Norway Cruise (+Iceland/Copenhagen/Dover) TIPS (consolidated)

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I was looking at either Premier Inn County Hall or Premier Inn Waterloo? I am going to hire a private driver to get us from the airport and to Dover (as a single mom with kids, don't want to schlep luggage on public transport).

Train is best to/ from Dover. You can get it at Waterloo East.

 

[DISGRL13]

No Wimbledon is at the end of June and that wouldn't effect central London but Wimbledon apartments. The budget hotels can take a while to get there's up. It's exactly a year some do it at 11 months.

I am doing mine at the end of July watch my blog see if mine is good. I booked it in January so plenty of time.

That hotel in Waterloo is a good area. There are so many good areas I need to know a bit about your travel plans the airport your coming into and if you stay in London and how you plan to get to the port.

This is for July 2016 after our Norway, Iceland, Scotland cruise. We will end in Dover where we want to spend time there looking around and maybe go to Canterbury then on to London. We want to see the main sights in London. Anything you recommend that is a must do while in Dover or London? What is your opinion of a day trip to Paris on the Eurostar? Crazy? Thanks so much.

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

This is for July 2016 after our Norway, Iceland, Scotland cruise. We will end in Dover where we want to spend time there looking around and maybe go to Canterbury then on to London. We want to see the main sights in London. Anything you recommend that is a must do while in Dover or London? What is your opinion of a day trip to Paris on the Eurostar? Crazy? Thanks so much.

I know some on our Dover round trip are going to have a coach pick them up in Dover go to Canterbury or Leeds castle and then to London. I am on that same cruise as you.

Eurostar is nice but it's three hours each way, there us do much to see in London personally I wouldn't do it.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

This is for July 2016 after our Norway, Iceland, Scotland cruise. We will end in Dover where we want to spend time there looking around and maybe go to Canterbury then on to London. We want to see the main sights in London. Anything you recommend that is a must do while in Dover or London? What is your opinion of a day trip to Paris on the Eurostar? Crazy? Thanks so much.

I think you'll get varying opinions on the Paris for a day so you just have to weigh if it's something you want to do I have been to Paris several times (I grew up in Europe) however my DS and DH have never been. We are staying 4 nights after our cruise (TWO WEEKS TO GO!) in London after the cruise, however one day yes we are taking the Eurostar to Paris. We are taking the first one at 6am and the last one back from Paris at around 815pm. I hired a private tour guide for 7 hours after we see the Eiffel Tower on our own and he will then make use of our limited time and will have us seeing a ton of things that I know are awesome.

I'm not sure when they will get the opportunity to be so close and a little over 2 hours each way is awesome to me and also the Eurostar is part of the experience.

We are excited about it so I'm in the "go for it camp".

Heather

 

[linetbo]

I think you'll get varying opinions on the Paris for a day so you just have to weigh if it's something you want to do I have been to Paris several times (I grew up in Europe) however my DS and DH have never been. We are staying 4 nights after our cruise (TWO WEEKS TO GO!) in London after the cruise, however one day yes we are taking the Eurostar to Paris. We are taking the first one at 6am and the last one back from Paris at around 815pm. I hired a private tour guide for 7 hours after we see the Eiffel Tower on our own and he will then make use of our limited time and will have us seeing a ton of things that I know are awesome.

I'm not sure when they will get the opportunity to be so close and a little over 2 hours each way is awesome to me and also the Eurostar is part of the experience.

We are excited about it so I'm in the "go for it camp".

Heather

May I ask you the company name on your paris tour? thanks

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

May I ask you the company name on your paris tour? thanks

Sure! It's www.toursbylocals.com

Heather

 

[DISGRL13]

I know some on our Dover round trip are going to have a coach pick them up in Dover go to Canterbury or Leeds castle and then to London. I am on that same cruise as you.

Eurostar is nice but it's three hours each way, there us do much to see in London personally I wouldn't do it.

I like the idea of having a car pick us up and take us to Canterbury and then on to London. To see Dover and the area near by would that take longer than an afternoon? How long would it take to see Canterbury an afternoon as well? I was wondering if we should stay the night in Dover before going on to London?

