Expert: Michael Carlsson - 4/15/2001

Question
Could you please tell me where I might find out information regarding private ground transportation for three ladies, one of whom is handicapped, from the airport to Stockholm to our cruise ship?

Thank you

Answer
Dear Sylvia,

I'd guess your cruise ship will call at the Skeppsbron or Stadsgården quays, in that case you'd be only a half mile from the water when arriving with the Arlanda Express train.

http://www.arlandaexpress.com/english/index.htm

Wheelchairs won't be any problem aboard their trains, which by the way are very fast, nice and tidy. You could get a taxi straight from Arlanda, but it would cost you something like 4 times more than the train, or at least 100$ instead of 24$ for the train. (one of you will travel free with this train, as assistant to your handicapped friend, according to their information)

If you still needs transport from the station to the waterfront, I recommend you to take a taxi from the Central station, where the A-train (yes, that's what they named it...) arrives. If you prefer this, i.e. if your friend uses a wheelchair, you should pre-arrange this ride by ordering a taxi that can carry one, I suggest "Taxi Stockholm", and here's the mailadress to their customer service:

kundservice@taxistockholm.se

Unlikely, but possible, is that your ship will call at the Värtan harbour a few miles outside the center of the city, but I think the above train/taxi ride still is the best way of getting there.

Here's a map, hope this link works...

http://www.gulasidorna.se/main/search/map_op.asp?174,109

By train, you will arrive at the big red block in the upper left corner. The cruise ship will probably be anchored in the big harbour bassin in the lower right corner.
Transportation from the quay to the ship are often done by the lifeboats of the cruise ship, and they will most likely hold somewhere outside the royal castle ("kungliga slottet", a red square at the close center of the map), or at least somewhere along the "skeppsbron" ("Ship's bridge").
If the cruise ship are docked to land, it will probably be found along the "Stadsgården"("The Town yard"), just outside the map, parallell to the bottom line of the map frame.

Please note: Some of the visiting cruisers call at Nynäshamn harbour, some 40 miles south of Stockholm, and passengers are carried by bus to Stockholm! If your ship is one of them, you must get information about the bus halt in Stockholm from the cruise company. (Most likely, they will halt at the bus terminal on the roof of the Central station, but still check this up)

Hope this helps, and feel free to ask further questions if there's more you need to know.
If you like to have a look-around for yourself, try to start at the www.stockholm.se site, and search from there.

Michael