London and Dover Precruise transportation??

[TomAndJane]

I am sure this has been asked a million times but here it goes again. My wife and I are spending a few days in London prior to our cruise and another day in Dover. We want to go to Dover on a Saturday. I know there seems to be trains every 1/2 hour to 1 hour leaving for Dover that day. Will they all be busy? We are only about .6 miles from the Charing Cross Train Station. Would it be better for us to take the train or to take a bus from Victoria Station (I have no idea how far that is from our Hotel).

 

How difficult is it to find storage for your luggage, etc.? I understand there are no porters. Any answers would greatly be appreciated.

 

Tom

[HeinBloed]

I am sure this has been asked a million times but here it goes again. My wife and I are spending a few days in London prior to our cruise and another day in Dover. We want to go to Dover on a Saturday. I know there seems to be trains every 1/2 hour to 1 hour leaving for Dover that day. Will they all be busy? We are only about .6 miles from the Charing Cross Train Station. Would it be better for us to take the train or to take a bus from Victoria Station (I have no idea how far that is from our Hotel).

 

How difficult is it to find storage for your luggage, etc.? I understand there are no porters. Any answers would greatly be appreciated.

 

Tom

 

Check here for the million answers:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=233

 

Storage in London Victoria (either bus or train) and Charing Cross is available.

 

http://www.left-baggage.co.uk/locations.php

 

But not in Dover.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[TomAndJane]

Thanks for the link to the British Iles, just thought somone would have the answer on this board since I am taking a Baltic cruise. As far as Left Baggage, I was specifically speaking about storage on the train or bus to Dover.

[HeinBloed]

Thanks for the link to the British Iles, just thought somone would have the answer on this board since I am taking a Baltic cruise. As far as Left Baggage, I was specifically speaking about storage on the train or bus to Dover.

 

In the train are racks available.

 

In the buses there are baggage compartments which are loaded by the driver - but check Question 6 on this website as there are restriction:

 

http://www.nationalexpress.com/help.aspx

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[TomAndJane]

Thanks for the Info. Would you also happen to know how far the Victoria Bus Station is from Charing Cross? If is a long taxi ride we will probably just take the train if we can store two large suit cases and a couple of small ones.

[HeinBloed]

Thanks for the Info. Would you also happen to know how far the Victoria Bus Station is from Charing Cross? If is a long taxi ride we will probably just take the train if we can store two large suit cases and a couple of small ones.

 

2.3 miles = 9 minutes

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[Nancipants]

You can take a National Express bus from Victoria Coach Station to the center of Dover for 4 pounds pp (the funfare) if you book online. It's a great way to save money for the rest of your vacation.

 

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/standard-tube-map.pdf Here is a link to the London tube map. Victoria Coach station is near the Victoria tube station.

[Twickenham]

I am sure this has been asked a million times but here it goes again. My wife and I are spending a few days in London prior to our cruise and another day in Dover. We want to go to Dover on a Saturday. I know there seems to be trains every 1/2 hour to 1 hour leaving for Dover that day. Will they all be busy? We are only about .6 miles from the Charing Cross Train Station. Would it be better for us to take the train or to take a bus from Victoria Station (I have no idea how far that is from our Hotel).

 

How difficult is it to find storage for your luggage, etc.? I understand there are no porters. Any answers would greatly be appreciated.

 

Tom

 

I'd just go with the train. The trains shouldn't be too busy on a Saturday, as they are mainly commuter trains. I don't remember taking the train at Charing Cross specifically, but at other train stations I've been there's always been luggage carts that you can wheel onto the platforms, right to the train (they're the kind that requires a deposit, usually a one-pound coin, which you get back when you return at the cart rack on the platform). I've taken the train with large amounts of luggage and had no problems.

[TomAndJane]

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. Really appreciate the time you all took to answer my questions.

[spindrift]

We'd like to stay in Dover precruise in July, 2010. What about from the airport to Dover?

[HeinBloed]

We'd like to stay in Dover precruise in July, 2010. What about from the airport to Dover?

 

Which airport?

 

Heathrow

Gatwick

London City

Stanford

Luton???

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[scottbee]

We'd like to stay in Dover precruise in July, 2010. What about from the airport to Dover?

 

As someone already pointed out, London has five airports, so the answer is quite different depending on where you're landing.

[agabbymama]

We'd like to stay in Dover precruise in July, 2010. What about from the airport to Dover?

 

This is a site someone else posted and I saved, as I will also be going from Airport to Dover. I was going to use the express from Gatwick to Victoria Station, then another train from Victoria Station to Dover. But I think I've decided to save the hassle and just take the taxi.

 

http://www.taxisgatwick.net/AirportBooking.aspx