 

[DISGRL13]

I think you'll get varying opinions on the Paris for a day so you just have to weigh if it's something you want to do I have been to Paris several times (I grew up in Europe) however my DS and DH have never been. We are staying 4 nights after our cruise (TWO WEEKS TO GO!) in London after the cruise, however one day yes we are taking the Eurostar to Paris. We are taking the first one at 6am and the last one back from Paris at around 815pm. I hired a private tour guide for 7 hours after we see the Eiffel Tower on our own and he will then make use of our limited time and will have us seeing a ton of things that I know are awesome.

I'm not sure when they will get the opportunity to be so close and a little over 2 hours each way is awesome to me and also the Eurostar is part of the experience.

We are excited about it so I'm in the "go for it camp".

Heather

Thanks Heather! That is a full day! I would take the first train there as well if we did it. So you bought your Eurostar ticket ahead of time? Please post how everything turns out when you get back this summer. I would love to hear if you thought it was worth it in the end. Thanks again! I will check out the tour company you mentioned too. Have a fantastic trip!

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Thanks Heather! That is a full day! I would take the first train there as well if we did it. So you bought your Eurostar ticket ahead of time? Please post how everything turns out when you get back this summer. I would love to hear if you thought it was worth it in the end. Thanks again! I will check out the tour company you mentioned too. Have a fantastic trip!

Yes I bought our Eurostar tickets the day there were released as my experience shows they only go up.

I'll keep you posted how it turns out

Heather

 

[lmb80129]

Train is best to/ from Dover. You can get it at Waterloo East.

We are staying at Park Plaza Westminster bridge. Would we take a taxi from the hotel to Waterloo East? Would we likely need 2 taxis for 5 people and lots of luggage? Do we need to buy train tickets ahead of time? Does our luggage stay in the train car with us? We are trying to figure out if we can make the train work. Thank you for all your advice!

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

We are staying at Park Plaza Westminster bridge. Would we take a taxi from the hotel to Waterloo East? Would we likely need 2 taxis for 5 people and lots of luggage? Do we need to buy train tickets ahead of time? Does our luggage stay in the train car with us? We are trying to figure out if we can make the train work. Thank you for all your advice!

The station is close. Now for Dover your options are Waterloo East, Charring Cross where it starts and if your getting taxis go there, or Victoria again a terminus, or St Pancrus. I personally would recommend the service from St Pancrus new high speed trains limited stops. On all of these you. Can book them on Trainline from about three months in advance you do not " need" to you can just show up, but best price book in advance. You can reserve seat numbers. Luggage comes with you at all times in the train .

 

[tink too]

We stayed at County Hall May 31-June 2 and it was the most convenient of all the hotels we stayed in. Staying right by the Eye and across from Big Ben was awesome.

So glad you enjoyed your stay at the Premier Inn County Hall as we're booked for a few nights there before our Northern European cruise.

 

[MeeskaMooska13]

Your exactly a year off and next year is a leap year give it a couple of days and availability will be there

This worked!!! Thank you so much DISNEY FANTASY! You've been very helpful on so many issues! If your cruising ever takes you to the Galapagos Islands (on Celebrity) - I can answer those kind of questions, if needed! Thanks again!

 

[MeeskaMooska13]

Something that I have discovered is, as a traveling party of 3 with only 1 adult, DCL couldn't book us in a post-cruise hotel in Copenhagen. They told my TA there could only be two to a room and they couldn't book two rooms because there was only 1 adult in the party. My TA suggested i contact the Tivoli Hotel directly and, sure enough, they do have rooms that can hold 3-4 people (sofa-beds). I was able to easily book this. I wanted to post this in case any of you who had been booked in two rooms by DCL wanted to save a little money by booking themselves in one room.

 

[DISGRL13]

Something that I have discovered is, as a traveling party of 3 with only 1 adult, DCL couldn't book us in a post-cruise hotel in Copenhagen. They told my TA there could only be two to a room and they couldn't book two rooms because there was only 1 adult in the party. My TA suggested i contact the Tivoli Hotel directly and, sure enough, they do have rooms that can hold 3-4 people (sofa-beds). I was able to easily book this. I wanted to post this in case any of you who had been booked in two rooms by DCL wanted to save a little money by booking themselves in one room.

Thank you!

