Harvich excursion for b2b guests

[Smallfamily]

Does anyone know what the excursion choices for b2b guests are. If you took one how was it or if you explored on your own what did you do? Thanks everyone. Is London too far to go ?

 

 

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[Turtles06]

Hi Small,

 

If you haven't done so already, I would suggest posting your question over on the Ports of Call/Britain board, where there are some very helpful local folks who should be able to assist you. Also, you could search on that board for "Harwich," as there have been discussions about what to do in that port.

 

We embarked on our recent Infinity TA in Harwich. It's about 75 miles from London, and there can be lots of traffic if you are in a car or bus, as we witnessed first hand on our transfer from Heathrow. From what I've read on the Britain board, you can also go to London by train (Liverpool Street Station), by changing trains in Manningtree. It's quite possible that Celebrity will have an excursion to London; have you checked on X's web site?

 

Harwich itself is a small little town with not much going on. A couple of hours walking around the old quay and beach and surrounding streets and you're done. (It was fine for a pre-cruise afternoon.) Here are some images:

 

 

 

 

(photos by turtles06)

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

London is too far to go.

 

I did two B2Bs out of Harwich last spring. On the first one, they offered shore excursions for those doing a B2B. On the second, they didn't. We went to the medieval village of Lavenham which was very interesting.

[ladylemondrop]

Lavenham is beautiful, so is Dedham, both are a lot nearer than London, they are typically quaint english towns with tea rooms, cute shops, watermills, churches etc, there is also Otley Hall, which was the family home for the Gosnold family, who were the founders of Marthas Vineyard and Jamestown. Lots of history! Woodbridge is also a pretty town, Manningtree is nearby and also nice. London would only do as part of a ships tour, due to the distance and time issues. (We live in Suffolk)

[LunaSeaRetreat]

As b2b cruisers this October, we were only offered an excursion to Lavenham. Pretty countryside on the way there. The town was small but interesting. The guide was good. The year before they also offered Cambridge.

 

Cynthia

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

As b2b cruisers this October, we were only offered an excursion to Lavenham. Pretty countryside on the way there. The town was small but interesting. The guide was good. The year before they also offered Cambridge.

 

Cynthia

 

Cambridge was also offered on our cruise, but not much time actually in Cambridge due to the distance. Most of the time would have been spent on the bus.

[Smallfamily]

Thanks everyone great info. Is there anything we could explore on or own walking and/or taxi/shuttle ride without an excursion ? Is it an isolated industrial port or nice one?

 

 

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[Smallfamily]

Turtles did you walk to those areas in harvich?

 

 

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[nmg85]

You could get the train (4mins) to dovercourt or harwich and easily explore on your own. Or you could get a train to Colchester which is the oldest town in England (20 min). Train station is in the cruise terminal.

[TourDeCruise]

Update: I just saw the post about Colchester that was posted when I was typing. More on Colchester below.

 

We weren't on a b2b, but we stayed 2-nights pre-cruise in Harwich. The first day (day we arrived) we went into downtown Harwich from the Premier Inn where we were staying. We walked, but it may be tricky if leaving from the cruise terminal. Your choices are taking the train from Harwich International to Doverscourt (downtown Harwich area), a nice path that we found from the Premier Inn, or walking along a bypass (traffic) with very little area to walk in spots without going onto the bypass. If you walk (around a mile) over to the Premier Inn or the Lindl (sp?) store and ask at the front desk or register, they can tell you where the path is. As already mentioned, there isn't a real lot there, but if you want a low-key day walking around the harbor and town, having a meal, and visiting a couple small museums (maritime & communications museums), then this would make for a good day. When I say you can walk, it would probably be around a good 4 miles roundtrip and then add a mile or two for walking around. As an alternative, you could take a taxi there and walk back or make arrangements for taxi to pick you up. Or take the train that the previous poster and I mentioned from Harwich International to Doverscourt.

 

That being said, I have a better alternative to suggest. The 2nd day of our Harwich stay, we took the train from the International Harwich train station, which is right in the big cruise terminal/train station area, to Colchester. Colchester was the oldest Roman town in England and it has 1st century AD Roman wall, gates, a couple small structures, and theater that you can see. Unfortunately, the medieval Norman Colchester Castle is under renovation until spring 2014. By some point in spring 2014, you can tour the castle which was built on top of the Temple of Claudius, so you would see a Roman base along with Roman stone used to build the Castle. Inside not only would you tour the Norman castle, but you would also see evidence of Roman artifacts such as a mosaic floor. The castle grounds also include a museum that has Roman artifacts and other more modern items including many Victorian items.

 

Walking around Colchester does take considerable walking to see all of the Roman city wall, the Castle (Norman with some Roman remains), and the Balkerine Gate. You can cut down on this walking if desired by only seeing the Castle grounds and the Roman wall near the castle. There is a very small part of a Roman amphitheater next to a church and a few blocks from the castle and only viewable by looking in through a building's window as multiple houses and the church sit on top of what was once the amphitheater.

 

We even went to the Roman circus (a long walk), but since there isn't much to see because of a controversy between builders and historians/archaeologists and because of excavation work, you could easily skip this to save several miles of walking. We walled around 10 miles that day from the Premier Inn to the train station, around Colchester, and back to the hotel; not walking to the Roman Circus will save several miles and leaving from the cruise terminal/train station versus the Premier Inn will save a couple miles of walking too.

 

There are many other things to see in Colchester although we concentrated only on the Roman, and there is a nice town to see too with plenty of restaurants and shopping.

