Regal Princess - Northern Europe Capitals: Southampton to Copenhagen

Where this cruise calls, day by day

7 ports and 1 sea day over 7 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Southampton

   United KingdomDepart
   Southampton port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
2. Day 2

   Bruges (Zeebrugge)

   BelgiumPort
   Bruges (Zeebrugge) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
3. Day 3

   Rotterdam

   NetherlandsPort

   Europe's largest seaport, and a city that looks nothing like the rest of the Netherlands - flattened in 1940 and rebuilt as an experiment in modern architecture. Cruise ships tie up at the old Holland America headquarters on the Wilhelminakade, directly under the Erasmus Bridge, with the skyline of the Kop van Zuid overhead.

   • The Cube Houses and Markthal at Blaak
   • Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the mirrored art storage building you can walk through
   • Euromast for the view over the port
   • Delft or The Hague, both about 30 minutes by train

   Getting ashore

   Ships berth alongside at Cruise Terminal Rotterdam on the Wilhelminakade; the centre is a 20-minute walk over the Erasmus Bridge or one metro stop from Wilhelminaplein.

   Best months

   Apr-Oct

4. Day 4 · At sea

5. Day 5

   Oslo

   NorwayPort

   A fjord-head capital that has rebuilt its whole waterfront in the last twenty years - the angular Opera House you can walk up, the Munch museum tower, and the Deichman library all sit within sight of the cruise berths. Older Oslo is uphill and inland. Note that the Viking Ship Museum at Bygdøy is closed for reconstruction, so ask before booking anything that promises it.

   • Vigeland Sculpture Park's 200-odd granite and bronze figures
   • The Fram Museum at Bygdøy, built around Nansen's polar ship
   • Walking the roof of the Oslo Opera House
   • Holmenkollen ski jump and its viewing deck above the city

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside at Akershus (Vippetangen) or Revierkaia, both a 5-15 minute walk to Akershus Fortress and Aker Brygge; larger ships sometimes use Filipstad, about 25 minutes on foot.

   Best months

   May-Sep

6. Day 6

   Kristiansand

   NorwayPort

   A southern Norwegian city laid out by Christian IV in 1641 on a strict grid - the Kvadraturen - which makes it unusually easy to navigate. It is a summer holiday town for Norwegians rather than a fjord port: beaches, a big zoo and amusement park, and a quarter of preserved white timber houses that escaped the fires.

   • Dyreparken zoo and amusement park, Norway's most visited attraction outside Oslo
   • Posebyen, the old low white wooden quarter
   • Fiskebrygga, the fish market and harbour boardwalk
   • The Setesdal valley and its silversmithing tradition, inland by road

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside at the quays by the town centre, generally a 5-15 minute walk into the Kvadraturen grid.

   Best months

   Jun-Aug

7. Day 7

   Skagen

   DenmarkPort

   The town at Denmark's northern tip, where the Skagerrak and Kattegat meet in a visible line of colliding waves at the end of the Grenen sandspit. Yellow houses with red-tiled roofs and white trim, a still-active fishing fleet, and a 19th-century artists' colony that came for the light and stayed - their paintings hang in the local museum.

   • Walking or riding the tractor bus out to Grenen where the two seas meet
   • Skagens Museum and the Skagen painters, Krøyer and the Anchers
   • Den Tilsandede Kirke, the church tower left standing above a drifted dune
   • Råbjerg Mile, a migrating dune moving 15 m a year

   Getting ashore

   Ships dock alongside in Skagen harbour, roughly a 10-minute walk to the town centre and the shopping street.

   Best months

   Jun-Aug

8. Day 8

   Copenhagen

   DenmarkArrive

   Denmark's capital works as both a Baltic turnaround port and a day call, and which berth you get changes the day completely. The city is flat, cycle-mad and easy to cover on foot once you reach it: harbour swimming pools, the pastel warehouse fronts of Nyhavn, and a royal quarter at Amalienborg where the guard still changes at noon.

   • Nyhavn canal and a harbour boat tour from its head
   • Tivoli Gardens, opposite Central Station
   • Rosenborg Castle and the crown jewels
   • Christiansborg's tower, free and the best rooftop view in the city

   Getting ashore

   Most large ships dock at Oceankaj, about 6 km north of the centre and needing a shuttle or bus (roughly 20-25 minutes); smaller ships use Langelinie, a 10-minute walk from the Little Mermaid and 25 minutes from Nyhavn.

   Best months

   May-Sep