Help with sailing from Dover, England

[Lauri]

I know it's been a long time since there have been European cruises on DCL and the world has changed so much in that time. We're on the WBTA from Dover to NY in September. I'm trying to figure out the best way for us to travel. We'd be leaving from MCO, and there are direct flights to both Heathrow and Gatwick. We usually make our own travel arrangements, but have used Disney transportation on occasion. We've been to London several times before, so are not looking to sightsee before the cruise. We will fly in two days before (arriving one day before the cruise), and I prefer to stay in a Hilton branded hotel. These are some of our options:
--Fly in to either London airport and stay at a hotel by the airport. Take Disney transportation to the port the following day. Disney is charging $150pp for this, which seems kind of expensive.
--Take the train into Central London, stay at a hotel overnight in London, and take a train to Dover Priory the next morning, followed by a taxi to the port. It looks like the train for our dates will be running a bus route instead of a train. This is a little less expensive.
--Take the train from the airport into central London, and take train/bus to Ashford, which is right off the train line. Stay in a hotel there overnight. Continue by train/bus/uber the following morning to the cruise port.
--Stay in hotel anywhere of our choosing. Arrange for private Transportaion the following morning.
Ok, I was very confused, but typing this out has made me feel a little bit better. So what would you do/have done or recommend? Would love to have input from those living in the UK. And would you recommend flying in to one of the London airports over the other? In the past, we have flown in to both airports, and taken a train into Central London, which I remember being fairly easy. Also, is it much of a problem that the trains will be running as busses for our dates? Thanks for any input!

 

[gilsan]

I know it's been a long time since there have been European cruises on DCL and the world has changed so much in that time. We're on the WBTA from Dover to NY in September. I'm trying to figure out the best way for us to travel. We'd be leaving from MCO, and there are direct flights to both Heathrow and Gatwick. We usually make our own travel arrangements, but have used Disney transportation on occasion. We've been to London several times before, so are not looking to sightsee before the cruise. We will fly in two days before (arriving one day before the cruise), and I prefer to stay in a Hilton branded hotel. These are some of our options:
--Fly in to either London airport and stay at a hotel by the airport. Take Disney transportation to the port the following day. Disney is charging $150pp for this, which seems kind of expensive.
--Take the train into Central London, stay at a hotel overnight in London, and take a train to Dover Priory the next morning, followed by a taxi to the port. It looks like the train for our dates will be running a bus route instead of a train. This is a little less expensive.
--Take the train from the airport into central London, and take train/bus to Ashford, which is right off the train line. Stay in a hotel there overnight. Continue by train/bus/uber the following morning to the cruise port.
--Stay in hotel anywhere of our choosing. Arrange for private Transportaion the following morning.
Ok, I was very confused, but typing this out has made me feel a little bit better. So what would you do/have done or recommend? Would love to have input from those living in the UK. And would you recommend flying in to one of the London airports over the other? In the past, we have flown in to both airports, and taken a train into Central London, which I remember being fairly easy. Also, is it much of a problem that the trains will be running as busses for our dates? Thanks for any input!

There its another option take the train to London and then take DCL transportation. Disney offers a city centre pick up for $60/person. We did this on a WBTA a few years ago and it was super easy.

If you do decide to take the train to Dover the day of Disney has had a shuttle at the train station to take you to port for $10 per person. We stayed in Canterbury before the our Northern European cruise and took the train to Dover Priory and then Disney shuttle to the port, it was also convenient.

"London City Center Transfers

Ground transfers between the Port of Dover and the Hilton Hotel Metropole in the center of London are available for purchase. Travel time is approximately 2 hours. Guests do not need to be staying at the Hilton Hotel Metropole to purchase this transfer. Ground transfers are available on embarkation and debarkation days only, for $60 per Guest. We recommend calling (800) 951-3532 to add ground transfers in advance, as only a limited number may be available for purchase upon arrival."

https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/guest-services/ground-transportation/

 

[Marc D]

We did the British Isles cruise from Dover when it was still a 12-nights cruise (that was an extraordinary cruise btw). We arrived in Heathrow, stayed at the Sofitel inside the terminal 5 for two days and took the DCL shuttle. Here is why we settled on that plan.

