Semi-live from the Norwegian Getaway, 13-22 May

[clydeozzy]

Hello all. I'm safely back in the UK at home now. As promised, an overview of what I got up to in Copenhagen, Denmark. I took it at a very slow pace, so definitely did not cover everything there is to see but hopefully this might give some ideas for if you have a port stop in Copenhagen or if you want to have a pre/post cruise stay.

 

May 22, disembarkation day

I stayed at the Comfort Hotel Vesterbro  which is right nearby the Copenhagen Central Station (and it's metro station) along with being a very short 5 minute walk from the centre of Copenhagen and walking distance of pretty much all tourist attractions. 

 

Pros: 

- Location

- Price (this is on the cheaper end for Copenhagen, which is still unfortunately expensive)

- Convenience (public transport links all right by your door, Lidl and 7-Eleven both next door, tourist attractions all nearby with Tivoli Gardens literally 5 minutes away)

 

Cons:

- No housekeeping until the 4th day of your stay (I'm not bothered by this but for some I know it will be a bit of a shock)

- Luggage storage didn't look very secure (It's used with your room keycard to access a room which resembles a closet to put your suitcases communally with everyone else's but absolutely anyone can come in behind someone with a keycard and pretend they are grabbing their luggage and just take it. I payed for early check in as I just didn't like the look of it)

 

Overall I would recommend this hotel for a short stay.

 

After I had finished unpacking and having a bit of a rest after disembarking the cruise ship I got out exploring Copenhagen.

 

I went to the town hall first, which is right in the centre. It's free to go in and wander around and take pictures.

 

 

I then walked down to my next destination which was the Happiness Museum. It's created by the author of The Little Book of Hygge which is a common thing/concept in Denmark. Closest translation of Hygge might be comfort or cosyness? Denmark is ranked the 2nd happiest country in the world, with Finland at number 1. It took me about just over an hour to go through and read it all but could take a bit longer if you are with your partner, friends or family as it asks questions, has some fun activities it suggests you to try which could be fun for that aspect.

 

 

The best part of the museum in my opinion is the sticky note hallway where you can read all the visitors of the museums idea of happiness and contribute your own.

 

 

It's a nice museum, I'd recommend!

 

Walking back to my hotel, on the way back I stopped by the Tivoli Food Hall which is a food hall full of different types of food stall/shops. There's so many different types like pizza, burgers, Asian, Danish, Greek, French and more. It's good cause if you're a group and perhaps you all fancy something different for lunch/dinner, you can all order separately and then eat together. You order by going up to a stall, placing your order, they'll give you a device which will beep/vibrate when your order is ready then you pick it up. Then you can eat wherever you want and there's loads of seating. I went here three times during my stay and it was great! On the first day I went to the 'Sushi Market' stall and got their 'The Bowl'. It was delicious!!

 

 

My first day in Copenhagen haul:

[clydeozzy]

May 23

 

This day will very much not be for everyone since it's very niche. I got a tattoo. I have four already so this isn't new to me. This was arranged far in advance back in late November 2023 with an artist I have followed on Instagram for a while. The studio is purely appointment only and most of the artists will be booked up very far in advance. Pictures of my finished tattoo here:

 

 

I was pretty exhausted understandably after that and it took up much of the day so I just relaxed after. I think I fell asleep very early that day!!

[clydeozzy]

May 24 

 

I started the day by going to St Peters Bakery, the oldest bakery in Copenhagen. The pastry I got was absolutely delicious, please go if you get the chance.

 

 

I ate my pastry as I walked to the Design Museum. I studied Graphic Design in university which covers pretty much all aspects of design you can think of. This museum reminded me so much of university! It was an amazing visit.

 

 

They also had a section dedicated to Japanese wood block prints which I absolutely adored.

 

 

I took the metro back to near my hotel since my feet hurt a little, which by the way the metro system for Copenhagen is amazing! It's really simple to use, lifts in every station, you can either get tickets on your mobile with the DOT app or at ticket machines. There is English everywhere and announcements on the trains too along with visuals of the map on the train so you know where to either get off or change lines.

 

This time at the Tivoli Food Hall I went to the Kung Fu (I can't remember rest of the name) stall and got the beef ramen. I actually wasn't a big fan of this! Give it a miss if you are there. Their Korean pork buns looked really amazing though!

 

 

My haul:

 

The Japanese book has tons of examples of Japanese graphic design of advertisements and such it's beautiful.

[clydeozzy]

May 25

 

I took this day very easy as it was really hot in Copenhagen and I unfortunately had to wear long sleeves to cover my tattoo from direct sunlight and it was far too early to use suncream on it in the healing process. So today was just a small shopping day.

 

The highlight would be Studio Arhoj which specialises in ceramics.

 

 

You can buy online too at arhoj.com and they ship internationally. I saw loads in there that I want to buy but will need to save up for 😂

 

Tivoli Food Hall time and tried Cocks and Cows with the Fried Chicken Burger. Delicious.

 

 

The rest of the day was spent packing my luggage!

