Copenhagen (& Baltic Cruise) with young kids

[Huxley'sCruisers]

Hello CC Baltic experts! My family and I will be traveling to Copenhagen this July in advance of our cruise on the Regal Princess July 7-18. We are a family of 5 - myself and my husband (in our 30s and very active) and our 3 young children - ages 5.5, 3 and almost 1 - traveling along with my husband's mother (71 with some issues walking great distances).

 

I have looked through several of the Copenhagen threads and am trying to figure out which is the best hotel for us during our stay. We will arrive on July 3 from NYC and will also stay one night after the cruise before our return flight home at 8:20AM on July 19.

 

Based on my research I believe the best hotel options for us (we will be getting 2 rooms) are The Square, Radisson Blu Royal or the Scandic Palace. I'm guessing that we'll want to be near Tivoli Gardens since I imagine the children will want to spend a lot of time there, plus it is near the train station and I plan to take the train from the airport. When we return from our cruise we would probably stay at the same hotel unless it's important for us to be by the airport given our early flight? (Our kids are EARLY risers so I'm not too worried about that).

 

Because we will be traveling with the children (I know, we're crazy but we LOVE to travel and our kids - so far - are great travelers), we want to make things as easy as possible. I'd love advice on where to go and how to get there with the kids, that is easy but also not going to break the bank, as I understand Copenhagen is a very expensive city. Besides Tivoli we'd love to explore some museums, maybe a castle or two (my 5 and 3 year olds are girls and very into everything princess), perhaps the aquarium. We will be in Copenhagen 4 full days before boarding our ship so that should give us ample time to see the things that are best for young kids. We expect we will love Copenhagen and return again once our children are older!

 

We will be traveling to Oslo, Aarhus, Warnemunde (do not plan to go to Berlin), Tallinn, St Petersburg, Helsinki and Stockholm. We'd love any tips for tours to take or places to go in those locations. I've already been in conversation with SPB Tours for St. Petersburg, and we will likely do a private tour with them.

 

Finally, I would love any advice on dining with the children in Copenhagen. They are good eaters and have reasonably good manners, but we don't want to ruin anyone else's meals with disruptions so we hope to find family-friendly restaurants/cafes to eat most our meals. We'd also love to find a babysitter or service so we can have one or two adult nights out, if anyone knows a good sitter!

 

Thank you all for the assistance!

[Huxley'sCruisers]

Should we purchase the Copenhagen Card for the train and museum access? What age would we need it for the Children?

[OzCanuck]

A lot of questions here...

 

We have done a Baltic cruise out of CPH with our then 33 month old, and just finished a Norwegian Fjord cruise with our now 44 month old.

 

Both times we stayed at the Crowne Plaza Towers in Orestad. This year we flew in 5 days before the cruise and spent the entire time touring Copenhagen. The Copenhagen Card is indispensible. You only need buy one for each adult as each adult card give you two free kids. We purchased three days for about $110 CAD each. Purely from a logistic standpoint, it was worth it just so we didn't have to wrestle with purchasing tickets on local transport to get from here to there each time.

 

But - you need to see a few attractions to make your money back on it. We did the aquarium, roundtower, experimentarium, two canal cruises, and tivoli gardens. The thing about Tivoli is that the card gets you in, (90DKK savings) but if you want to do any rides, even the kiddie rides, it's about $5-$10 per - so you can still drain quite a bit of money.

 

We chose the Crowne Plaza because it is a short shuttle-bus ride from the airport, had a nice buffet breakfast, and it about a 5-10 minute walk from the metro station which gets you downtown in 10 minutes. It is alost right next door to a massive shopping mall which is handy if you want to buy picnic supplies or do food-court style food - sometimes easier with the kdis. It might be a bit inconvenient with three kids though. Tivoli is a bit of a walk from Nørreport metro station - but you can switch to an S train and get a bit closer at Central Station. Not sure if it is worth the hassle - depends how ambulatory the kids are. Even though he hasn't used a stroller in almost a year we took it with us this time and he spend a lot of time riding - Copenhagen is a great walking city but not if you're 3.75 years old.

