Harwich Departures: Is there anything there?

[Atomica]

We're considering a Baltic cruise next summer that departs from Harwich, England, onboard Jewel of the Seas and we're trying to nail down what, exactly, is in Harwich?

 

Our last Europe cruise left from Southampton, which was a great place to stay for a night pre-cruise. Lots to see and do.

 

My main question for Harwich is: is it worth staying there, or is there another town nearby that might have more on offer for a pre-cruise stay? We're not nuts about staying in London itself (been many times), but since we'll pretty well have to pass through it to get to Harwich from Heathrow, that's always an option.

 

Any suggestions appreciated!

[travel dog]

We will be going on a cruise from Harwich in 2011 and, because I'm a real history buff, we have decided to spend a few days in Colchester, which is "just up the road" (and the railroad track) from Harwich. I can't tell you what's in either place but look forward very much to the responses you get about Harwich and other places in the immediate area to stay at and/or things to do and see.

[sddsddean]

There is nothing 'stunning' in the Harwich area, but if you just wanted to kill a day there before boarding you could. The usual 'non cruise line' way to get to Harwich is using the train from London Liverpool Street to Harwich International (which is right beside where the ship moors). This costs around £15 and takes about 1hr 30mins. So you can either stop in London and get the train to Harwich Int next morning (you could do the trip in one day from arrival at LHR, where you will presumably land early morning with all the other transatlantic flights, but I wouldn't recommend it as it would be tight getting to the ship), or do all the train travel at a more leisurely pace arriving in the afternoon, though its probably worth going on to either Dovercourt station or Harwich Town station. Find a nice hotel (google is your friend) and get a cab to the ship in the morning (less than £10 I would say). There is a seafront to walk along and the old redoubt near Harwich. Have a look at the area on Google Earth. You can see the Jewel by Harwich Int station, and Dovercourt and Harwich to give you ideas of distance. I like to click on the photo links to get an idea of what the area is like.

 

Simon

[Post Captain]

We're considering a Baltic cruise next summer that departs from Harwich, England, onboard Jewel of the Seas and we're trying to nail down what, exactly, is in Harwich?

 

Our last Europe cruise left from Southampton, which was a great place to stay for a night pre-cruise. Lots to see and do.

 

My main question for Harwich is: is it worth staying there, or is there another town nearby that might have more on offer for a pre-cruise stay? We're not nuts about staying in London itself (been many times), but since we'll pretty well have to pass through it to get to Harwich from Heathrow, that's always an option.

 

Any suggestions appreciated!

Harwich doesn't really hold much attraction for the tourist other than as a point of departure; in itself it's considerably less interesting than Southampton.

 

I believe you'd find Colchester much more interesting & attractive, and it makes a convenient overnight stopover en route to Harwich. It is the nearest significant town to Harwich (21 miles), and is on the direct rail line from London to Harwich. Colchester was the first Roman settlement in Britain, and has a number of historical sights:

 

http://www.colchester.uk.com/

 

http://www.visitcolchester.com/see-do-colchester.asp

 

http://www.visitcolchester.com/theme/culture-heritage.asp

 

I'm not personally familiar with Ipswich, but it's also nearby (just a few miles north of Colchester) & might be worth looking into.

 

I am very fond of Norwich, one of Britain's finest cathedral cities, though I haven't been there in years. It's slightly out of the way for your purposes, but doable as a place to stay overnight before sailing out of Harwich. There's also Cambridge--again, not as convenient as Colchester when travelling from Heathrow/London to Harwich (and probably less convenient than Norwich), but it's a place you might well consider.

 

So, for maximum convenience, my first choice for one night pre-cruise would be Colchester. But, as I say, Ispwich, Norwich, and Cambridge are worth looking into before you make your final decision.

 

Hope these suggestions are helpful.

 

Regards,

 

Post Captain

[caripoo]

We did the Jewel last June to the Baltic from Harwich, you will LOVE it!!;) There is nothing in Harwich. Since you have been to London many times, look into somewhere you can get to the morning of the cruise and take the cruise shuttle. Don't know if you have been to Paris, we were there 4 days prior to our cruise, wanted to take the chunnel, but ended up on a BA flight to Heathrow, landing early and on the shuttle we went!! Enjoy.

[Sauer-kraut]

Harwich has a rail station and a ferry terminal. I know them well after a rough crossing from Hoek van Holland one Christmas break from University, other than that not much at all.

[surreyfamily]

We got off Jewel yesterday and spent the morning wandering around Harwich. It's small but it has some interesting history and if it's sunny -there's a lovely beach. But it's only a morning's worth. There's a very good Premier Inn just across the road from the port if you need an overnight stay.

