Wonderful Copenhagen—By Ship
Two cruise ships at Frihaven with terminal in background
Copenhagen is the leading turnaround port in Northern Europe for Scandinavian and Baltic cruises as well as to the British Isles and the North Atlantic islands. An estimated 310 ships are visiting the port in 2008 of which more than half are turnarounds (ships using the port for embarking and disembarking passengers).
Since Copenhagen is a major destination, Holland America’s newest ship the ms Eurodam began her maiden season of Northern Europe cruises from the city as did Aida Cruises new AIDABella and Carnival’s newest fun ship Carnival Splendor. Princess Cruises also increased its capacity with Crown Princess homeporting from Copenhagen this summer.
The region is also seeing an increase of younger cruisers and families as well as more passengers from Southern Europe—both MSC Cruises and Pullmantour cruises increased their capacity from Copenhagen this year. “We have seen an even higher interest from the cruise lines this year and several new operators are sailing in the area,” said Per Schmidt, chairman of Cruise Copenhagen Network (CPN) recently. “For instance Ibero Cruceros has deployed its ship Grand Voyager here and the luxury line Azamara Cruises as well with the Azamara Journey. The fact that cruise operators are increasing their capacity and more of them choosing Copenhagen as their homeport in northern Europe shows that the long-term strategy of CPN to improve facilities and attract cruise ships and tourists has been successful.”
Copenhagen makes a convenient base for cruises to the Baltic countries and their capitals, including Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, and St. Petersburg. It is also an excellent departure point for cruises along Norway's west coast to the North Cape and the midnight sun. Recently, Copenhagen has become a preferred embarkation point for cruises to the British and North Atlantic Isles.
Copenhagen’s main cruise port (www.cmport.com ) is at Frihavnen (Freeport) with Orientkaj, Sundkaj, Fortkaj and Levantkaj used for turnarounds. The recently refurbished cruise terminal, which can now handle two large cruise ships simultaneously, includes restrooms, a waiting lounge with Internet access and a kiosk for purchasing sandwiches. 
Frihavnen Cruise Terminal Photo by PW Mooney
In addition there are two other quays elsewhere in the harbor that can accommodate vessels on port calls: Langelinie where there is a tourist information center, and the smaller Ndr. Toldbod, both a stone’s throw from the Little Mermaid statue. Cruise ship traffic can get heavy at times at the port when as many as nine vessels are handled, successfully, in one day.
Cruise lines based in the US have deployed ships during the summer season to
Carnival Splendor berthed at Langelinie Photo courtesy of CMP
this area, including Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Carnival, Crystal, Silversea, MSC Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. “Nearly 50 percent of our cruise passengers are from North America,” said Cruise Marketing Director Anette Jensen during my tour of the cruise facilities.
Cruise lines choose Copenhagen for its safe and highly efficient facilities. In addition, there is an excellent international airport close by (25 minutes) for arriving or departing cruise passengers. SAS Scandinavian Airlines has its center of operations at the Copenhagen International Airport and one can expect excellent service from the airline, no matter what category of seating on the plane. SAS Scandinavian Airlines’s Star Alliance partners and many other air carriers also provide daily non-stop and direct service to Copenhagen from gateway cities throughout the world.
This year, the airport will again use the Vilhelm Lauritzen Terminal to accommodate large numbers of passengers on their way home from cruise-ship holidays. The idea is to avoid queues and to enable a smooth departure. As an experiment, SAS is processing check-ins and baggage handling on board selected ships. If the trial is a success, then the new service is expected to be greatly appreciated by passengers. "It's absolutely fabulous that the airport and SAS are helping to develop the cruise-ship product," says Schmidt.
Of course, the city itself is a visitor-friendly city for cruisers who, on the average, will spend two nights pre- or post-cruise. From the cruise terminal, it’s a five minute taxi ride –or by public bus slightly longer—to city center. It’s a city where one can walk to the important sites or the many boutiques and department stores on Strøget, the city’s main thoroughfare in city center, or bike as the Danes do since hotels often provide free use of bikes for their guests.
It’s also a city where a guided tour can be by boat as most of the important sites can be seen from the harbor. And if your ship is docked near the Langelinie quay, an old longish building across from the pier has been converted to house a number of small shops and a tourist information center. Many of the stores offer great bargains. “This is where the Danes come to shop,” Jensen pointed out.
The cruise season begins in April and now runs until December. This year more than half a million passengers will be leaving or arriving on cruise ships. That is quite an impressive number for a Northern Europe port.
While the number of passengers from southern Europe and Germany is growing, officials at the port are hoping it can entice Scandinavians to enjoy cruises as well. Next year, Royal Caribbean is deploying two ships on the Copenhagen–Oslo–Bergen route. The Swedish public are also being tempted with cruises to St Petersburg on board Jewel of the Seas. "I think the Danish and Swedish public will find it a fascinating experience, and will enjoy the shows, casinos, swimming pools, wellness centers, top restaurants and everything else that you find on board. And the prices for cruises are now at a level that's affordable for a lot more people," says Schmidt, who is looking forward to a bigger proportion of Scandinavian cruise-ship passengers.
That’s precisely why Americans are flocking to European cruises as they present a locked-in price value as one way to beat the high price of taking a land vacation on the Continent.
Given Copenhagen’s ease of travel, an estimated 150,000 travel agents worldwide consistently have rated Copenhagen highly, naming the city Europe’s leading cruise destination from 2004 to 2007.
-- P W Mooney
Cruise websites:
www.cruisebaltic.com
www.cruisecopenhagen.com
www.cmport.com
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More information on Scandinavia at:
Stockholm
Port of Stockholm
Oslo
Copenhagen
