We arrived two days early in Copenhagen and stayed at the Tivoli Hotel. The hotel was very nice, convenient and expensive. The decor on the hotel floors was dark and over the top dramatic, however, the rooms were clean with the same dark decor. Copenhagen is very easy to explore on your own. Many folks used the HO-HO buses, but we used the trains and the metro to get around. Our family spent a long day at the Tivoli Gardens -- from opening to about 7PM and had a wonderful time. The all day passes were good for the kids because they could ride on as many rides as they wanted.

My husband and I visited the Little Mermaid, the palace, the castle, and saw the changing of the guards on our own. We also took a canal tour. The canal tour at the very end of the canel is twice the price as the one we took and ours had better seats. Look for the canal tour across the street from the cafes. After the cruise we stayed two days, staying at the Merriott Bella Sky. This hotel is less than the Tivoli, closer to the airport, but very close to the metro.

Having visited Stavanger on a previous cruise, we took our family to the Oil Musuem which was a total hit for all ages. The kids (4 and 6) loved the play areas and the "hands-on" atmosphere of the museum and the adults loved the displays. We spent a couple hours there. Then my husband and I left the kids and their parents playing at the museum and walked around the pedestrian only streets looking at the shops and such. Had a great time without taking an excursion.

Well, Geiranger was a bust because the weather (high winds primarily) prevented the ship from docking and I guess they do not tender. I believe that the ship's Captain failed to properly explain to the passengers his decision to not stop. We cruised through the fjord -- turning around at the end near Geiranger where in full view of the Magic's passengers we saw another cruise ship tendering passengers to and from the port. Passengers who had booked private excursions (not through Disney) were very upset because the decision was announced that morning -- too late for the 24 hour cancellation notice that most private excursions have. The announcement was made that am by the Cruise Director and the cause was "weather". The limitations of the ship (lack of azipods to keep the GPS coordinates with wind) and the inherent dangers of tendering with small children and older folks should have been explained more fully. Really, Disney, these passengers were very experienced cruisers and deserved a better explanation.

One of the funniest things that happened that day was the running commentator from the expert during the fjord transit. Near the end of the fjord, the winds were gusting and the commentator said something like, "Gee, it would be a shame to have some children blow overboard" which was the last thing he said. I think someone pulled the plug on this guy after that statement. Yea Disney -- I give them credit for that one.

It poured rain most of the day we had in Bergen so we did not take the funicular to the park at the top of the hill as we did on a previous trip. We spent the time looking at the shops and returned to the ship to take 'grandparent" duty so our daughter and son-in-law could go to town. They had a great time shopping and found lots of things to buy.