Amsterdam to London post cruise, Eurostar won’t be running!

[erinsmom03]

I just found out that Eurostar will not be running from Amsterdam to London next June. This was our plan to get to London after our cruise. What would be the best option now?

[Meander Ingwa]

I would simply get a one way air ticket.  Likely will arrive at Landon City, just opposite Greenwich.  Simple connection on Dockland Light Rail to The City

[Globaliser]

55 minutes ago, erinsmom03 said:

I just found out that Eurostar will not be running from Amsterdam to London next June. This was our plan to get to London after our cruise. What would be the best option now?

 

Fly.

 

Specifically: fly from Amsterdam to London City Airport.

[Cotswold Eagle]

You can still travel by rail, if you wish. Just take a train from Amsterdam to Brussels and connect to the Eurostar service there.

 

If you do switch to flying, as mentioned above Schipol - London City route is one of the most convenient city flight connections it's possible to take. Just be careful with the London airport, as an Amsterdam-London search will throw up flights to Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton, as well as LCY.

 

For those not following this story, this is due to closure of the immigration and security processing facility at Amsterdam Central Station during redevelopment, to be replaced by one with significantly higher capacity. It appears that a way has been found to reduce what was originally going to be a year long suspension to around 6 months. 

Edited November 27, 2023 by Cotswold Eagle

[markeb]

5 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

You can still travel by rail, if you wish. Just take a train from Amsterdam to Brussels and connect to the Eurostar service there.

 

If you do switch to flying, as mentioned above Schipol - London City route is one of the most convenient city flight connections it's possible to take. Just be careful with the London airport, as an Amsterdam-London search will throw up flights to Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton, as well as LCY.

 

For those not following this story, this is due to closure of the immigration and security processing facility at Amsterdam Central Station during redevelopment, to be replaced by one with significantly higher capacity. It appears that a way has been found to reduce what was originally going to be a year long suspension to around 6 months. 

 

Given what can be fairly expensive checked baggage fees for air travel within Europe, this seems on the surface to be a very good option. It might take longer than flying, but the Eurostar was so nice the one time I was able to take it. Your thoughts?

[MAVIP]

9 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

You can still travel by rail, if you wish. Just take a train from Amsterdam to Brussels and connect to the Eurostar service there.

 

If you do switch to flying, as mentioned above Schipol - London City route is one of the most convenient city flight connections it's possible to take. Just be careful with the London airport, as an Amsterdam-London search will throw up flights to Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton, as well as LCY.

 

For those not following this story, this is due to closure of the immigration and security processing facility at Amsterdam Central Station during redevelopment, to be replaced by one with significantly higher capacity. It appears that a way has been found to reduce what was originally going to be a year long suspension to around 6 months. 

Or fast train from Amsterdam to Rotterdam Centraal (38 minutes € 17,90 plus € 2,90 extra for the fast train - only stop at Schiphol airport) and Eurostar Rotterdam Centraal-London St Pancras 3hrs 29 minutes (as from € 55).

[Cotswold Eagle]

4 minutes ago, MAVIP said:

Or fast train from Amsterdam to Rotterdam Centraal (38 minutes € 17,90 plus € 2,90 extra for the fast train - only stop at Schiphol airport) and Eurostar Rotterdam Centraal-London St Pancras 3hrs 29 minutes (as from € 55).

There are no Eurostar services from Rotterdam either during the period of suspension.

Edited November 27, 2023 by Cotswold Eagle

[MAVIP]

56 minutes ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

There are no Eurostar services from Rotterdam either during the period of suspension.

Ooooo, thank you so much, you are absoutely right: as from June 2024 no connection from Rotterdam too.

[Globaliser]

5 hours ago, markeb said:

Given what can be fairly expensive checked baggage fees for air travel within Europe ...

 

I don't know where you get this idea from. I've just checked one-way tickets on British Airways and KLM from Amsterdam to London City for a random date in April 2024.

 

On BA, a checked baggage fare includes one 23 kg bag (plus other included extras), and costs only €18 more than a hand-baggage-only fare. Even a business class fare (with two 23 kg bags included) is only €49 more than the economy checked baggage fare.

 

On KLM, the correspondence difference between economy options is €30.

 

5 hours ago, markeb said:

It might take longer than flying, but the Eurostar was so nice the one time I was able to take it.

 

Flying to London City has some standout advantages for ease and convenience. Eurostar is a much stronger competitor against flights to Heathrow or other London airports.

[markeb]

1 hour ago, Globaliser said:

 

I don't know where you get this idea from. I've just checked one-way tickets on British Airways and KLM from Amsterdam to London City for a random date in April 2024.

