Pre-Cruise Princess Hotels in Copenhagen

[Squire5000]

We'll be doing a Baltic cruise next year out of Copenhagen. We'l be arriving a few days early so we may explore the city.

 

Princess offers the Radisson Royal Blu for the 2 of us for 2 nights at about $864 (ouch)! I can do better at other hotels. However, my question is do the services offered by Princess, e.g., transfers, baggage handling, booking thru them offset any savings, peace of mind, etc., I might achieve by booking a hotel myself as well as all transfers. The different in price is about $350.

 

Thanks

[CruiserBruce]

Cruise line transfers and hotels are almost always much more expensive that what you can do on your own. We almost always do our own hotels and transfers (including in Copenhagen last summer), and it would be easy for you to do it as well, if you are comfortable traveling in foreign lands. Copenhagen has a great public transit system that is easy to use.

 

Some research on the Northern Europe board will fill you in with hotel and transport options.

[Proud Grandparents]

We did the Baltic cruise with Princess two years ago. We stayed two nights at "Hotel TwentySeven" and couldn't be happier. GREAT LOCATION in that you could walk to everything. A great breakfast buffet included and the staff was outstanding. We took a cab from the airport to the hotel (they take credit cards so no worry about changing money) and a cab from the hotel to the ship. Frankly can't see paying that kind of money to Princess.

[nbc]

Here's a different perspective. We stayed at the Hotel Kong Arthur through Princess last year and paid for the transfers. Everything went very smoothly and we enjoyed the hotel and the ease of transfers. It is less expensive than the Radisson Blu and the Kong Arthur was in a great location. Their breakfast buffet, although not included and quite expensive in comparison to North American breakfast buffets, was quite enjoyable. Lots of interesting items...lots of fish...cheese, fruit...vegetables...baked goods...different for us as Canadians but really nice. We may be in the minority but we liked this hotel and the location was fantastic..we walked everywhere..Copenhagen is a great city.

[TW6cruiser]

We did the Princess Baltic cruise two years ago and loved it. We used Mariott hotel points and stayed one night on points at the Mariott near Tivoli gardens. We took a cab from the airport to the hotel, and then also a cab from the hotel to the ship. It was simple and I don't recall the cab fare but it was not super high. It was nice to be able to walk to Tivoli gardens and other parts of town. As much as I like taking ship excursions I have always priced doing pre-cruise hotel on our own and found that it is usually very doable and easy and cheaper to do that on your own (of course next year we are doing an Alaskan cruise-tour but that's a different thing altogether).

[Coveguy4]

We stayed at the Admiral Copenhagen hotel and loved it. Historical building,near the palace and opera house, short walk to the canal area. Highly reccomend you check them out on line before you commit to any other hotel.

[Alaskanb]

We used the Princess package for one night in Copenhagen --pricey but worth the convenience considering it included private cab from airport to the hotel, bus to the ship, a wonderful buffet breakfast with excellent coffee, and all porters, tips etc. The hotel is close by the Tivoli Gardens, several grocery stores, and HoHo buses should you need them. We used the public bus system to get around. Copenhagen is very expensive.

[Coral]

We stayed at the Admiral Copenhagen hotel and loved it. Historical building,near the palace and opera house, short walk to the canal area. Highly reccomend you check them out on line before you commit to any other hotel.

 

I stayed at this hotel in 1988 and absolutely loved it! We had a room with a loft and it was wonderful. Loved the location also - very convenient! Glad to hear it is still a favorite hotel :)

Edited September 16, 2014 by Coral

[cdnphotogirl]

We stayed at hotel bethel in the balcony room and it was only 250 a night. It is right on the Nyhavn with loads of great place to eat near by. We took a taxi from the airport and the price was not too bad. Having said that, I booked this hotel last Sept in order to get the balcony room...as there is only one.

[azbirdmom]

We did the Marriott on our own and took a cab from the airport, but had we looked into it, we would have taken a train from the airport to central station which is a short walk away. We took a taxi to the ship, and also from the ship back to the airport. Somehow the latter one is sticking in my mind as around $35 US for two of us.

[taxatty]

We really liked the Marriott as well, as stated a reasonable 10 minute or so walk (or short bus or taxi ride) from the central train station and Tivoli. We only took a taxi to get to the port and the train or bus everywhere else.

[long cruiser]

We stayed at the hilton at the airport.You can walk your luggage to the hotel.Prices are realistic and fair.We paid 250.00 for a room in2012.You can also by a process transfer package from the airport day of cruise.

long cruiser

[Alaskanb]

The Marriott is about the same distance from the station as is the Radisson Royal Blue. We stayed at the airport Hilton using points post cruise and used the Princess transfer to the airport to get there. We had requested an early check-in so were in a room by 10:00 am, dumped our luggage, and then used a Copenhagen Pass for a day of exploration.