[clydeozzy]

May 26

 

 I checked out of my hotel and took the metro to Copenhagen airport. Once I'd checked my bag, got through security and all, it's a nice airport but I think there could be a few improvements. Firstly there is no massive seating areas with departure screens. The main departure screens have no seating! So you either end up standing or sitting on the floor which is just not really ideal. There's loads of restaurants/cafes and such with seating but no departure boards anywhere near them? Which I find really silly. I'm someone who likes to watch that board like a hawk, I can't relax until I'm back at home! In Gatwick airport (my home airport), in loads of the restaurants you'll find departure boards inside them so you can even keep an eye on them while eating or drinking. I think it should maybe be rethought a little?

 

I also found boarding very silly too, at least at the gate I was at. There's again no seating at our gate, they don't check boarding group, and we went through the gate, went to another tiny seating area where half of us had to stand and then just let us all onto the flight as a free for all. Imagine someone had paid for priority boarding and it's just not even acknowledged! I got lucky as I was near the front of the group and boarded very early but uh yeah. Not sure if I just got unlucky with a poorly design gate but that was not the best.

 

Those are my only critiques of the airport, otherwise it is lovely. My flight went smoothly and I'm now back home.

 

As a summary of my first solo holiday and solo cruise, it was an amazing experience and I'm so glad I went. I was actually very nervous at first, I remember I even was trembling a little in the cruise terminal in Southampton before boarding because I was nervous. But as soon as I stepped on board it all washed away and I had such an incredible time. If anyone is wanting to go on a solo cruise but nervous, just do it! You'll have a great time.

 

For the Getaway, I did have my critiques and I probably would avoid the Breakaway class of ships to be quite honest. It just wasn't my cup of tea but I'm sure others might like her design. I cruised with NCL ten years ago on the smaller ships, so maybe things have just changed designwise in ships since then but I remember the areas of Jade and Gem being much better thought out with more spaces to accommodate people and activities throughout the ship and a better designed Atrium. This is all my opinion of course, and I'm sure people will adore the Getaway design but it just wasn't for me unfortunately!

 

The crew, almost all of the food, the solo studios, entertainment and solo programme that NCL does is amazing! I don't think any other cruise line treats it's solos as good as NCL in my opinion. I wasn't very social at all this cruise, but if you are a solo and want to be you will have no trouble with the solo meets and activities the host can plan.

 

Overall an incredible holiday! Thanks to everyone who followed along. It's appreciated!! If you have any questions I can try my best to answer.

[MohrPfun]

Welcome home!!!  What a fantastic report, I loved it so much.  Your writing is so great, especially with all of your pictures and interesting details.

 

Thank you for taking us along on a great cruise.

 

ps:  I love the new tattoo, great color work!

[debenson0723]

Wonderful review...thanks so much for posting it. My first solo cruise was also on the Getaway, back when she was brand new. I was nervous too but now prefer to sail solo, most of the time. I met a couple of other solos on that cruise that I am still friends with to this day and see once or twice a year. So glad you had a great time and are back home safely. 

[njkate]

What a great wonderful review. I’ve enjoyed it all! Thank you

[Matahari47]

On 5/14/2024 at 9:57 AM, TPS123 said:

It’s from Southampton with stops at Le Havre, Oporto, Lisbon, Gibraltar, Cadiz, Malaga, Ibiza, Majorca and Barcelona.

 

Lots of new ports for me to see. 😎

 

 

Not any more it doesn’t. Quite a big change to itinerary - no Lisbon or Gibraltar - which is disappointing. Also getting a bit twitchy about the dry dock and if it’s going to be able to ‘Getaway’ for 6th June 😩🤣

[AlmiranteChurruca]

57 minutes ago, Matahari47 said:

Not any more it doesn’t. Quite a big change to itinerary - no Lisbon or Gibraltar - which is disappointing. Also getting a bit twitchy about the dry dock and if it’s going to be able to ‘Getaway’ for 6th June 😩🤣

 

Not Porto. As of today, Lisbon still listed. Tomorrow...we will see...

[Epiro Funchal]

I was on the previous 2 sailings; NYC to the Carribean and then NYC to Southampton. 

 

I enjoyed your commentary. A couple of points:

 

I noticed from the Freestyle dailies that the Syd Norman's venue was no longer used later in the cruise. Do you know why this was the case? It looks the shows were moved to the Spa and the Karaoke was moved to the Atrium.

 

I regarded the luggage storage as a Pro. I carried on my luggage on the 1st leg because I was unsure of my cabin. It was a last-minute booking. It seems to me that the luggage left outside a person's cabin is less secure then a roped off area that is monitored by the staff.

[clydeozzy]

On 5/30/2024 at 6:03 PM, Epiro Funchal said:

I noticed from the Freestyle dailies that the Syd Norman's venue was no longer used later in the cruise. Do you know why this was the case? It looks the shows were moved to the Spa and the Karaoke was moved to the Atrium.

I wouldn't know, I'm sorry!

 

On 5/30/2024 at 6:03 PM, Epiro Funchal said:

I regarded the luggage storage as a Pro. I carried on my luggage on the 1st leg because I was unsure of my cabin. It was a last-minute booking. It seems to me that the luggage left outside a person's cabin is less secure then a roped off area that is monitored by the staff.

 

Yes, there was a luggage storage for carryons. I kept mine with me just due to personal choice, but it's great it's offered! I also had a massive checked bag however, so left that with porters before boarding.

 

Hope you had a good time on the previous two sailings. We had a bunch of people from the TA before still onboard! 😊