Cruise visitors want to have time to experience the city

CMP focuses on some of its collaborative partners, which are the reason that, time after time, the port is able to pick up awards and recognition as the best cruise port and destination. When it comes to turnarounds, the city’s hotels are an important element for a successful cruise liner

When a cruise vessel has a turnaround in Copenhagen, many visitors choose to extend their holiday by a day or two. They want to experience the metropolis, which is attractive for its high degree of security and hip, interesting districts with trendy shops to discover. For many hotels, the cruise visitors therefore constitute a large proportion of their overall occupancy

Two hotels which can clearly note the cruise visitors’ interest in pre- and post-cruise stays are the Andersen Boutique Hotel and the Absalon Hotel, in Vesterbro in central Copenhagen.

“At Andersen Boutique Hotel it is about 25% and at Absalon Hotel about 20% of our guests who stay in connection with a cruise”, says Karen Nedergaard, General Manager of both hotels.

“A large proportion of the guests are North Americans and Australians. They typically book several nights and often several rooms together. We see a lot of families who get together around a cruise, but also friends”.

Interest in the local experience“As both of our hotels are boutique hotels, we note that our guests appreciate the very personal and individual service. It is expressed in a major interest in experiencing local places, which we use ourselves: Kødbyen, the city’s pulse, a cycling tour, the authentic local Vesterbro, and the small, hidden-away eateries, as well as the Michelin restaurants, are at a premium. Many of our guests also visit the art gallery in Louisiana, north of Copenhagen.”

It is usually incoming agencies which book the stay as a part of the cruise, but the hotels also receive a lot of direct bookings.

“A lot of people choose us as they put a premium on CONCEPT24, which enables them to keep their room for 24 hours, almost free. And in January we installed air conditioning here in Andersen Boutique Hotel to accommodate the needs of our cruise visitors.”

An important networkThe hotels are members of the Cruise Copenhagen Network and Karen Nedergaard feels that that provides a large number of benefits:

“We receive up to date information about cruise arrivals and days that are expected to be busy, and the opportunity to have our finger on the pulse. The network has a value for the city, and I see it as a strength that we collaborate on new initiatives, improvements, and evaluations of the visitors’ experiences of Copenhagen as a turnaround city.”