Copenhagen Marriot

[Jolynn2262]

Just in case some are wondering. I too was able to get the Marriot on Priceline. I won the bid for 110.00 a night plus tax (about 60.00 total). That's half of what I would have paid at the SAS Royal for a super single. I was nervous that some other hotel would come up but was lucky. My first bid of 99.00 was rejected though but 110.00 is a great price for a Cpopenhagen hotel.:)

[dog]

You are one of the lucky ones!

 

I bid last fall for my room at the Marriott (next week) and got it for $100 US + $32 tax per night.

[OregonDuck]

Jocelyn, I can't believe you were able to get the Marriott so far out. You said you were going in July????on the Crown??? We are going on the Crown next May. I have been folllowing some of the postings (dog) about getting the Marriott on Priceline and was going to try.

If you wouldn't mind, can you email me at rebdenreb@yahoo.com and tell me how you did it. I am nervous about Priceline. Have always had pretty good luck on Hotwire, but there are no hotels on Hotwire in their inventory.

From what I've seen, you are hot into researching, and have had very good luck. Keep it up, Becky in Oregon

[dog]

I booked a year ahead (as soon as my dates opened up) on Priceline. It was my first attempt.

Others who tried a couple of times after me...did not have the same luck, so in this case I think the timing was the factor in getting the great price.

 

So, I was hesitant too about using it and pre paying but have read on here that others had it work out fine. So I am hoping everything is as expected. I'll let you know at the end of Sept.

[jstducky]

I will tell you that I just got back from a stay at the Copenhagen Marriott this past July. I won a bid on Priceline for $99 (plus service charge and tax came to about $124).

 

I too was nervous about using Priceline as I had never used them before and had never bid on hotel rooms ever. I was afraid that I would end up getting some other hotel. But after doing some research, I was pretty confident that the Copenhagen Marriott is the only 4 star hotel that participates in Priceline in Copenhagen.

 

Just pick a price point you'd like to start out and start bidding. Unless you hear of others who win bids, you never know when a room will open up, or when the hotel eve begins taking Priceline bids for a particular month. I started at $85 and worked my way up. I increased the bid by $2 a day. When I hit the $99 mark I stopped and just played around with bids of $95, $97 and $99. Then in October of 2006 my bid for July 2, 2007 was accepted.

 

When choosing a location on Priceline, if I remember correctly there are 2 options, airport area and the city. Choose the city. If you enter a bid and it gives you a chance for a free bid, you can then also tell it to include the airport area. I discovered this works because the airport area has no 4 star hotels within that range, so therefore, you again are only searching the city area, and that means the Copenhagen Marriott since no other hotels are participating at this point.

 

The thing with Priceline is, you just have to be persistent and keep with the bidding. I thought I was going no where with my bid. It took me a month of bidding on a daily basis to finally get my room. As long as you are comfortable with the price, then keep going.

 

I will also suggeset though, keep your fingers crossed that you'll win a Priceline bid, but don't count on it to happen. In other words, to be safe, book a back up hotel room at a hotel where you can easily cancel your reservations in advance without being charged any money. This way, if your Priceline bid never is accepted, you'll still have a hotel to stay at without scrambling to figure something out at the last minute.

 

Good luck

[OregonDuck]

We aren't going until May, but I can see it is not too early to try. I'm going to give it a try. Will let you know how it works out.

I can't believe the prices of hotels in Copenhagen. We were there in 1992 but were on a Globus tour, so never knew what the price per hotel was.

Is there a breakfast at the Marriott or are you on your own? I do like the fact that the water tours come right up to the hotel, so it would be easy to take a sightseeing tour from there.

[Jolynn2262]

There is a breakfast buffet listed and people state it is good, but around 30.00 per person. You can opt for just the cold items for less. I don't know the cost. Others have stated that you should simply ask the hotel staff where a good bakery is located and opt for coffee and danish. I do remember reading that there are a couple of food stores near central station, so I may opt to pick up a few things, juice etc, and bring it home for the following a.m. when I go exploring after I check in.

 

One other thing. The site for the HoHo bus lists the Marriott as one of their stops as well. I've done HoHo in other cities and like them. They have commentary, give you a great overview of the city layout, and allow you to get off and reboard as you please.

