I live in Copenhagen - can give advice

[orchidmom]

Thank you, chrismo 1, and Mike M for your prompt reply and valuable info!

 

Mike M, I have additional questions about the Hilton if you have the time to reply. We will be arriving at 7 am. too early for check-in. Do you know if the hotel will store our luggage so that we can go into the town?

 

Since you have stayed there four times for cruises, how did you get to the port? The Star Princess will be at the Freeport. Is there a hotel shuttle or did you use a taxi?

 

Since you have eaten at the restaurants in the Airport Hilton, did you book a room with the bed and breakfast/and or dinner package? Do you recommend doing that?

 

My concern about finding a place to eat, other than at the Hilton, is because I am a vegetarian and I thought if the restaurants at the hotel didn't have any veggie options, I could stroll over to the airport. As chrismo1 pointed out, however, there will be mostly fast food choices there. Do you recall if the Hilton had veggie items on the menus?

 

Thank you in advance for being so helpful!!

[Mike M]

OrchidMom,

Re: "We will be arriving at 7 am. too early for check-in. Do you know if the hotel will store our luggage so that we can go into the town? "

We were last there in August 2009. They did have a room to store luggage behind the concierge desk where you can also get a free map and charge train/metro tickets to your room account. The concierge is knowledgeable and helpful.

 

"Since you have stayed there four times for cruises, how did you get to the port? The Star Princess will be at the Freeport. Is there a hotel shuttle or did you use a taxi?"

In August 2009, our ship embarkation was also at Freeport. We were three adults with three weeks worth of luggage so we took a taxi. The total cost, including tip, was $63.92 USD. I don't know what that was in Danish Kroner (DKK) since I didn't record the DKK-USD exchange rates. It's a nice ride along the edge of town. Use the email address below to ask if the hotel has a shuttle.

 

"Since you have eaten at the restaurants in the Airport Hilton, did you book a room with the bed and breakfast/and or dinner package? Do you recommend doing that?"

We had two rooms with breakfast included which I bought online at their site. Because I picked the non-changeable, non-refundable rates, it was much cheaper than a refundable rate. I recommend including breakfast because we like breakfast. Many people skip it since they are about to board the ship with its infinite food. The breakfast has both ala carte and a big buffet. We have never bought the dinner package because we wanted the option to eat downtown. The total for dinner for three at the Hilton hotel in August 2009 was $159 USD. This is comparable to the total for dinner for three at MamaRosa's Restaurant on the Stroget pedestrian street in May 2008 for $133 USD. Again, I have not looked up the exchange rates.

 

"My concern about finding a place to eat, other than at the Hilton, is because I am a vegetarian Do you recall if the Hilton had veggie items on the menus?"

My wife says she remembers some vegetarian choices, though none of us ordered them. I got answers to questions before we went by using this email address:

 

res.copenhagen-airport@hilton.com

[backtocruisin]

Being unfamiliar with currency and transportation I am a little concerned about our 2 night stay prior to our May 12th cruise. Can you provide any information on our best option for mode of transport from airport to Hotel

Twentyseven and from there to ship port 2 days later. Is it difficult to get a taxi and what is the going rate. Do I need Danish Krone for transport>

 

I found this website that has been very helpful

http://www.rejseplanen.dk You may need to input "Orientkaj" as the final destination opposed to Faerghavn Nord for the cruise terminal This site can get you from the airport to the hotel and any other trips you may want to take.

Just plug in where you want to travel from and to and it will give you specific directions along with a map. Make sure you click on the English version. I'm traveling on the Star Princess on Saturday May 22 and public transportation doesn't take you to the pier on Saturdays. It takes you close but a 10 minute walk in involved. You may want to keep this in mind if you want to use public transportation on Saturday when you disembark.

We are also staying at the Clarion Twenty-seven. We chose it due to the complimentary breakfast and buffet dinner. It will definetly save us worry about where to eat and how much it will cost us.

Eileen

[orchidmom]

Mike, thank you for responding so promptly. You have resolved many worrisome issues for us! We will be booking the Airport Hilton with breakfast, advance payment. As a result of your help and others on the board, we will be making our first big trip to Europe with a lot more confidence. We are two seniors making this trip and don't know anyone else going except for the friendly people on the Roll Call.