 

Last year in the Baltics we did not go to Berlin either. There was an excursion on the Molli steam train which we did - the kid loved it, and it was actually a pleasant afternoon (as much as I loathe ship excursions). In Tallin we just walked the old city and found a quiet place for lunch. For St. Petersburg we did a private tour with SPB - they supply car seats howeve be very clear about communicating that with them. We changed the standard tour to include a visit to Varschavsky rail museum which was amazing for us and our son - I'm not so much into trains but it was very impressive. You might consider omitting the Hermitage if you're going to bring all three kids. It is very crowded and difficult to get a feel for it - especially if you've got the young ones with you. You definitely cannot use a stroller inside so you have to do the drag and carry routine.

 

Stockholm was easy but we were berthed right in the inner harbour so we could jump on the HoHo boat. Saw the changing of the guard but ran out of time for the Vasa museum. Helsinki - no comment as it rained (poured) the entire day. A soaking, wet, horrible rain.

 

For dining in Copenhagen we actually ate at a restaurant in the mall a couple of times, made sandwiches a couple of times with stuff from the supermarket, had a little bit of street food and went to the Hard Rock Cafe (don't ask, it's just something we do). Copenhagen eateries seem to be very child friendly so you'll be fine I think

 

If you have any other questions feel free...

[Danish viking]

As already noted, your kids will be included in the Copenhagen Card when they are with an adult (2 kids under 10 years old per adult).

 

 

Off the 3 hotels you mentioned then Scandic Palace is the best rated on tripadvisor and breakfast is included.

 

 

If your flight is to another EU country (not great britain) you should be able to save some time as you don´t need to get through the passport control.

 

Transport to to the airport with train should not be any problems as the Øresundstog train runs almost 24/7.

[Desdichado62]

In Stockholm, I think your oldest child might enjoy Junibacken which is located on Djurgården.

It is expensive to get in though though since all except the youngest child will require an entrance fee.

 

Possibly the Vasa ship might also be fascinating for the oldest child although it is mainly a grown ups museum.

http://www.vasamuseet.se/en/visit/Family-visits1/

Edited May 28, 2015 by Desdichado62

[kitkat343]

We sailed the Baltics last summer with our 3 year old.

 

We were very happy with our stay at the Radisson Blu Royal, located near Tivoli Gardens. The rooms facing Tivoli Gardens have a wonderful view of the Tivoli Gardens fireworks on Saturday nights in the summer. We were jet lagged, but loved the show. Our room (505, a family room) was very large by European standards and had an excellent view of Tivoli Gardens and the train station (my son loved watching the trains go by). There was some limited noise from the street below, but I am a very light sleeper and was not disturbed by it. The buffet breakfast that was included with the family room was excellent. Furnishings were a bit worn, but overall I was very happy with this comfortable, well located hotel (it is right next to the train station and many major bus stops, and you can take public transportation from the airport and to the cruise terminal directly from the hotel).

 

For part of the summer in 2014, the Tivoli hotel offered activities for children. If you are interested, please follow up with the hotel directly to see if they are planning to offer services again in 2015, and which dates they will be available. We chose the Radisson Blu because our cruise was in late August, after the end of the children's program at the Tivoli hotel.

 

Our son also greatly enjoyed visiting Tivoli Gardens, which is especially lovely at twilight when the grounds and attractions are lit up. For families flying to Copenhagen, you might want to bring your children to Tivoli Gardens during their first night of the trip. My son was able to stay up to a normal bedtime on Central European time because he was so excited by all the rides. He immediately adjusted to the time change from Eastern Standard Time in the US, and really only had trouble with the time change back at the end of the cruise. We were underwhelmed by the Copenhagen Experimentarium, since we arrived when it opened and were surprised to see that some of the exhibits were missing crucial components which rendered them unusable, and the museum itself is not located near any public transportation.

 

Our son also greatly enjoyed visiting the Moli train, and this was a very easy excursion to DIY. You can get a sense of what the Moli is like here:

. The Moli train makes a very scenic tour passing through Bad Doberan very close to the buildings and visits beautiful fields and trees. We took the s-bahn to get from Warmeneude to Bad Doberan. You need to switch trains in Rostock. Please check the schedule, since you might need to wait in Rostock for the next train (we missed our connection and needed to wait a half hour in Rostock). We might have been better off taking bus #119, which is a 30 minute direct bus to Bad Doberan. It leaves once an hour, so you need to check the timetable to see which public transportation option would be fastest, and consider the fact that the bus station is further away than the train station (possibly a 10-15 minute walk). The Molli steam train is timed to meet up with arriving buses and trains in Bad Doberean so you shouldn't have to wait there once you arrive.