 

Good luck with Priceline. I gambled and it paided off.

[jstducky]

OregonDuck - this is a little off topic, but can I ask you how you enjoyed your Globus tour? I'm thinking of taking one and wanted to hear first hand how other people who have used their services thought of them. Any info or insight you can provide would be wonderful!

 

As for the breakfast, yes, there is a buffet, but it is roughly $30 per person once you convert the DKK. I too have heard that it's fairly decent, but $30 is an awful lot of money.

 

What I did the one morning I was there was walk into town. The night before I found a bakery called Illums Bager near the stork fountain square that I really liked. I noticed that they opened early enough for breakfast, so we went back and had danishes and coffee and oj and such. It was delicious and cheap.

 

Please note though, a lot of places in Copenhagen don't open until 10 am. However, most bakeries and coffee shops will open by 7 or 8 am.

[OregonDuck]

We've taken several Globus tours and have been pleased with them. They deliver exactly what is printed in their day by day itinerary. The meals were ample, big big breakfast buffet each morning. Tip: but on the sly......I brought lots of sandwich bags. There were always rolls, plain and fancy, lunch meats and cheeses, etc. so each morning we made a sandwich to take for lunch along with maybe some fruit. We tried to take a table in the corner so we weren't obvious. As you know food in Scandanavia is terribly expensive (we had a full meal deal in Oslo for $16 pp at that was 1992. We had a hamburger, fries and a 6 oz. coke at an outside cafe in Stockholm and it was $20 pp) So this is why we took advantage of the big spread at breakfast. We have also packed a light lunch from the ship when we know we won't be back for lunch. It's not that we are cheap, it's we don't want to spend an hour or two of our sightseeing time eating in a restaurant.

 

The only negative about Globus is their hotels are not always in the center of town. BUT, they always shuttle you in or after a city tour, you can stay to see more, and they have a pick up shortly before dinner. They do fill the buses up to 40 something, but it's not as bad as Trafalgar. We only took one of their tours and they had 51, the guide disappeared after he dropped us at the hotel each day. We will not take Trafalgar again.

 

The tours we like the best are INSIGHT and Collette.

 

The weather in Scandanavia was outstanding when we were there. Loved it. We had a very full day in Oslo, and only got to spend about a half an hour in the Resistance Museum so when we decided to look for a Baltic cruise we knew we had to include Oslo so we could go back to see the rest of the museum. Found out it is just steps from where we dock.

 

Like I said we have done numerous bus tours, but since we've started cruising, my husband wont do bus tours anymore. He likes the idea of unpacking only once and going back to the ship when tired. Good luck.

[jstducky]

Thanks OregonDuck. This is useful. I too love cruises and the thought of only unpacking once and using the ship as a transport vehicle to get from city to city.

 

However, I recently discovered a Christmas cruise through Germany and Eastern Europe through Globus that I am intersted in. Of course, as you are aware, a cruise can only take you so far, and land locked countries are not possible to travel to. I've always wanted to go to Eastern Europe and I certainly have wanted to see the Christmas markets in Germany. The price for this trip is reasonable. I know that Globus is a reputable company that has been around a long long time. Personally, their tours appeal to me more than the Trafalgar ones do.

 

Anyhow, thanks for the advice, I may just decide to go ahead and move forward with this tour.

 

Also, does the screen name OregonDuck refer for to U of O?

[OregonDuck]

Yes, we are the University of Oregon Ducks. My children graduated from there but my alma mater is UCLA.

 

Been thru Yorba Linda and the Nixon Library on our way over to Arizona where we have many friends and relatives.

 

I'm sure you will enjoy the river cruise. We've thought about it but I guess we are not ready to give up the big (not too) ships and all theyhave to offer. Globus does a good job, we've always had good guides. Yes, there are places one can't cruise. We took "Country Roads of Switzerland" through Insight and it was one of the best 2 week tours we've ever had. The hotels were all central too.

 

Let me know how you like the Copenhagen Marriott. I will try this weekend to get it. Thanks for all the tips.