 

On BA, a checked baggage fare includes one 23 kg bag (plus other included extras), and costs only €18 more than a hand-baggage-only fare. Even a business class fare (with two 23 kg bags included) is only €49 more than the economy checked baggage fare.

 

On KLM, the correspondence difference between economy options is €30.

 

 

Flying to London City has some standout advantages for ease and convenience. Eurostar is a much stronger competitor against flights to Heathrow or other London airports.

Thanks. I seem to remember much worse fares. Or people complaining about budget carriers, which may be stuck in my memory. Glad to be wrong on that. I have had carryon concerns in the past on flights within Europe with sometimes tighter restrictions than in the US. A lot of connections from the US were on regional carriers from Munich to Prague or Naples. The checked bags transferred fine but carryons were a pain. It got complicated at times. 
 

London City does seem like a great option. Have to remember that if we fly from London to the continent in the future. 

[CruiseSter1ing]

On 11/26/2023 at 1:51 PM, erinsmom03 said:

I just found out that Eurostar will not be running from Amsterdam to London next June. This was our plan to get to London after our cruise. What would be the best option now?

I was just dealing with this exact situation.  And by chance thought I would see if any threads were discussing this on CC.   Our cruise to Iceland on the Rotterdam from Rotterdam is from Jul 6 - Jul 20.  Afterwards, I did the research on the Eurostar is still traveling from Rotterdam to Brussels and then can get the Brussels to London connection.  From what I can tell a 45 minute platform change is all that's required.  Here's the schedule we are going to do: 

•  

  • Rotterdam to Brussels Train #ER9328 9:59 - 11:08

  • Brussels to London Train #ES9135 12:52 - 13:57

•  

[Cotswold Eagle]

1 hour ago, CruiseSter1ing said:

Afterwards, I did the research on the Eurostar is still traveling from Rotterdam to Brussels and then can get the Brussels to London connection.  From what I can tell a 45 minute platform change is all that's required.  Here's the schedule we are going to do: 

•  

  • Rotterdam to Brussels Train #ER9328 9:59 - 11:08

  • Brussels to London Train #ES9135 12:52 - 13:57

•  

This is the suggestion I made upthread. To be clear, your first Eurostar train is the service formerly called Thalys, the trains that run between Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. They are now owned by Eurostar and have been rebranded as such. Colloquially, they are known as Eurostar Red because of the train livery. 
 

You second train is a “proper” Eurostar, so to speak - i.e. a direct train to the U.K. Unlike the former Thalys routes, these have immigration and security controls before boarding. The published suggested arrival time at Brussels Midi is 90-120 minutes before departure for most passengers, and the gates close at 30 minutes. So what Eurostar insist on calling a 45 minute ‘platform change’, is in fact a tight connection. 
 

That said, they continue to sell these tickets as the only options on their booking engines and I assume the single itinerary gives some protection in case of delay.  I have done it at least once, and it is a bit of a scramble to get to the Eurostar check in at Brussels and there were a lot of stressed people in the queues, some not understanding that everyone is checking in for the same train or that the 30 minutes cutoff is at the check in gates, the first thing you pass through.  Security and the immigration controls are after that. 

Edited January 2 by Cotswold Eagle

[Globaliser]

2 hours ago, CruiseSter1ing said:

Here's the schedule we are going to do: 

• Rotterdam to Brussels Train #ER9328 9:59 - 11:08

• Brussels to London Train #ES9135 12:52 - 13:57

 

That itinerary actually has 1:44 between trains at Brussels. (NB: EST9328 actually departs Rotterdam at 0958).

 

Interestingly, this journey doesn't seem to be bookable on the Eurostar website at the moment. It's not offering through booking for any Saturdays around that time, although you can book the individual trains separately. For the day before, you can book the 1058 Eurostar Red departure from Rotterdam connecting to the Eurostar Blue train to London at the same times, which is the itinerary with the 44-minute connection, but the website doesn't offer the 0958 departure from Rotterdam.

[Cotswold Eagle]

27 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

That itinerary actually has 1:44 between trains at Brussels. (NB: EST9328 actually departs Rotterdam at 0958).

 

Interestingly, this journey doesn't seem to be bookable on the Eurostar website at the moment. It's not offering through booking for any Saturdays around that time, although you can book the individual trains separately. For the day before, you can book the 1058 Eurostar Red departure from Rotterdam connecting to the Eurostar Blue train to London at the same times, which is the itinerary with the 44-minute connection, but the website doesn't offer the 0958 departure from Rotterdam.

Ah, yes. I just picked a random date, and all the offerings had short connections, which seems to be the Eurostar default, with no way to book the earlier service on one ticket. 

