Disney Magic 12 nt. British Isles Cruise 2017

We're thinking about the 2020 BI cruise and your comments are all swaying me to the "do it!" side...the transportation to and from may need to be worked out...I am directionally challenged :) I would love to stay in Dover for a night...any recommendations for Dover (I apologize if this was already discussed)...
Here is some info from our Iceland/Norway FB page about Dover:

Dover.

Trains from St Pancras and Victoria are recommended, pre book on Trainline, or SouthEastern, takes circa an hour, check for engineering work. St Pancras is high speed trains in the Eurostar tracks that also carry trains to Europe through the channel tunnel.

Dover cruise port is a taxi ride from Dover Priory station, the route has through a commercial dock on a windy road and not recommended to walk. I have done it without cruise luggage, I have been at the port taking photos of the Magic and seem people end their cruise walking along this busy port road with children and luggage and others walking to embarkation. Do Not do this! Get a cheap taxi.

Do not consider national express coaches from London, too slow, too many stops, and the ferry port causes over crowding. It's for students etc.

To port use:-

Train.
Or private pre booked taxi if you have a family.
DCL coaches from airports Heathrow and Gatwick or DCL hotels, typically very expensive.
Not coach, unless it is one that includes say visits to Leeds castle, ( in Kent), or Canterbury.

Car rental/ hire.

This is an option, roads in Kent are great, we have the motorway M20 and M2, there is a rental drop off at the start of the cruise pier road, I think it's Enterprise. It means dropping luggage and family at port then going to drop it off and a walk back.
Drilling outside London is fine, but care, driving in the city and west end is an art form. Congestion, we have a weekday congestion charge, driving is slow and hard, public transport quicker and less stressful. Parking charges high, and fines for bad parking. If drilling avoiding London, say airport to port via Kent it's an option, but not recommended through central London.

Note Dover cruise port is small, do not arrive too early, PATs will be from 11.30, do not get there before -10.30, they are strict, you will not save a lot on boarding cards. When in it moves quick but there us in,y a small cafe in there. Limited seating. It's not port Canaveral.

Dover itself has the great castle, and the white cliffs walk, there is not a lot else there, and I do not recommend a hotel stay there, unless your coming from Europe and it fits with your route in by ferry. Stay in London, travel down in the morning. Do not stay in Dover, if you want to stay in Kent, book a hotel in Canterbury. Far better.

Dover centre a night doesn't have a lot, and recently was voted the UK worst town. It is not that, but it's a very busy commercial port, with many people in transit in varied wars from Europe. Castle and cliffs are nice, not a lot more there than that.

https://www.whitecliffscountry.org.uk/Home.aspx






This is just a starter, an quick overview, an orientation let's say, written frankly as a local. Tourists do make mistakes.
 
I was going to stay in Dover in 2018 but the prices were not much cheaper than London.We stayed in London and took train from London Waterloo East the day of cruise and found it to be very easy.Going back to London there was train work happening so we took a bus back to London arranged by a travel agent on our cruise which also worked out very well.
 
Well it's Day 4 for our 2018 BI cruisers. They are arriving in Dublin as we speak.

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So here are my cliff notes in case anyone tunes in.

If touring on your own (like we did)

1. Hop the free shuttle from the port into the city as early as possible. It's much too far a distance to walk from the ship.
2. Know the drop off/pick up point for this shuttle. For us it was Merrion Square North
(note that Merrion Square is home to the famous Oscar Wilde Memorial sculpture)

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3 Don't rely on your cell phone to navigate. It may not link to a signal well enough to utilize data successfully. Ours didn't and it was a problem.
4 Have a walking map on hand ahead of time.
5. If visiting the Book of Kells, (same bldg that houses the must see Long Room on above map) buy your tickets online in advance if possible. They should honor them even if your arrival time falls outside the window you are assigned.
6 Trinity College has a side gate that's open off Nassau Street by the Douglas Hyde Gallery which we used.
7.They also have clean restrooms in the Arts Cafe (same Hyde Gallery bldg) and hands down the absolute best SCONES we had on this trip.

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8. If taking Mary Gibbons tour - again Know your area. She has several pick up points. Have a map handy and Don't rely on your cell phone to navigate.

9. The Brazen Head Pub is a great place to visit and grab a Guinness or a proper Irish meal if time permits.
10. And finally, don't trust a Starbucks bathroom in Dublin! (we found out the hard way)

There's so much more I'll be getting into very soon.

Dublin was a great city to visit and we would love to go back.

Enjoy!
 


what site do you go to to find the times for the train to Dover? is it a particular train name we are looking for? Thank you.
 
what site do you go to to find the times for the train to Dover? is it a particular train name we are looking for? Thank you.

I always use www.trainline.co.uk when I travel on trains in England

I'm on the 5 Night European Cruise on the Magic from Dover September 13 2020 and I will be getting the train from Kings Cross London the day before the cruise and going back to London on the day the ship arrives back in London. The train station in Dover is called Dover Priory.
 


I also used Trainline. it is very easy to pick tickets up at the station. We went from London Waterloo East to Dover Priory. Then got a short taxi ride to the ship.
 

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