 

I am looking forward to our visit to Copenhagen, although quite disappointed that we will not be able to tour the Royal Palace b/c of a Royal Wedding this June. I do wish the Family the best of time, however, at this great celebration.

[chrismo1]

@orchidmom

If you want to try something different for dinner, you can also walk out of the Hilton Hotel into the residential neighborhood of Kastrup itself. It is a nice, quiet neighborhood, and you will find some restaurants there, and that might be alot more pleasant than dining at the airport. Everything is walkable (well normally, everything is walkable in cities in Denmark, and you can easily walk to and from the airport, just use the pedestrian bridge over the motorwat and railway) There are a few restaurants in the neighborhood, but unfortunately not much vegetarian. There is a very good fish restaurant with sea view, if you by chance eat fish.

[Danish viking]

Thank you all for doing my work :)

[GoVolsTB]

@ TB

 

It could be nice to meet all of you that i am writing with, but last year i forgot a arrangement with the other helpful user heinbloed because my computer broke down and i forgot to put it in my cell phone calender so i missed the date. :(

 

So i could make up for this by meeting you :) But you don´t need to bring anything with you.

 

But lets talk about this when we get closer to may because then i know my working schedule.

 

Danish Viking...

 

We leave next week for our cruise to Copenhagen. We will arrive in Copenhagen on May 12th and we are staying at the Marriott. We leave early in the morning on May 15th.

 

Hopefully we can set up some time to meet. Please email me directly at govolstb at yahoo dot com.

 

Surely...there should be something we could bring you.....

[Danish viking]

You just got mail. :D

[rjmaype]

For Chrismo1

 

Can you give me more information on the restaurent you mentioned?

 

Thanks

[TheGenie]

Interested in dining in Kastrup too (also staying at the Airport Hilton post cruise). It looks like Katrup station is just one Metro stop toward town from the Aiport (Lufthaven station). Google Maps shows lots of restaurants nearby.

[orchidmom]

I must be going bonkers from studying about the places to see and what to do in each city. My mind was totally confused about where the Royal Wedding was to take place in June. Of course, as everyone else on the board knows, it is in Sweden, not Denmark. But thank you all, for being so polite and not calling me a dummy. I'll go sit in a corner now.

[casinovisitor]

I found this website that has been very helpful

http://www.rejseplanen.dk You may need to input "Orientkaj" as the final destination opposed to Faerghavn Nord for the cruise terminal This site can get you from the airport to the hotel and any other trips you may want to take.

 

Just plug in where you want to travel from and to and it will give you specific directions along with a map. Make sure you click on the English version. I'm traveling on the Star Princess on Saturday May 22 and public transportation doesn't take you to the pier on Saturdays. It takes you close but a 10 minute walk in involved. You may want to keep this in mind if you want to use public transportation on Saturday when you disembark.

 

We are also staying at the Clarion Twenty-seven. We chose it due to the complimentary breakfast and buffet dinner. It will definetly save us worry about where to eat and how much it will cost us.

 

Eileen

 

 

 

Thank you Eileen,

Do you know if Hotel Twentyseven has any shuttle service?

[chrismo1]

The fish restaurant, I mentioned in the previous post is this one: http://www.kastrupstrandpark.dk/. It's correct that you will see alot of restaurants in Kastrup on Google Earth, but some of these are actually take away or pizza places. Another real restaurant or inn is this one:http://www.allekroen.dk/ serving traditional old fashioned Danish fare (Probably very local, but that could be interesting as well). Be aware that Kastrup is nothing special in itself, only the proximity to the airport makes it an interesting place to go especially if you stay at the Hilton, since you can walk to Kastrup. Otherwise, it's just an ordinary suburb with your usual subdivisions. Kastrup has no old town or other interesting places except maybe the the beachfront and the small marina, where the fish restaurant is located. If you want to go to a really nice place near the airport, consider Dragør, a very old, quaint fisherman's village with many good restaurants, but it's south of the airport and you need to take a bus (Bus no. 35) to get there.

