Any recent Jewel Baltic cruisers

[Giantfan13]

What time did you get back to Dover and what time did they start letting people off the ship??

We have a 10:00 bus back to London from the bus depot, so we have top get a cab there. By 9:00 are most people off, especially the ones who want to be off. Taking our luggage off on our own is really not an option for us, and we are staying in London for a few more days, so we cannot use the ship to transport our luggage to the airpot.

 

Also, are there alarm clocks in the rooms. I know most ships don't supply these now a days, but I just wanted to make sure before I packed my own.

 

Oh, one more thing, on the ship, at the photo place, do they have an option to burn pictures onto a CD, from our memory cards??

[dinoman]

When we were on the Jewel last month the ship hit every port with perfect timing. I don't quite remember when we arrived at Dover, maybe 4am or 5am, by the time I got up I was already there.

 

I booked a 10am coach to Victoria from Dover coach station and I picked the 9am slot of the disembarkation order. I was worried at first because the previous slots were at least 20 minutes behind schedule but by the end (9:20am was the last slot and we were in the 2nd last) everything moved fast and I finally left the ship at 8:30am. By 9am I was already waiting at the taxi stand, with my luggages. Of course you can always choose the 'Easy Walk Off' which means you carry your own luggages off the ship. The time of EWO starts as early as 6am or immediately after ship clearance.

 

I didn't see any 'clock' in the cabin, let alone with alarm or not, but you can set your own wakeup call using the cabin phone. Just follow the instructions and enter the time you want, easy!

 

I do not familiar with the photo shop service so could not help you on that. If it's only simple 'copy and burn' I think the cyber cafe guy could help you out with that too.

 

I have had a great time on the Jewel and at the Baltics ports, I believe you would have the same. Enjoy!

[Giantfan13]

Thanks for the info Dinoman. You helped a lot.

[donnaleed]

We have tickets for the 5:20am bus out of Dover back to London. I never really thought about what would happen if the boat isn't docked or cleared at that point. Here's hoping on Sept 7 the Jewel is back really early in Dover!!!!

[dinoman]

You made yourself in great, great hurry, donna. Even if the ship docked right on time, I wonder if there are any taxis available at the terminal in such early hours. I think Plan B is very much needed in your case. Do you have a super early flight to catch?

[NCSunshine]

5:20 is not really a good thing. the ship doesn't actually even dock until about 5am. There isn't any immigration clearance, you do that in Stockholm, but 5:20am bus is likely too early. You do have the option of walking off with your own bags, so it's possible you could do it, but I certainly wouldn't want to try. too much of a rush.

[donnaleed]

Well we were planning on walking off the ship with our luggage as soon as the boat was cleared. Does anyone know how long the cab ride is from the cruise terminal to the Dover coach/rail station?

 

Our flight leaves LHR at 1pm so it looks like we will just have to change our reservation and take the 6:20 bus instead. Do you think there will be any problems catching the 6:20 bus???

 

Thanks everyone for your help!

[dinoman]

The cab ride only takes 10-15 minutes and I suggest you to book a cab beforehand so that you don't have to wait at the terminal. 6:20 is better than 5:20 afterall but have you considered the train option? Though more pricy than bus the journey time from Dover to London Heathrow is shorter and may give you more flexibility in case of any delay.

[orchid72]

Well we were planning on walking off the ship with our luggage as soon as the boat was cleared. Does anyone know how long the cab ride is from the cruise terminal to the Dover coach/rail station?

 

Our flight leaves LHR at 1pm so it looks like we will just have to change our reservation and take the 6:20 bus instead. Do you think there will be any problems catching the 6:20 bus???

 

Thanks everyone for your help!

 

Have you considered taking NCL's transfer? We considered both the bus and train options, but decided to take the ship's transfer. Granted it was a bit more expensive, but it was worth it for the convenience - practically door to door service, and no need to take the cab to the coach/rail station. We were off the ship by 7:45, and were in LHR before 10:30.

 

One caveat: If I am not mistaken, you can only book the ship's transfer for flights after 12 noon, so if your flight leaves earlier than that, you may not be able to use the ship's transfer.

 

The cab ride only takes 10-15 minutes and I suggest you to book a cab beforehand so that you don't have to wait at the terminal. 6:20 is better than 5:20 afterall but have you considered the train option? Though more pricy than bus the journey time from Dover to London Heathrow is shorter and may give you more flexibility in case of any delay.

 

There is no direct train from Dover to LHR - one would need to change trains in Central London, so this option might prove to be a longer journey.

[donnaleed]

Well I called today and pushed back the bus trip until 6:20 so now we should be safe! Our flight doesn't leave until 1pm. Would you mind telling me how much the NCL transfer costs?

 

Thanks everyone!

[orchid72]

Well I called today and pushed back the bus trip until 6:20 so now we should be safe! Our flight doesn't leave until 1pm. Would you mind telling me how much the NCL transfer costs?

 

Thanks everyone!

 

It cost us $80USD/person (you can double-check this with your TA). Like I said, not cheap, but we were willing to pay for the convenience.

 

We really did not fancy having to get a cab to the train station then taking the train into central London, then having to change trains to get to Heathrow. AND then once in Heathrow, having to make our way to the right terminal. There were just too many changes involved. All we did with the NCL transfer was go to the bus, then the bus took us to our terminal. Easy peasy. But not as cheap as the coach, or the train. I know there are deals going on with National Express right now, so if all you're paying for your coach fare is less than $20/person, paying $80/person for the NCL transfer may be a bit hard to swallow....

[donnaleed]

I've decided after reading your points that we will cancel our bus tickets and just book the NCL transfer. Why end a fantastic vacation with this much stress/drama!!!

 

Thank you very much for your help!!!