In and out of Dover, England

We are thinking about a cruise in 2015 in and out of Dover, where we arrive back in Dover and arrive 5 AM. I want to book flights when time is right and trying to figure if we get off as quickly as possible and take a taxi, with not trying to push it, what time of departure should be plan out of Heathrow. I need an idea of what time we can get off the ship in Dover and time from getting off ship to getting to airport using a taxi and cost. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

We did a cruise out of Dover a couple of years ago. It's a long way from Dover to Heathrow - between 1.5 to 2 hours. We stayed a few days in London post cruise which we enjoyed very much.

Anyway I'm pretty sure it would be cheaper to take either the Princess bus or a car service instead of a taxi.

We used Coastal Cars both from Heathrow to Dover and from Dover to London.

Here is their web address: http://www.coastalcarsairportservices.co.uk/

A couple of years ago it was 100 British pounds.

I believe there is also train service.

Just got off the Ocean Princess in Dover on June 6 and took the Princess bus to Heathrow. As a previous poster said, it was between 1.5 and 2 hours to get there and we had no traffic issues.

Our 7:45 AM disembarkation was for passengers with flights after 1 PM going to Terminal 3. There was an earlier 6:00 AM disembarkation for Terminal 3 passengers with flights after 10 AM. Yes, there were other shuttles for the other terminals as well but I can't tell you the specific times.

It was very simple (of course this was a small ship with less passengers). We walked off the ship without waiting, passed through British immigration, located our bags, put them on free trolleys and moseyed on over to the appropriate bus. People were there to load bags underneath and off we went. Bags were unloaded for us a the terminal and again, free trolleys were available.

Cost was $59 USD per person. I suppose if you have a larger number of people it might be more cost effective to hire a private van but with only two of us I didn't check any further.

Caveats: Princess web-site says in general, you should not book Heathrow flights before 1 PM for a 5 AM docking and 3 PM for a 7 AM docking. In our case because of tides and such, the Ocean Princess docked at 2 AM so earlier departures became feasible.

I can not say on Dover, but we did a trip from Southampton on the Grand Princess and it may be comparable. We took the Princess bus back to Heathrow and that was comparable in driving time. Regardless of when the ship gets in, the bus leaves so it can get to the airport, the driver have a bite to eat and then load a group to return for the next sailing. Or so the driver said was the common practice. (Once he said it, I realized that is how I would book buses to do this job too.) As such, we had a bit much of a wait for the flight -- then again 'the olympics'.

I consider the transfer from boat to plane much like that from plane to plane. Schedule it too tight and you risk a minor problem being a wrench in the gears. Bring a book and prepare to sit a bit. I hate that part of a vacation most on the way home. TOO.

We sailed out of Dover last August and I would agree with previous posters that it took about 1.5 hours on the Princess bus. It was very well organized and we left about 7:30am and we were at the gate before 10:30 for a Heathrow to JFK on Delta. Of course, our flight did leave until about 2pm---so I had to spend a lot of time shopping and using their free wifi!

we prebooked and used BAtransfers to and from dover. very good, ontime and reasonable.

Beg3yrs - did you tip the people who loaded the luggage in Dover and/or the driver? Who unloaded the bags once you reached Heathrow? How much room was there in the bus for carryon bags or did most of them have to go in the "hold" of the bus?

Just got off the Ocean Princess in Dover on June 6 and took the Princess bus to Heathrow. As a previous poster said, it was between 1.5 and 2 hours to get there and we had no traffic issues.

 

Our 7:45 AM disembarkation was for passengers with flights after 1 PM going to Terminal 3. There was an earlier 6:00 AM disembarkation for Terminal 3 passengers with flights after 10 AM. Yes, there were other shuttles for the other terminals as well but I can't tell you the specific times.

 

It was very simple (of course this was a small ship with less passengers). We walked off the ship without waiting, passed through British immigration, located our bags, put them on free trolleys and moseyed on over to the appropriate bus. People were there to load bags underneath and off we went. Bags were unloaded for us a the terminal and again, free trolleys were available.

