Considering 2016 12 night Norway/Iceland but need travel advice

[Snyders22000]

We are thinking of taking our family of five (kids will be 7,6,3) on the 12 night Magic Norway/Iceland cruise summer of 2016. We currently have 2 connecting rooms booked on the July 13th sailing. This has always been a dream of mine and I am beyond excited at the possibility. However, I have to admit I'm clueless and a little intimidated by some of the planning aspects, especially international flights and hotels/transfers. We've not flown internationally for 10 yrs (and never flown with kids period). A lot has changed since we last flew. I thought I'd check with some of the seasoned travelers on this board for some basic advice. I decided to post here instead of the cruise meet because some people from past international sailings might be able to contribute some advice too.

1. It seems like most airlines make you pay extra to choose seats together? Unless you are flying a premium economy class? When I was little they would automatically seat family's with small children together. Is this not the case anymore. Are some airlines better for this than others? With little kids, sitting with at least one parent will be a necessity.

2. I've noticed that a lot of international airlines have flights out of Atlanta to London for significantly cheaper than our Nashville location (Atlanta is only 3.5 hrs drive). But a lot of these airlines I'm unfamiliar with (Turkish airlines, Aer Lingus, etc). Are these usually ok to fly vs more familiar British Airways/Virgin Atlantic, etc.

3. Our cruise would leave from Copenhagen but end in Dover. Are we better off flying roundtrip to/from London (catching train from London to Copenhagen at beginning of trip) or do I try to make an open jaw flight for more $$ (arriving Copenhagen pre cruise, leaving from London post cruise). We would be arriving a few days early and a few staying a few days post cruise. Just wondering how much of a pain to get from London to Copenhagen with 3 kids.

4. It seems that hotels and transfers (pre and post cruise) may be complicated with 5 in our party. From my research it seems like we are limited to getting to 2 hotel rooms to fit us all? Or am I missing some places that might fit 5?

5. Any other above or things I should be considering here in the planning stages? I should mention that this would be our 3rd disney cruise (but first international)

Thank you in advance for any advice!

 

[NancyIL]

I have cruised out of Copenhagen and returned to Stockholm, in addition to two Transatlantic cruises that ended in Copenhagen. Copenhagen is a wonderful city, so I hope you can spend a few days there before your cruise, as well as in London after the cruise ends. You could fly roundtrip to London (or elsewhere in Europe), and book an additional flight to Copenhagen. As wonderful as trains are in Europe - train travel from London to Copenhagen would probably require at least several changes and a long day or more. In addition to roundtrip London + one-way to Copenhagen - check multi-city routings into Copenhagen and home from London. Also check airfares with DCL.

Aer Lingus is the national airline of Ireland. Check Iceland Air - as they have some pretty decent fares between the US and Europe - with a layover in Reykjavik. You could even spend a few days THERE before continuing to Copenhagen!

Hotels in Europe do tend to have smaller rooms. However, there are hotels that have family rooms, especially for children as young as yours. I know that Hotel Bethel in Copenhagen (http://www.hotel-bethel.dk/index.php/en/) has family rooms that can accommodate 4 adults. You would need to email them to see about 2 adults and 3 children. It's a simple hotel in a wonderful location, and is highly recommended on Trip Advisor. I stayed there for 2 nights in 2014. Note - it doesn't have AC.

 

[Pens Fan]

Open jawed flights are not necessarily more expensive than a round trip flight. We did this cruise this past summer and it was no more expensive (on Delta) to fly from Pittsburgh to Copenhagen and then London to Pittsburgh than it would have been to fly round trip to London. An additional flight from London to Copenhagen would have made the round trip London flight option even more expensive - and a whole lot more hassle! You definitely want to allow at least a couple of days in Copenhagen. It's a beautiful city with so much to see. Though I do have to second NancylL's suggestion about Iceland Air. We fell in love with Iceland and having a day or so stopover in Reykjavik would be a wonderful start to your vacation!!

