Comments for Copenhagen Shore Excursion

[dbeckett]

I am in the planning mode for next year's Baltic cruise.  We think we have most ports sorted out but want some feedback about a couple of excursions that Princess offer so if anyone has done either of the the following we'd appreciate comments - good or bad.  We are no longer concerned about ensuring we see the Little Mermaid on either tour as we are docking at the Langelinie cruise terminal which is within walkin distance but is it the last thing seen before returning to the ship?  We'd get off there and walk back if it is (and they let us do it)

 

A Discovery Exclusive - Christiansborg Castle & The Royal Chapel - it sounds like the Little Mermaid is at the start of the tour

North Sealand Country & Frederiksborg Castle - I get the  impression the Little Mermaid could be at the end of the tour

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

[MKKruiser]

I had done a combination of private tours with Alla and Princess tours on my Baltic trip.

I could not decide which to use but wound up with Alla as it included the Christiansburg Castle and I really enjoyed it.

I doubt you will miss the Little Mermaid - be careful not to blink you might miss it!!!!  I think all tours would include it.

[Tatka]

  If you have massive plans for St Petersburg I would save energy.

We did (on our own) Hop On/Hop Off bus which departs right from the port and in a process visited Rosenborg Castle which is smaller, but still extremely interesting inside.

 

  We stayed in Copenhagen overnight and went to see little Mermaid at night as during the day place looked like a zoo!

 

 

[LeeW]

The little mermaid is little.  Like kid-sized.  You have to walk by a much larger statue to get to the fort or out to the main street.  But consider buying a Copenhagen Card before you go.  Includes admission to most museums, bus/train transportation, Tivoli, and even the canal boat cruise.  The dock for that is adjacent to the end of your pier/little mermaid and will take you over to the scenic dock area and near several museums.  View from the canal boat may be better than from shore.

 

You won't see everything in a day, but three or four museums/castle admissions pays for the Card and works like a Fast Pass - bypass many ticket booth lines.  With a tour you will spend a lot of time waiting for other people on the tour.

[BarbinMich]

We have stayed in Copenhagen for a few days a number of times (we did a lot of TAs), either pre- or post-cruise.  We have visited Frederiksborg Castle and really enjoyed seeing it.  We did it on our own with a few fellow CCers and had to take the train and then transfer to a bus to complete the journey so would be easier doing it through Princess, but probably more expensive.  In Copenhagen itself we have visited Rosenborg Castle which also has lovely gardens.  It's on a HOHO route so easily accessible.  Haven't visited Christiansborg Palace, but have walked by it--a very massive place!  It's the seat of the national government.  Another castle my DH and I visited is Kronborg on the coast across from Sweden.  Very interesting place and the setting for Shakespeare's Hamlet ("Elsinore").  It's easily reached by train from Copenhagen.

[Steelers36]

I would also recommend the Copenhagen Card if spending three days or more in CPH.  Two days might be borderline, depending on number of places you plan to get to.  It also includes use of transit system in the metro area.  You can look into it online and there is a smartphone app which is the way we did it and it worked great as sites you visit just scan your phone screen. 

 

Kronborg and the northern peninsula can be done on a private tour day trip.  I discovered Hamlet Tours from doing some searching and four of us booked with them.  We had a total group of about 7 or 8 as I recall.  Our guide was quite knowledgeable and you might want to check that out.  We got a discount with our Copenhagen Card since it included admissions (the tour covers more than Kronborg and is described on their website).  Tour pick up is convenient at Tivoli Gardens (they may do some hotel pick-ups but I don't recall as we could easily walk to Tivoli).

 

If staying in central CPH, it is easy to see all the major site either by walking or using transit.  

 

@dbeckett - are you sure you are docking at Langelinie?  This is a Princess thread and you did not mention the ship, but it is very likely you will be docked at Oceankaj.

 

[mevs904]

We stayed in Copenhagen for three nights after our August Baltic tour and found the HOHO bus to be an excellent way to explore the city.  When we arrived in Copenhagen before our tour we had paid for Princess transfers to the Regal that was docked at Oceankaj.  Since our plane arrived at 7:00 am it was too early to board the ship so Princess put us on a large coach bus and gave us a 3 hour tour of the city including a trip to the Little Mermaid.  Our guide was a nice young man who gave us a lot of good information which was very helpful for our post cruise stay.  This tour was an unexpected perk as we expected that we would have to be just sitting and waiting in a holding area until we could board the ship.

     Concerning excursions, four of the five excursions that we took on the cruise were with Alla and they were absolutely excellent.  The only Princess excursion that we took was at our last port, Oslo, because we had OBC that we had to spend.  The experience with that excursion was nowhere near as good as the Alla tours.

     Have a wonderful time on your trip.  We are so glad that we took this cruise.

[JoRoy218]

We just got off the Regal Baltic Cruise on Sunday. It was a fantastic albeit extremely busy itinerary. We loved it. As mentioned above, we were docked at Oceankaj pier which is not walking distance to the Little Mermaid. We spent a night in Copenhagen at the end of cruise (Scandic Palace, highly recommended). We did a Segway tour upon getting off the ship that morning, their office is on Langelinie pier. They have a 1 and 2 hr tour,  we saw a lot and enjoyed every moment.  And yes, the Little Mermaid was swamped. We shook our heads at those people who went out into the water on large stones to get their picture next to the status. One fell in, SMH. Enjoy, it’s wonderful!