[Atomica]

Thanks everyone for all the tremendous suggestions.

 

I think Colchester will win out - it's large enough and looks to have quite a bit of history. Ipswich might also be a good second choice.

 

I'd considered doing a couple days in Paris beforehand, but then you're at the mercy of trains, ferries or air travel on the day of the cruise...could be stressful!

[Sauer-kraut]

If you are in that area, why not get out into Norfolk, lovely things to see there. Lots of National Trust homes if you like looking at that type of thing. Also I think you might be near to the Cotswolds and that's nice too. Perhaps someone can advise how far off track I am. :)

[sddsddean]

If you are in that area, why not get out into Norfolk, lovely things to see there. Lots of National Trust homes if you like looking at that type of thing. Also I think you might be near to the Cotswolds and that's nice too. Perhaps someone can advise how far off track I am. :)

 

The Cotswolds and Norfolk might be 'near' in the US scheme of things:D, but over here its a long way (150+ miles) and in the opposite direction.

 

Simon

[Sauer-kraut]

The Cotswolds and Norfolk might be 'near' in the US scheme of things:D, but over here its a long way (150+ miles) and in the opposite direction. Simon

 

Ok, so here it would be just a jaunt down the road to get some lunch. :D

 

Don't get me started on directions, it took me several tries to get to the right exit from some local airport to the right road going around the roundabout, and then we actually drove the wrong way to the wrong seaside. We were supposed to be going to Bridport and Chisel Beach.....in actuality I think we were headed to Portsmouth. :cool:

[catllar]

You guys have amuch more sensible approach to road signing: How much more logical is it to say Highway X North or South? So sensible. Most of us know if we are heading NSEW, but as we Brits do, just plonking in the name of a town is not always helpful. As for France and its road signs.... don't get me started! I've lived here for 20 years and I still get annoyed with them! Toutes Directions,grrhhhh.....!

[sddsddean]

When I used to drive in Germany and Austria, it took me a couple of months to find out why 'Umleitung' was such a popular place!:D

 

Simon

[Sauer-kraut]

Speaking of Umleitung, I fear we have redirected this thread. Please accept my apologies OP!;)

[pollux]

Well let me get it on track again. Can I make the 9am ferry to Hoek of Holland when the Jewel arrives at 7am?

[Globaliser]

Very doubtful. Most cruise lines will say something like "disembarkation commences about two hours after docking". So if Jewel (of the Seas?) docks at 7 am, you might not be able to get off the ship until after 9 am.

[pollux]

thanks. will plan on taking the night ferry.

[Stash7]

Thanks everyone for all the tremendous suggestions.

 

I think Colchester will win out - it's large enough and looks to have quite a bit of history. Ipswich might also be a good second choice.

 

I'd considered doing a couple days in Paris beforehand, but then you're at the mercy of trains, ferries or air travel on the day of the cruise...could be stressful!

 

Hi, Just happened to see your post when I was doing some random searching. DO NOT recommend taking the train from Paris on the day of departure. Although the trains normally run flawlessly, we have seen the exception about 10 years ago: a Chunnel train from Paris to London that was 3-4 hours late into London. Due to a fire many years ago inside the Chunnel, they're very careful to ensure no repeat. One of the watch towers saw what they perceived was spoke coming from somewhere on our train so they stopped us in the middle of the French countryside with no civilization in sight. We sat for the better part of two hours waiting for another train to be rerouted to us. And when it arrived we had to carry our luggage down the tracks & reboard the new train from ground level -- I have photos.:( BTW -- the rescue train was already carrying many passengers, so there weren't enough seats for everyone. My son, about 14 at the time, spent the rest of the trip into London sitting on a heating unit (radiator?) that ran along the corridor about one foot off of the floor (truly!!). They actually refunded everyone's fares for that trip, but that didn't help much the people who missed all of their airplane connections that day. Thank goodness we were going off to do more sightseeing in England & not heading home that day.

[Ashland]

Just our recent experience Aug 10th..Even though I got a lot of criticisim from this board..We arrived at Heathrow on the morning of our cruise at about 7:10am only had to wait until 9:00am for the RCI contracted bus transfers to pick us up..We flew in on United Air so also had to stop by BA terminal to pick up some RCI passengers there..We did hit a lot of traffic on the way to Harwich but even after a 20min rest stop we still were at the terminal by 12:00 noon..After seeing Harwich I am glad we did not take the extra day to stay there..We opted to use our extra week post cruise in London..Now that I have seen how easy and convenient it was to use the Train from Harwich back into London I wouldn't hesitate to use it from the airport to get out to Harwich..