As for hotels, we were only a party of three and our son is 17, so we just went with two small double rooms. There are options out there, though. I know that several families on our cruise stayed at the Admiral Hotel. I'm pretty sure they have family rooms, but I don't know how many they can accommodate. The location is pretty sweet - right in Nyhavn. I remember someone on another thread mention the Adina Hotel. I'm pretty sure they had larger rooms as well. We stayed at the Scandic Palace and loved it, but the rooms would probably be a little small to accommodate your family. DCL used the Tivoli Hotel (contrary to popular belief this is really not that close to Tivoli) and Radisson Blu, I believe, on our cruise though we opted to go our own way. I think you will find your options for larger rooms (and better pricing) more plentiful the further you get from the city center. Just make sure you are near a train station or a HOHO bus stop and you should be fine, though honestly staying within walking distance of things is pretty wonderful.

A lot of the taxis in Copenhagen are station wagons, so they can hold a lot of people and luggage. Five might be tight, but you could always take two. Taxis were plentiful and waiting at the airport. Our front desk called for one on the morning the cruise departed at it was there in about two minutes - tops!

But most of all - have a great time - you will love this itinerary! We booked private tours at most ports and it was just an incredible vacation.

 

[NancyIL]

Open jawed flights are not necessarily more expensive than a round trip flight. We did this cruise this past summer and it was no more expensive (on Delta) to fly from Pittsburgh to Copenhagen and then London to Pittsburgh than it would have been to fly round trip to London. An additional flight from London to Copenhagen would have made the round trip London flight option even more expensive - and a whole lot more hassle! You definitely want to allow at least a couple of days in Copenhagen. It's a beautiful city with so much to see. Though I do have to second NancylL's suggestion about Iceland Air. We fell in love with Iceland and having a day or so stopover in Reykjavik would be a wonderful start to your vacation!!

As for hotels, we were only a party of three and our son is 17, so we just went with two small double rooms. There are options out there, though. I know that several families on our cruise stayed at the Admiral Hotel. I'm pretty sure they have family rooms, but I don't know how many they can accommodate. The location is pretty sweet - right in Nyhavn. I remember someone on another thread mention the Adina Hotel. I'm pretty sure they had larger rooms as well. We stayed at the Scandic Palace and loved it, but the rooms would probably be a little small to accommodate your family. DCL used the Tivoli Hotel (contrary to popular belief this is really not that close to Tivoli) and Radisson Blu, I believe, on our cruise though we opted to go our own way. I think you will find your options for larger rooms (and better pricing) more plentiful the further you get from the city center. Just make sure you are near a train station or a HOHO bus stop and you should be fine, though honestly staying within walking distance of things is pretty wonderful.

A lot of the taxis in Copenhagen are station wagons, so they can hold a lot of people and luggage. Five might be tight, but you could always take two. Taxis were plentiful and waiting at the airport. Our front desk called for one on the morning the cruise departed at it was there in about two minutes - tops!

But most of all - have a great time - you will love this itinerary! We booked private tours at most ports and it was just an incredible vacation.

I mentioned the London to Copenhagen flight as an alternative to taking the train(s), and it's probably cheaper, too. There are some pretty inexpensive airlines for flights within Europe. I have flown on SAS (Stockholm to Dublin and Copenhagen to Paris) for under $100 pp. However, I agree that flying open jaw to Copenhagen/from London would be most convenient. I have always used frequent-flyer miles for my flights to and from Europe, so I haven't had to put out the big bucks...yet!

P.S. I wasn't thinking about the fact that this cruise spends a couple of days in Reykjavik, so a stopover there on Iceland Air is probably unnecessary.

 

[Sir William]

We are thinking of taking our family of five (kids will be 7,6,3) on the 12 night Magic Norway/Iceland cruise summer of 2016. We currently have 2 connecting rooms booked on the July 13th sailing. This has always been a dream of mine and I am beyond excited at the possibility. However, I have to admit I'm clueless and a little intimidated by some of the planning aspects, especially international flights and hotels/transfers. We've not flown internationally for 10 yrs (and never flown with kids period). A lot has changed since we last flew. I thought I'd check with some of the seasoned travelers on this board for some basic advice. I decided to post here instead of the cruise meet because some people from past international sailings might be able to contribute some advice too.

1. It seems like most airlines make you pay extra to choose seats together? Unless you are flying a premium economy class? When I was little they would automatically seat family's with small children together. Is this not the case anymore. Are some airlines better for this than others? With little kids, sitting with at least one parent will be a necessity.

