Sealink
Service Attendant
Last October, I finally tried out the "DutchFlyer' service, marketed by Stena Line, Greater Anglia Trains and Dutch Railways.
Some facts: it's cheap. Incredibly cheap.
London to Any Station in The Netherlands: £39.00
Overnight sailings are slightly pricier as a cabin is needed, however they start from £30 Single Occupancy and £43 for double use.
An early start from Liverpool Street saw me on the 0638hrs train to Harwich International.
As usual, it was a dirty Greater Anglia train. Nothing has really changed much since National Express days!
I dozed off several times during the journey, having not slept well the night before (excitement!)
Before long, my ship was in sight!
This is the Stena Britannica and was two years, two days old the day I sailed.
There was a lift available but I crossed the covered footbridge which led directly to the departure area for the ship.
Very friendly staff greeted me and pointed me in the direction of security, passport control and check-in (in that order). The entire process took about 5 minutes, including a manual check of my carry on bag. You could check larger items in if you preferred and collect them at the other side.
At check in my cabin key was printed out and I was soon walking up the covered walkway to the ship.
It looked like a great day to sail!
Stena have standardised the decor of their ships across their fleet, a bit disappointing in some aspects as there's no real personality to their decor, however it does maintain their 'look'. Which I call "Executive Lounge".
But to be fair, it's not a bad space to spend time. And it did feel very spacious.
Some facts: it's cheap. Incredibly cheap.
London to Any Station in The Netherlands: £39.00
Overnight sailings are slightly pricier as a cabin is needed, however they start from £30 Single Occupancy and £43 for double use.
An early start from Liverpool Street saw me on the 0638hrs train to Harwich International.
As usual, it was a dirty Greater Anglia train. Nothing has really changed much since National Express days!
I dozed off several times during the journey, having not slept well the night before (excitement!)
Before long, my ship was in sight!
This is the Stena Britannica and was two years, two days old the day I sailed.
There was a lift available but I crossed the covered footbridge which led directly to the departure area for the ship.
Very friendly staff greeted me and pointed me in the direction of security, passport control and check-in (in that order). The entire process took about 5 minutes, including a manual check of my carry on bag. You could check larger items in if you preferred and collect them at the other side.
At check in my cabin key was printed out and I was soon walking up the covered walkway to the ship.
It looked like a great day to sail!
Stena have standardised the decor of their ships across their fleet, a bit disappointing in some aspects as there's no real personality to their decor, however it does maintain their 'look'. Which I call "Executive Lounge".
But to be fair, it's not a bad space to spend time. And it did feel very spacious.
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