Current Dover and London issues

DISNEY FANTASY said:

Heads up / Warning re Dover.

For cruisers using DCL on 7/10 and 7/22 embarkation and disembarkation.

Currently there are strikes at the French end of the Channel tunnel and their ports. This is causing significant disruption and delay. (1) anyone going by road on the M20 will find operation stack in force where trucks are stopped and held as they can't enter the port causing restrictions on the motorway. (2) Anyone who is travelling by Eurostar or the channel trains may also face delays. This could be resolved by the Dover cruises.

Additional checks are being put in place to stop illegal immigration which can slow down passage.

Also London Tube and London rail are having strikes planned the next are on 9 /10th July and London will be gridlocked unless resolved. It's re money and also re introduction of an all night tube. Again maybe resolved but worth looking at your plans.

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ctnurse said:

I hope that is is resolved soon. We still haven't figured out how to get back from Dover. We were going to try to take a car service with a sight seeing stop for a few hours, but don't know if we are going to have enough time for that we have a 445pm flight. Everything else, I think, is figured out. I just need to book Blackberry from Heathrow to our hotel. We are in the teens now!

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DISNEY FANTASY said:

Heads up / Warning re Dover.

For cruisers using DCL on 7/10 and 7/22 embarkation and disembarkation.

Currently there are strikes at the French end of the Channel tunnel and their ports. This is causing significant disruption and delay. (1) anyone going by road on the M20 will find operation stack in force where trucks are stopped and held as they can't enter the port causing restrictions on the motorway. (2) Anyone who is travelling by Eurostar or the channel trains may also face delays. This could be resolved by the Dover cruises.

Additional checks are being put in place to stop illegal immigration which can slow down passage.

Also London Tube and London rail are having strikes planned the next are on 9 /10th July and London will be gridlocked unless resolved. It's re money and also re introduction of an all night tube. Again maybe resolved but worth looking at your plans.

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rochmom4 said:

Thank you Disney Fantasy for keeping us posted on the latest news.

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abayaflowers said:

I have been reading on the www.dailymail.co.uk UK news that there's a major issue with illegal immigrants try to hop on or get inside the cargo load of the Big Rigs to get into the UK. I, also, read that many have ruined the produce or perishable items are deemed non-consumable after the stow aways are in the same cargo hold; and the trucking companies are penalized for the "damaged goods".

I did not realize that it was such a terrible situation. Hope that the strikes all get resolved.

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DISNEY FANTASY said:

Yes the situation is currently very bad it could change fast.

Southern rail who do services to from London Gatwick will have a strike I think starting on the day of the 10/7 cruise. The tube is on strike Thurs and Friday 9/10 and most likely again and again post that.

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bumbershoot said:

So...something I noticed last year...the British concept of a significant delay or disruption in transportation was *vastly* different than my idea of a significant delay or disruption.

Specifically, after booking rail from Nottingham to London and back, I saw a notice that there would be significant disruptions on our way back from London. For days I kept checking back with huge nervousness, because since I live in a place with exactly TWO trains a day to go down towards California or up towards Canada, and I believe one train a day to go east...that can get massively disrupted, very quickly. So I was reading that through my "filter" and was VERY nervous.

Turned out that instead of 4 trains *an hour* from London to Nottingham there were only 2. An hour. For that *day*. And over the course of our trip I spoke with SO many British people who had nothing but horrible things to say about British rail, and all of them were absolutely astonished by the American version of railroads. Many of them walked away from the conversations appreciating what they have a bit more! (I get that when you're comparing yourself to Germany's railroads your system looks sad, but compared to America's rails, you should celebrate every 2 minutes for what you have LOL)

So now I have a hard time trusting the British version of a disruption or delay.

Is this a REAL disruption or delay, like people will be herded into some safe place and have to stay there for days and days because they can't get out, or...it'll take a few extra hours?


I have no vested interest in this, but I kind of want to help translate, because of our experiences last year using the fabulous and amazing British rail system, and how much the British people seemed to hate it. Definitely a lost in translation moment! Want to help if this is one, too.

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UKDisTravellers said:

According to BBC news website, the Southern rail strike doesn't start until 12th July, thankfully! There is an overtime ban on that line for the weekend of 10th-12th July preceding the strike, but at least the trains will still run on the 10th!
Southeastern trains operate between London St Pancras and Dover Priory, and also from Charing Cross in London to Dover Priory, so that's another option.

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Cliffside said:

Wow....that picture looks horrible. We are planned to arrive into Heathrow in the morning of the 9th and having a private car take us to Dover. How long did they shut the M20 down for?

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Pens Fan said:

Thanks so much for the heads up and keep us updated. We are taking DCL transport to our airport hotel but planned on taking the the tube into the city for sightseeing. Hope it's still possible on the 10th.

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