August 9-16, 2018: The Northern European Cruise is MAGIC! (Completed!)

[NYCMommy]

Loved reading your trip report! I read your Alaska report before we did our Alaskan cruise this summer around the same week and learned a lot. That was one of our favorite cruises. We just decided to start looking into a European cruise for 2020 and just found this report! We are a year behind you in each. I am looking forward to when itineraries come out since our dates are a narrow window. Thanks again for the report!

 

[Geomom]

Loved reading your trip report! I read your Alaska report before we did our Alaskan cruise this summer around the same week and learned a lot. That was one of our favorite cruises. We just decided to start looking into a European cruise for 2020 and just found this report! We are a year behind you in each. I am looking forward to when itineraries come out since our dates are a narrow window. Thanks again for the report!

Thanks for reading! I'm glad the reports have been helpful! I've found others' reports to be helpful before our trips, so I like paying it forward after our own! We're hoping the 2020 dates match up with our girls' breaks as well, DD18 would still love to do Norway or British Isles. DH and I still have no desire to do the Med, and he'd like more nature less cities this time.

 

[MsJiminyCricket]

August 9-16, 2018: The Northern European Cruise is MAGIC!

Welcome to our trip report!

On this journey were myself (Geomom), DH, DD18, and DD14. Our first cruise was the Disney Wonder to Alaska in August 2016 (trip report is in my signature). We booked a placeholder while on that cruise and were awaiting the opening dates for Summer 2018…of course they opened up while we were actually at Disney World! So, we booked Stateroom 2108 (cat 9C, oceanview room on deck 2, port, aft) on 2/24/17 through our Dreams Unlimited Travel Agent. Yes…almost 18 months of WAITING and driving DH crazy with all my planning! This would be the first time to Europe for all but DD18 (who did a school trip to Germany 4/17.) Months passed before I could book anything else…finally on 9/25/17 I booked airfare. We went with Delta—Boston to JFK (in New York) to Copenhagen. Main cabin was $617/person roundtrip—included 1 checked bag/person, meals, and seat selection! We were going to fly in 3 days before the cruise. With my dates now set in stone, I could book the hotel for our pre-cruise stay in Copenhagen. Well…anyone who has looked for rooms for 4 in Copenhagen knows that it is an expensive city and hard to find rooms for 4 at $200/nt. We finally decided upon Wakeup Copenhagen Carsten Niebuhrs Gade (right next door to the Tivoli Hotel that Disney uses.) I’d call it a ‘micro-hotel’, with very small rooms…but the ‘family’ room is 2 standard rooms with a connecting door…so we’d get 2 very small rooms. I added on the breakfast plan so that we could eat and then go explore each morning. I did the pre-pay option and our total came to $591 USD for the 3 nts. Yes, I got it for under $200/nt with breakfast. Score! The hotel also had air conditioning—which was fantastic with the hot summer they’ve been having in Europe this year! I then bought trip insurance while my oldest was still 17…kids under 18 are free—so we saved some money that way! We went with Travel Insured International, Worldwide Trip Protector. I set the coverage to $3500/person which would cover the excursion costs as well. We paid $320 for the 4 of us…since the kids were free. Next came the fun planning! I bought the Copenhagen Card on 2/5/18 and paid to have it shipped to us so we wouldn’t have to deal with that upon arrival. The Copenhagen card includes admission to 79 attractions and train/bus/metro transportation. We bought the 72 hr. card for $378 for the 4 of us. Then I bought the 24 hr Stockholm Pass for our port day there…and also paid to have it shipped to us. The Stockholm Pass includes HOHO buses/boats as well as 60+ other attractions. It cost $246 for the 4 of us. For both the Copenhagen Card and the Stockholm Pass, DD14 got the ‘child’ rate, so we paid for 3 adults and 1 child. Somewhere along the way our Delta flight home got moved from 3PM to 1:30PM, so we decided to book Disney ground transportation from the port to airport to make sure we got to the airport in a timely fashion. Disney transportation was $40/person each way in Copenhagen. We made our final cruise payment, requested a dining rotation (the kids wanted to be in Rapunzels 3x) and then booked Disney Port Adventures for the first 3 ports. We arranged for the neighbors to watch our pet rabbit, and for our friends to drive us to the airport. We got our Dreams Unlimited gift basket in the mail...the cruise is getting closer! And FINALLY the day arrived!
Trip Report Links:

