Transfer from Heathrow to Dover, England cruise terminal

[cruisingcari]

Any recommendations on best way to get from Heathrow to Dover cruise terminal in July?

[nybumpkin]

The last time we did this we hired a car - there were four of us, so it worked out financially.

[bunnyette]

3 hours ago, cruisingcari said:

Any recommendations on best way to get from Heathrow to Dover cruise terminal in July?

Yes you can catch a bus with National Express their prices for July aren’t out yet. Or hire a private car. Lots on the British isles forum.

[cruisingcari]

23 minutes ago, bunnyette said:

Yes you can catch a bus with National Express their prices for July aren’t out yet. Or hire a private car. Lots on the British isles forum.

I’ll check it out. Thanks!

It looks like the transfer bus Carnival offers from the airport might be our best bet. National Express would also be an option. Thanks!

[John Bull]

For LHR to Dover, public transport (trains or Nat Express buses) are a very very poor option.

Thre are no direct services - they involve a train or bus into central London, where you switch to a Dover-bound train or bus.

And whilst it's a simple switch from one bus to the other at London Victoria coach station, train travel also involves crossing central London by tube or taxi - trains from LHR go to Paddington rail station, trains to Dover go from one of four other central London stations. 

Makes for a long, tiring, and frustrating transfer to the ship

 

 This is one of the rare times that I'd advise a two-some to book ship's over-priced transfer buses, which of course go direct from your LHR terminal to Dover cruise terminal.

 

Private transfers are better value than ships' buses for a group of four or more, possibly for three, probably not for two. Sharing a private transfer thro your cruise roll-call can work for travel to an airport, but unless all sharers are on the same flight it's not a great idea for a transfer from an airport because of varying flight times, terminals, flight delays and airport delays.

 

Cari & Bumpkin have found car hire to be a worhwhile option.

But I do wonder whether any savings are worth the grief ??

- Most (all?) rental agencies are remote from LHR terminals, thus requiring a shuttle.

- Ditto at Dover cruise terminal

- Lines and paperwork at both ends, & vehicle-checking at both ends unless expensive zero CDW excess is chosen.

- Simple - but very boring and usually busy & frustrating - motorway route. 

- For those not conversant with UK driving, you'll be driving on the left and there are significant other rule differences. Plus variable speed limits and multiple speed cameras.

 

JB 🙂

[Cotswold Eagle]

4 hours ago, John Bull said:

Cari & Bumpkin have found car hire to be a worhwhile option.

Hiring a car in their context may not mean self-drive? 

[John Bull]

2 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Hiring a car in their context may not mean self-drive? 

 

 

Ahhhh yes, I was forgetting about the old "hire" and "rent" conundrum 🙄

Two countries separated by a common language.😊

But if any do rent a car over here, please don't drive on the pavement 🙃

 

JB 🙂

[Harters]

Also worthy of note is that most British/European car rentals are manual gear shift. Something Americans may find tricky if they are only used to automatics. You'll also be on the "wrong " side of the road and the journey is on fast moving motorways (where lane discipline is nowhere near as good as in the States). It usually takes me a couple of hours to settle into a rental car when I visit America and I wouldnt recommend this method for what is only a 100 mile journey.

[PhilbeachTraveller]

Done Heathrow to Folkestone (which is the stop before Dover) loads of times. Takes us only about 2 hours on public transport. Piccadilly tube from Heathrow to St Pancras then train from St Pancras to Dover. Of course, if you have loads of luggage, might not be very practical. 😀

[john watson]

If you plan on an overnight stay in London the best location is near St. Pancras International Railway Station.  Fast trains go from St. Pancras International to Dover Priory Station.  If you look on the www.trainline,com you may find direct services between the two stations.  Tickets may be purchased on line at cheap prices and you collect them from theTicket Machines in London or from a Railway Ticket Office but you need the original credit card in London you used for the original purchase to retrieve your tickets and it must be still in date at time of ticket collection.

 

The route between Heathrow and St. Pancras is a bit fiddly.  You can get a direct tube train to Kings Cross/St. Pancras but it takes 56 mins.  Transport of Londo TFL government website will help you navigate the metropolis.

 

Regards John

Edited November 19, 2021 by john watson

[letsgo39]

Does the train run from the Victoria Rail Station to Dover Priory?

[john watson]

10 minutes ago, letsgo39 said:

Does the train run from the Victoria Rail Station to Dover Priory?