- We preferred arriving/leaving from Heathrow since the airlines flying to our home city offer more direct flights from there, in case we needed to reschedule or if we missed a flight.
- We also have often traveled to London, so going downtown was not necessary and we tried to avoid it to save time and costs. We wanted to visit Hampton Court and Windsor/Legoland, which were both easily accessed from Heathrow.
- We had booked a private transfer to get to Dover, but switched to the DCL shuttle maybe a week before the cruise. The price was just a bit more expensive for the three of us, but we learned that there was a massive traffic problem in the Dover area during that period and that many cruisers around that time came close to or missed their cruise because they got stuck in traffic jams on the highway going into Dover. I don't remember if it was related to construction work or if it is common, but at that time, we didn't want to take any chance of missing the ship, so we opted for a DCL transport, with the vague promise that the ship would maybe wait for us. There were three busses that left from the Sofitel at the same time that morning.
- The ride was pretty long and included a 30 minutes restroom/lunch break. We arrived quite late at the ship and lunching onboard was not an option.

The 15$ difference between the downtown vs Heathrow/Gatwick shuttles to port would be largely compensated by the cost of the Heathrow/Gatwick express and the added cost of an hotel room inside the city.

 

[slindamood]

We have sailed from Dover twice.
We wanted to minimize luggage transfers and number of taxis, knowing that we would be jet lagged on arrival. Thus, we arranged for our own transportation from Gatwick airport to Dover.

We chose Gatwick because it is a fairly easy drive to Dover, being to the south of London and not having to go through any big cities. We did not encounter any delays.

Our driver, arranged through "Chauffer Force," met us at the airport the morning we arrived, helped us with luggage and drove us to our Dover hotel. We stayed at the Best Western Dover Marina Hotel, on the water with a view of the Magic the next morning. Everything went smoothly.

Upon check in we asked the hotel to arrange a van to the ship for the next morning. It arrived on time and was only about $15 and took about 10 minutes at most. We arrived about 11AM and were among the first on the ship.

I would do this again knowing that the morning of the cruise we were well rested and had a very easy time of it. For our group of 6, including 3 children, it was cheaper than the Disney bus and far more convenient. The van was $297 at the time.

 

[CarolynU]

If you opt to take a private transfer from either Heathrow or Gatwick I can highly recommend the firm that I use as I’m local to Dover so Andy and his company are always driving me either up, back or both. It’s very professional.
I too would get to Dover the day before and probably stay in The Best Western Dover or there is a less expensive Premier Inn also on the sea front.
The traffic into Dover is often a complete nightmare due to something called Operation Tap! It’s to regulate the flow of lorries into the Eastern Docks and onto the cross channel ferries.
If you use a local car service they know alternative routes.
The company is called Air Link Cars.
If you are interested I can find the link & website.

 

[JulieODC]

We flew into Heathrow and stayed in London for 2-3 days. We then hired Gary drive us fro. London to Dover, and we stopped in Canterbury, had fish and chips lunch on the water, and did a tour of the white cliffs and Dover castle.

I cannot say enough about Gary - he was one of our favorites from the whole trip! It was definitely more expensive than taking the train, but it was like an excursion before the cruise - if touring along the way is of interest.

https://www.horizonprivatehire.co.uk/contact-us

 

[DisneyBelle_x]

I’d definitely be flying in to Gatwick over Heathrow given the choice especially as you’re coming from MCO which means direct flights are an option for both, it’s better located for Dover and means you’ll cut out travel on a bigger portion of the M25 which is always a bonus If driving, I live on the outskirts of SE London (just an hour or so straight up from Dover) and absolutely hate the drive to Heathrow.
I’m not sure where you’ve seen about trains not running when you’re travelling but I’ve not seen anything about it and as far as I know there’s no planned works to have rail replacement from London to Dover in September, if you wanted to opt for train over transfers Gatwick also has the added bonus over Heathrow because you can get the train to St pancras from there which also happens to be the station you can get the train to Dover from

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

If you are willing to branch outside of Hilton hotels for one night, this is what we did. We flew into Gatwick and used the Gatwick express to get to Downtown London and spent several days there. You can pick your favorite Hilton hotel in London. It's easy to get tickets and take the train and there was plenty of room for luggage on the Gatwick express.