[jstducky]

Yes, we are the University of Oregon Ducks. My children graduated from there but my alma mater is UCLA.

 

Been thru Yorba Linda and the Nixon Library on our way over to Arizona where we have many friends and relatives.

 

I'm sure you will enjoy the river cruise. We've thought about it but I guess we are not ready to give up the big (not too) ships and all theyhave to offer. Globus does a good job, we've always had good guides. Yes, there are places one can't cruise. We took "Country Roads of Switzerland" through Insight and it was one of the best 2 week tours we've ever had. The hotels were all central too.

 

Let me know how you like the Copenhagen Marriott. I will try this weekend to get it. Thanks for all the tips.

 

A fellow UCLA alumni! Very nice to meet you. But UofO is pretty nice too. It's really pretty up there!

 

As for Globus, we'll see how that goes. The trip I'm looking at actually isn't a river cruise. It's just a land tour.

 

As for the Copenhagen Marriott, I actually was there this past July 2nd. It's a really really nice hotel. Nice spatious rooms like you would expect in the States, not the typical European room. The hotel is right on the water, and the air conditioning works really well! The staff was very friendly. I wouldn't hesitate recommending this hotel to anyone.

[OregonDuck]

I realized after I posted that you had already been there.

 

I am going to give it a try this weekend. Will post if I get the Marriott. I am still nervous.

 

I'm sure you will like Globus--it is a good value, I think. We used to do 3 week tours (Scandanavia-England, etc. ) then cut back to 2, then cruised. Still would like to do some land tours, but DH says no.

 

How did you get to the Marriott from the airport? train or taxi? Can't say I am eager to hop a train with luggage. Would a taxi take US dollars or Euros, or do you have to convert currency to local? Suppose we will need a taxi from the hotel to the port, and then from port to airport on return. I can't believe Princess wants $49pp for the transfer from ship to airport. These transfers have really gotten out of control, cost wise. Wonder if many take them anymore. Becky

[OregonDuck]

I tried Priceline this morning at 95 and it was rejected, came back to add area, which I did, the airport, and still it was rejected. Couldn't see anywhere to log out, so deleted after they said to change stars or dates (can't do). Then I got 2 emails which said check status of bid, and couldn't.....very confusing. But I guess it means I have to wait another day and try again. Thanks for your help. How much is a taxi from airport to hotel, do I have to have Dutch currency? Have the hotel thru Princess booked as back up, but I know I can do better.

[The Viking]

It has been mentioned there is no 4* hotel in the Airport area. There is a new and and great Hilton in the airport with frequent trains sto the center of the City. I would rate this at least 4*.

[Jolynn2262]

I don't know how much the cab will cost but I do know they take credit cards so having the correct currency isn't a problem. Sorry Priceline didn't come through this time. I would give it another try. As for the cab, I am debating between that (I figured I saved big on the hotel so why not), and taking the train and walking the ten minutes. It all depends on how much luggage I end up with. God luck to you.

[OregonDuck]

I will try again tomorrow. It came back after the rejection to add $22 but that would have put me over and I decided to wait another day. It's May so it's not the height of the season, so I would think it would hit. Will let you know.

Have to check out the taxi situation. Just don't think we want to take the train with all our luggage, but we'll see. We are only going to be there overnite, and we have been there before in 1992, so seeing the sights isn't a priority.

Wonder if Princess has a city tour with an airport drop off on the return. Our flight isn't until 3:50pm, so we have time. Read on one of the posts that there is an area in the airport when you can check luggage for a later flight, then come back to claim it before flight departure. Will check that out too.

Thanks for the breakfast info also. It's not high on our priority list since we will be moving to the ship that next morning.

Will let you know if Priceline comes thru. Becky

[dog]

I will try again tomorrow. It came back after the rejection to add $22 but that would have put me over and I decided to wait another day. It's May so it's not the height of the season, so I would think it would hit. Will let you know.

Have to check out the taxi situation. Just don't think we want to take the train with all our luggage, but we'll see. We are only going to be there overnite, and we have been there before in 1992, so seeing the sights isn't a priority.