 

The service from London Victoria to Dover Priory takes 1 hour 58 minutes if you catch a through train with no changes,  London St. Pancras International to Dover Priory on a through train takes 1 hour 3 minutes.  If you look on www.thetrainline.com you can get an idea of frequency,  ticket prices and exactly when the through services run otherwise you need to change trains en route.

 

Regards John  

[letsgo39]

16 hours ago, john watson said:

 

The service from London Victoria to Dover Priory takes 1 hour 58 minutes if you catch a through train with no changes,  London St. Pancras International to Dover Priory on a through train takes 1 hour 3 minutes.  If you look on www.thetrainline.com you can get an idea of frequency,  ticket prices and exactly when the through services run otherwise you need to change trains en route.

 

Regards John  

Thank you John. That answers several of my questions.

Judy

[travel4b]

On paper the train from St. Pancras sound perfect as we are staying in the Marriott there.  However, I can’t find any information on how feasible the train is with a fair amount of luggage - we will each have a heavy checked bag plus carry-on.  

[john watson]

5 hours ago, travel4b said:

On paper the train from St. Pancras sound perfect as we are staying in the Marriott there.  However, I can’t find any information on how feasible the train is with a fair amount of luggage - we will each have a heavy checked bag plus carry-on.  

 

I had a look on this and the best seating plan which appeared was called "Development and Maintenance of Class 395 High Speed...(Train for UK High Speed 1) on the Hitachi website.  It seems to me that the extreme ends of the train are the best place to sit for suitcase travellers.  No passing foot traffic enroute.  Journey time is around one hour so there will be less requirement to move about to buffets or toilets, not sure if they have a buffet.  YouTube has a lot of St. Pancras to Dover Priory videos.  I am not sure how much walking is required from street to train at St. Pancras but London has pushed an agenda of Transport  For All meaning people in wheel chairs have had facilities added most of these facilities such as lifts are slightly hidden to prevent abuse but are available for people with prams, baby buggies or wheeled suitcases etc. If your party can do short haul baggage movements you should be fine.  Take a look at the St.Pancras.com website Station Facilities. Look out for light-blue uniformed station staff who will help with luggage handling.

 

If you still haven't booked a hotel the Best Western Dover Marina Hotel and Spa is a very nice old style hotel on the seafront.

 

Regards John

Edited March 11, 2022 by john watson

[John Bull]

3 hours ago, john watson said:

 

I had a look on this and the best seating plan which appeared was called "Development and Maintenance of Class 395 High Speed...(Train for UK High Speed 1) on the Hitachi website.  It seems to me that the extreme ends of the train are the best place to sit for suitcase travellers.  No passing foot traffic enroute.  Journey time is around one hour so there will be less requirement to move about to buffets or toilets, not sure if they have a buffet.  YouTube has a lot of St. Pancras to Dover Priory videos.  I am not sure how much walking is required from street to train at St. Pancras but London has pushed an agenda of Transport  For All meaning people in wheel chairs have had facilities added most of these facilities such as lifts are slightly hidden to prevent abuse but are available for people with prams, baby buggies or wheeled suitcases etc. If your party can do short haul baggage movements you should be fine.  Take a look at the St.Pancras.com website Station Facilities. Look out for light-blue uniformed station staff who will help with luggage handling.

 

If you still haven't booked a hotel the Best Western Dover Marina Hotel and Spa is a very nice old style hotel on the seafront.

 

Regards John

 

 

Just to add to John's post, St Pancras is the train's start point for this journey. So if you're at the station early you should be able to find seats close to the luggage areas. (But "early" because most passengers will board at St Pancras)

 

JB 🙂

 

 

[davekent]

The High Speed trains into Kent have for British trains very expansive dedicated luggage areas and are as comfortable as any trains we have on the shorter distance routes into the UK. They do not have any buffet facilities but of course there are plenty at the station. They can be busy but it is rare at this time not to get a couple of seats together even when boarding close to departure time (many people board at the first stop Stratford International where they can get extremely crowded)

 

In terms of buying tickets you do need to ensure that the tickets you buy are annotated + High Speed as they are more expensive than other trains to Dover. Don't however purchase 1st class tickets for extra comfort. The High speed trains from St Pancras are all standard class 

 

St Pancras is a new station used for Eurostar services so has good facilities and is fairly easy to get around. When in the station follow signs for Southeastern platforms which are on the top (1st level) of the station above the majority of shops but on the same level as the champagne bar and various other decent restaurants/bars. If arriving by taxi ask for the side entrance in Pancras road opposite Kings Cross station as this is adjacent to the escalators and lifts directly up to the 4 Southeastern platforms. The only real issues for the station is if arriving by underground/tube there are long walks through the tunnels to get up to the mainline platforms. Hope this is of some use

 

 

[davekent]

Part of my post above is misleading (and I don't know how to edit!!). Though the champagne bar/restaurants etc are on the same level as the Southeastern train platforms there is no level walk between them. You need to travel down and then up a floor to get between them, hence do everything you need/want to before you go to the platform for your train which you must access using just the lifts/escalators marked Southeastern! 

