LIVE from the Eurodam :)

[Tink56]

We are currently at the end of our second day in St. Petersburg and I thought I would check if anyone had any questions I could help with since you all have been so incredibly helpful in planning this trip. This is the 10 day Baltic Gems cruise visiting Copenhagen, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, Warnemunde and Kiel. The cruise so far has been incredible. (I promise I will post a full review soon!) The ship is as beautiful as others have said and the staff is friendly and helpful. We have loved the food, with our best meal at Tamarind. I am behind on my trip journal so for now, I will just write below about our impressions of and tips about Copenhagen.

 

Our party of fourteen (eight adults and six children, spanning a full 86 years in age!) were coming into CPH from four different locations throughout the world (London, Basel, Houston and Mobile!). *Most of us took taxis from the airport but my father took the train and as an experienced traveller, even he almost took a train going in the wrong direction so be careful! *The train is not that cheap (nothing in CPH is!) so you have three or more people, it is worth it to take the taxi - just turn right as you come out of arrivals. *We stayed at the Tivoli Hotel which was FANTASTIC if you have children. *In addition to two indoor play areas, they have a terrific pool and an outdoor playground. *The rooms are small but festively decorated and they run terrific specials over the summer where for about $300/night you get free admission to Tivoli and a very expansive breakfast for each person in your party. *Best of all for us, they were one of the few hotels in CPH to accommodate four people per room. The location is a little off the beaten track (about a 20 minute walk into city center or a $10 taxi ride) but for us, that was well worth the other benefits. *

 

We loved Copenhagen. *We started with a private tour by Sandeman's New Europe Tours which was easy to arrange. *(Cost: about $300 for a two hour walking tour. *Not cheap but not bad since it was for a party of 14) *Our guide, Garreth was engaging and kept even the little one entertained. *We got a great feel for the city and learned a lot about the history as well as modern Danish life. *We spent the rest of the day enjoying the city and finding that it actually was possible to eat cheaply (OK, relatively cheaply) in this eye-wateringly expensive city. *Here are a few tips -

1 - try to polse sausage stands - a hot dog is about 35DKK - just don't expect an American tasting hot dog!

2 - for lunch, try smorebord - our guide recommended Hviids Vinstue right near Nyhavn, to the right of Magasin du Nord. *It is a 300 year old restaurant serving three small sandwiches and a beer (you can substitute for soda or coffee) for 65DKK!! *Great atmosphere.

3 - For dinner, get individual pizzas and eat the Danish way - a picnic overlooking Nyhavn harbor

4 - get pastries from Andersons (near Tivoli) and have them for breakfast the next morning

 

The next day we had a canal cruise (a real highlight) from Netto Badene (half the price of their rival) and then the day in Tivoli Gardens which was utterly charming. *Even if there are no children in your party, I think it would be worth the price of admission just to see this truly beautiful park. *It gets progressively more crowded as the day goes on, so I would recommend an earlier visit.

 

Other people in our party really enjoyed Rosenburg Castle and The Danish National Museum. We are hoping to catch both on our way out of Copenhagen.

 

That's all I have for now. Please feel free to ask any questions!!

[Tink56]

I should have previewed this before posting it - sorry for all the **'s! Not sure why they are all over my report!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Have a great cruise ...

[chipq]

Great precruise information, thanks for posting. Can't wait for the review. Have a great cruise.

 

http://luv2cruise.blofspot.com

[Steve_Red_Dog]

Thanks for sharing. We're on the Eurodam in Oct, so looking forward to your comments about your on board experience, especially the service in the MDR.

 

GO JAGS! (USA '78) :D

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for checking in.

 

Great pre-cruise.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for doing a live report, have fun on your cruise, hope to hear more about it.

[Jumbiecruiser]

Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[MrsMuir]

Thanks for the details -- my sister is looking at this cruise for her first HAL experience.

 

Mrs M

[canadarocks]

Have a wonderful time! We did that exact cruise last year and it was amazing.

 

If you are dining in the Canaletto, could you please find out if it still has its own list of Italian wines?

 

Thanks! :)

[erewhon]

Thank you for reporting.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[Donald Le]

Well down

[kazu]

Thanks for posting and doing a live thread. Appreciate the words on Sandemans as well as I have booked with them for next year:):)

[Tink56]

To CanadaRocks - I just checked with the Canaletto general manager and he says they do still have their own list of Italian wines. Have a great time on your cruise!

[canadarocks]

To CanadaRocks - I just checked with the Canaletto general manager and he says they do still have their own list of Italian wines. Have a great time on your cruise!

 

Thank you SO much! :D

Have a fantastic time on the rest of your Baltic cruise. We absolutely loved that itinerary last summer!

[Typhoon1]

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to hearing more.

[sandij]

We're doing the Eurodam to the Med in april, but your itinerary sounds wonderful too, maybe in the near future. Thanks for the review.

[Moomduck1]

What nights are the formal nights?

[gloriouscruise]

Lovely to hear this, I loved Copenhagen, and the kids loved Tivoli, recommended.