 

 

Bad Doberan has several charming cafes with outdoor seating, where you can enjoy an ice cream and watch as the Moli train passes inches from your table. Due to the rain, we ate at Cafe Zikke, which was off the main street in Bad Doberan and had more indoor seating than the restaurants on the main street. The flammkuchen was excellent (the waitress described these as savory tarts, and it was similar to a pizza). Overall, it was a lovely and enjoyable day, but had we not been traveling with our son we probably would have chosen a cruise that arrived in Germany on a day other than a Monday so we could visit the Schwerin castle and tour historic Wismar.

 

Tallinn was one of our favorite stops, and we really loved exploring its spectacularly preserved medieval center. Please note that this lovely city may be challenging for travelers with disabilities or families that use prams, since cars are not allowed in parts of the medieval center, and the cobblestones will make a stroller or wheelchair use difficult. Because my son has limited mobility without a stroller, our plan had been to take a pedicab around the city. There were some pedicabs at the port when we returned to the ship in the afternoon; however, the pedicabs were not yet available at 9 am when we left the ship. Instead, we took a cab to the top of Toompea Hill (this is where the lovely Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is located) and then walked down. Our son was able to climb the city walls (although the passage is very narrow and steep), and there were gorgeous views. In the main square, we found a pedicab, and we were able to take a very enjoyable 15 minute pedicab tour through the charming city. Since our son loves trains, we also rode on a tourist train that departs from Kullassepa street whenever it is full and makes a 20 minute loop around the city. We were fortunate to sit in the very back, since we had a great spot to take photographs from the back of the train. We ate a delicious lunch at Gloria ( http://www.gloria.ee) , a charming historic restaurant with excellent duck and fish.

 

We also greatly enjoyed our visit to the Lennusadam SeaPlane Harbor Museum in Tallinn. ( http://www.lennusadam.eu/et/ ) . The sea plane name is a bit of a misnomer, since it is more of a general military museum with a lot of fascinating hands on exhibits, including a submarine you can explore and a flight simulator inside of a plane (my 3 year old really loved making the plane crash into the trees). Kids also love the simulated weapons and radio controlled boats at the museum. There is also an icebreaker ship outside that you can explore. It was a really interesting museum, and a highly enjoyable way to conclude your day in Tallinn for both adults and children.

 

Disembarkation in St. Petersburg is a bit challenging, since most of the passengers are trying to get off the ship early. We started early, and beat almost all the NCL lines, but it still took 30 minutes to clear Russian customs. The Russian custom agents are very meticulous on the first day, carefully checking each guests' visa papers prior to stamping passports. They are much faster on subsequent entries to Russia, and therefore the custom lines move much faster. You might want to consider either booking a suite on NCL that will grant you priority disembarkation off the ship, choosing a cruise line you have elite status with if they will give you priority disembarkation, or starting your tour later on the first day after most of the crowds have dissipated (we contacted a number of private tour guides in St. Petersburg, and Alla had recommended starting at 10 am to miss the crowds. You can still start your tour early on the second day when customs is much calmer).

 

I would strongly encourage families to consider booking a private tour so you have maximum flexibility over your schedule, and can return to the ship early if necessary. Our son was absolutely entranced by St. Petersburg, so thankfully we did not need to return to the cruise ship early. However, we greatly appreciated having a private tour since our tour guide could see that we had a limited amount of time to spend in palaces and museums before our 3 year old needed to move on, and she worked very hard to move us around crowds so we were able to see the highlights of each attraction quickly. The private tour also gave us the flexibility to customize our tour (we were originally scheduled to take a canal tour on the second day, but the weather was so nice the first day we were able to switch around the schedule and take the canal tour on the first day).

 

St Petersburg is spectacular, and has so many highlights that cruisers should carefully research to determine which attractions would be most enjoyable during your brief visit.