• Sunday 8/5/18 and Monday 8/6/18: BOS to JFK to CPH, and Copenhagen Day 1: “To Infinity and Beyond!” Part 1, Part 2
• Tuesday 8/7/18: Copenhagen Day 2—"A Day of Royalty!” Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7
• Wednesday 8/8/18: Copenhagen Day 3—"How scary could that ride be?” Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
• Thursday 8/9/18: DCL Day 1: Copenhagen—"A Magical day!” Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8
• Friday 8/10/18: DCL Day 2: at sea—"I’m all a muddle.” Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Personal Navigator
• Saturday 8/11/18: DCL day 3: Tallinn, Estonia—“A Fairy Tale come true!” Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
• Sunday 8/12/18: DCL day 4: St Petersburg, Russia: “Use Your Elbows!” Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9
• Monday 8/13/18: DCL Day 5: Helsinki, Finland: “Reindeers are better than people!” Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
• Tuesday 8/14/18: DCL Day 6: Stockholm, Sweden: “Yo-Ho? Heigh-Ho? HO-HO!” Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7
• Wednesday 8/15/18: DCL Day 7: at sea: “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes!” Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
• Thursday 8/16/18: DCL Day 8: Copenhagen, Denmark: “I hate society.” Part 1, Part 2
• Final Northern European Cruise Notes

I really enjoyed your trip report. Can you clue me in to what kind of wardrobe you brought/needed? How were the temps? Could you swim in the pools comfortably?

Thanks!

 

[Geomom]

I really enjoyed your trip report. Can you clue me in to what kind of wardrobe you brought/needed? How were the temps? Could you swim in the pools comfortably?

Thanks!

Thanks for reading! Lol, well as far as the pools it depends on where you're from--it was definitely warmer than our Alaska cruise, so more comfortable than when we swam there! They do heat the pools if the air temp is below 75F. Europe was having a heat wave last summer, so it was warmer than expected for the 1st half of the cruise. Copenhagen was high 70's/low 80's and humid.

These are the temps listed on the personal navigators for our trip:
8/10/18 day at sea: 86F
8/11/18 Tallinn, Estonia: 72F
8/12/18 St. Petersburg, Russia: 67F
8/13/18 Helsinki, Finland: 68F (felt warmer than this, especially inland, maybe low 70's?)
8/14/18 Stockholm, Sweden: 66F (felt more like low 70's)
8/15/18 Day at Sea: 74F

Boarded the ship in shorts/matching t-shirts, wore jeans/tshirt on the day at sea, possibly shorts at times, kids wore leggings. Wore jeans/t-shirts for all the port days. Needed a rain coat for St. Petersburg. Had our formal/semi formal clothes as well. For the pool, we all pack swim cover ups, so it's not that bad going to/from the pool. I actually went in the adult pool/hot tub on the Russia day--around 5PM? We're from Massachusetts--so while our summers can be hot and humid, I can deal with the 60's without much problem...as long as the water is heated! If you're from a hot climate, you might find it cold.

 

[MsJiminyCricket]

Thanks for reading! Lol, well as far as the pools it depends on where you're from--it was definitely warmer than our Alaska cruise, so more comfortable than when we swam there! They do heat the pools if the air temp is below 75F. Europe was having a heat wave last summer, so it was warmer than expected for the 1st half of the cruise. Copenhagen was high 70's/low 80's and humid.

