Considering Canterbury excursions

We are considering buying a Princess excursion through Canterbury from our ship docking in Dover to Heathrow instead of just buying transfers. The cost is about 2 1/2 times that of just a transfer.

If anyone has done this, is it worth it? DW thinks sitting around at the airport instead would be very boring.

The details of the excursion reads for flights after 4; ours is at 4:05. The excursion is scheduled from 7:30 AM to 1 PM. I was also wondering if we just bought transfers, would Princess have us on a later bus than those with earlier flights, and therefore we would not be at the airport so long.

I can't answer your questions about Princess transfers and how they work. Is the extra cost worth it - only you would know. Personally, I'd want to see as much as I could while I'm in England.

I will speak to visiting Canterbury. It is a wonderful city to visit and explore. There is much more than the Cathedral - which is something in my book that should not be missed if there is an opportunity to visit. It is a UNESCO world heritage site. Each time I visit there I see and learn something new.

What all does the transfer tour include - just Canterbury or will you also be stopping for a brief tour at Leeds Castle, another great place to visit?

I can't answer your questions about Princess transfers and how they work. Is the extra cost worth it - only you would know. Personally, I'd want to see as much as I could while I'm in England.

 

I will speak to visiting Canterbury. It is a wonderful city to visit and explore. There is much more than the Cathedral - which is something in my book that should not be missed if there is an opportunity to visit. It is a UNESCO world heritage site. Each time I visit there I see and learn something new.

 

What all does the transfer tour include - just Canterbury or will you also be stopping for a brief tour at Leeds Castle, another great place to visit?

Thanks for your reply. Here are the excursion details from the Princess excursion website:

Begin your excursion at the pier in Dover as you board your motorcoach and drive through Kent's lush green countryside to the town of Canterbury. En route, stop for a photo opportunity of one of England's oldest forts, Dover Castle, perched atop the White Cliffs. The bulk of the castle as appears today was built by order of Henry II. View the walls guarding the inner bailey and the tall central keep from your vantage point.

Upon arrival, stroll down from the car park to the town of Canterbury and discover a fascinating mélange of the medieval and the modern. England's most famous cathedral town still boast long stretches of the old city walls, which were built during the 13th and 14th century atop Roman foundations. Wander the streets at your leisure to admire the architecture, browse the many shops or eat lunch on your own.

Continue on to the magnificent Canterbury Cathedral. Canterbury was known as the center of Christianity in Saxon England. Dating from the early Norman period, the cathedral has been a site of pilgrimage since the martyrdom of Thomas a'Becket in 1170.

A guide points out important details of the Gothic exterior. Explore the interior on your own. The highlights include stunning medieval stained glass, intricate carvings, the 12th-century choir, Norman crypts, and the tombs of the Black Prince, King Henry IV, and his wife Joan of Navarre.

As with all cruise company tours, it is most likely that you could DIY a lot more cheaply. Being part of a large group is not always a great experience either.

Why don't you contact a local taxi company (one example - http://www.dovertaxis.com/ ) and see what they would quote for something similar?

I do agree that Canterbury is a place not to be missed. Leeds Castle would be more interesting for a short visit than Dover in my opinion.

Oh - as an aside and a nitpick - We have dropped the 'a' from Thomas Beckett these days. Apparently it was a later addition and never used by him.

We docked in Dover this past Sept. We also sailed from there and stayed one night at a B&B. The B&B was at the bottom of Castle Hill and we hiked up to Dover Castle. It was totally worth seeing and we spent the better part of the day there.

After our cruise we booked a tour through London Toolkit that picked us up at the dock. It stopped at Leeds Castle and Canterbury and then dropped us off at our London Hotel. There was another bus that also went to the airport.

We enjoyed the post-cruise trip just as much, if not more, then the ports we visited. I think that the independent tour was a little cheaper then the ships. Once it's booked I don't think it's refundable.

Dover is a small port, but not to be missed! Have a great cruise!

We just were there a week ago. Here's how we did it:

take a taxi to the train station (Dover Priory)

buy a round trip ticket to Canterbury - get off at Canterbury East. The trains leave every 30 mins. and the trip is between 16-28 mins. depending on express or not. Not crowded at all.

We walked to the Canterbury Cathedral, bought a tour ticket and it took maybe an hour or slightly longer. Wonderful guide and tour. Walked to St. Augustine Abbey (ruins). walked back to train station (1 1/2 mile loop total walk). Lots of shops and places to eat.

The people were so helpful and friendly. A great day!

If you have the time, walk back from Dover Priory Station to the ship. It isn't a long walk depending on how tired you are. Taxis are all around if you are tired.