Wonder if Princess has a city tour with an airport drop off on the return. Our flight isn't until 3:50pm, so we have time. Read on one of the posts that there is an area in the airport when you can check luggage for a later flight, then come back to claim it before flight departure. Will check that out too.

Thanks for the breakfast info also. It's not high on our priority list since we will be moving to the ship that next morning.

Will let you know if Priceline comes thru. Becky

 

If you can get the Marriott for $125, I'd take it. Not many people who waited were able to get any deals on priceline, while I was successful on my first attempt. I made an offer, they came back with add $17, so I did and it was accepted.

I would not play around with the airport option unless you really want to be out there.

Princess does offer excursions on the return day but you have to book them onboard the ship and they do drop you and your luggage off at the airport at the end of the tour.

 

Taxi to Marriott from airport...hotel site says 180 DKK, but it might be more than that now. There is alot of information on my Sept. 9,2007 roll call regarding these things. Go there and take a look. There is a search feature in the forum or thread tools.

 

Good Luck with priceline.

dog

[Jolynn2262]

I agree with Dog. You said your original bid was 95.00 so if you add the 22.00 you are still getting a Copenhagen hotel for 117.00 plus tax. That is a great deal compared to the other places I looked at. I hope you can get that or less when you try again.

 

I'm in the exact same situation with my flight. I'm on SAS and it leaves at 3:50. I want to take the tour from Princess and truly wish you could sign up ahead of time for it. I miss things sometimes with so much going on on the ship and with such a busy port schedule and I don't want it to be full. I will have already see some of Copenhagen since I am arriving two nights early, but riding around looking at the sights and having my luggae taken care of sure beats sitting in the airport.

 

It's funny how you and I have so much going on that is the same Becky. Again I wish we weren't on different sailings! Good luck.

[OregonDuck]

You all have been so helpful. Wish you were on our sail Jolynn, feel like I know you already. I tried again today for $99, and it came back that theyfound a room 4*, for $114. I was going to accept it, but DH said NO, stick to my guns of 99----we'll see. I won't wait too much longer.

I went tothe Marriott website and couldn't see where they have a coffee pot in the room. So I am guessing they do not. Anyone remember? Jstducky????

[Jolynn2262]

You know I noticed that too right off because I am a coffee drinker. I am disappointed that Princess doesn't have them in the cabins like NCL does but I do understand the safety issue. As for the Marriott though, I find that odd. I've read over and over that the hotel is too "American" and you when you are in the room you could be anywhere in the US instead of Copenhagen. Not without a coffee pot you aren't. I can go with the flow for two days but would like to be pleasantly surprised by finding a coffee maker upon arrival.

[PattiG]

I booked the Marriott on Priceline about 3 weeks ago at $130 a night for next May. I probably could have gotten it for a little less, but when I bid $125, the message was that it was low for a 4* hotel. So, I went with $130. I still think it's a bargain considering the hotel room prices I have seen on Expedia, Orbitz, etc.

[dog]

You all have been so helpful. Wish you were on our sail Jolynn, feel like I know you already. I tried again today for $99, and it came back that theyfound a room 4*, for $114. I was going to accept it, but DH said NO, stick to my guns of 99----we'll see. I won't wait too much longer.

I went tothe Marriott website and couldn't see where they have a coffee pot in the room. So I am guessing they do not. Anyone remember? Jstducky????

 

I read that they offer free coffee in the Marriott lobby. Let you know in a few weeks.

[dog]

I booked the Marriott on Priceline about 3 weeks ago at $130 a night for next May. I probably could have gotten it for a little less, but when I bid $125, the message was that it was low for a 4* hotel. So, I went with $130. I still think it's a bargain considering the hotel room prices I have seen on Expedia, Orbitz, etc.

 

Congratulations Patti...that is a good price too. So many people I know wait it out too long and miss out on these priceline deals.

 

I think anything between $95 & $150 for the Marriott is well worth it.

[OregonDuck]

I can see that I goofed. I knew I should have accepted the $114. If it comes back tomorrow, I will book it. I hope everyone is correct and that the only 4 star on Priceline is the Marriott.

 

Thanks, dog, let us know about the coffee. I got out my converters tonight trying to figure out which one goes for Europe....been a long time since I took a hotpot for coffee.