We just returned from the Northern Europe cruise. It was our 6th Disney cruise and our favorite itinerary so far (even exceeding Alaska). Although we love beaches as much as the next person, we also love traveling to places where we can learn things. We knew very little about this part of the world before the trip, but we learned so much about the history and culture of the region while we were there. It was great to be able to take an educational (for adults as well as kids) trip while still enjoying the tried-and-true Disney service and entertainment on the ship -- not to mention knowing that there was food on the ship that our picky kids would actually eat.
We spent 3 nights in Copenhagen before the cruise and were very glad that we did so. First, by the time we boarded the ship, we were no longer feeling jet-lagged. Second, we loved Copenhagen and could have even spent more time there, if we had it. Finally, British Airways lost 2 of our 4 checked bags, so the extra days gave us some much-needed cushion for the bags to reach us before we boarded. We arrived Sunday afternoon and didn't get our bags until 8:30 pm on Tuesday night -- the ship left Wednesday. There were a number of people on the cruise who had the same problem, and Copenhagen airport appears to be somewhat notorious for misplacing bags. We were fortunate that we had packed 2 days of clothes in our carry-ons, but it still made for a pretty tense start to the trip.
In Copenhagen, we stayed at the Charlottehaven, which is an apartment hotel. It is difficult to find a standard hotel room in Europe that will sleep a family of 4. I originally booked a “Family Room” at another hotel that was supposed to sleep 4, but then I realized it only had one queen bed and a twin-sized sleeper sofa. My daughters (ages 11 and 9) are both over 5 feet tall, so this kind of arrangement just wouldn’t have worked for us. For about $30-40 more/day, we were able to have a 2-bedroom apartment at the Charlottehaven. We had a kitchenette with table and chairs, plus a covered balcony with table and chairs. It was very comfortable and gave us room to spread out. It even had a washer/dryer in the bathroom, though we didn’t use it. The only downside was that it was not in the city center, but it was only about 2 blocks from Nordhavn train station, which had very frequent trains straight to the city center – less than 10 minutes. We loved being in this neighborhood and even had very good, reasonably-priced take-out pizza from the (crowded with locals) pizza place nearby and took it back to eat in our kitchen/dining room. We cannot recommend this place highly enough for families of 4 or more spending more than 1 night in Copenhagen. I booked it last August, and I have heard that it books up well in advance.
We were traveling with some friends and their son, so we found it was more cost-effective to book private tours for the 7 of us than to pay a per person charge on a Disney tour. In Tallinn, we arranged a private walking tour with Estonian Experience. We were very happy with them. Our wonderful guide, Susannah, met us at the port and led us on a 3-hour walking tour of the old town. At the end of that, she directed the two men in our group to the KGB Museum where EE had already signed them up for the English tour. (They are both history buffs and to say they loved this tour is an understatement.) Then our guide took the rest of us to a local candy shop where had a private marzipan molding & painting class. This was very fun – my daughters said this was their favorite excursion of the trip. They didn't offer the class on their website but when I asked about it, they added the class. The owner even met up with us at the marzipan workshop to ensure that we were happy with everything. We had excellent customer service from beginning to end, and I highly recommend them.
For St. Petersburg, we did the 1-day deluxe private tour with SPB Tours. All of my pre-trip communications with them were very professional and positive. Our veteran guide, Svetlana, met us at about 9 am right after we exited the terminal. She was outstanding, as was our driver. She was incredibly knowledgeable and worked hard to keep us on-track on our ambitious schedule and ahead of other tour groups. We had a city tour, brief tour of the highlights of the Hermitage, took a hydrofoil to Peterhof, toured the fountain park and upper gardens, had lunch in a local cafe (included in the tour price - even including a shot of vodka for the adults), toured Catherine's Palace, and then finished with a visit inside the Church of the Spilled Blood. They dropped us back off at the ship around 7:30. It was a long, pretty grueling day - especially for the kids - but each of those sights was absolutely amazing. All of the adults decided that there wasn't a single sight that we would have omitted from our itinerary to shorten the day. I had not been that excited about St. Petersburg before the trip, but it really blew me away.
After the marathon of St. Petersburg, we were thrilled to have a leisurely morning the next day, since the ship didn't arrive in Helsinki until close to noon. Although we had researched the port, we didn't find any must-see sights, so we just took the ship's shuttle into town and walked around Market Square and Senate Square for a little while. It was a beautiful day and a very pleasant city, but we didn't really find much to do. My husband took the kids back to the ship to swim and do the Aqua Dunk. I did a little shopping at some of the cool boutiques on the Esplanade and then returned to the ship.
In Stockholm, we took the ship's shuttle into town and then walked to the Vasa museum. It was a long walk, but the weather was beautiful, and it was a great city for strolling. We loved the Vasa. We all agreed that we wished we had had significantly more time in Stockholm.