[Milwaukeeee]

Thank you Eileen,

Do you know if Hotel Twentyseven has any shuttle service?

 

 

 

I'd be interested to know this also. We are staying there in July and thought we would just have to hire a taxi. I'm sure "shuttle service" could be provided, at a cost, maybe less than an individual couple by taxi?????

[Stumpie]

Hello Everyone.

We have booked a transatlantic/Baltic cruise via Princess Emerald which disembarks in Copenhagen on May 24, 2011.

Since my wife does not care to fly, we are exploring the ways to get from Copenhagen to the UK. Our plan is to return to the US via a Cunard transatlantic cruise from England. Since it is so far in the future, Cunard has not yet posted cruise dates for Late May/June, 2011. So our plans are still in development and have some flexibility.

Does anyone have experience with ferry and/or train transport between Copenhagen and England? We have studied the dsb.dk website and have great interest in several of the options.

We would love to hear from fellow travelers who have some experience with this.

Thank you

[sddsddean]

Hello Everyone.

We have booked a transatlantic/Baltic cruise via Princess Emerald which disembarks in Copenhagen on May 24, 2011.

Since my wife does not care to fly, we are exploring the ways to get from Copenhagen to the UK. Our plan is to return to the US via a Cunard transatlantic cruise from England. Since it is so far in the future, Cunard has not yet posted cruise dates for Late May/June, 2011. So our plans are still in development and have some flexibility.

Does anyone have experience with ferry and/or train transport between Copenhagen and England? We have studied the dsb.dk website and have great interest in several of the options.

We would love to hear from fellow travelers who have some experience with this.

Thank you

 

This is not easy!! The obvious choice is flying, but thats out. As far as I know the only ferry is DFDS Esbjerg to Harwich http://www.dfdsseaways.co.uk/routes_and_timetables/esbjerg-harwich

 

This runs every other day leaving around 6.45 pm and arriving noon the next day from £43 (about $60)/person.

Trains run from Copenhagen to Esbjerg (some direct, some one change). Use http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?newrequest=yes&protocol=http:& to look at train times..sorry, can't help with price.

The ferry docks at Harwich (same place as the cruise ships). Harwich International station is right beside the ship and its about £15 to Liverpool St in London. Taxi across to Waterloo station (about £12) and get the train direct to Southampton (about £30, but can get it for £1 at www.megatrain.co.uk about 4 weeks before travel). Taxi to any cruise terminal in Southampton will be about £7.

Obviously the ferry is an overnight crossing and it is going to take at least 5 hrs to do Harwich - Southampton, so you won't be able to get a ship to the US before 26th May 2011, assuming the ferry runs on the day you disembark.

It is possible to do the whole thing by train (Copenhagen-Hamburg-Koln-Brussels-Eurostar to London - Southampton), but this would mean at least 5 trains and again would take a couple of days, so you would need a night out in, say, Brussels and still wouldn't be able to get a ship until the 26th. In both cases you would probably have to stop in London or Southampton for a night.

 

Good luck with the planning!

 

Simon

[Stumpie]

Thank you, Simon, for your response.

Has any member used any of these options? Advice....problems. Any input you can give would be very welcome. We are concerned about getting into something way over our heads.

[chrismo1]

The Esbjerg-Harwich line is certainly an option. This was the way we Danes used to get to London before flying became cheap and popular. Actually there used to be a special express train from Copenhagen to Esbjerg to match the ferry departures. This train was shunted all the way to the ferry docks in Esbjerg using the harbour tracks so you could walk straight into the ferry terminal. This service no longer exists, you now take a regular train to Esbjerg, and you have to take a taxi from the railway station to the ferry. It's not very far, about 1 mile. In Harwich, the train is right at the ferry dock. There are direct trains from Copenhagen to Esbjerg every 2 hours. Regular fare for the train is DKK 364 per person one way. Non-refundable discount tickets are available on some departures at Danish State Railway homepage, http://www.dsb.dk on a first come, first served basis (click DSB Orange to get to these bookings). Booking is possible from 2 months in advance. The ferry is also cheapest if you book as far as possible in advance.