[john watson]

1 minute ago, davekent said:

Part of my post above is misleading (and I don't know how to edit!!). 

 

Editing is possible by clicking on the dots next to the #xx (number). It is only possible for around fifteen minutes or so after you started typing the post. After that time it is locked in.

 

You can also quote your original post by clicking on + Quote.  You can change what you said but need to say something below the quoted area too.  This leaves the original post in but a second similar post under it.

 

Regards John

[John Bull]

16 hours ago, davekent said:

Part of my post above is misleading (and I don't know how to edit!!). Though the champagne bar/restaurants etc are on the same level as the Southeastern train platforms there is no level walk between them. You need to travel down and then up a floor to get between them, hence do everything you need/want to before you go to the platform for your train which you must access using just the lifts/escalators marked Southeastern! 

yep, as per John’s post, you can edit (click on the triple dots, top right of your post) but that facility is only available for about 15 minutes. And no way to edit the heading of a thread starter - hence lots of spelling errors and typos in heddinges

That’s your only defence if you’re sued 😉

 

JB 🙂

Edited March 16, 2022 by John Bull

[davekent]

Thanks for the information Gents, as per my posting record I don't normally have too much to say so at least that limits what I get wrong! 

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, John Bull said:

And no way to edit the heading of a thread starter - hence lots of spelling errors and typos in heddinges

If you go to the first post of a thread (particularly if you are the OP; not sure they would do it if you weren't) and click the 3 dots at the top right and select Report, you can ask the hosts to  correct the title.

[travel4b]

On 3/11/2022 at 12:27 AM, john watson said:

 

I had a look on this and the best seating plan which appeared was called "Development and Maintenance of Class 395 High Speed...(Train for UK High Speed 1) on the Hitachi website.  It seems to me that the extreme ends of the train are the best place to sit for suitcase travellers.  No passing foot traffic enroute.  Journey time is around one hour so there will be less requirement to move about to buffets or toilets, not sure if they have a buffet.  YouTube has a lot of St. Pancras to Dover Priory videos.  I am not sure how much walking is required from street to train at St. Pancras but London has pushed an agenda of Transport  For All meaning people in wheel chairs have had facilities added most of these facilities such as lifts are slightly hidden to prevent abuse but are available for people with prams, baby buggies or wheeled suitcases etc. If your party can do short haul baggage movements you should be fine.  Take a look at the St.Pancras.com website Station Facilities. Look out for light-blue uniformed station staff who will help with luggage handling.

 

If you still haven't booked a hotel the Best Western Dover Marina Hotel and Spa is a very nice old style hotel on the seafront.

 

Regards John

Thanks so much!  This is very informative and helpful - exactly the information I was seeking.

[travel4b]

On 3/15/2022 at 3:23 PM, davekent said:

The High Speed trains into Kent have for British trains very expansive dedicated luggage areas and are as comfortable as any trains we have on the shorter distance routes into the UK. They do not have any buffet facilities but of course there are plenty at the station. They can be busy but it is rare at this time not to get a couple of seats together even when boarding close to departure time (many people board at the first stop Stratford International where they can get extremely crowded)

 

In terms of buying tickets you do need to ensure that the tickets you buy are annotated + High Speed as they are more expensive than other trains to Dover. Don't however purchase 1st class tickets for extra comfort. The High speed trains from St Pancras are all standard class 

 

St Pancras is a new station used for Eurostar services so has good facilities and is fairly easy to get around. When in the station follow signs for Southeastern platforms which are on the top (1st level) of the station above the majority of shops but on the same level as the champagne bar and various other decent restaurants/bars. If arriving by taxi ask for the side entrance in Pancras road opposite Kings Cross station as this is adjacent to the escalators and lifts directly up to the 4 Southeastern platforms. The only real issues for the station is if arriving by underground/tube there are long walks through the tunnels to get up to the mainline platforms. Hope this is of some use

 

 

Thanks so much for your reply; it's extremely helpful.