BTW- we had a group discount that was encouraged by the ticket agent at the train station. It worked out to less than $10 a senior couple!!!! Much less than we anticipated and he was pleased to do this for us.

A great day... don't go with the ship- do it yourself. The ship price usually doesn't include going INTO the cathredral.

We just were there a week ago. Here's how we did it:

 

take a taxi to the train station (Dover Priory)

 

buy a round trip ticket to Canterbury - get off at Canterbury East. The trains leave every 30 mins. and the trip is between 16-28 mins. depending on express or not. Not crowded at all.

 

We walked to the Canterbury Cathedral, bought a tour ticket and it took maybe an hour or slightly longer. Wonderful guide and tour. Walked to St. Augustine Abbey (ruins). walked back to train station (1 1/2 mile loop total walk). Lots of shops and places to eat.

 

The people were so helpful and friendly. A great day!

 

If you have the time, walk back from Dover Priory Station to the ship. It isn't a long walk depending on how tired you are. Taxis are all around if you are tired.

 

BTW- we had a group discount that was encouraged by the ticket agent at the train station. It worked out to less than $10 a senior couple!!!! Much less than we anticipated and he was pleased to do this for us.

 

A great day... don't go with the ship- do it yourself. The ship price usually doesn't include going INTO the cathredral.

We want to get back to Heathrow, so a round trip ticket from Dover does not work for us.

You can, of course do the whole trip by train, but you will have the luggage to contend with. I still think one of the local firms will be the best deal - maybe you could team up with another couple. (You would need a bigger car though - an MVP probably)

 

 

 

BTW- we had a group discount that was encouraged by the ticket agent at the train station. It worked out to less than $10 a senior couple!!!! Much less than we anticipated and he was pleased to do this for us.

 

 

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There are 'groupsave' tickets available to groups of three or four and are available to everyone, not just seniors. Really good value but you have to travel both trains as a group.

We have now booked the Canterbury tour. DW says she does not want to just spend time waiting in the airport, and we both agree that we will probably never get another chance to see Canterbury.

Ontheweb,

We are considering doing this excursion after our BI cruise this August. Did you find you had enough time to get to the airport/through security, etc with a 4:05 departure time?

The flight we are considering leaves at 4. I'm just not sure how close we are cutting it.

Thanks!

Kristen

The usual reason for booking Cruise ship excursions is the peace of mind you get from not risking the ship sailing without you. This doesn't apply to a post cruise excursion so I cannot see why anyone would pay through the nose for something that they can do more cheaply and better on their own.

Still - It's he who pays the piper who calls the tune. I am sure the tour will be good.

The usual reason for booking Cruise ship excursions is the peace of mind you get from not risking the ship sailing without you. This doesn't apply to a post cruise excursion so I cannot see why anyone would pay through the nose for something that they can do more cheaply and better on their own.

 

Still - It's he who pays the piper who calls the tune. I am sure the tour will be good.

Sometimes the ease of having everything sorted in one click can be worth the extra expense.

Ontheweb,

 

We are considering doing this excursion after our BI cruise this August. Did you find you had enough time to get to the airport/through security, etc with a 4:05 departure time?

 

The flight we are considering leaves at 4. I'm just not sure how close we are cutting it.

 

Thanks!

Kristen

Yes, we had plenty of time.

I was wondering the same thing, especially when our terminal was the last drop off. But it turned out there was no problem.

BTW, it was a wonderful excursion. We truly enjoyed it. It beat the hell out of just waiting and waiting in the airport. There were only 14 of us on the excursion. Lots of time with the guide, and lots of time on our own in the Cathedral at Canterbury. We actually know 4 of the others from our roll call. They were the other couple on the roll call other than us celebrating a wedding anniversary on the cruise and their two college age daughters.

Yes, we had plenty of time.

 

I was wondering the same thing, especially when our terminal was the last drop off. But it turned out there was no problem.

 

BTW, it was a wonderful excursion. We truly enjoyed it. It beat the hell out of just waiting and waiting in the airport. There were only 14 of us on the excursion. Lots of time with the guide, and lots of time on our own in the Cathedral at Canterbury. We actually know 4 of the others from our roll call. They were the other couple on the roll call other than us celebrating a wedding anniversary on the cruise and their two college age daughters.

One other thing---normally after you disembark, you feel your vacation, or at least your cruise, is now over. Instead. because we were on a cruise excursion and even knew some fellow passengers, it felt like our cruise had been extended.

And this is not the "normal" cruise excursion with 50 or so on the bus. It was small enough that it felt personal.