4. It seems that hotels and transfers (pre and post cruise) may be complicated with 5 in our party. From my research it seems like we are limited to getting to 2 hotel rooms to fit us all? Or am I missing some places that might fit 5?

Thank you in advance for any advice!

Some airlines, but certainly not all, may not allow you to choose your seats in advance, but I've flown United, Delta, Lufthansa, Aer Lingus, British Airways, and a few others to/from Europe and never had a problem selecting my seat in advance when booking (except on those flights that were partner flights to the airline I was booking through).

Second, airlines will try to sit young children with at least one parent, unless you're booking very late and there are limited seats available. When you book your flights you have to provide everyone's age (or birthdate) and they will know that you are traveling with young children. Also, the further out you book, the more likely you are to get seats together.

When you book your pre and post cruise hotel, look for and ask for a family room, as these will typically sleep 4-5 (sometimes they have to use a rollaway for one person). Most European hotels will only have 1 or 2 family rooms, so these can fill up quickly. Again, the further out you can book your hotels, the better selection you'll have.

 

[cedricandsophie]

I would not attempt to get from London to copenhagen with three kids the age of yours on the train. We did the norway cruise in June and flew direct to Copenhagen from chicsgo for about 1100 each and we came back from Copenhagen because That cruise started and stopped there. That was a good price based on what else I saw. That may not be possible from Atlanta. But I would suggest a short intra country flight then from London to Copenhagen. And then maybe a direct flight back from London. This is where a travel agent comes in handy...to do all the legwork for you and give you some options. Well worth a small fee for their time!

You might do some research first on Expedia to find flights that you like and then ask an agent to help you book or if you are comfortable, go right to the airline. I never book flights through Expedia. If something goes wrong I prefer to have the flexibility to deal directly with the airline. And I have found the same prices regardless of where I book.

When we left for,the ship from our hotel in Copenhagen we ordered a van to accommodate all seven of us. It probably cost $100 but I'm really not sure.

When you arrive in Dover I would suggest just taking the ship transfer back to London. London hotels don't have very big rooms unless you look at the more Americanized ones like holiday inn. I use Expedia for hotels all the time. it's a good way to find hotels in your price range, how many people they hold and most are easy to cancel if you find something better later on.

We have taken iceland air before and it was fine. But if you're going to iceland on the cruise, I'm not sure I would stop there on the way over too. I love iceland but I would suggest You put more time in Copenhagen. We stayed at the scandic hotel right across from the Tivoli gardens. Great place. We took 7 people with three rooms. Three in one and two each in the other rooms. Not sure if they could accommodate five people in one.

I can't comment on getting seats together. We usually fly United in Econmy plus without issues. But there could be a small fee. Again, a travel agent can navigate that for you.

 

[abayaflowers]

If you are going to be staying in Copenhagen for several days, I would recommend purchasing the Copenhagen card. For two adults and 1 child, I paid $120 USD to get us into 74 museums and attractions including the castles and Tivoli. It, also, includes free rides on all public transportation including the trains, buses, and water taxis.

http://www.copenhagencard.com/?ld=0&currency=eur

It, also, allowed you to jump into the front of the line. Sweden is literally a quick drive. Copenhagen is a very walkable town.

We enjoyed every minute of it, and getting to the port is very simple. I will ask my Swedish co-workers who has a family of 5 and vacations in Copenhagen. I will send you more information soon.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

We are thinking of taking our family of five (kids will be 7,6,3) on the 12 night Magic Norway/Iceland cruise summer of 2016. We currently have 2 connecting rooms booked on the July 13th sailing. This has always been a dream of mine and I am beyond excited at the possibility. However, I have to admit I'm clueless and a little intimidated by some of the planning aspects, especially international flights and hotels/transfers. We've not flown internationally for 10 yrs (and never flown with kids period). A lot has changed since we last flew. I thought I'd check with some of the seasoned travelers on this board for some basic advice. I decided to post here instead of the cruise meet because some people from past international sailings might be able to contribute some advice too.

1. It seems like most airlines make you pay extra to choose seats together? Unless you are flying a premium economy class? When I was little they would automatically seat family's with small children together. Is this not the case anymore. Are some airlines better for this than others? With little kids, sitting with at least one parent will be a necessity.

