Copenhagen

Absolutely yes it is worth it to have a day or two for seeing the city. For no other reason than being in town early limits the chance that a travel delay makes you miss the cruise. The city and some easy daytrips have plenty to keep you busy for 2-3 days. I'd stay in the city center since you'll have plenty of time to get to the port for your cruise.

I would go a day early so you have time to see the city. Copenhagen is delightful - it would be a shame to just pass through from airplane to cruise ship, without taking in some of the lovely sights, wonderful food, and friendly people! And you'll be there in June, so you can spend a few hours at Tivoli!

Definitely worth it. I really enjoyed Copenhagen, and it is easily navigable because English is so widely spoken.

Go at least a day early so you have some room for error if a flight is canceled/delayed, connection is missed. I liked staying in the Nyhaven area. It's north, but still a ways from the port. From there we took the metro one stop, then the train to the closest stop to the port. It's still a hike from there to the ship but manageable if you carry-on. If you have luggage, use a taxi from your hotel. After checking in and getting a meal on the ship we again used the train to go downtown and spend a few hours at the National Museum before departure. We used the Copenhagen card (available at the TI in the airport) which covered all metro, train and bus transportation plus some admissions. If you stay in the Nyhaven area, we liked the Phoenix, Strand and Opera hotels (in that order). You can catch a metro from the airport to Konings Nytorv stop (adjacent to Nyhaven) which is right around the corner from Hotel Opera (a few blocks longer walk to Strand or Phoenix). The metro to Konings Nytorv is faster than the train from the airport to downtown, fifteen minutes max. Choose the train if you're staying near City Hall, Train Station, Tivoli (about 20 minutes to downtown).

Thanks so much for your helpful reply about Copenhagen. In one of Rick Steeves blogs he recommended a bed and breakfast in Copenhagen and gave owner's names as Rudy and Annette, but didn't give name of B & B. Do you know which one he might be referring to? I'm checking out various places but don't want to spend $250-$300 per night. I would appreciate your help.

The hotels we chose were $125 per night for a double including our breakfasts (not usually included in Scandinavia). Hotels in Copenhagen are actually cheaper in the summer because it's a convention town. During vacation season, no conventions are booked and room prices drop. Be sure to check prices on all room options before you book.

"Anyone have an opinion about staying by the train station for convenience?" I would imagine that you wouldn't get much sleep. There's a whole lot of bars (and Tivoli) right around the train station. The central area of the city is compact enough that lack of convenience won't be an issue.

I was surprised that the rate at these hotels Brad mentioned is over $200 for our stay in August. Not including breakfast. We'll be arriving from the airport by train. Anyone have an opinion about staying by the train station for convenience?

Do not stay by the port, we were at a close in spot where we could walk to the Little Mermaid but saw other ships waaaay out which were not close to anything. Our ship had 2 days in Copenhagen; we took city buses and walked everywhere. We enjoyed Tivoli, the castle & crown jewels and the hour long cruise through the city.
There is def. enough to do for 3 or 4 days, so give yourself another day or two if you can. I believe I liked Copenhagen as a city more than Stockholm, but the cruise into Stockholm through the islands was gorgeous.

To Kathleen - we are traveling to Copenhagen at the end of this month and are staying at the Cab Inn City near the train station and Tivoli. My parents (in their 50s) have stayed here on previous travels and love it. The rooms are very small and lack luxury, but they are in a very convenient location. This also gives visitors the chance to experience danish design and efficiency first hand.