Brilliance Jun 12, 2020 British Isle Cruises

[sweetlittlething212003]

On the fence about booking this cruise as we really want to go to LONDON but want to leave out of AMS because of several reasons. Is it feasible to do a super short trip to at least Buckingham Palace in London on a 8am-8pm docking in Dover?

[cft8]

Do you want to be able to tour Buckingham Palace or just see it from the outside? It's not open all the time, the summer opening is usually about 10 weeks starting at the end of July (this year it starts July 20), so it would likely not be open in June. 

[sweetlittlething212003]

If I was able to just see it from outside I think that would be okay. I would like to be able to also see Big Ben and the tower if time allowed.

[mondas42]

Central London is a near 2 hour drive from Dover, but can be longer if the traffic is bad. The train is a much better option at just over an hour to St Pancreas. Then it’s a case of Tubes to the various places. 

[sweetlittlething212003]

So these sites are doable in this amount of time, you think?

[Clarea]

You may also want to ask this on the port of call forum:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/88-britain/

[Hatters cruiser]

Buckingham Palace and Westminister are within easy walking distance of each other, one wrinkle is that the Queen Elizabeth Tower ( Big Ben ) is undergoing a major restoration program at the moment that is due to last until 2021. It's covered in scaffolding  and protective coverings and the chimes are silenced to protect the workers hearing.

 

 

[cft8]

You could probably see those places at least from the outside in that amount of time. A hop-on, hop-off bus might be your best bet, or you can take the Tube to get around. Personally, I wouldn't do it just to see them from the outside, but that's just me. Also, not to rain further on your parade, but Big Ben is in scaffolding until 2021 while the tower is restored. The Tower of London doesn't have timed entry tickets. We spent probably 4 hours there, including the time we spent waiting to see the Crown Jewels. We did not go up into the White Tower because I was recovering from knee surgery and couldn't do the stairs. You might be able to go straight there, get straight in line for the jewels, but skip the rest and get to see the other sites you mentioned from the outside. You could also take the river taxi from the Tower to Westminster bridge to see Parliament and the shrouded Big Ben, then walk to Buckingham Palace.