2. I've noticed that a lot of international airlines have flights out of Atlanta to London for significantly cheaper than our Nashville location (Atlanta is only 3.5 hrs drive). But a lot of these airlines I'm unfamiliar with (Turkish airlines, Aer Lingus, etc). Are these usually ok to fly vs more familiar British Airways/Virgin Atlantic, etc.

3. Our cruise would leave from Copenhagen but end in Dover. Are we better off flying roundtrip to/from London (catching train from London to Copenhagen at beginning of trip) or do I try to make an open jaw flight for more $$ (arriving Copenhagen pre cruise, leaving from London post cruise). We would be arriving a few days early and a few staying a few days post cruise. Just wondering how much of a pain to get from London to Copenhagen with 3 kids.

4. It seems that hotels and transfers (pre and post cruise) may be complicated with 5 in our party. From my research it seems like we are limited to getting to 2 hotel rooms to fit us all? Or am I missing some places that might fit 5?

5. Any other above or things I should be considering here in the planning stages? I should mention that this would be our 3rd disney cruise (but first international)

Thank you in advance for any advice!

First - best cruise ever! We were on the 6/29/15 sailing this year and it was simply amazing. We added Copenhagen before the cruise (and Malmo, Sweden) then London and Paris after the cruise but I realize with younger kids that might be a little more challenging. You've received excellent advise already so I'll throw in my experiences since we did this cruise this summer.

We flew Iceland Air and were very pleased with them. I also bought two one way tickets since it did not cost more to do it that way (actually saved me $$ - I'll explain in a minute) and the dates were released is batches and I wanted to lock in the price and times as we watched them go up after releasing. There were several in our cruise group that used Iceland Air as well, from different parts of the country. I was able to choose seats on the day I booked and for kids 12 and under (I think it's 12 as my DS is 11) they get a free hot meal and cute little kids box on the flights. If it's a shorter flight, they give them a snack. Even at 11 my DS thought was cool and each time, they brought they kids their boxes well ahead of the adults getting anything. I booked two one ways because I noticed when I did a roundtrip, it was charging me for luggage coming home as well as going to Europe. Iceland Air allows free checked luggage even in Economy however our RDU to Toronto was on Air Canada and unfortunately they were charging $100 per extra suitcase. Sadly I couldn't get around that but by doing two one ways, it was FREE coming home since we were starting on Iceland Air metal and only paid the $100 going to Europe. So by doing the two one ways for this, saved me a $100.

We also flew to Copenhagen with Iceland Air and then going home we flew Iceland Air home from London Heathrow - again, no issues. I would encourage you to fly direct to your location if you can as I think it's simply easier and several airlines have great options and I've understood London can be expensive due to the taxes they charge.

I can't suggest enough to add time for Copenhagen prior to the cruise. It was seriously a top 2 highlight of the entire vacation for us. It also allowed us to get over the jet lag and adjust to European time which was my plan all along. We got there Friday around 1pm and the cruise left Monday. We walked *everywhere* and as mentioned, it's very walkable. I'm sure younger kids might tire but we saw so much that way and did pretty much everything we wanted to. Taking the train to Malmo was about 20 minutes and we spent the morning there, ate lunch, then headed back over to Copenhagen. We used taxi's from the airport to our hotel, then hotel to port and had no issues at all.

In London, I initially had us booked using the DCL transfers from Dover to one of two London hotels but it was best for us to use private transportation. It was $60 p/p one way for the DCL transfers and since we weren't staying at one the hotels DCL used (way too expensive for our needs) we ended up booking with Premier Taxi's near Dover, in Folkestone who came highly recommended. The driver picked us up after we disembarked and took us to our hotel in London near St. Panrcas for around $200 total and that was well worth it. The trains are very efficient and I'm used to taking them, but sometimes it's easier to take a private car and splurge a bit.

We stayed at the Premier Inn and the room was very nice and hotel was awesome. They were also extremely reasonable (cheap by London standards I'd say) and our hotel was ranked #11 out of all hotels in London on Trip Advisor. I'm not sure if they allow 5 but check them out.

