I appreciate the lack of narration. Sometimes you just want to watch someone travelling without hearing them yammer on about "what we're going to be doing today, my friends..."
Took this following your recommendations 15 years ago! Was very convenient and cost made sense since I saved on a hotel night. Didn't get the nice views then since it was the dead of winter and dark the whole time.
I'm a regular user as head office is in Belgium and I live in Suffolk. Honest review - I don't like that they took out the a la carte restaurant and on day trips I think the ticket system will struggle (so did the staff) removing the cinema also creates instant bored kids on the day crossing! That said it's still my favourite way to get to the continent. You can get the posh Captains Suite cabins pretty cheap on the day crossing too - they're quite special and well worth the investment. The free mini bar doesn't hurt either.
Thanks for posting this…brings back memories of doing the same trip when l lived in London back in the mid 1970s…it was cheaper than flying back then!…long weekends(Bank Holidays) in Amsterdam were a treat!
I used to make this journey weekly in the 80s when the service was operated by Sealink. The ship arrived at the Hook at 6.30 am, you would walk across to the international train station and catch a train which got you to Amsterdam by 9.00am.
I loved the old Koningen Beatrix. And the St Nicholas. But the 05:30 arrival in NL (body clock time) not so much! Now you can have breakfast and walk off at 07:00 body clock time.
@@seat61 In my time Sealink were using the St George and the St Edmund. The latter was requisitioned by the Government and sent off to the Falklands War.
Aah, the 80's. Out of the old customs hall straight onto the platform, the waiting Rhein Express (D414?) to Basle. Full length slide-down windows. Toilets that emptied onto the tracks. Great days!.
I'll be using this method to travel to Amsterdam next month. The last time I did the Dutch Flyer Rail and Sail to Holland was way back in 2010. The prices have certainly risen a fair bit since then! As a comparison, the price now is £71.70 from any Greater Anglia station to Hook van Holland only, and the cheapest single cabin(for overnight travel) is £50. Back in 2010 the price was £35 from London Liverpool Street to any Dutch station, and just £24 for the cheapest single cabin(for overnight travel). Total cost just £59 to get from London to Amsterdam including overnight cabin. Much better value back then! Though don't get me wrong, it's still an excellent way to travel to or from the Netherlands. But the much higher price now means I'll only travel via this method occasionally rather than frequently.
Just crossed yesterday after a cycle tour so can't comment on the train parts.. Really good cabins for a family of four and the showers are really decent which makes a difference.
I've done a few crossings here, usually with a bicycle and over night, and the last time with the Stena Plus lounge upgrade, which was well worth it for me just for the marginally quieter space to decompress before turning in for the night. It's not entirely obvious how to get to the vehicle entrance at Harwich if you're brinigng a bike on the train. I believe you can take a bike on RET outside rush hour (after 9am, and not during 16-18:30pm), though I haven't tried this myself.
Stena is much nicer than Silja Symphony ship I sailed from Helsinki to Stockholm in 2012. There was not quiet lounge to sit back and relax and conversate with other passengers.
If you do that do not bother with the mediocre Stena breakfast but get the first train from Harwich dock, usually the shuttle to Manningtree but if London bound get off in Manningtree anyway. Why? Because Manningtree station buffet does a far superior breakfast at lower cost. Then get the next train to London. (I usually wait for the stopping service as it is far less crowded than the express from Norwich and takes only a few minutes longer!)
@@timdiggle5090Yes! I did this a month ago and the Manningtree buffet was great and very reasonably priced. The only problem with this trip coming back to the UK is bring woken up by the ferry PA at 05.30 and kicked off the ship at 06.30😝. Much better to get breakfast once I’m awake rather than onboard🤣
The previous version showed the old train London-Harwich not the new air-con Aventra, the Stena Line ships have had a makeover with new Stena Plus lounge (the Metropolitan restaurant has gone) and the permanent metro station at Hoek van Holland has now opened, the old video showed a temporary platform.
A very lite product compared to my interail days when Hoek was a major departure point by express trains to exotic destinations. Shame the Dutch have pulled out of the rail and sail tickets.. good vlog thanks for posting
Know why I took the overnight ferry? To do what I planned to do - ride the ICE3neo Amsterdam-Cologne-Brussels back home in the evening, I’d have needed the 07:04 Eurostar, meaning a 4:30am wakeup and drive to Tring for a 05:30 train. This way I got more sleep and a more relaxed journey. It’s such a good alternative to Eurostar, often cheaper.
@@seat61 I looked at departures for today (11 August) and they had space available for solo travelers or two people. Still way less expensive than Eurostar and a hotel, or even just the Eurostar on the day.
This ferry is such a civilised way to travel. But the early arrival just killed me. Had to get up at 5.30AM my body clock time just to make breakfast and be in my car at the designated time. Will do the daytime sailing next time.
Eastbound it arrives 08:00 Dutch time so no worries. Westbound it arrives 06:30 UK time, but simple solution is to stick to Dutch time, then it arrives 07:30. You later gain an hour somewhere in your day! 😅
@@seat61 Sorry - not a morning person! 0800=0700 UK - 1 hour at least, or more if you don't want to miss breakfast= 0600! Why can't it arrive at a more civilised 10 or 11? But looked like the lorry drivers liked having an early start.
I use this a couple of times a year every year and the new upgrade is a downgrade in terms of breakfast in the tase restaurant. No longer self service continental breakfast. Prior to the upgrade you could help yourself to cereal, toast, cold meats / cheese and cooked breakfast. Now you just get to choose one plate of a cooked breakfast which is handed to you and that is it. Just one drink, coffee or juice / water. A huge downgrade on what was available before.
It's a shame that on the train there was no man or woman in Seats 1 through to 60.... unless you deliberately filmed an empty carriage. The failure of train companies to simply fill seats by applying variable pricing is a big disappointment.
@@peterdowden7694 I always film empty seats, I try not to invade people’s privacy. But this was a 10 car commuter train well after the height of the peak, in the quietest month, August.
Interesting concept that as " an older person" you seem to be restricted to a "maximum" number of changes. My parents seem to be doing just fine still, but I will send them the memo 😂
Plenty of assistance at Hoek if you need it, contact Stena I have seen them use a buggy to take passengers off the ferry footway down the ramp and assisted to the Metro.
I am an older person (68) and I use this route regularly - though I admit that the long grey slope up the gangway from terminal to boat seems to be getting longer with every passing year ...