After the cruise disembarked, we spent one more night in Copenhagen. For that night, we stayed at the Hilton that was attached to the airport terminal. We had very early flights, and this was a lifesaver. It was a very comfortable hotel, and the family room there did sleep 4 easily. The airport has quick and easy train service into the city center, so we took that to/from town after dropping off our bags at the hotel post-cruise. I would recommend the Hilton for a one-night stay in similar circumstances.
All in all, this was a fantastic trip.
We spent 3 nights in Copenhagen before the cruise and were very glad that we did so. First, by the time we boarded the ship, we were no longer feeling jet-lagged. Second, we loved Copenhagen and could have even spent more time there, if we had it. Finally, British Airways lost 2 of our 4 checked bags, so the extra days gave us some much-needed cushion for the bags to reach us before we boarded. We arrived Sunday afternoon and didn't get our bags until 8:30 pm on Tuesday night -- the ship left Wednesday. There were a number of people on the cruise who had the same problem, and Copenhagen airport appears to be somewhat notorious for misplacing bags. We were fortunate that we had packed 2 days of clothes in our carry-ons, but it still made for a pretty tense start to the trip.
In Copenhagen, we stayed at the Charlottehaven, which is an apartment hotel. It is difficult to find a standard hotel room in Europe that will sleep a family of 4. I originally booked a “Family Room” at another hotel that was supposed to sleep 4, but then I realized it only had one queen bed and a twin-sized sleeper sofa. My daughters (ages 11 and 9) are both over 5 feet tall, so this kind of arrangement just wouldn’t have worked for us. For about $30-40 more/day, we were able to have a 2-bedroom apartment at the Charlottehaven. We had a kitchenette with table and chairs, plus a covered balcony with table and chairs. It was very comfortable and gave us room to spread out. It even had a washer/dryer in the bathroom, though we didn’t use it. The only downside was that it was not in the city center, but it was only about 2 blocks from Nordhavn train station, which had very frequent trains straight to the city center – less than 10 minutes. We loved being in this neighborhood and even had very good, reasonably-priced take-out pizza from the (crowded with locals) pizza place nearby and took it back to eat in our kitchen/dining room. We cannot recommend this place highly enough for families of 4 or more spending more than 1 night in Copenhagen. I booked it last August, and I have heard that it books up well in advance.
We were traveling with some friends and their son, so we found it was more cost-effective to book private tours for the 7 of us than to pay a per person charge on a Disney tour. In Tallinn, we arranged a private walking tour with Estonian Experience. We were very happy with them. Our wonderful guide, Susannah, met us at the port and led us on a 3-hour walking tour of the old town. At the end of that, she directed the two men in our group to the KGB Museum where EE had already signed them up for the English tour. (They are both history buffs and to say they loved this tour is an understatement.) Then our guide took the rest of us to a local candy shop where had a private marzipan molding & painting class. This was very fun – my daughters said this was their favorite excursion of the trip. They didn't offer the class on their website but when I asked about it, they added the class. The owner even met up with us at the marzipan workshop to ensure that we were happy with everything. We had excellent customer service from beginning to end, and I highly recommend them.
For St. Petersburg, we did the 1-day deluxe private tour with SPB Tours. All of my pre-trip communications with them were very professional and positive. Our veteran guide, Svetlana, met us at about 9 am right after we exited the terminal. She was outstanding, as was our driver. She was incredibly knowledgeable and worked hard to keep us on-track on our ambitious schedule and ahead of other tour groups. We had a city tour, brief tour of the highlights of the Hermitage, took a hydrofoil to Peterhof, toured the fountain park and upper gardens, had lunch in a local cafe (included in the tour price - even including a shot of vodka for the adults), toured Catherine's Palace, and then finished with a visit inside the Church of the Spilled Blood. They dropped us back off at the ship around 7:30. It was a long, pretty grueling day - especially for the kids - but each of those sights was absolutely amazing. All of the adults decided that there wasn't a single sight that we would have omitted from our itinerary to shorten the day. I had not been that excited about St. Petersburg before the trip, but it really blew me away.
After the marathon of St. Petersburg, we were thrilled to have a leisurely morning the next day, since the ship didn't arrive in Helsinki until close to noon. Although we had researched the port, we didn't find any must-see sights, so we just took the ship's shuttle into town and walked around Market Square and Senate Square for a little while. It was a beautiful day and a very pleasant city, but we didn't really find much to do. My husband took the kids back to the ship to swim and do the Aqua Dunk. I did a little shopping at some of the cool boutiques on the Esplanade and then returned to the ship.
In Stockholm, we took the ship's shuttle into town and then walked to the Vasa museum. It was a long walk, but the weather was beautiful, and it was a great city for strolling. We loved the Vasa. We all agreed that we wished we had had significantly more time in Stockholm.
After the cruise disembarked, we spent one more night in Copenhagen. For that night, we stayed at the Hilton that was attached to the airport terminal. We had very early flights, and this was a lifesaver. It was a very comfortable hotel, and the family room there did sleep 4 easily. The airport has quick and easy train service into the city center, so we took that to/from town after dropping off our bags at the hotel post-cruise. I would recommend the Hilton for a one-night stay in similar circumstances.
All in all, this was a fantastic trip.
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