[CruiseSter1ing]

20 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Ah, yes. I just picked a random date, and all the offerings had short connections, which seems to be the Eurostar default, with no way to book the earlier service on one ticket. 

Yes, I found it has to be booked as two tickets.

 

[CruiseSter1ing]

On 1/2/2024 at 10:43 PM, CruiseSter1ing said:

Yes, I found it has to be booked as two tickets.

 

I happened to be traveling on July 20.  That's the last day that EuroStar is going from Rotterdam to Brussels.   🙂.   After that the trip will be on only on SCNB which is about 2hrs rather than the roughly 1hr on Eurostar.  We have 1.5hr layover in Brussels.  So not too concerned if first leg is a little late.

[Cotswold Eagle]

8 hours ago, CruiseSter1ing said:

I happened to be traveling on July 20.  That's the last day that EuroStar is going from Rotterdam to Brussels.   🙂.   After that the trip will be on only on SCNB which is about 2hrs rather than the roughly 1hr on Eurostar.  We have 1.5hr layover in Brussels.  So not too concerned if first leg is a little late.

I suspect that’s just the current limit on Eurostar (Red) bookings. 

[erinsmom03]

On 1/2/2024 at 1:46 AM, CruiseSter1ing said:

I was just dealing with this exact situation.  And by chance thought I would see if any threads were discussing this on CC.   Our cruise to Iceland on the Rotterdam from Rotterdam is from Jul 6 - Jul 20.  Afterwards, I did the research on the Eurostar is still traveling from Rotterdam to Brussels and then can get the Brussels to London connection.  From what I can tell a 45 minute platform change is all that's required.  Here's the schedule we are going to do: 

•  

  • Rotterdam to Brussels Train #ER9328 9:59 - 11:08

  • Brussels to London Train #ES9135 12:52 - 13:57

•  

We ended up booking a flight from Amsterdam to London on British Airways. Our cruise is out of Amsterdam, so the train from Rotterdam wouldn’t work for us. I’m hoping we will get to enjoy the Eurostar experience in 2025, when we cruise again in Europe. Hoping to do a day in Paris and a day at Disneyland Paris after that cruise. 

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, erinsmom03 said:

Our cruise is out of Amsterdam, so the train from Rotterdam wouldn’t work for us.

 

But (in theory) a train from Amsterdam to Brussels would work, and then you could change trains to get to London.

 

Nevertheless, flying (esp to London City if you can) makes more sense anyway.

[ptf2009]

For those of you with flying to and from Amsterdam:

We have a layover in London on British Airways and then on to the USA on Virgin Airways.

Do we have to go through customs in London WITH or without our luggage? If so, how long will this take us?

 

Please advise. Thank you for your time and info.

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, ptf2009 said:

We have a layover in London on British Airways and then on to the USA on Virgin Airways.

Do we have to go through customs in London WITH or without our luggage? If so, how long will this take us?

 

It depends on whether you have one ticket covering both flights, or whether the two flights have been booked separately. It also depends on the London airport(s) that you're arriving at and departing from.

[ScoutDiver]

Is 11:40 too early to catch a plane to LHR out of Amsterdam ?  I am sort of concerned about security.  We will be getting off the Niew Statendam on September 7

 

What about an 8:40 Train ?

[onyx007]

Now my question is; is the Eurostar running from Brussels to London ? and isn't there a regular train service which you might catch to bring you from Amsterdam to Brussels ?

 

 

[Globaliser]

13 minutes ago, onyx007 said:

Now my question is; is the Eurostar running from Brussels to London ? and isn't there a regular train service which you might catch to bring you from Amsterdam to Brussels ?

 

Yes: Brussels to London as normal. In addition, AIUI even Eurostar will still be running from Amsterdam (and Rotterdam) to Brussels. And yes, there will be other trains too from Amsterdam to Brussels.

 

But the real question is: If you have to change at Brussels, which involves clearing immigration there, why would you do this if you can fly, especially if you can fly to a particularly convenient airport? Taking the train direct from Amsterdam to London is (for many people) marginal for time and convenience. Adding a change at Brussels will tip the balance for more people.

[onyx007]

6 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

Yes: Brussels to London as normal. In addition, AIUI even Eurostar will still be running from Amsterdam (and Rotterdam) to Brussels. And yes, there will be other trains too from Amsterdam to Brussels.

 

But the real question is: If you have to change at Brussels, which involves clearing immigration there, why would you do this if you can fly, especially if you can fly to a particularly convenient airport? Taking the train direct from Amsterdam to London is (for many people) marginal for time and convenience. Adding a change at Brussels will tip the balance for more people.

Many people don't like to fly for different reasons...And that you have direct trains from Amsterdam to London has started just recently when Eurostar bought Talys, before that you always had to change...