Cruise & Maritime Voyages diary: Helsingborg and Copenhagen

Having acquired the latest addition to its fleet in the last few months, Cruise Adviser went on board with Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) to test the waters and see what its new flagship vessel Magellan was really like, and whether it would propel the company to new heights.

Following on from reports in Amsterdam and Hamburg we find ourselves in Scandinavia, with calls at Helsingborg and Copenhagen.

After a day at sea we arrive in Scandinavia for the portion of the cruise that will include Helsingborg, Copenhagen and Aalborg, the city where our vessel, Magellan, was built 30 years ago and is due to celebrate its much-anticipated anniversary.

Helsingborg sits on the Swedish side of the narrow strait that separates Sweden and Denmark and has been a contested region throughout history. Having formerly been part of Denmark, it was wrestled back by Sweden in 1658, with the former coloniser going on to make many further attempts to regain it in the subsequent century.

It now boasts a number of tourist attractions including Sofiero Palace, the former summer residence of the Swedish royal family. The palace itself has a relaxed feel to it, which is in keeping with the more informal attitude that Scandinavians have towards their royal families. However, the princess who renovated the palace – Princess Sofia – was known for her green fingers, and it is the gardens themselves that are the most impressive aspect of Sofiero. During the early summer 10,000 rhododendrons are in bloom, while throughout the year there are incredible herb and rose gardens. The restaurant, which is part of the former palace itself, looks out across the water– onto the Oresund. You can see Denmark, above, across the sea.

Given that Helsingborg is on the southern tip of Sweden, it naturally becomes a holiday destination for Swedes as well as other Scandinavians and people from further afield. Similarly to Aalborg, it isn’t inundated with cruise calls, which often either call at Gothenburg or have longer in Copenhagen, which is only an hour away by train. Our advice would be to make the effort and sell Helsingborg to your clients. Any horticulturalists could do a lot worse than visit Sofiero Palace, which was voted one of the most beautiful gardens in Europe. Other destinations, including Fredriksdal, a near by open-air museum, have a botanical garden, meadow, working farm and rose garden – adding to the amount there is for green-fingered enthusiasts to see in the area.

We sail in the evening across the Oresund to Copenhagen. The capital of Denmark is one of the most popular cruise calls in the region and for good reason too, like most major cities it has something for everyone. From the fairytales of Hans Christian Anderson, whose name is all over the city, to modern areas such as the Meat Packing District or Christiana – an anarchist republic on an old air force base.

We start our day bright and early with a rickshaw ride around the major sites. The famous statue of the little mermaid is only a few hundred metres away from where our ship is berthed and we get there before the crowds surround her little island. The statue’s appeal is such that it was loaned to Shanghai in 2010 for the World Expo.

After that we are taken past the Churchill Gardens and stop in Amalienborg – a large square that is home to four palaces occupied by the Danish royal family. Amalienborg is widely believed to be one of the finest examples in the world of Danish Rococco architecture and tourists can sit back and watch the changing of the guard every day at noon.

The square also forms a central axis, which has the city’s main church, Frederik’s, to the north and the relatively new national opera house, known locally as the toaster, to the south.

Our rickshaw ride ends at the food market near Norreport station. Here we are treated to two hours of tasting the local fare brought to market by specialist sellers from regions around Denmark and even further afield. We taste honey made in the botanical gardens around the corner, liquorice from the Danish island of Bornholm and local cheeses, meats and wines. The highlight is meeting Julian, a Brit, who started Asa, a stall selling spices sourced directly from India. He met a girl from Denmark while travelling around Asia, bumping into her in a Buddhist monastery in Kathmandu and has since found a new way of life out in Copenhagen.

Our day also includes a canal boat ride around the centre of the city and a visit to the second oldest theme park in the world: Tivoli Gardens. The latter is often considered one of Copenhagen’s best attractions – and is also the second most popular seasonal theme park in the world. It has a raft of rides, bars and stages for what seems to be a predominantly foreign crowd. We are swept up in the throngs of merrymakers and soon decide to make our exit and walk up the Vesterbrogade road, to see the city’s emerging Meatpacking District.

The area, which is centred around a former Bosch showroom, now houses new restaurants and bars in and around the abattoirs, which are still in business. It’s a great area that offers something a little different from the major tourism attractions.

After eating a delicious pizza at Mother we walk back to the ship. The big celebration for Magellan is the next step on our itinerary. To celebrate the vessel’s 30^th birthday.