If you are serious about the cruise, I'd highly suggest looking at private excursions when you can. I don't know if your cruise includes Kirkwall, Scotland but if it does, the private excursions sold out very early as it's a small island and they aren't used to it. They had some great tours offered so again, book this one early if you can. This was the only place we used DCL for an excursion and it was simply due to the others being all booked and trust me, we checked early. We still had an awesome time there and no regrets.

Heather

 

[DISGRL13]

We are booked on that same cruise. I have been looking at airlines for awhile. Use the "multicity" option on the airlines websites when looking. This allows you to fly into one city (Copenhagen) and leave from another city (London). In all my research Iceland Air was the cheapest but in the end we went with Luftansa because we arrived earlier in Copenhagen and had a direct flight home from London to Washington DC. Yes many of the airlines now charge you for picking out seats.

We are staying in the Hotel Bethel in Copenhagen. We have 3 in our family (16 year old son) and finding a hotel to fit all 3 of is a little harder. In London we are staying at the Premier Inn at County Hall and they were able to put the 3 of us in one room. You will probably need two rooms and I think either of these hotels would work for you based on my research.

Good luck! It looks like it will be an amazing cruise!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Join the cruise meets for this cruise many have booked and have the same questions, and some live in the UK like myself who can give you local knowledge. There are airlines that let you book open jaw flights - out to Copenhagen and return from one of the London airports.

 

[fitnessmouse]

Dpn't mean to hijack the thread, @IBelieveInTheMagic could you tell more about the train to Malmö? Do you have to buy tickets in advance or can you buy at the station?

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Dpn't mean to hijack the thread, @IBelieveInTheMagic could you tell more about the train to Malmö? Do you have to buy tickets in advance or can you buy at the station?

Hi - no problem

No, you don't have to buy ahead of time and we did not. We bought them at the Copenhagen train station and did one way tickets with the machines there at the train station. Leaving Malmo, same thing - one way back to Copenhagen. The machines were easy to use and you just selected where you were traveling to and how many in your party. If I remember correctly, the trains left at least twice per hour. No issues at all.

Enjoy,
Heather

 

[Momof2inCT]

We are thinking of taking our family of five (kids will be 7,6,3) on the 12 night Magic Norway/Iceland cruise summer of 2016. We currently have 2 connecting rooms booked on the July 13th sailing. This has always been a dream of mine and I am beyond excited at the possibility. However, I have to admit I'm clueless and a little intimidated by some of the planning aspects, especially international flights and hotels/transfers. We've not flown internationally for 10 yrs (and never flown with kids period). A lot has changed since we last flew. I thought I'd check with some of the seasoned travelers on this board for some basic advice. I decided to post here instead of the cruise meet because some people from past international sailings might be able to contribute some advice too.

1. It seems like most airlines make you pay extra to choose seats together? Unless you are flying a premium economy class? When I was little they would automatically seat family's with small children together. Is this not the case anymore. Are some airlines better for this than others? With little kids, sitting with at least one parent will be a necessity.

2. I've noticed that a lot of international airlines have flights out of Atlanta to London for significantly cheaper than our Nashville location (Atlanta is only 3.5 hrs drive). But a lot of these airlines I'm unfamiliar with (Turkish airlines, Aer Lingus, etc). Are these usually ok to fly vs more familiar British Airways/Virgin Atlantic, etc.

3. Our cruise would leave from Copenhagen but end in Dover. Are we better off flying roundtrip to/from London (catching train from London to Copenhagen at beginning of trip) or do I try to make an open jaw flight for more $$ (arriving Copenhagen pre cruise, leaving from London post cruise). We would be arriving a few days early and a few staying a few days post cruise. Just wondering how much of a pain to get from London to Copenhagen with 3 kids.

4. It seems that hotels and transfers (pre and post cruise) may be complicated with 5 in our party. From my research it seems like we are limited to getting to 2 hotel rooms to fit us all? Or am I missing some places that might fit 5?

5. Any other above or things I should be considering here in the planning stages? I should mention that this would be our 3rd disney cruise (but first international)

Thank you in advance for any advice!

Did you guys decide to book? We are considering the same cruise (two months later...so there are pretty much zero staterooms left and we're going to cram into one on Deck 1). We have a 6 and 3 (will be 4 next summer) as well! Did you get any advice on port excursions, etc?