WackelDackel

I am looking to book a flight from LUX to Berlin on KLM which has a 55 minute connection in Amsterdam. Do I have to go through immigration and, if so, will I be cutting it too close. I would think because I am using the same airline they would time it so I could make the connection but am not sure. Any advice? Thanks!

They are both Schengen area countries, so you shouldn't have to go through immigration. Many of the smaller planes land far from the airport and a bus comes to take the passengers into the airport. That wastes a lot of time. 55 minutes is short, but you'll probably be fine.

Wackel, thanks for your response. I will research the hotel options you listed.

Whoops, I just realized I meant the Hotel Atlantic, not Maritim. Maritim is also a good hotel, also close to transport. But Atlantic is probably the best hotel in Hamburg, I think John Kerry stayed there for the summit that happened here not too long ago.

Could someone provide some insight on Hamburg?

 

We are a group of 4 staying one night in Hamburg before commuting to Kiel for embarkation.

Could you recommend a hotel within walking distance to restaurants/sights?

 

Also, would you recommend we stay close to the airport & commute to Kiel by train or use a private shuttle? Would the train be easy to travel with luggage?

I would take the train from the airport and stay in a hotel in the city so that you can spend some time in Hamburg. If you want to go fancy, try the Maritim, or Vier Jahreszeiten. For somewhere in the middle/cheaper, try Radisson Blu or Mercure Hamburg Mitte. They are all smack in the middle of town, and close to a train that will get you to Kiel.

It's easy to travel by train with luggage, the train ride to Kiel takes about as long as driving. You'll probably need a taxi when you arrive in Kiel. The hard part about traveling by train and taxi is that service in English is no guarantee.

I'm thinking what I want to do just won't work, but I thought I'd give it a try to see if anyone has any ideas.

 

We will arrive by ship with baggage at the Altona pier around 8:00 and depart HAM at 15:40. I would like to store our bags and visit minatur wonderland if it is possible.

 

If we could take a taxi to minatur wonderland directly from the ship that would be good, but I expect that there will be no place near there to store our bags. So, I think the only option would be to depart the ship, walk to Altona station, store our bags there, and then take a taxi to minatur wonderland.

 

Then taxi back to Altona station, get our bags, and then take the S-1 to the airport. We need to be at the airport by 13:00. I am thinking this really won't be possible, unless we only want to spend 1 hour at minatur wonderland. But if anyone has an suggestions, I would be grateful.

Someone already answered your question pretty well, but in case Minaturwunderland says no, there are lockers at Altona train station, and at the main train station (Hauptbahnhof).

You could take a taxi to Altona train station and leave your bags there, then take public transport to Miniaturwunderland. But you have to backtrack afterward to pick up your bags again if you are headed to the airport. It would be better to leave your bags in Hauptbahnhof, because you are more than already halfway to the airport at that point.

A day ticket for one person for the trains/buses costs only around 6 Euro. If you have a group of 5 or more it's even cheaper. The ride from the cruise terminal to the train is a bit of a hike, I'd take a taxi for that. But from then on, I'd use a day pass for the train.