 

If you are considering doing this, you can take the train from downtown Colchester or from the cruise terminal area where the Harwich International train station is (2 stops on same line). Take the train to Colchester (take one that doesn't require a transfer at Manningtree if you can). Then when in Colchester, go upstairs at the Colchester station to another platform and take another train to Colchester town; otherwise, you will have to walk to Colchester town (several miles) or take a local bus there. Once in Colchester town, go to the Tourist Information to get a map and have the agent mark on the map where the Roman ruins are or other places you want to see.

 

In Harwich, a Morrison's (large grocery store) and Lindl (liquor & general) stores will help with your shopping needs.

 

If you have any questions, please ask. Here are two sites that will help - a very helpful Colchester site with many pages of in-depth information and a Cruise Critic thread on Colchester and other options from Harwich:

http://www.camulos.com/virtual/castle.htm

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1745670

 

Kathy

Edited January 5, 2014 by TourDeCruise

[Smallfamily]

Wow that's awesome thanks. We love to be really active just need a map and a loose plan. However not sure about switching trains and getting too far from port as I don't want to worry about missing the ship

 

 

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[nmg85]

Switching trains is easy at manningtree as a very small station. You could also get a taxi if you preferred. Harwich itself also had history with the mayflower.

 

 

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[Turtles06]

Turtles did you walk to those areas in harvich?

 

 

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Yes, we were staying at The Pier Hotel the day before our cruise departed, and so we walked around Harwich that afternoon. The Pier is located right at the old quay, in the main part of Harwich. The ship docks outside of the main part of town (I do know some folks who walked it). If you wanted to stay in Harwich on your port day, I would think you could easily take a taxi into the main part of town. (You might want to email Harwich Taxis in advance to set that up; they were great to deal with. First link below.)

 

The second link below is to the Harwich tourist info page, with useful information about the town. I'll stress again that there isn't that much there. But if you do spend your day there, I highly recommend having lunch at the Alma Inn (third link below), which is just across the street from the house where Christopher Jones, Capt. of the Mayflower, lived (and a couple of blocks from The Pier). It's a really small town, you'll be able to find it all.

 

http://www.harwichtaxis.com/

 

http://www.harwich.net/tic.htm

 

 

http://www.almaharwich.co.uk/

Edited January 5, 2014 by Turtles06

[Turtles06]

I just want to make sure my comment above is clear. We didn't walk from the ship into the main part of Harwich, as we were already staying in Harwich. Thanks.

[TourDeCruise]

Wow that's awesome thanks. We love to be really active just need a map and a loose plan. However not sure about switching trains and getting too far from port as I don't want to worry about missing the ship

 

If you like being active, then Colchester would be perfect. You are right about a concern in getting back to the ship on time though; I think we left Harwich sometime around 10am and didn't get back to Harwich until 4:30pm. You would probably want to get an early start if you are going to do this and skip seeing the Roman Circus which is basically fenced off and under tarps; for most people, it would not be worth the extra time (around an hour for walking roundtrip + short visit) and mileage expended (2-3 miles roundtrip?).

 

Switching trains at the first Harwich stop to take us into Harwich town (2nd stop) was easy and quick. We went up to the platform and the train was waiting. A couple minutes later it departed. Knowing the area better than I do, nmg85 can give better advice regarding switching trains at Manningtree versus at the 1st Harwich stop to Harwich town. Also, nmg85 might be able to advise if you would have enough time for this trip, and/or you could post on the Cruise Critic thread I mentioned earlier and the couple local people can advise you about time to do this.

 

Switching trains is easy at manningtree as a very small station. You could also get a taxi if you preferred. Harwich itself also had history with the mayflower.

 

We plan to go to Colchester again the next time we sail from Harwich so we can tour the Castle, which we missed because of being closed for renovations. For future reference, does the Manningtree train go right into Harwich town? Would we have been better to switch trains at Manningtree than to go to the 1st Harwich stop and switch trains to Harwich town?

 

Kathy

[nmg85]

If you like being active, then Colchester would be perfect. You are right about a concern in getting back to the ship on time though; I think we left Harwich sometime around 10am and didn't get back to Harwich until 4:30pm. You would probably want to get an early start if you are going to do this and skip seeing the Roman Circus which is basically fenced off and under tarps; for most people, it would not be worth the extra time (around an hour for walking roundtrip + short visit) and mileage expended (2-3 miles roundtrip?).

 

Switching trains at the first Harwich stop to take us into Harwich town (2nd stop) was easy and quick. We went up to the platform and the train was waiting. A couple minutes later it departed. Knowing the area better than I do, nmg85 can give better advice regarding switching trains at Manningtree versus at the 1st Harwich stop to Harwich town. Also, nmg85 might be able to advise if you would have enough time for this trip, and/or you could post on the Cruise Critic thread I mentioned earlier and the couple local people can advise you about time to do this.

 

 

 

We plan to go to Colchester again the next time we sail from Harwich so we can tour the Castle, which we missed because of being closed for renovations. For future reference, does the Manningtree train go right into Harwich town? Would we have been better to switch trains at Manningtree than to go to the 1st Harwich stop and switch trains to Harwich town?

 

Kathy

 

The train from Colchester usually requires you to change at Manningtree. Usually all trains will go from manningtree to various stops inc wrabness and mistley before reaching Harwich international (where the ship is docked) then dovercourt (this stop is in the centre of a small 'town' with a 5 - 10 min up hill walk to the beach.) The next stop is harwich town where the pictures earlier in the post were taken. I have only sailed out of harwich once but my grandparents etc lived in dovercourt so I spent a lot of time in the area growing up.

 

 

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Edited January 5, 2014 by nmg85