Once your ready to leave London, I suggest heading down the night before to Dover. Several reasons, one of which is who wants to be stressing about getting to a port 2 hours away on Embarkation morning? You can easily take the Southern Railway from Either Victoria Station or St Pancras stations to Dover Priory. I suggest a direct train if you can. I have done the train switch, it's manageable but can be a pain hauling the bags (we had to switch platforms and that required elevators and ramps). To maximize your time in London, these trains run pretty late in the evening so you can catch a train and arrive around 9:00pm in Dover Priory. The train has a decent amount of space for luggage, and if you go later at night, the second half of the trip tends to be pretty empty so you can spread out in the train car.

I would stay at the Dover Premier Inn Central Ferry Terminal. It's a quick taxi ride from the Train station (we had no problem finding a taxi out front even at 9:00pm). Now the Dover Premier Inn is not fancy. The rooms are small, the hotel is small. But the location is a 5 minute Taxi ride from the port, and more importantly it's walking distance from Dover Castle. The beds were comfortable enough, the pillows are not great. But every time we are in Dover we stay here for convince. It's clean, and does have on site dining.

So why stay in Dover? You know you are going to wake up the morning of the cruise in the place you need to be. And for me, Dover Castle is a huge draw. If you get up and head to Dover Castle right at opening, you can see if before boarding the Magic. In my opinion, it's completely worth it. LOVE Dover Castle. There are plenty of other things to do in Dover. We still have things we want to see and never had enough time. Dover Cliffs trails, the Dover Museum with it's Roman House, bomb encasement from WW2.

Thats my long answer at how we handle London and Dover.

 

[tj48103]

We did Norwegian Fjords in 2019 from Dover. We flew into Heathrow, stayed in London for 6 nights in a VRBO. Took the train from St Pancras station to Dover Priory the morning of the cruise. It was very reasonably priced. Im sorry that I don't remember how much but something like $20 a person. The train ride was super easy and we took a taxi from the station in Dover to the port. That was also very easy. The day we disembarked we took the DCL transportation back to Heathrow. Everything worked out great.

 

[Toy Story Fan]

We’re on the same WBTA cruise this September. We are flying into Gatwick then taking the train to St Pancras, staying in London for 3 days at a hotel within walking distance. On the day of the cruise we are taking the train to Dover in the morning, (the trip is just over an hour) and then a taxi to the port.

 

[Lauri]

Wow, you are all awesome in your responses! This gives me a lot to think about, but in a more positive way than before. I must be doing something wrong when I look at the train fares. I was using the London toolkit website, and train fares were listed at over 150 pounds for the two of us. Bus fares were much more reasonable at 15 pounds. I also put in for train fares, and came up with bus info, so I assumed the busses were running for trains, which I have read sometimes happens on weekend. I do like the idea of flying into Gatwick over Heathrow. I will check out some of the private transportation recommended too! Thanks.

 

[jenmiller114]

We have cruised from Dover twice and we prefer Hiltons, as well. One of our favorite hotels is the Conrad London St. James. It's a shame you don't have more than a day because it's a terrific location right across from St. James station and within walking distance of a lot of the major attractions. The service is top notch and the executive lounge is terrific. they serve breakfast in the morning and a really nice happy hour in the evening with a good selection of beer, wine and tapas. They also provide soft drinks and water throughout the day. I am guessing you have status with Hilton. If you plan to stay on Standard Room reward, it's a great value for the quality of that hotel. And they have always upgraded us to a deluxe room. We are Diamond so that also includes access to the executive lounge.

We have used Twelve Transfers both times because we bring too much luggage for the train and I don't want to worry about it. They were fantastic both times. When we returned in 2019 from the Norwegian Fjords, there was a problem with the gangway and it took 2 hours to get off the ship. We were really tight for our flight and our driver did everything he could to get us there in time (and he did). And he didn't charge us for sitting in the parking lot for 1.5 hours and waiting for us! We are returning in August and we plan to use them again this time around.

Enjoy your cruise. We did the WBTA in 2018 and we loved it!

