Dover, UK, pre-stay

[Dizzydizney]

I'm sure I've seen this discussed here, so if someone can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it. We were originally thinking of spending a few days in London before our WBTA cruise out of Dover. We are rethinking this plan....we may instead spend one night at a Heathrow airport hotel (we are landing in the evening) and then may rent a car (probably Hertz) one way and drive to Dover and spend two nights there. I've been poking around looking for hotels and/or B&B's. Any advice....or please direct me to a thread that discusses this.
TIA.

 

[BadPinkTink]

I'm booked on the 5 night Western Europe in September 2020 from Dover.

There are 2 hotels in Dover port, Premier Iñn and Best Western. Check the hotel websites and Google Maps.

I plan to stay at The Best Western as it has a Starbucks

 

[JARNJ3]

Thinking about doing this cruise in 2021 or the EBTA.

For this one - I'd only have to fly once - as it docks in NY\NJ right? I'd need to be driven from the airport to the hotel, as I'd be very skittish driving in another country!

Would DCL provide for transportation for this?

 

[BadPinkTink]

@JARNJ3
Check out my thread for my cruise in the cruise meets section, I have information about the hotels Disney provides transportation from to Dover port
https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...-europe-from-dover-13-september-2020.3760176/

 

[kandt]

We stayed at the Travelodge in Dover. It was pretty basic, but very clean and more comfortable than I expected! We walked to the cliffs and the castle from there.

 

[BadPinkTink]

We stayed at the Travelodge in Dover. It was pretty basic, but very clean and more comfortable than I expected! We walked to the cliffs and the castle from there.

I have stayed in Travelodge in UK and in California. The UK ones are very different to the Californian / USA ones. In UK Travelodge has indoor corridors, a basic bar and restaurant and the rooms are much more comfortable with better maintenance than the Californian / USA ones.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We were just in Dover for the Iceland Norway cruise. We stayed st the best western right on the water. The rooms were fine, service was good. It’s our second time there. I booked on booking.com. We did the castle and tunnels which were very interesting. From the hotel the beach is just across the street. They will order you s cab in the morning to get to port. Cost was about 7 pounds. I had some euros so I gave him a 10 euro note. He was very appreciative.

Last year for the transatlantic cruise we came in several days eArky, rented a car and drove up to Scotland for a few days and then down to Dover where we dropped off the car. There were 4 of us and with all the luggage for a 10 night cruise we needed a large car. Not sure how many people up have or luggage but cars in Europe tend to be smaller than here. And large ones are pricey.

This year we landed and had a car waiting to drive us to Dover. The cost was a little over $300 for 4 of us which was on par with the cost of their version of a minivan for the day. And much more relaxed.

 

[BadPinkTink]

They will order you s cab in the morning to get to port. Cost was about 7 pounds. I had some euros so I gave him a 10 euro note. He was very appreciative.

1. Euros are not legal currency in England, so he could have refused the money
2. €10 is about £9 so the reason he took the money is because you over paid him. Unlike America , we don't generally tip taxi drivers. For a £7 fare down the road, there is no way would I tip, and when I do this exact journey in September 2020 for my cruise, the driver will get £7 or whatever the fare is. He saw naive gullible Americans and said thanks very much, €10 is way more than £7 so yep I'll have that.

 

[Dizzydizney]

We were just in Dover for the Iceland Norway cruise. We stayed st the best western right on the water. The rooms were fine, service was good. It’s our second time there. I booked on booking.com. We did the castle and tunnels which were very interesting. From the hotel the beach is just across the street. They will order you s cab in the morning to get to port. Cost was about 7 pounds. I had some euros so I gave him a 10 euro note. He was very appreciative.

Last year for the transatlantic cruise we came in several days eArky, rented a car and drove up to Scotland for a few days and then down to Dover where we dropped off the car. There were 4 of us and with all the luggage for a 10 night cruise we needed a large car. Not sure how many people up have or luggage but cars in Europe tend to be smaller than here. And large ones are pricey.

This year we landed and had a car waiting to drive us to Dover. The cost was a little over $300 for 4 of us which was on par with the cost of their version of a minivan for the day. And much more relaxed.

Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun, driving up to Scotland! I really wanted to stay at the Best Western....unfortunately, since I decided at the last minute, there is no room at the inn!! So those of you thinking of staying there in the future, book early! They just refurbished and it looks really nice. We did find a nice B&B just up the road at a reasonable price.....and they have a laundry for us to use.....so happy, as we will be travelling Europe for a bit before Dover and the cruise....was not looking forward to "laundry wars" on the Magic.

Will have to catch a cab to the pier after I return the rental car...I too will unload any kind of currency I can...not worth it to change it back once in the US. If the driver makes out okay that is fine by me. My dad worked his butt off and the first home he bought for us was very much due to the tips he earned working a second job as a waiter at night. I always try to be generous to the service industry peeps.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and tips!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

1. Euros are not legal currency in England, so he could have refused the money
2. €10 is about £9 so the reason he took the money is because you over paid him. Unlike America , we don't generally tip taxi drivers. For a £7 fare down the road, there is no way would I tip, and when I do this exact journey in September 2020 for my cruise, the driver will get £7 or whatever the fare is. He saw naive gullible Americans and said thanks very much, €10 is way more than £7 so yep I'll have that.

Despite the old saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" most Americans feel uncomfortable to NOT tip a service person that would typically be tipped if they were in the US. It's not that we're "gullible," just that it's customary to us. It would feel rude to not tip them.
Dh is always a generous tipper because his mother was a waitress and her income depended on tips. Most people appreciate receiving tips.
I do agree that one should pay with the local currency unless I asked up front and they were willing to accept something else. I sure wouldn't want to be paid in Pesos.
First thing I do is stop at an ATM in or near the airport if possible.

 

[Dizzydizney]

Despite the old saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" most Americans feel uncomfortable to NOT tip a service person that would typically be tipped if they were in the US. It's not that we're "gullible," just that it's customary to us. It would feel rude to not tip them.
Dh is always a generous tipper because his mother was a waitress and her income depended on tips. Most people appreciate receiving tips.
I do agree that one should pay with the local currency unless I asked up front and they were willing to accept something else. I sure wouldn't want to be paid in Pesos.
First thing I do is stop at an ATM in or near the airport if possible.

OMG that is so weird!!!! I just said the exact same thing except dad was the waiter. So....I know exactly what you speak of. I tend to over-tip when I think it is deserved.

 

[ShellB8585]

If looking for budget I would recommend the Premier inn over the travelodge unless the travelodge is much cheaper. Both are basic but I prefer Premier inns and having stayed in both that would be my choice.

Also, I would not recommend ever tipping in Euros. Whilst previous poster was lucky most would not accept that so if you are likely to book a taxi do have some £ as you wouldn't want to not be able to pay your fare.

 

[kandt]

If looking for budget I would recommend the Premier inn over the travelodge unless the travelodge is much cheaper. Both are basic but I prefer Premier inns and having stayed in both that would be my choice.

Also, I would not recommend ever tipping in Euros. Whilst previous poster was lucky most would not accept that so if you are likely to book a taxi do have some £ as you wouldn't want to not be able to pay your fare.

We had considered the Premier Inn in Dover, but it did not have air conditioning.

 

[jrabbit]

Try Cantebury - only a 30 minute train ride to Dover Priory with more options for hotels.

And the cathedral.

 

[gilsan]

We are just back from our cruise leaving from Dover. We arrived a week early and stayed in London until Friday. We took a train to Canterbury and stayed in an Airbnb for 2 nights. We loved Canterbury. As the previous poster wrote it is only a 30-minute train ride to Dover. We took the DCL shuttle to the port. It was super easy.

Here are some pictures of Canterbury.

 

[BadPinkTink]

We had considered the Premier Inn in Dover, but it did not have air conditioning.

When is your cruise? In England, air conditioning is really only needed in the high heat of end July, start of August. In September you won't need air conditioning, so discounting a hotel due to no air conditioning is wrong.

 

[fredandkell]

Have you ever visited London before? If not, definitely book 3 or four days before the cruise if you can because it is a magnificent city. Also I would strongly discourage renting a car and would rely on trains instead. Driving on the opposite side of the road is extremely stressful. We did it in Ireland and we will never do it again, especially with kids in the car to distract us.

 

[DisneyHelen]

We stayed in London then got the train from London Waterloo East day of the cruise in the morning.It was great.