Well, we finally got our luggage about 5 minutes before midnight on Monday, which was a HUGE relief. Since I now had some more clothes, I was finally able to go for a morning run in Copenhagen before breakfast.
I love to explore new places on the run and it was awesome to run through this fabulous city. I started out in the Ørestad area and ran 2.5-miles down Ørestad Blvd. to the edge of the downtown area and back for a total of 5-miles. Most of this route was on a crushed gravel path running beside the street, which is just about the best surface you can hope for. It was neat to pass hundreds of bikes with people going to work. Many of them were dressed in full business attire.
Let me just say that I fell in love with Copenhagen, and I wish we had more time to explore this great city. It is very clean, the people are ridiculously friendly, and it is stunningly beautiful. Most of the buildings are fairly short (there is no “skyline”) and are a mixture of very old and very modern. I also love that it is on the water with lots of waterways and harbors. Also it is a huge plus that almost everyone speaks fluent English.
Anyway, after another fine breakfast, we left the hotel by motor coach at 11am and traveled to the dock to board the Regal Princess cruise ship. This is the newest and largest ship in the Princess fleet, with capacity for 3,500 passengers and almost 1,500 crew members. The check-in process was fairly painless, and our bags arrived relatively quickly to our stateroom. We met our cabin steward Glenn, who is from the Philippines and frequently says “Okey Dokey.”
Patsy, Ben, Daddy, and I had lunch at the buffet on deck 16, and then spent most of the day exploring the beautiful ship leading up to our departure from Copenhagen. We tried out some of the outdoor exercise equipment, the golf practice net, the basketball court, and the putting green while up on the top decks. We then went through the interior of the ship and then went back to our rooms to unpack.
We had the standard safety training (mustering) at 5pm and then headed up to the top deck to watch our departure. From the time we were exploring the top decks in the early afternoon until we went back up for our departure at 5:45pm, it had turned from warm and sunny to cool and rainy.
Even with the change in weather it was still fun to watch the ship leave Copenhagen and sail through the sound that separates Sweden and Denmark. We were able to see both coasts for quite a while. After departure, we went back to the buffet on deck 16 for dinner, and then split up until the evening show at 9:15pm. I spent most of the time back up on the top decks enjoying the rainy views of Sweden and Denmark. Just before the show I browsed a few of the shops on decks 6 & 7 before meeting Daddy, Patsy, and Ben in the Princess Theater. This was a typical show for the first day with introductions of the cruise director and her entertainment staff, followed by a short standup comedy routine.
After the show I walked around again on the top decks (in the rain) and even got a little soft serve ice cream. I then went back down to deck 7 to listen to the band in the middle of the ship. I ran into Daddy again and we both decided to call it a day.
Tomorrow we should be in Oslo, Norway and I am really looking forward to experiencing another new city and country.