Crown Princess Copenhagen

Up next is a review of the Crown Princess. Having never sailed with Princess, I anticipated the cruise with great excitement. It wasn’t only the prospect of sailing with Princess that made the wait seem like an eternity, but it was also the itinerary that included both Greenland and Iceland, two places new to me. My husband hadn’t visited Copenhagen before and the plan was to fly in a day early. Although in the past, I have flown in the same day as the embarkation date, I just don’t like taking that chance, especially since I always made my cruise. I figure that my luck can’t hold out forever and one day, I will miss the ship.

Arriving in Copenhagen the previous day gave us a full day to explore this marvelous city and a day to try to conquer jet lag. Flying into Copenhagen especially intrigues me because of my interest in alternative energy. Don’t know how many people get excited about the prospect of sighting the many wind turbines just off the shore of Copenhagen, but I sure do. Every time I see these majestic beauties , I wonder why some people find them unattractive and offensive to the eye. Denmark wisely realized that their reliance on foreign energy sources was a detriment and did something about it. Hence the multitude of turbines welcoming visitors to this fair city.
This photoby Yann Arthus-Bertrand illustrates the beauty of these turbines near Copenhagen

I really appreciate flying into places that offer easy access from the airport into town. This is the case with Copenhagen. The train leaves directly from the airport to the city. If you buy your Copenhagen Card at the airport, this ride is included. We went to the ticket counter to purchase our tickets and found that the machine rejected our credit cards over and over again. We had our bank debit cards, but those were never accepted. I tried a MasterCard, but it would not work without me knowing my PIN. Since I would only need the PIN for a cash advance, or now as I know, buying tickets in Denmark, I never memorized my PIN. Fortunately, the cashier was able to exchange dollars for kroner(Denmark does not use the Euro. DKK is the symbol for the krone.) We boarded one of the frequent trains to the Central Station and were on our way. From the station, there is a metro system. With the Copenhagen Card, buses, metro and local train fares are covered. We took the metro to just a few blocks from our “budget” hotel, which was also just a few blocks from the bus that would take us to the cruise terminal.

Next time: Our hotel

Sail Away