to do on our trip next week. There is a tunnel that runs under the river called old Elbe Tunnel (will put the link below incase anyone is interested) which we fancy going to see. We were going to walk to it as it's only about 25 mins from the terminal but someone told us you can't walk from the Cruise ship you have to take a bus for taxi. Can anyone shed any light on if this is correct?

 

https://www.hamburg-travel.com/see-explore/maritime-hamburg/old-elbe-tunnel/#close__overlay-map__1450987

 

 

[davecttr]

1 hour ago, glennbtn said:

So quick question

 

We have done Hamburg before so we were thinking of something different to do on our trip next week. There is a tunnel that runs under the river called old Elbe Tunnel (will put the link below incase anyone is interested) which we fancy going to see. We were going to walk to it as it's only about 25 mins from the terminal but someone told us you can't walk from the Cruise ship you have to take a bus for taxi. Can anyone shed any light on if this is correct?

 

https://www.hamburg-travel.com/see-explore/maritime-hamburg/old-elbe-tunnel/#close__overlay-map__1450987

 

 

I did some checking. It is 1.6 miles to walk from the cruise terminal and the modern access road has pavements, cycle lanes and bus stops although it appears there are no bus routes in that area. There are no apparent barriers on the road but google earth does not have street view there, probably because it is an industrial area and not a public road. I presume you could take a taxi as there is pedestrian access from both ends of the tunnel or it maybe only the north end? You can use the lifts at both ends?

 

You can leave the cruise terminal on foot as you need to to get to the nearest ferry stop

[tring]

We sailed out of Hamburg from this terminal shortly before covid and looked into getting over the river.  There are ferries that run from the centre of Hamburg, though sadly not on a Sunday,which is what we needed, so we took a taxi.  I had read that the walk through the tunnel is a fair distance, so not for us as we will probably be on our feet for much of the rest of the day.

 

Does P&O provide shuttle buses if on a cruise stop though - perhaps someone can answer that question?  We are stopping there on Arcadia in June, so need to find out ourselves.  The only time we have been on a cruise stop in Hamburg was on a Fred ship and we docked in Altona, which is much better placed, though shuttle buses were run into the centre for both days of the overnight visit.

 

Edited March 27, 2023 by tring

[LifeonMars]

3 hours ago, glennbtn said:

So quick question

 

We have done Hamburg before so we were thinking of something different to do on our trip next week. There is a tunnel that runs under the river called old Elbe Tunnel (will put the link below incase anyone is interested) which we fancy going to see. We were going to walk to it as it's only about 25 mins from the terminal but someone told us you can't walk from the Cruise ship you have to take a bus for taxi. Can anyone shed any light on if this is correct?

 

https://www.hamburg-travel.com/see-explore/maritime-hamburg/old-elbe-tunnel/#close__overlay-map__1450987

 

 

Getting to The Old Elbe Tunnel , It is walkable from Hamburg Cruise Center Steinwerder, Did it myself a few months ago. It is sign posted also if I remember correctly.  It took me about an hour to get to it, but I was not walking very fast.

Edited March 27, 2023 by LifeonMars

[Ardennais]

2 hours ago, tring said:

We sailed out of Hamburg from this terminal shortly before covid and looked into getting over the river.  There are ferries that run from the centre of Hamburg, though sadly not on a Sunday,which is what we needed, so we took a taxi.  I had read that the walk through the tunnel is a fair distance, so not for us as we will probably be on our feet for much of the rest of the day.

 

Does P&O provide shuttle buses if on a cruise stop though - perhaps someone can answer that question?  We are stopping there on Arcadia in June, so need to find out ourselves.  The only time we have been on a cruise stop in Hamburg was on a Fred ship and we docked in Altona, which is much better placed, though shuttle buses were run into the centre for both days of the overnight visit.

 

Yes, there are shuttles to the city centre, just off the Rathaus. Well organised on Iona. 

[tring]

1 hour ago, Ardennais said:

Yes, there are shuttles to the city centre, just off the Rathaus. Well organised on Iona. 

 

Thanks, good to know that.

 

[glennbtn]

12 hours ago, LifeonMars said:

Getting to The Old Elbe Tunnel , It is walkable from Hamburg Cruise Center Steinwerder, Did it myself a few months ago. It is sign posted also if I remember correctly.  It took me about an hour to get to it, but I was not walking very fast.

 

Thanks for the info. We are used to walking so it's not too much of an issue even if it is an hour away.

[AnhaltER1960]

Yes, you can walk from the Steinwerder Cruise Terminal to the old Elbe tunnel. As others have stated before, it is a bit of a walk and it leads through harbour/warehouse/factory areas and thus not the most chilling walk. Also not much protection from weather and nowhere a place to sit down and relax on the way. Also watch your directions, you might otherwise end on the wrong side of a harbour basin without chance to cross.

 

The old Elbe tunnel is a worthy sight as a technical monument of the early 20th c. Pedestrian access is 24/7 and, of course, from both sides (the tunnel would not make much sense otherwise^^). From the southern entry to the tunnel there is a fine view across the river towards the city skyline.

[edinburgher]

We docked at Altona on a Fred ship.  It was perfectly located with a bus stop directly outside the port gate, but even better, there was a ferry stop immediately next to the ship. 

 

We had two full days there. We went to the tunnel one of the times we were returning to Altona.  The tunnel is beside the major traffic hub of Landungsbrücken which you can reach by bus, ferry and ,U-Bahn?  We only walked part way through and back as we were quite tired at that point having been out most of the day.  You access by lift/elevator and some with bicycles use that too.. It is worth a quick look even if you don't walk the full length both ways..  If you can find a way to reach Landungsbrücken, from there  you could travel to anywhere in the city with a choice of transport options.  It is itself an interesting and popular  spot to enjoy a drink or snack as there was a tremendous amount of activity to watch,including an old style paddle boat and many ferries heading out and back. ( read Tripadvisor and other online reviews)

 

If you want to take a tour of the docks, boat/ferry  trips leave from there.    We included it as part of our return to the ship, and had taken whatever type of train it was (part underground, part overground on that line) from the large square where the Town Hall is located to Landungsbrücken, explored some of the tunnel, enjoyed a drink whilst watching all the activity, then took the ferry directly back to our ship at Altona.  We had bought day tickets when we boarded the public bus outside the dock in the morning. 

 

The short  ferry trip from Landungsbrücken to Altona is actually quite scenic, as it passes along the waterfront, even passing a docked Russian submarine at the submarine museum.  And tours of the docks are really popular given the massive size of the dock area.  As we had seen much of the port on our sail-in we didn't do that, but could recommend you consider the short ferry ride between .Landungsbrücken (as you will be there for the tunnel anyway)and Altona, then return to .Landungsbrücken.

 

Timetables and routes for the ferries can be found online.  Note that the port tours are not hop on hop off ferries, you are on for the tour duration, but the commuter ones running between Landungsbrücken and Altona are a bit like local buses with stops along the way.

Edited March 28, 2023 by edinburgher

[shippmates]

When I was in Hamburg on the Queen Mary 2 they had a free shuttle into Hamburg and made it very easy to tour the city and walk the Elbe tunnel.  It was very interesting to see.