These are the temps listed on the personal navigators for our trip:
8/10/18 day at sea: 86F
8/11/18 Tallinn, Estonia: 72F
8/12/18 St. Petersburg, Russia: 67F
8/13/18 Helsinki, Finland: 68F (felt warmer than this, especially inland, maybe low 70's?)
8/14/18 Stockholm, Sweden: 66F (felt more like low 70's)
8/15/18 Day at Sea: 74F

Boarded the ship in shorts/matching t-shirts, wore jeans/tshirt on the day at sea, possibly shorts at times, kids wore leggings. Wore jeans/t-shirts for all the port days. Needed a rain coat for St. Petersburg. Had our formal/semi formal clothes as well. For the pool, we all pack swim cover ups, so it's not that bad going to/from the pool. I actually went in the adult pool/hot tub on the Russia day--around 5PM? We're from Massachusetts--so while our summers can be hot and humid, I can deal with the 60's without much problem...as long as the water is heated! If you're from a hot climate, you might find it cold.

This is great info! For some reason, I was expecting to hear it was in the 50s-60s every day and you had to bring a lot of long-sleeved tops, jacket, sweatshirt - etc. This is super helpful!

 

[NYCMommy]

Thanks for reading! I'm glad the reports have been helpful! I've found others' reports to be helpful before our trips, so I like paying it forward after our own! We're hoping the 2020 dates match up with our girls' breaks as well, DD18 would still love to do Norway or British Isles. DH and I still have no desire to do the Med, and he'd like more nature less cities this time.

We are hopefully booking the 8/5 Northern Europe cruise which is 8 nights (2 days in St. Petersburg). Can’t wait to confirm tomorrow when gold can book. Will be taking lots of notes from this report!

 

[Geomom]

We are hopefully booking the 8/5 Northern Europe cruise which is 8 nights (2 days in St. Petersburg). Can’t wait to confirm tomorrow when gold can book. Will be taking lots of notes from this report!

Good luck!

 

[NYCMommy]

Good luck!

We booked! I am SO excited, particularly for two days in St. Petersburg, never done an overnight port!

 

[bcwife76]

I read this when you first wrote it but I'm going to re-read it at some point and take copious notes because we booked this cruise for August 2020!

 

[Geomom]

We booked! I am SO excited, particularly for two days in St. Petersburg, never done an overnight port!

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Geomom]

I read this when you first wrote it but I'm going to re-read it at some point and take copious notes because we booked this cruise for August 2020!

Enjoy your cruise! I'm glad I can be of some help!

 

[GuardMusic]

Sunday 8/5/18 and Monday 8/6/18: BOS to JFK to CPH, and Copenhagen Day 1: “To Infinity and Beyond!” (Part 1)

Travel Day/Night was, thankfully, uneventful, and very smooth! Changing terminals at JFK was…interesting…Delta has the ‘Jitney Shuttle’…buses that drive you ON the tarmac between terminals…meaning you don’t have to go through security again! Yay! Since we connected much quicker than I expected, we still had close to 2 hrs at JFK before our flight. We had a light dinner, then DH took the kids to the candy shop…came back with 3 bags of candy mixes. Our flight to Copenhagen left at 9:30PM, landing at 11:45AM on 8/6/18. We were all really impressed with our first transatlantic flight. Delta gave everyone a pillow, blanket, earbuds, sleep mask/earplugs, a water bottle, hot towelette, drinks, dinner (3 choices of entrée, salad, cheese/crackers, bread, dessert), then a small breakfast/drinks in the morning. They had the seat back screens with movies/tv shows/music/games. While the service was great…none of us slept much on the overnight flight…no big surprise. Passport Control at CPH was pretty easy, then we got our bags (yay they all made it!), DH went to an ATM to get some DKK, then we went down to Level 1 to take the train to Copenhagen Central Station…using our Copenhagen cards for the first time. (It was the oddest thing…the train stations are pretty much honor system…they have a place you can scan a transit card…but it doesn’t work with the Copenhagen card—you would just show your card to someone if they asked…but they never did.) We got off at the second stop, made our way up to street level where I paused to figure out which way to get out. Then wearing a backpack each and pulling luggage, we walked the ½ mile (10-15 minutes) to our hotel dodging bicycles as construction had combined the pedestrian and bike lanes in places. DD18 was NOT happy with this walk (apparently, I had not forewarned her enough that this was my plan on how to get from the airport to the hotel). It was also warm in our long pants—high was 77F in Copenhagen that day.

