London to Amsterdam - Ferry

[ejpint]

Has anyone done train/ferry/train from London to Amsterdam?
We've found passage on what looks to be a rather nice ferry, with deluxe cabins.
Rather than taking the "chunnel" and then another train, then still having to pay for a hotel room that night, this would travel overnight and we'd wake up in Holland.
I'd love to hear feedback if anyone has gone this route!

[Deleted]

Seems like a pain. Much easier to fly. I'll be interested to know if anyone has done it though.

[marytini]

We are probably going to do it in September. We saw it on some documentary and my husband likes all things transportation so we think we'll try it. I've priced it out and it seems to be cheaper than a hotel room plus train to Amsterdam.

[ejpint]

Jun 12, 2012 17:02:47 GMT -5 @cheshire said:

Seems like a pain. Much easier to fly. I'll be interested to know if anyone has done it though.

The big appeal is it saves money, and it's something different. Also, rather than taking up time in an airport/flying, we're using time we'd be sleeping anyway to travel. We'd save hundreds over a flight+hotel or even train+hotel.

[dutchgirl678]

But if you'd fly to Amsterdam it would take less time overall and you would have more time to spend there seeing the sights. I've traveled on ferries before between the Netherlands and England and I've also taken the Chunnel which was kind of cool. I've also done the hovercraft once between Dover and Calais. But the ferries are very boring, not like a luxury cruise ship. I would choose to just take a cheap flight with one of the small airlines.

[Waffles]

I'd look into ryanair or easyjet for cheap flights and have an extra night in Amsterdam.

[ejpint]

I'll look into cheap flights, too, but we didn't really find any deals. This ferry really does look more like a river cruise boat than the basic ferries I've taken across the Channel before. It has free wine and beer in the room! If anyone has had experience with the Stena "Dutch Flyer", I'd love to hear it!

[marytini]

Ej, when would you be going?
I just read some reviews on tripadvisor about it too. They were favorable.

Sent from my DROIDX using ProBoards

[emilyinchile]

I'm pretty sure my dad and his wife did that ferry, or at least a similar one. She had to be in Amsterdam for work and couldn't fly due to a recent surgery, so they took a boat. They liked it, found it easy and convenient given their constraints, and generally had no complaints.

[txlnghrn]

This is a good recap: www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm

We did this about a year ago (took the overnight ferry from England to Rotterdam/Amsterdam) - it was very inexpensive, the ship was very nice, and it was a fun way to spend an evening. I found it to be much less stressful than flying (provided you don't have mountains of luggage to handle on the trains) and a neat way to get from point A to Point B. We just booked the cheapest cabin, since we were barely on board long enough to get any value out of an upgraded room. Highly recommend.

We didn't feel like we missed out on any sightseeing time, since the travel mostly took place during sleeping hours anyways. The ship departs pretty late in the day and arrives bright and early in Holland.

[ejpint]

That website is where we read about it. We figured we'd bump up to a nicer cabin since it's still cheaper than train+hotel. We're going in October.

[Deleted]

What's the cost difference and what time of year are you thinking of doing it?

[magdala9]

We took the "ferry" ten years ago. This "ferry" was less commuter, utilitarian transport and closer to a cruise line. After watching a fabulous sunset from the deck, we went in to a casino and gambled a bit.

[Deleted]

Well, that actually sounds fun.
I think I'd still like to know how long the train journeys are at either end and how much the cost saving really is.

[marytini]

Jun 14, 2012 15:46:21 GMT -5 @cheshire said:

Well, that actually sounds fun.
I think I'd still like to know how long the train journeys are at either end and how much the cost saving really is.

This is the info from seat61:
Leave central London by train at 7.32pm, sleep in a cosy private cabin with toilet, shower, satellite TV & free WiFi on Stena Line's luxury overnight superferry from Harwich to Hoek van Holland, and arrive by train next morning in Rotterdam 08:41, Den Haag 09:17, Amsterdam 10:14. From just £39 each way plus £30 for a single cabin or £43 per cabin for a 2-berth, this covers the whole journey from central London to central Amsterdam or any rail station in the Netherlands all on one ticket.

For 2 people, in an inside cabin in September(when we're going), the price is 121 Euros total. Website says the boat leaves at 2315 and total crossing time is 8.5hrs.

Website also says: The dutchflyer operates an “open” rail ticket which can be used to travel to the port at whichever time is most convenient to you.
Looking at the train timetable, London Liverpool to Harwich is 1hr20mins. Hook of Holland to Amsterdam Central is about 1.5 hrs.

In comparison, I searched for train tickets on Eurostar.com, London to Amsterdam was 215 Euro for 2 adults (for July, it wouldn't let me search any later), plus there would be the cost of another night in a hotel in either London, or Amsterdam.

[expatpumpkin]

After reading this thread I was intrigued with the idea and suggested doing this to a friend... Turns out she's already done it and didn't have such a great experience. She said the channel was very rough that night due to a storm and she and her sister got seasick

Not to be a downer, but this is just something to keep in mind if you're sensitive to motion sickness.

[frlcb]

Every time I have taken a boat across the channel I have been seasick as well.

[dutchgirl678]

One note, Liverpool is not London, so the train from London to Harwich might take longer? It's pretty far north. But other than that it does look cooler than I thought it would be. They've clearly upgraded in the last ten years

[frlcb]

Jun 15, 2012 13:17:48 GMT -5 dutchgirl678 said:

One note, Liverpool is not London, so the train from London to Harwich might take longer? It's pretty far north. But other than that it does look cooler than I thought it would be. They've clearly upgraded in the last ten years

It is London's Liverpool station (in London), not a station in Liverpool, so it is the time listed above, an hour 20 of hour 30