We remembered Copenhagen very well since our last visit, and it didn't disappoint us this time. It's one of or favorite places on this excellent itinerary through Scandinavia & Russia.
The Millennium docked at Langelinie Pier, just a short walk from the Little Mermaid statue, probably Copenhagen's main attraction. We took the free shuttle bus into town and walked the Stroget, a pedestrian mall great for people watching.
There was a big deal made about the shopping opportunities in Copenhagen but we found the prices higher on similar merchandise to what we had seen elsewhere. The moral of the story is if you see something you want to buy in, say, Helsinki, buy it there and don't expect better prices in Denmark.
We bought the $16 bus shuttle and admission ticket to Tivoli Gardens. We enjoyed this delightful place so much before, but unfortunately this time it was raining through most of the evening. Tivoli has several fine restaurants, and we had dinner at a place called Perlen, a place we would recommend very highly.
Comment Cards:
All cruise lines distribute comment cards to the passengers on the last day of the cruise. I have not filled one out in years. I believe the comment cards to be a scam put upon the passengers and possibly upon the crew as well.
On other cruises we have taken, the service people beg for excellent ratings. (This didn't take place on the Millennium, thank goodness.) This has led me to conclude that they are not really in on the scam.
The reason I feel that comment cards are given out at all is that it is a venue that passengers can use to complain. Cruise passengers as a group are a complaining lot. If they are left to feel that management will "hear" their complaints through the comment card, they will be less inclined to badger cruise line personnel aboard the ship.
The reason I am convinced that the entire exercise is a waste of time is that in more than 20 years of cruising, I have never seen a single "improvement" that was made strictly for passenger benefit. All changes in the ships, the services, the itineraries, etc. are made to generate more revenue for the cruise line.
If in fact the cruise lines really cared about their passengers (beyond being a source of revenue) they wouldn't be selling people bottled water that costs them much less than a dollar as their passengers leave the ship for a day in unsanitary conditions.
Disembarkation:
We found the disembarkation in Amsterdam to be very smooth. We were off the ship at 8:30 AM and had our luggage in hand and were in a taxi twenty minutes later. Porters were readily available to offer assistance, the same young men who took our bags when we arrive two weeks before.
There are no immigration or customs re-checks when leaving the ship.
Schipol Airport is less than a 30 minute ride from the cruise terminal. For people traveling onward by train, the Amsterdam Central Station is just a short distance away, an easy walk but probably not so easy when managing luggage.