View attachment 346838

We made it to Wakeup Copenhagen, checked in at 1PM and was overjoyed to hear, “Your room is ready.” Yes! Our room was on the 3rd floor, overlooking the garden area, away from the train tracks and construction! DH and I took the corner room with 2 windows, kids next door to us. I read reviews on Trip Advisor prior to booking—so it was exactly what I expected—but better as I wasn’t expecting to be able to checkin until 3PM, or get a corner room with a ‘good’ view! We showered and rested for a few hours, gave everyone a snack to prevent Hangry kids, then out to explore!

Our rooms (the connecting door is between the bathroom pod and the bed.):
View attachment 346840 View attachment 346841 View attachment 346842 View attachment 346839

Views out our windows on the 3rd floor:

View attachment 346843 View attachment 346844

Thank you for this thorough TR! I'm saving the link, as this is a DCL I hope to take one day. (This year is our first DCL in Europe, the Med, and I'm really betting it won't be our last!)

This hotel! Talk about micro!!!! All I could think is, "Your stateroom will be WAY bigger than this!"

 

[Geomom]

Thank you for this thorough TR! I'm saving the link, as this is a DCL I hope to take one day. (This year is our first DCL in Europe, the Med, and I'm really betting it won't be our last!)

This hotel! Talk about micro!!!! All I could think is, "Your stateroom will be WAY bigger than this!"

Thanks for reading! We loved this Baltic cruise! We were amazed how everything went as planned and kids were great together!

The micro hotel! I know! It was actually great to go from the shower at the hotel to a BIGGER shower on the ship! It worked out price-wise and was enough space due to the 'family' one being 2 rooms with a connecting door...no way would I get one of the '3' person rooms or share a hotel room with non-family.

 

[GuardMusic]

Wednesday 8/8/18: Copenhagen Day 3—"How scary could that ride be?” Part 2

Next, we walked to the Glyptotek art museum. Outside the museum we ate trail mix and granola bars to stave off the hangriness!
View attachment 347308
They had free lockers here to store our backpack, then we walked through the sculpture areas and the French Paintings. I had been looking forward to seeing the Rodin sculptures, especially the Thinker and The Kiss. The sculpture areas did not disappoint—I wish that all museums had sculptures this accessible…I also loved the blue paint color on the walls…the white plaster/marble sculptures look great in our pics.

Sculptures:
Rodin “The Kiss”
View attachment 347311

Rodin "The Thinker”
View attachment 347315

Today was a high of 85F and a bit humid. The air conditioning couldn’t keep up, so it was rather warm in the museum…I think we lasted about 1 ½ hrs before we got too hot…long enough to see what I came for!

I'm confused! We saw "The Kiss" & "The Thinker" at Musee Rodin in Paris. There are multiple?!

 

[Geomom]

I'm confused! We saw "The Kiss" & "The Thinker" at Musee Rodin in Paris. There are multiple?!

Yes, there are multiple casts/versions of the statues. I actually looked it up before we went on the trip as I was surprised to find them there!

 

[DCLObsessed]

Do you know what breed dog these are? Beautiful photos. I'm enjoying your report.

 

[Geomom]

Do you know what breed dog these are? Beautiful photos. I'm enjoying your report.

Those are wolf pups at Skansen.

Thanks for reading my trip report! Some photos are from DH's 'real' digital camera and some are from my phone. It was nice to have a mix of the 2. I was still learning the limitations of my phone camera (it doesn't do 'movement' or distance very well...but food photos came out great!)

 

[Geauxcycle]

Those are wolf pups at Skansen.