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Yes I bought our Eurostar tickets the day there were released as my experience shows they only go up.

I'll keep you posted how it turns out

Heather

Sorry for the delay in responding with an update!

We did indeed take the Eurostar on Saturday, 7/11 and everything went perfectly! As mentioned we took the first train at 6:18am and the last one from Paris around 8:20pm. The weather was sunny and actually quite warm. I'm so glad I paid the private guide as I didn't have to do the travel planning once we arrived. He kept to our list and we were able to see everything we wanted and my DH, DS, and best friend and DS loved every minute of it. No regrets and we met people on the train going and coming who had done the same.

It was really cool on the train back to London, we started chatting with the family next to us and they were on our cruise We enjoyed chatting with them and it's really a small world.

We stayed at the Premier Inn St. Pancras and loved it. We really miss it!

Heather

 

[nzdisneymom]

I like the idea of having a car pick us up and take us to Canterbury and then on to London. To see Dover and the area near by would that take longer than an afternoon? How long would it take to see Canterbury an afternoon as well? I was wondering if we should stay the night in Dover before going on to London?

DISGRL13 - we are on the British Isles cruise, Dover to Dover, in June 2016. We plan to have a car pick us up in Dover and drive us to Gatwick (staying overnight before flying the following morning) and have inquired about sightseeing in Canterbury on the way from Dover to Gatwick. Since we don't have a plane to catch that day, we can take our time back. We plan to use the same car company that will bring us from Gatwick to the guest house we're staying at for a few nights before sailing.

We had considered staying the night in Dover and going to London the next morning but were concerned that if there were traffic delays, we didn't want to miss our flight. Plus we had a choice of flights - 11:15 or 1:00 - so this way we can take the earlier flight back.

 

[Jasrhon]

For those looking at tours of Canterbury after the cruise, we just got off Baltic cruise on July 22 and did at our of Canterbury and Leeds Castle which included bus transport to London hotels. We booked it through aviator but the local company is International Friends. Everyone was sorted into one of 2 coaches depending on which hotel we were staying at in London. We were in late dining and requested express walk off so that we would not hold up the tour. Guest services was inconsistent with the info they gave out on this depending on who you talked to. There was one party that was told they had to carry all their luggage if they did this but in fact we were able to get special Chip and Dale tags so our luggage was first off. Of course the tour didn't leave until everyone was off the ship. The tour was nice and our guide was fantastic! We were dropped off at our hotel around 6 pm. I would recommend this as a stress free way to get to London.

 

[DISGRL13]

For those looking at tours of Canterbury after the cruise, we just got off Baltic cruise on July 22 and did at our of Canterbury and Leeds Castle which included bus transport to London hotels. We booked it through aviator but the local company is International Friends. Everyone was sorted into one of 2 coaches depending on which hotel we were staying at in London. We were in late dining and requested express walk off so that we would not hold up the tour. Guest services was inconsistent with the info they gave out on this depending on who you talked to. There was one party that was told they had to carry all their luggage if they did this but in fact we were able to get special Chip and Dale tags so our luggage was first off. Of course the tour didn't leave until everyone was off the ship. The tour was nice and our guide was fantastic! We were dropped off at our hotel around 6 pm. I would recommend this as a stress free way to get to London.

Thanks for the suggestion! Did you feel like you got to spend enough time in Canterbury and really get the feel for the city on this tour? It sounds like a great way to get to London from Dover. Is there anything really to see in Dover worth staying there over night after the cruise? Thanks for your insight.

 

[Jasrhon]

Thanks for the suggestion! Did you feel like you got to spend enough time in Canterbury and really get the feel for the city on this tour? It sounds like a great way to get to London from Dover. Is there anything really to see in Dover worth staying there over night after the cruise? Thanks for your insight.

I think we had enough time but we didn't actually get to go inside the cathedral because it was closed that day for an ordination ceremony. We had just short of 2 hours there. We were given the option of a half hour guided tour or just free time. Since our kids wanted to eat first we opted for free time. There are plenty of quaint shops and restaurants. As for Dover we stayed the night before but only had time for the castle since we didn't arrive until 3:45pm. We had just enough time to tour the war tunnels and explore the castle. We stayed at the Best Western.