 

Early entrance to the Hermitage was quite helpful; the museum was nearly empty when we arrived and quite full by the time we left. Please note that early entrance does not necessarily mean that all the exhibits are open early; some of the wings were closed until the museum's normal opening hours of 10:30 am. You should carefully plan ahead of time which art pieces you'd like to focus on prior to arrival since the collection is extremely impressive in both quantity and quality.

 

A previous poster noted that strollers are not allowed in the Hermitage. This may be correct; however, I was told (possibly incorrectly) by my tour guide last August that I should bring my stroller, and no one in the museum stopped us or told us this wasn't allowed. It was quite helpful to have the stroller in the Hermitage. My son lasted about an hour, and after that he and I went to the internet and food cafe in the lobby, where he was happily distracted with cake while my husband got to view his favorite works of art (the Impressionists; we had seen the Renaissance paintings I loved first since they were closer to the entrance).

 

Please note that I do not have any experience with this tour company since I booked my cruise only a month prior to sailing, but they are highly recommended on this forum by other families and have ideas on their children's page about tours appropriate for children in St. Petersburg: http://www.bestguides-spb.com/children-page.html I am particularly impressed that they are willing to babysit the kids at the Hermitage so the parents can have more time to look at the art - that's a great service I've never seen before.

 

We greatly enjoyed our lunch at Stolle; their menu is available online in English at http://www.stolle.ru/en/adresa . Please note that not all of their pies on the menu are available everyday, and they will tell you the daily selection upon arrival.

 

My son really loved many of the attractions in St. Petersburg - he loved the historic train stations, and was very impressed that the trains arrive every two minutes. He loved the fountains in Peterhof, especially the trick fountains that soak guests when they run through. If you want to jump in the fountains, you might want to bring a change of clothes, since the trick fountain is not near the entrance and your children might be a bit uncomfortable walking to the exit in wet clothes if it is cold out. Our son happily changed into his bathing suit, and loved getting sprayed by the trick fountain (there is a man sitting on the bench who soaks the visitors. He kindly took it easy on our three year old for the first 4 visits he made in the fountain and only soaked him on his fifth trip into the fountain). The hydrofoil from St. Petersburg is more expensive, but can get you to Peterhof more quickly than driving.

 

 

An absolute highlight of Stockholm is the Vasa Museum. The Vasa Museum is one of the most popular museums in Scandinavia, and it can get quite crowded later in the day. The HOHO boats will travel directly from Stadsgarden 165/167 if your ship is docking there to Vasa until 10 am, and after 10 am they will resume a normal loop around the city when the other attractions open. In the summer of 2014, Stromma sold a one ride ticket on their HOHO boats for 50 SEK. Or you can purchase an all day pass from either Stromma or Red Sightseeing for either their HOHO boats or buses or both. Public transportation in Stockholm was quite frequent and easily took us between tourist attractions later in the day.

 

We were quite happy with the Stromma HOHO boat as it quickly got us to the Vasa museum before it became crowded, and the view on the boat was very pleasant. Please note that there is also a very interesting movie that explains the history of the Vasa in English in the small theater (the movie in the large theater is in Swedish with English subtitles). The Vasa ship is fascinating, and we greatly enjoyed our visit.

 

There are a lot of great ways to spend your time in Stockholm, and like St. Petersburg, you will need to research which attractions would be best for you. My family loves animals, so the open lemur exhibit at Skansen was a huge hit. You can't touch or feed the lemurs, but we were lucky and one of them let us sit very close to him and we got some great pictures. The lemur exhibit is located inside of the aquarium in Skansen (the aquarium requires a separate admissions fee from Skansen, but both admissions are included with a Stockholm card). The aquarium is located close to the main entrance of Skansen, which is not the entrance closest to Vasa but there is a tram that we took between the two attractions. Many of the traditional buildings in Sweden were relocated to Skansen so tourists can see what life used to be like, and there are candle making and sewing demonstrations. There is also a zoo with native animals. We skipped everything in Skansen but the aquarium due to time constraints, but you should choose which attractions would be best for you. Tourists who love animals should choose Skansen, since their exhibits in the aquarium are all very well designed to let you get very close to the animals.

[OzCanuck]

Just to clarify about strollers in the Hermitage - I didn't say they weren't allowed. I just meant that realistically it would have been impossible to actually use one. Literally thousands of people and lots of stairs.