Thanks for reading my trip report! Some photos are from DH's 'real' digital camera and some are from my phone. It was nice to have a mix of the 2. I was still learning the limitations of my phone camera (it doesn't do 'movement' or distance very well...but food photos came out great!)

Thank you GeoMom for an amazing trip report. We are doing this same one on August 1, 2019. About how many people were on your SPG Disney excursion? I'm thinking about booking outside of Disney, but we will be in port on a Monday and they are the only ones that guarantee the Hermitage. We would like to visit it, but just don't want to feel like herded cattle.

Also, can you exchange your dollars for individual currency? Did you find this was the best way? Thank you so much in advance for your advice.

 

[Geomom]

Thank you GeoMom for an amazing trip report. We are doing this same one on August 1, 2019. About how many people were on your SPG Disney excursion? I'm thinking about booking outside of Disney, but we will be in port on a Monday and they are the only ones that guarantee the Hermitage. We would like to visit it, but just don't want to feel like herded cattle.

Also, can you exchange your dollars for individual currency? Did you find this was the best way? Thank you so much in advance for your advice.

The Hermitage is closed on Mondays...so I doubt that Disney will be going there despite what the port excursion says (or what anyone at DCL is currently saying), they will have to substitute something else. For the St. Petersburg excursions there were multiple groups doing the same excursion. 1 group/normal size tour bus, and each group had its own guide. Each person got a receiver/earbuds so you could hear the guide no matter where you were in the same room/outside. I didn't really notice the other groups after we left in our bus until lunchtime when everyone is sitting...but still every group was served separately. It is a tour in Russia, where you're supposed to always stay with your guide, so you will still feel like herded cattle...I think she did give us some free rein in Hermitage telling us where to meet, but the place was so large and crowded that we stayed with the guide, plus she was telling the history of the building, etc. We felt most comfortable doing a DCL excursion in Russia, and we did enjoy this one, other than the crazy crowds at Hermitage.

The only place we got local currency was in Copenhagen, using our no foreign transaction fee debit card at an ATM machine--and we really didn't need to, every place accepts credit cards. We used our no foreign transaction fee credit card (Capital One Quicksilver) for purchases in all the other countries, including Russia. I don't think there was time or a reputable place to get rubles while on the tour, and from what I've read, you're not supposed to leave the country with rubles, so you'd have to get rid of any that you had left.

Enjoy your cruise! It really is amazing!

 

[Geauxcycle]

The Hermitage is closed on Mondays...so I doubt that Disney will be going there despite what the port excursion says (or what anyone at DCL is currently saying), they will have to substitute something else. For the St. Petersburg excursions there were multiple groups doing the same excursion. 1 group/normal size tour bus, and each group had its own guide. Each person got a receiver/earbuds so you could hear the guide no matter where you were in the same room/outside. I didn't really notice the other groups after we left in our bus until lunchtime when everyone is sitting...but still every group was served separately. It is a tour in Russia, where you're supposed to always stay with your guide, so you will still feel like herded cattle...I think she did give us some free rein in Hermitage telling us where to meet, but the place was so large and crowded that we stayed with the guide, plus she was telling the history of the building, etc. We felt most comfortable doing a DCL excursion in Russia, and we did enjoy this one, other than the crazy crowds at Hermitage.

The only place we got local currency was in Copenhagen, using our no foreign transaction fee debit card at an ATM machine--and we really didn't need to, every place accepts credit cards. We used our no foreign transaction fee credit card (Capital One Quicksilver) for purchases in all the other countries, including Russia. I don't think there was time or a reputable place to get rubles while on the tour, and from what I've read, you're not supposed to leave the country with rubles, so you'd have to get rid of any that you had left.

Enjoy your cruise! It really is amazing!

I know this sounds naive, but I specifically called Disney shore excursions & asked about the Hermitage on a Monday & they said it was going to tour...have they "lied" about this in the past?? I would want to reconsider my choice if this is the case.