[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

In July 2012, we did the 11-day Baltic cruise on the Emerald Princess. Prior to the cruise, we spent two nights at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel (booked the package through Princess). Even though this was more expensive, we liked the convenience and having the availability of a Princess representative to help us book local tours. This hotel is very nice and has an excellent location. Because I am a big architecture and design fan, I really enjoyed this hotel (the famous Swan and Egg chairs were designed for this hotel). Also, a wonderful breakfast buffet was included.

 

Due to the timing of our return flight, we spent one night after the cruise at the airport Hilton using points. This hotel was fine and is directly across from the airport (very easy waking distance).

 

Copenhagen is a wonderful city. :)

 

Chuck

[Squire5000]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond to my inquiry. It has been very helpful to us in planning our upcoming trip.

 

Have a great day.

[LeeW]

We had the Princess Radisson Blu a few years back and it was a good experience. Transfers worked well. Hotel location is great - across from bus terminal and Tivoli Gardens and adjacent to a TA where you can buy the Copenhagen Card. One block from the entrance to the big shopping street (Strosset). One thing about Blu - the public areas are beautiful but the rooms are kind of like living in an IKEA. All white halls and rooms, very small - barely enough room for the bed.

 

Only issue we had was the bus to the ship wasn't going to go until nearly 1:00, so we told the Princess agent we were going on our own and let them handle the bags. There is a train station about a block north of the hotel that runs up to near the terminal and since we still had time on the Copenhagen Card it worked for us. The terminal facilities are very small (as in a tent) but we got there early enough to get onboard quickly.

 

Bus to airport got us there five hours before flight. There is virtually no place to sit in the airport, so you buy a coke in a restaurant and nurse it ($8 each). They don't announce gates until around 45 minutes before flight and in our case did not let anyone actually sit at the gate. There was seating for around 10 people on the bridge but they checked people onto the plane from there, not the waiting area.

[arizonaperson]

We stayed quite a few years ago(2010) when we were on a Baltic Princess cruise pre-cruise at Best Western Hotel City and post-cruise at The Hilton connected to the airport.

Both times we took a cab.(from airport to hotel and from hotel to ship)

The Best Western Hotel City is in the Nyhavn area and we walked around once at the hotel.

Took a cab from the port/ship to The Hilton and once in the room to drop the bags we explored the city via the train right there at the airport/hotel. Next day we walked over to the terminal to catch our flight,easy.

Edited September 17, 2014 by arizonaperson

[Barbie075]

We also stayed at the Bethel on the canal. You don't have to have a balcony room. We had a corner room on the canal and the view was terrific. The area is full of great restaurants and is close to all of the sites. The Hop-on-hop-off bus comes right by the hotel. Breakfast was included -- it was a nice breakfast buffet with plenty to eat. Soft boiled eggs, meats, cheeses, pasteries, breads, etc. It is a historic building where seamen used to reside. We took the undergound train from the airport and it was a snap. Got off about two blocks for the hotel. Took a cab to the port. You will spend a lot less money staying in town where you can see things by foot. Transportation and baggage handling are just a lot more expensive through Princess and frankly not worth the money. The port is very close to town.

[cruis247g]

Hi Squire,

 

We usually book hotels and transfers independently, but it depends upon the city.

 

We were in Copenhagen this summer for a Baltic cruise and found the city to be extremely easy to traverse. Almost everyone speaks english, which helps those of us who don't speak Danish, and there was very clear signage. We stayed at the Best Western Hotel City and enjoyed it. It is located in Nyhavn and serves a hearty complimentary breakfast. The public transportation is excellent and the cabs seemed well regulated unlike some other cities:p.

 

In Copenhagen, I would recommend booking indepently and saving the money, but it is best to do whatever you are most comfortable with. Enjoy your cruise!

Edited September 17, 2014 by cruis247g

[tothemall&beyond]

We were just there in May post-cruise. We stayed on points one night at the Marriott next to Tivoli Gardens and a few blocks from Central Train Station. Decent location, but snooty service. We then stayed two nights on points at Airport Hilton. Awesome!!! Friendly, helpful staff; a great Executive Lounge and fantastic breakfast; really easy to get to from air terminal - literally part of the terminal; also very easy and fast to get into the city by metro which is also just steps away.

[sandyoftheseas]

We were on a Baltic cruise in August. We stayed at the Comfort Hotel Vesterbro for about $200USD. It was a comfortable place to stay I would give it 4 star. The free breakfast was good but crowded and they remove the food promptly at 10am when the breakfast closes. We ate there for dinner it was just OK. We could have found a better place to eat but, we were tired and did not want to go out again. We thought for the price it was a good value and close enough to town to walk. We got a taxi to the cruise port for about $26 USD and the taxi took credit cards.

[nisky]

We booked the Imperial Hotel independently last month ($235) and enjoyed it. It was about a 30 minute walk to Nyhavn and 40 minutes to Rosenborg Castle. It also included a very nice breakfast buffet was included.

 

Our large taxi from the airport for our group of four had room for four large suitcases and cost a total of 200 kr (~$40) for the four of us. No trouble getting a cab.

 

(sandyoftheseas: see my post about our Meet & Greet on the Princess board)

 

nisky