 

Cost was $59 USD per person. I suppose if you have a larger number of people it might be more cost effective to hire a private van but with only two of us I didn't check any further.

 

Caveats: Princess web-site says in general, you should not book Heathrow flights before 1 PM for a 5 AM docking and 3 PM for a 7 AM docking. In our case because of tides and such, the Ocean Princess docked at 2 AM so earlier departures became feasible.

Great info. :)

Beg3yrs - did you tip the people who loaded the luggage in Dover and/or the driver? Who unloaded the bags once you reached Heathrow? How much room was there in the bus for carryon bags or did most of them have to go in the "hold" of the bus?

We moved our own trolleys from the terminal to the bus (not too far, no more than 100 yards). DW takes care of tips and although I didn't see anyone else tipping, DW can be sneaky and may have done so anyway. The driver did unload bags (with help from passengers) at Heathrow.

As far as room for carry-on bags on the bus, they have typical overhead bus racks. The are not tall enough for roller-boards. We put our roller-boards underneath and carried our smaller stuff (backpack with electronics for me and soft sided bag with jewelry and other valuables for DW) on board. Our particular bus was only about 1/3 full so if we had wanted our roller-boards it would have been possible to place them in empty seats if you really wanted to drag them up the bus stairs.

We also just got off the Ocean Princess 6 June and agree with beg3years except we had a very full bus to Terminal 5. We had a meet time of 8:30 for flights after 1pm going to T5 but the ship was way ahead of their disembarkation schedule. I think our bus was on its way to Heathrow by 8:50. It all went very smoothly and easy to do.

We also just got off the Ocean Princess 6 June and agree with beg3years except we had a very full bus to Terminal 5. We had a meet time of 8:30 for flights after 1pm going to T5 but the ship was way ahead of their disembarkation schedule. I think our bus was on its way to Heathrow by 8:50. It all went very smoothly and easy to do.

Thanks for the neuron stimulus coo359a2! Our T3 bus also carried two of the T5 overflow passengers (Hillslife I believe) to T5. They were dropped off first and then we went on to T3.

We were on a 2010 cruise to Norway on the Ocean Princess which started and ended in Dover. We actually flew home the day after the cruise ended and made a car rental reservation from Hertz so we could go to Hampton Court prior to going to our hotel at Heathrow. It was quite simple - we called Hertz and they picked us up. After dealing with the paperwork, we were off from Dover within about 30 minutes of leaving the ship. The car rental agencies are close to the port. Of course if you're not comfortable with right-hand drive cars this may not be a feasible option for you.

Now, the gridlocked traffic near Hampton Court was something else. Ugh... :eek:

Of course if you're not comfortable with right-hand drive cars this may not be a feasible option for you.

 

It's not the right-hand drive cars that get to me, it's driving on the left side of the roads. And round-abouts are a nightmare to me.

It's not the right-hand drive cars that get to me, it's driving on the left side of the roads. And round-abouts are a nightmare to me.

I left "driving on the left" as implied. It's really not that hard. Again, your mileage may vary. By the way, I was corrected in London once and told to consider it driving on the "proper side of the road". ;)

I love roundabouts - personally I don't think we have enough of them in the US. To me they're much easier to navigate than "traditional" intersections.

It's not the right-hand drive cars that get to me, it's driving on the left side of the roads. And round-abouts are a nightmare to me.

When our girls were younger they referred to round-abouts as Circles of Death. :)

I left "driving on the left" as implied. It's really not that hard.

I still remember the fear in the faces of people in the oncoming cars when I went to the wrong side of the road after making right turns.

Not to throw a wet blanket on this, but just because you are scheduled to dock at 5:00, doesn't mean it will happen exactly that way. AND, the ship has to clear customs before even beginning to allow people off. Most of the responders said they were on Princess, but another cruise line might be bit different. You just never know how long to clear customs and start letting people off.

Day of the week might also make a big difference trying to get to London and Heathrow by auto. If you try and arrive in or near London, say, about 9:00 on a work day, you might encounter a lot more traffic.

All things to consider. Why not just book a later flight and take the bus, the train, or ship's shuttle. It would make like a lot easier.

Cheers

Len