Arriving Hamburg via the Queen Mary 2

Hi,

Which cruise terminal are you arriving at? I would assume it is bridge (Brücke) 3 or 4. If so, that is the Landungsbrücken station across the street. From Landungsbrücken take the S-Bahn or U-Bahn to Hamburg Hbf. I think it's one station away. If you want to ride the ICE train, then take the ICE Hamburg Hbf to Frankfurt Hbf, change to a regional (RB) train to Koblenz Hbf.

First - thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I was told by my travel agent that the terminal is in Hafen - don't know if that is the terminal you are referring to.

http://www.whatsinport.com/Hamburg.htm

Reference your cruise line -not your travel agent -to find out which port. Then it is easy to find out the transportation connection you need to get into town to the train station, which you can see on that map, it is in the center of town enar the alke, can't miss it when you enlarge. And well served by the S and U rails.

Hi,

The travel agent told you no useful information. Hafen means port, but what you want to know is which terminal in the port. I would be surprised if it is not Landungsbrücken. Ask which bridge number the QM2 will be arriving at. If not at Landungsbrücken, then where?

Are you on the ship now? No matter, in any case, when you are on board, go to the cruise excursion desk, in the same area as the Purser's Desk, and pose your question.

Thanks all for the info. My concern is that there may be more than one train station in Hamburg. Ran into that in Paris with the stations serving south or east,etc. Is there more than the central station? If not, I can "home in" on finding my way there.

Hi,

Train stations in Hamburg are like that those in Paris....in a way. Some of the stations listed as train stations in Hamburg are not train stations per se but rather stations for the S-Bahn (the light rail subway ). Yes, there is Hamburg-Harburg, Hamburg Damntor and Hamburg Altona. These three are not the central station.

There is only one central station ...Hamburg Hbf. If the ship says it is docking near central station, ie , Hamburg Hbf., then it must be at the S-Bahn and U-Bahn station "Landungsbrücken" I am familiar with that immediate area. The HI hostel is located above on the other side of Landungsbrücken and down from that ca 2 mins is the huge Bismarck statue.

Thank you - so does the central hbf service all directions? I want to go directly to Koblenz.

Hi,

If you land at Landungsbrücken Brücke 3 or 4 (bridge), you'll see the Landungsbrücken S-Bahn station in the distance to which you can walk, ie just down the street..5-7 mins walk. From Landungbrücken station, take the next S-Bahn to Hamburg Hbf. I believe it's one stop over.

At Hamburg Hbf you can connect direct to Koblenz Hbf, or you have to transfer once, depends which route you take. If it's the direct shot route, depending on the departure time, count on 5 hrs Hamburg Hbf to Koblenz Hbf on the IC (Inter City train. I would take that or would change trains once at Frankfurt Hbf, then transfer to Koblenz. So, roughly 5 to 5.5 hrs to arrive in Koblenz Hbf.

Thank you very much, Fred.

@ armaghgirl...You're very welcome. Hopefully you have some sightseeing time set aside in Koblenz. I would suggest seeing Deutsches Eck (German corner) where the Rhine and Moselle flow into each other. You can get an aerial view by seeing this view from Ehrenbreitstein, used to be called Festung Ehrenbreitstein built by the Prussians in 1818 to guard against a resurgent France after the defeat of Napoleon when Prussia was given the Rhineland as compensation (the usual diplomatic practice) by the Congress of Vienna.

To get to the top of this fortress take the S-Bahn from Koblenz Hbf. Of course, the fortress has been completely refurbished, etc, serves as the HI hostel. I stayed there a couple of nights in 1971. When I went back in 1987 to get that view from above of Deutsches Eck with a 35mm in 1987, it had been refurbished. There are also historical memorial plaquets on the premises of the old fort, as you walk around.

Thanks so much for the info! I was in Koblenz in 2004 (my first trip to Europe) and I did it alone - by train, bus and foot. I did walk around Koblenz and got to Burg Eltz, Cochem, sailed along the Rhine and took in St. Goar and Bacharach - it's wonderful. Now I'm going to show my "new" husband what I saw. Oh - and this was all with the help of Rick Steeves "Europe Thru the Back Door". What a blast!!

Hi,

If you're into the Prussian history shown at Bacharach, there is a memorial plaque (Gedenkstein) on a rock in Bacharach saying it was here in Jan 1814 that the Prussians chasing Napoleon crossed the Middle Rhine in their invasion of France. Not too far from Bacharach is a museum covering this event in Kaub am Rhein.