Hotel in Hamberg, Germany before boarding

[suzanne73]

Hi!

 

I'm going on an MSC cruise out of Hamburg, Germany. I am looking to stay night before we depart cruise at a hotel. Is the port near the city center? I've never been there before so I would like to explore Hamburg. Is there hotel anyone would recommend? How far is city center from the port? How much do cabs cost? I need to take a cab from the airport and one to cruise terminal. I called MSC and they don't know the names of hotel that they put people in when they book them. Anyone have any suggestions? No one I know is familiar with this city.

 

Thank you so much.

[plucasana]

We used the Hamburg Reichshof (A Curio Hotel).

It is newly renovated, situated directly opposite of the Central Station. From the Airport you can take the S-Bahn S1 directly to the Station.

 

The standard rooms are on the small side but you have everything around you, that you might need: Nice restaurants, a supermarket, the Tram, Metro, Busses, HoHo Busses directly in front of the hotel.

 

The Staff is very nice and friendly, there is a little fitness-center and a very nice spa (no pool though).

 

To get to the cruise center Steinwerder you take the S-Bahn S3 direction Vedder (runs every 5 Minutes) and hop into the free shuttle bus provided by the town of hamburg. The Shuttle bus does not run nearly as frequently (about every 20/30 Minutes) but you could also take a cab or the local bus 255 from there (but you would then have to walk a fair amount of meters...).

Of course, MSC does offer a shuttle bus from the central station to the cruise center aswell, but I do not know the price.

 

I enjoyed the hotel (but of course this is very subjective).

Edited August 16, 2016 by plucasana

[xxHadleyxx]

We are stayign at the Mercure Hamburg City---it is near the main train station which makes it easy to get everywhere in our opinion and my husband has liked it when he has stayed there for bussiness.

 

I don't think it is particularly close to the airport, but you could easily take a train form there to teh main station and then be near the hotel and DH says the hotel is centrally located for touring.

[dst87]

This is good information. I recently docked in Hamburg on Queen Mary 2 and the shuttle dropped off outside the Sofitel which was a super convenient city centre location very close to the town hall.

 

The shuttle bus now seems to dock at this really inconvenient out of town location (Veddel) and I'm struggling to work out the transit to get into the town (we're going to Miniatur Wunderland). We dock on Sunday 25th September.

 

Does anyone know the best way to get to the Miniatur Wunderland from the ship? Do we just grab a taxi (no Uber in Hamburg, which is really frustrating) or can we get the S-Bahn or U-Bahn?

 

Also will the ticket offices/machines on these transit networks accept credit cards, or should I come prepared with cash? I noticed a surprising number of places in Hamburg were cash only, including food stalls and little shops, so I'd rather be prepared and get cash at an ATM in Amsterdam before we come to Hamburg.

 

Vielen Dank!

[SAB017]

Just returned from week in Hamburg

Very good metro-bus system

You pay 11,60 € for up to5 adults ( valid from 9 am till 6 am following morning)or pay 1,50€ for 1 ride in the city

Wunderland is 300 meters from metro station-just follow the crowd......station : Baumwall

allow at least 2 -3 hrs for visit

[Janie0032]

[quote name=

 

Does anyone know the best way to get to the Miniatur Wunderland from the ship? Do we just grab a taxi (no Uber in Hamburg, which is really frustrating) or can we get the S-Bahn or U-Bahn?

 

![/quote]

 

If you are planning to go to Miniatur.. Book your tickets for a time slot before you visit, as the queues can be up to 3 hours long, You book online but pay at Wunderland..

[SAB017]

right,when I was there was a 90 min wait

[dst87]

If you are planning to go to Miniatur.. Book your tickets for a time slot before you visit, as the queues can be up to 3 hours long, You book online but pay at Wunderland..

 

I have heard about the long queue times. If we can get off quickly and work out transport then I'll aim to get there when it's still quiet (they have a queue time estimator on their website which is very handy!)

 

I think we can get the 9-Uhr-Gruppenkarte which costs only about €12 total and will give Alex and I unlimited travel in the central zones. Looks like I can get the S-Bahn from the Veddel cruise shuttle drop-off into Hamburg, then the U-Bahn from there to Wunderland. Should work well, and doesn't take too long.

[SAB017]

you can get a reservation timing far in advance:

You can easily book one of the limited advance tickets on the website. By booking tickets in advance, you can avoid the queues. However, you have to choose a specific date and time of arrival.

[dst87]

you can get a reservation timing far in advance:

You can easily book one of the limited advance tickets on the website. By booking tickets in advance, you can avoid the queues. However, you have to choose a specific date and time of arrival.

 

I was planning to, but for our day there are only very very early slots left to pre-book, and I cannot be 100% confident on actually making it to the place on time.

[plucasana]

We were in Hamburg in July (High Season, school holidays) and travelled with a couple that went online (smartphone) at 15 o'clock to book a slot for 17:30.

Also: We took the ferry 73 from Argentinienbrücke to Landungsbrücke where you can take the U3 to Baumwall. It is not a very fast solution but a very pittoresque one, because you get to see Hamburg's Speicherstadt (a little of it at least) and the "skyline" if you can call it that!

 

have a great time in Hamburg - such a lovely city!

 

kr sandra

[MarkusToe]

Do we just grab a taxi (no Uber in Hamburg, which is really frustrating) or can we get the S-Bahn or U-Bahn?

 

 

its very easy why no uber in germany: you need a licence and permission to carry guests in your car on commercially base.

 

Uber driver has none of that - therefore Uber is not allowed at Germany - easy

[dst87]

its very easy why no uber in germany: you need a licence and permission to carry guests in your car on commercially base.

 

Uber driver has none of that - therefore Uber is not allowed at Germany - easy

 

You need both of those things in the UK too. All Uber drivers are licensed (by Edinburgh Council in Edinburgh) and have to display all of the necessary signs and plates that are required.

 

It's just a shame because Uber drivers are friendlier than most cabbies (in my experience), the service is better, you can use the app to hail, and you don't need to carry cash.

 

Unfortunately it seems the world's traditional taxi drivers are rather fond of their monopoly where they can get away with a dated approach, poor service, and higher fares.