 

[closetmickey]

We stayed in Canterbury the night before. Was so charming- would highly recommend!! A highlight of our trip. Then we took a prearranged taxi to the port in Dover on the morning of embarkation. It was a 35/40 minute drive.

 

[PoohBears#1fan]

I'd fly into Heathrow, take the Heathrow Express (underground) into Central, then head down to Dover the night before, the bus replacements can be a bit of a nightmare though Gatwick is nearer by road, but Heathrow is easier for the underground and if you're on the train, you need to go into Central anyway to get out to Kent.

Try Trainline.com for train prices and info.

I’m a Brit & live an hour north of London but grew up there so know it well, please shout if you need any help.

 

[gismo1554]

Wow, you are all awesome in your responses! This gives me a lot to think about, but in a more positive way than before. I must be doing something wrong when I look at the train fares. I was using the London toolkit website, and train fares were listed at over 150 pounds for the two of us. Bus fares were much more reasonable at 15 pounds. I also put in for train fares, and came up with bus info, so I assumed the busses were running for trains, which I have read sometimes happens on weekend. I do like the idea of flying into Gatwick over Heathrow. I will check out some of the private transportation recommended too! Thanks.

Trainline is the site most UK people use for train tickets if that helps at all. Also I think tickets are usually cheaper in off peak times so it will also depend on the times you are looking at. They tend to also be cheaper at the 12 weeks before travel mark so not sure where you are yet for the WBTA but you maybe a little bit early.

I looked at options in 2020 and decided on the private transfer as going into and out of London for me with luggage seemed way to stressful. UK trains aren't really well equipped for luggage in my experience with just a little luggage rack in some cases.

 

[SirDuff]

We have cruised from Dover twice and we prefer Hiltons, as well. One of our favorite hotels is the Conrad London St. James. It's a shame you don't have more than a day because it's a terrific location right across from St. James station and within walking distance of a lot of the major attractions. The service is top notch and the executive lounge is terrific. they serve breakfast in the morning and a really nice happy hour in the evening with a good selection of beer, wine and tapas. They also provide soft drinks and water throughout the day. I am guessing you have status with Hilton. If you plan to stay on Standard Room reward, it's a great value for the quality of that hotel. And they have always upgraded us to a deluxe room. We are Diamond so that also includes access to the executive lounge.

LOVE that hotel. I had to cancel a trip last minute in fall 2020 (when England closed it's borders to us) and received such a nice email about looking forward to welcoming me when I could come back (I had told them why I was canceling).

 

[DisneyBelle_x]

I'd fly into Heathrow, take the Heathrow Express (underground) into Central, then head down to Dover the night before, the bus replacements can be a bit of a nightmare though Gatwick is nearer by road, but Heathrow is easier for the underground and if you're on the train, you need to go into Central anyway to get out to Kent.

Try Trainline.com for train prices and info.

I’m a Brit & live an hour north of London but grew up there so know it well, please shout if you need any help.

heathrow express is not the underground though and honestly I wouldn’t want to be dragging luggage or myself for thatmatter on the underground into central London after a 10 hour flight and the Heathrow express goes into Paddington meaning OP would then have to travel over to another station to get the train down to Dover, Gatwick makes more sense in this situation because you can get the train in to St Pancras and to Dover from there rather than having to switch rail stations especially if you’re not bothering to stay or do anything in central London area

 

[BigJon]

Back when we did our Disney Transatlantic cruise, we took the train from London to Dover a day before the cruise. We did an airbnb that was near town. The town is a short walk from the train station. We checked out the town, and the Bronze Age boat at the museum, and we took the bus up the hilll to the Grand Shaft, and walked down the steps of the shaft. So glad we did, what an awesome part of military history. The next morning, we took a taxi to the port.

 

[Lauri]

For trainline, do you have to wait for 12 weeks prior for train availability? And can you purchase train tickets day of travel, and do the prices keep climbing? Thanks.

 

[PoohBears#1fan]

For trainline, do you have to wait for 12 weeks prior for train availability? And can you purchase train tickets day of travel, and do the prices keep climbing? Thanks.

Yes booking early is best with Trainline to get the good prices, it's 6 months in advance, this morning I can see up to 10th September.