[Huxley'sCruisers]

Thank you all so much! This information is incredibly helpful and I will likely have more questions as I pour over it further.

 

For now, because I'm getting close to needing to book our Copenhagen hotel room - is the "Tivoli" hotel you refer to the Tivoli Hotel that appears to be a bit to the southwest of Tivoli Gardens, along the river? Would that be a recommended hotel? It is a bit further than the others I listed but the Scandic Palace seems to be unavailable and the Raddison Blu is much more expensive, so unless it is far and away preferable to either The Square or The Tivoli I believe i am leaning toward booking one of them.

[Travelanni]

Thank you all so much! This information is incredibly helpful and I will likely have more questions as I pour over it further.

 

For now' date=' because I'm getting close to needing to book our Copenhagen hotel room - is the "Tivoli" hotel you refer to the Tivoli Hotel that appears to be a bit to the southwest of Tivoli Gardens, along the river? Would that be a recommended hotel? It is a bit further than the others I listed but the Scandic Palace seems to be unavailable and the Raddison Blu is much more expensive, so unless it is far and away preferable to either The Square or The Tivoli I believe i am leaning toward booking one of them.[/quote']

 

Hi, on a port intensive cruise like this one you might like to spend one day relaxing and Warnemünde is just the place, especially with kids. It is one of the most popular seaside destinations in Germany and everything is within walking distance of your ship.

Long, safe sandy beaches; calm, clear, shallow water; plenty of things for the kids to do (playground, climbing equipment, kites) actually on the sands.

You can climb the lighthouse for great views of the coast; walk along the mole and watch the many and varied ships coming in and out of the port; take a walk through the beech woods along the cliffs; ride the little 'train' (a small tractor disguised as a locomotive pulling little carriages) which trundles through the quaint streets (grown-ups are welcome); take the ferry across the river and visit the Seal Research Centre; stroll along the Alter Strom (Old Channel) which is now the small boat harbour, shops on one side and old fishing boats selling fishy snacks on the other; discover what life was like when Warnemünde was a fishing village with a visit to the Heimatmuseum; or just relax in the outdoor area of one of the many cafes and watch the world go by.

There are cafes and restaurants to suit every style and taste, all of them child friendly and at the end of the day it is only a few minutes walk back to the ship.

Just Google 'Warnemunde Images' or 'Warnemunde Tourism' for more information, pictures and a good map of the town.

I'm sure your children would love it as a change from the other ports which are mostly big cities.

Happy cruising :)

Anni

http://www.travelanni.webs.com

Edited May 29, 2015 by Travelanni

[kitkat343]

I understand your point about the stroller and the crowds, and I'm sorry the Hermitage was so crowded on the day you visited - that must have made it much harder to appreciate the artwork. We had early admission to the Hermitage, and although there has been quite a bit of debate over whether or not this is actually useful in terms of crowd control, on the day we were there the museum was completely empty when we arrived. It started filling up slowly, and wasn't particularly crowded at any point we were there. There were some lines of about 10-15 people in front of the most famous paintings to get a picture of the artwork, but it was quite easy to walk around. As we were leaving, there were a lot of people entering the museum and you could see it would soon be really crowded everywhere. However, others have noted that the Hermitage is extremely crowded on the days they visited even with early admission, so you might want to discuss whether or not to bring a stroller with your tour guide. We carried the stroller up the main set of stairs (it was a collapsable umbrella one) and there is at least one elevator inside that I used to go down to the main floor. On the day we were there, the stroller was very useful, but on an extremely crowded day I could understand that it might not be helpful.

Edited May 29, 2015 by kitkat343

[Danish viking]

Thank you all so much! This information is incredibly helpful and I will likely have more questions as I pour over it further.

 

For now' date=' because I'm getting close to needing to book our Copenhagen hotel room - is the "Tivoli" hotel you refer to the Tivoli Hotel that appears to be a bit to the southwest of Tivoli Gardens, along the river? Would that be a recommended hotel? It is a bit further than the others I listed but the Scandic Palace seems to be unavailable and the Raddison Blu is much more expensive, so unless it is far and away preferable to either The Square or The Tivoli I believe i am leaning toward booking one of them.[/quote']

 

The Tivoli hotel is located between the central station and Dybbølsbro station (well a little bit closer to Dybbølsbro) but it is in walking distance from both stations.

