Debarkation time in Dover

[thumper860]

We're taking a Norwegian fjord cruise on Princess out of Dover departing June 18, 2018 returning Jul 4, 2018. We have a tight flight departure from Gatwick at noon on the 4th. We know the ship docks in Dover around 6:00 am. Anyone know what time disembarkation would start - so we can arrange private transfer in time to have a comfortable arrival time at Gatwick to make our noon flight.

[easyboy]

There may be cruisers on Princess Cruise Forum who have actual experience with Dover disembarkation.

 

 

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[Keith1010]

Diana and Art I would also ask on the Princess Board.

 

I've arrived on ships on other cruise lines so best to ask what those with Princess experiences were like.

 

The actual drive assuming no major traffic issues is about 90 minutes but could take closer to two hours if there are issues.

 

Keith

[fishywood]

Driving time from Dover to Gatwick is about 90 minutes.

 

The bare minimum comfortable time to arrive at Gatwick for an international flight is 2.5 hours.

 

So you need to be on the road before 8:00. I would book your pick up for 7:30-7:45 and just make sure you are assigned to the first group off the ship. Thankfully you are on Pacific Princess with only 675 fellow passengers, and that customs formalities when disembarking in the UK have been greatly simplified in the past few years.

 

(And enjoy your cruise: Summer Solstice above the Arctic Circle and on a small ship to boot--gotta add that to my if-I-win-the-lotto list ;))

[thumper860]

Thanks for the info

[AudenHoggart]

We'll also be arriving back in Dover next summer after a Greenland/Iceland cruise on the Pacific Princess.  I'm considering taking the train back to London since it looks to be a good deal faster than either the cruise bus or a coach.   Advance rail tickets (once they go on sale for our dates) look to be quite inexpensive.   I'm wondering what time to book a train.  There's a fast train to St. Pancras at 7:49 a.m. and 8:49 a.m.

 

Would I be safe in booking the 8:49 a.m. train out of Dover Priory?  Would this require making any special requests about debarkation times?

 

BTW - What's the etiquette about tipping porters at the cruise port in Dover, both on arrival and departure?

 

Thanks!

Edited December 19, 2018 by AudenHoggart
added a question

[LHT28]

depending on the docking time

 

the 8:49 should work  just get off by 8am grab  a taxi to the station 

it is  a small ship  so no big lines to get off

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Heidi13]

The cruise terminal to train station is less than a couple of miles in Dover.

 

Provided the ship is not delayed in docking, you should make the later train. Not sure if you are from UK, but you should note that UK trains do not have much space for luggage. If you have a couple of cases, look for luggage racks at the end of the carriage.

[John Bull]

Do re-check the fares

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

Fast trains (just over an hour) to London are expensive, somewhere north of £40, and I don't think cheap advance tickets for  the fast trains will be available for your time-of-day. 

 

Advance tickets aren't available until about 6 weeks out, but if you check the timetables for early January (thereby avoiding the complications of Christmas & the New Year) you'll see that for the fast train the earliest departure for advance tickets (£13.60) is 09.43.

 

There's an ideally-timed train at 08.44, but that is the slow train - a different route and lots of intermediate stations 

Again, an advance ticket costs just £13.60 but more than double the journey time at 2hrs 20.

 

So whether you take the early slow train or the later fast train, or indeed the 08.35 Nat Express bus (£6.10, but even slower at over 3 hrs) https://www.nationalexpress.com/en  you'll arrive in London at least an hour later than the expensive 08.49 fast train. 

 

As usual it's a question of cost vs convenience.

 

JB  

 

Edited December 20, 2018 by John Bull