Central Hotel

[ski ww]

Looking for a hotel close to the port & city center. We are doing a Norway cruise in July 2023. Also found out neither Denmark or Norway take Euro's. We're planning on two days pre cruise in Copenhagen so don't want to end up with a whole bunch of local currencies after our cruise. We have Euro's left over from our last European cruise, do they take them & give change in local? 

[hallasm]

Central hotel to what?  Have a look in this topivpc

Certain shops in Copenhagen will accept Euro - most will not. Be aware of exchange rate and you might get change in local currency.

You can pay with credit card everywhere - no need for Danish or Norwegian kroner .

[John Bull]

Somewhere broadly between Nyhavn & Tivoli would be ideal - and close to the waterfront is more attractive and adds the waterbus to your local transportation options 

https://www.visitcopenhagen.com/copenhagen/planning/harbour-bus-gdk447302

 

Cards are very widely accepted in Denmark & Norway, even for a beer or a coffee. Just be sure that your card is charged in local currency, not CAD - that way you'll know that the charge is the same as the check, and you won't be ripped-off by the vendor's exchange rate. If you don't have a card with no foreign transaction fee, consider getting one - especially if you're planning any future foreign travel.

 

But do get some local shrapnel.

There's a comfort  in having mebbe 30 to 50 CAD-worth for the rare occasions when a card is no good, and you can use them up on your last day or two.

 

Certainly a lot of outlets - esp. in Copenhagen - accept euros, but the rate will be lousy. Or if the ship is in Europe for the season use them for any tips on the ship.

Not a great use of euros, but better than having them gathering dust at home

 

JB 🙂 

[kaisatsu]

Don’t bother with cash in Norway. The other day we found a few coins and notes that had been in an old wallet for a few years and had to think about what we will do with them. We finally decided to use them at the supermarket during off-peak hours to minimize the annoyance it will cause.

 

Although technically places should take cash, some actually don’t. Last week a woman was berating the barista at my favorite coffee shop because the management (not the barista) had chosen not to deal with cash anymore.

 

Tourist locations are probably a bit more cash-friendly than local spots, but I’d suggest taking out currency in increments of 200 NOK (200, 400, 600, 800) to avoid ending up with 500 NOK bills that can be a hassle outside of supermarkets and tourist shops.

[ski ww]

Thanks for the feed back, good info, thanks.

[hal2008]

Most hotels in Copenhagen do not have air conditioning 

 

Tripadvisor and other travel site are outright incorrect in that regard 

 

Very few hotels like Marriott has true air conditioning.

 

Most hotels have air cooling where you can "try" to adjust room temperature by few degrees by electronically controlling ventilation

 

Copenhagen typically do not require air conditioning and most residences do not have that.

 

But with climate change, there are some warm days in summer and while periodic showers help from getting very hot, they increase humidity and that cannot be lowered by so called "air cooling".

 

You are actually better off with high floor where window can be opened and stuffiness reduced by using hotel provided desk fan or pedastal fan.

 

Two hotels at airport so have AC.

So does Marriott. 

 

[ski ww]

I think I've got our hotel narrowed down to three, Hotel Bethel, Best Western & Hotel Maritime all under $200 Canadian, free breakfast. They are all within walking distance of the of a lot of the tourist attractions close to the water front.

[hallasm]

36 minutes ago, ski ww said:

I think I've got our hotel narrowed down to three, Hotel Bethel,

Good choice.

[CruiserBruce]

On 7/21/2022 at 2:26 AM, ski ww said:

Looking for a hotel close to the port & city center. We are doing a Norway cruise in July 2023. Also found out neither Denmark or Norway take Euro's. We're planning on two days pre cruise in Copenhagen so don't want to end up with a whole bunch of local currencies after our cruise. We have Euro's left over from our last European cruise, do they take them & give change in local? 

We were just in Copenhagen for 3 nights prior to boarding our ship. We got 600 danish Kroner, about $80 USD, because that was the smallest amount the ATMs would do. We had trouble spending that!! Everything takes credit card. We ended up buying a couple of ice creams and other trinkets to use up the money.

 

I would not disrespect the locals by trying to talk them into accepting your Euros.

[ljandgb]

Much of Scandinavia is going cashless, and even years ago there were places that were CC only. That was pre-pandemic, and I suspect the "germiness" of paper money has pushed more into that category.  We needed a few coins for a toilet in Copenhagen, and one hot dog street vendor.  Everyone else, including the other street vendors, took, and preferred, CC's.  I can't imagine they want hard currency that isn't even their own.

 

 

[ski ww]

I think we have decided on the Best Western Hebron price wise, hotels in high season really go up. The Best Western Plus Hotel is in a better location & more in the center in order to walk around & sight see.

[Joanne G.]

On 9/8/2022 at 6:33 AM, ljandgb said:

 . . . . We needed a few coins for a toilet in Copenhagen . . . .

 

Well, that's concerning LOL!   Is that typical?   As it appears credit cards are the way to go for even small purchases, I wasn't planning on getting Danish (or Swedish) currency for my July Baltics cruise.   But how would I get coins other than by getting bills and buying something in order to get coins as change??

[hallasm]

46 minutes ago, Joanne G. said:

But how would I get coins other than by getting bills and buying something in order to get coins as change??

Most toilets in Copenhagen are free - I know that there is a fee at Railway Stations (DKK 5) and possible to pay with credit card.

I have never paid for use of public toilet in Copenhagen- save your coins.

 

NB: I’m living outside Copenhagen and is visiting two to three times each month.

Edited January 15, 2023 by hallasm