Dover sightseeing on morning of embarcation?

[jtkboston]

Anybody here sailed on a previous Dover, England departure, and did some sightseeing near the port on the morning of embarcation?
Any recommendations for hiring a tour guide or a tour service, or storing luggage before going to the port?

 

[lindsay0526]

Will your hotel keep your bags for you for a few hours? A quick google search yielded this service to hold your bag at 2.5 pounds / bag- https://www.dovereurochange.co.uk/

I would imagine any of the sites around- white cliffs of Dover or a castle would be interesting to visit. The wonderful thing about England is there is so.much.history. Hop on trip advisor and see what there is to do and pick something that sounds the most appealing to you.

 

[bats]

You could easily do Dover Castle on the morning, especially if the hotel will hold your bags (not normally a problem with UK hotels). If they can't hold your bags, just get to port around 10:30, drop your bags off then grab a cab up to the castle with your carry on.
I wouldn't personally venture further afield as it would take too much time, but Dover Castle is great and has some awesome view of the ship too.

There are some other historic things in Dover too, like the Viking Ship amongst other things. This website has more details for you - https://www.whitecliffscountry.org.uk/Plan/Visitor-Information-Centres.aspx

Hope that helps (I live 40 mins away from Dover).
Joa

 

[jtkboston]

Thanks, I will look over the web site. We’re staying in London before the cruise, heading down to Dover the morning (perhaps early if we can work out a quick tour plan).
Is it feasible to see the white cliffs *and* the castle? If we use a taxi between the rail station/left luggage shop and the two sites?

And I don’t remember reading details on this: do the Dover sailings use a port arrival time like the US Port Canaveral sailings? Or is it just show up whenever we’re ready?

 

[Barbamama]

You will have a great view of the white cliffs as the boat leaves the port, so no need to look for another way to see them.
I agree your best bet is Dover castle, it’s a fantastic visit!!

 

[Barbamama]

And I don’t remember reading details on this: do the Dover sailings use a port arrival time like the US Port Canaveral sailings? Or is it just show up whenever we’re ready?

There is a port arrival time, but the process can take a bit more time in European ports than in Port Canaveral.

And although different people have different paces, I would allow at least 2-3 hours for your visit of Dover Castle (plus the souvenir shop is nice ).

Another visit we enjoyed (we arrived a day early) was the WWII hospital carved into tunnels in the cliffs, but you have to join a scheduled group as they only allow a small group at a time, so we had to wait an hour before we could visit.

 

[Barbamama]

[GALLERY=][/GALLERY][GALLERY=][/GALLERY]

 

[jtkboston]

Another thought: can we check in our luggage at the port, then go sight seeing, then come back to the port to complete checkin and boarding?

 

[KDG]

Anybody here sailed on a previous Dover, England departure, and did some sightseeing near the port on the morning of embarcation?
Any recommendations for hiring a tour guide or a tour service, or storing luggage before going to the port?

If your ship leaves on a Sunday, Dover Castle doesn’t open until 10:00 a.m. we didn’t know that and we had to kill time for about an hour and that set our plans off a bit.

 

[HakunaMatataNoWorries]

Care the port road becomes absolutely gridlocked from 8 am to early afternoon.
The castle is on the other side of town and up a steep hill. It may require a taxi up there, but could walk back.
It opens 10 am.
I have seen when disembarking the porters taking cruise luggage at 9 am but I do not recommend it, those turning up, we’re turned away. Best to arrive after 10.30 am.

Many cruisers book an incorporated tour from London to port with a stop at the castle where they keep your luggage
Such as.
https://www.internationalfriends.co...hrow-to-dover-with-optional-dover-castle.html

I do not recommend stays in Dover, quite seedy there, but if you wish to the Best Western Dover Marina is convenient and on a good day you could walk to the terminal if your fit.

Canterbury is a far better alternative

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Care the port road becomes absolutely gridlocked from 8 am to early afternoon.
The castle is on the other side of town and up a steep hill. It may require a taxi up there, but could walk back.
It opens 10 am.
I have seen when disembarking the porters taking cruise luggage at 9 am but I do not recommend it, those turning up, we’re turned away. Best to arrive after 10.30 am.

Many cruisers book an incorporated tour from London to port with a stop at the castle where they keep your luggage
Such as.
https://www.internationalfriends.co...hrow-to-dover-with-optional-dover-castle.html

I do not recommend stays in Dover, quite seedy there, but if you wish to the Best Western Dover Marina is convenient and on a good day you could walk to the terminal if your fit.

Canterbury is a far better alternative

Thank you for this recommendation. We are just beginning to plan our trip and this transfer/tour on the morning of our cruise sounds perfect.

 

[hmsTigger]

We'll be doing the International Friends Co tour from Heathrow to Dover Castle and on to Disney Magic.
Anyone else doing this transfer and BI cruise Sept 8th?