[Stumpie]

Thank you so much, chrismo1. I'm trying to gather as many tidbits of info as possible, and your advice was very helpful. Do you have any opinions about the City Night Line train to Cologne/Thalys to Brussels/Eurostar to London option? Are the train changes cumbersome/confusing to American tourists? We are pretty self sufficient, but this is really unknown territory for us. Any recommendations as to who me might contact to get details about the specific logistics of doing this? Thanks again Anne

[eetonaee]

Hello Cruisin,

 

Due to a change in our air schedule we now arrive in Copenhagen on a late night Thursday flight from Paris. it will probably be midnight before we have our bags and are ready to head for our room at the Marriott.

 

At this hour should we just take a taxi or is it still possible to save some money with a train or other means of transportion?

[backtocruisin]

Thank you Eileen,

Do you know if Hotel Twentyseven has any shuttle service?

 

 

I don't believe hotel twenty-seven has shuttle service. i think public transportation will be fine as long as you can walk from the station to the hotel. we are arriving at 7:15 am, middle of rush hour. we think our best bet will be public trans and not a taxi.

eileen

[chrismo1]

@Stumpie

Hi Anne.

I have never tried the night train connection via Cologne and Brussels myself, (CNL from Copenhagen departure 18.42, train change in Cologne and in Brussels) but I have of course taken many trains in Europe, and I don't see any special difficulties in that route. I have been on the Esbjerg-Harwich ferry many years ago. My only comment to which route to choose is that I would rather sleep in a cabin on a ferry that in a night train. I don't sleep well on trains. But that is of course my personal preferences. It is also possible to do the train all the way as an all-day connection. Departure Copenhagen at 7.45. Train change in Hamburg, Cologne and Brussels and arrival in London at 21.33. This might be a bit cumbersome, many connections and a very long train day. Remember that you have to take care of your own luggage yourself at every train change, hauling it up and down stairs.

[Danish viking]

@ eetonaee

 

The trains are still departing at midnight but i would take a taxi from the central station to mariott instead of walking.

[eetonaee]

@ eetonaee

 

The trains are still departing at midnight but i would take a taxi from the central station to mariott instead of walking.

 

Thank you.

 

Do you suggest taking a taxi from the central station because of the distance or safety?

[sddsddean]

Thank you so much, chrismo1. I'm trying to gather as many tidbits of info as possible, and your advice was very helpful. Do you have any opinions about the City Night Line train to Cologne/Thalys to Brussels/Eurostar to London option? Are the train changes cumbersome/confusing to American tourists? We are pretty self sufficient, but this is really unknown territory for us. Any recommendations as to who me might contact to get details about the specific logistics of doing this? Thanks again Anne

 

@Stumpie

Hi Anne.

I have never tried the night train connection via Cologne and Brussels myself, (CNL from Copenhagen departure 18.42, train change in Cologne and in Brussels) but I have of course taken many trains in Europe, and I don't see any special difficulties in that route. I have been on the Esbjerg-Harwich ferry many years ago. My only comment to which route to choose is that I would rather sleep in a cabin on a ferry that in a night train. I don't sleep well on trains. But that is of course my personal preferences. It is also possible to do the train all the way as an all-day connection. Departure Copenhagen at 7.45. Train change in Hamburg, Cologne and Brussels and arrival in London at 21.33. This might be a bit cumbersome, many connections and a very long train day. Remember that you have to take care of your own luggage yourself at every train change, hauling it up and down stairs.

 

As Chrismo says, the main problem is humping your luggae. However, this isn't too bad. You can do Copenhagen-Hamburg-Brussels Zuid-St Pancras(London) without leaving stations ie you have just got to change platforms. In London you need a cab ride to Waterloo station then its straight to Southampton, but I think you will probably need to break the trip for the night in Brussels or London. I agree with Chrismo...much as I like travelling by train, the sleepers aren't always the best and if it was going to take 2 days anyway I'd use the cabin on the ferry. You pays your money and makes your choice!!

 

Simon