 

But else you can catch bus 30 from the central station (or Vesterport if you end up there) just take the bus that is heading for Søvang or Bella Center.

 

At the central station it take up passengers on the bus stops between the central station and Tivoli.

 

There is a bus stop called Tivoli Hotel so it should be was to navigate.

 

On Mondays to Fridays it departs every 15th minute and in weekends and public holidays its every 20th minute.

[ljandgb]

We are finishing up 3 days in Copenhagen now, with our 4 kids. I can answer some of your questions. We are at the Scandic Palace. It is fabulous, mostly due to location. The Radisson is just 1 1/2 blocks away. The Tivoli main entrance is almost directly across from the Radisson. Cross the street and the city hall square and you are at the entrance to the Stroget, the main pedestrian district. Lots of dining, from street vendors to nice restaurants. No cars so the kids can walk safely. If worse comes to worse there is also a McDonalds, Buger King, and a KFC right

next to the Scandic. Not sure if you're bringing a stroller, but be warned the streets and sidewalks are cobble stoned. Umbrella type strollers would not hold up. Tivoli is amazing. Your kids would love it. Entrance fee is pretty cheap for adults and the kids will be free at that age. There is an unlimited ride pass you can get for everyone that is going to ride. I would not just buy tickets per ride unless you think you'll be able to get away with just 1-2 rides. There are enough little kid rides that you could get your money out of a pass. I can think of 8 off the top of my head that would be fine for even very young kids.

Edited May 30, 2015 by ljandgb

[elaine5]

first, I suggest getting a portable wheelchair, or seeing if you can reserve one on the ship. There is a lot of walking. If your MIL will let you push her in the wheelchair, it would make it a lot more enjoyable for her.

For dinner in Copenhagen: Waggagmama (sp?) right @ Tivoli. You can enter from either Tivoli or the streetside (without Tivoli admission). They have noodles/meat/chicken dishes for reasonable price and kids meals. You can order the kids' meals without sauce. Very yummy for adults as well and kid friendly. We liked Tivoli and also Rosenburg Slot (castle), which is in town. We ate lunch as a picnic from a grocery store.

Fun things for kids that my family did on our Baltics cruise. The 1st 2 are easy DIY from the port.

Stockholm: (this would be OK walking for MIL--fairly compact city square) take the HO-HO that picks up right at the pier (get SEK for the Ho-Ho (Swedish $$) before you leave the US--they are not on the euro). Take the Ho-HO to downtown and walk around. You can go into the Palace, etc. but the BEST place was the Livrustkammaren. Founded in 1633, it is also Sweden's oldest museum. Set in the palace vaults, this armory isn't just about weapons but displays some of the world's most magnificent state coaches and coronation robes, even the costume worn by Gustav III at a fatal masked ball. (The king was assassinated at the 1792 ball, and the incident inspired Verdi to write his opera The Masked Ball.) They have a free kit that you can borrow for the kids--it is a box with a fake mouse and you find clues throughout the museum. My kids (9, 13) spent 2 hours doing this--super fun. They also have a good dress up place on an upper floor with prince. knight and princess dresses, as well. We got the combo Ho-HO ticket and also took a boat tour. We did not have time to see the Viking ship (on the HO-HO bus/boat line).

Tallin--it's an easy, but solid 15 minute to walk from pier to town. But there are stairs at parts, so I don't know how a WC would work here). They have costumed persons selling nuts, sodas, etc.--very festive. There is archery outside the fort with Red Riding Hood type costumed workers--maybe an adult could do this and kids could watch. Large square in center of town to get food, etc. Tallin looks like a storybook village from a fairy tale. For your girls, I might be tempted to take 2 princess dresses and let them wear them in Tallin and tell them they are going to the fairytale village that day.

For StP., for your ages, I wold consider a tour of Peterhof, as the main attraction in the gardens and they could run around. We did a private tour of Peterhof and Hermitage--but it was a very long day, even for a 9 year old. I think a WC would be good for StP.

In Helsinki, DH, DD13 and I did a 1/2 day bike tour (excellent) and left the younger kids in the kids club onboard.

Edited May 30, 2015 by elaine5