Last Thursday 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 £22 Single and £36 for two.
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.
As a small treat, I had booked The Captains Cabin.
On daytime sailings that's a supplement of £62 (for two!) and as I had my key already I could go straight there.
This is what you get:
And fizz that would make the Virgin PE offering look sparkling ): !
I spent the day in the cabin, watched a Dutch movie channel (oo-er) which at 9am was showing "Heartless" a 2009 horror. It was quite enjoyable.
I then went for lunch and had meatballs and mashed potato (Special offer: €5) with a coffee and cinnamon pastry (special offer: €2.50)
Tasted better than it looked!
I then drew the black out curtains and had really good snooze. Felt on top of the world when I woke up 90 minutes later, and went for a power shower!
Exactly on time, we reached Hoek van Holland at 1635hrs Dutch time. An easy walk from the ship to the station, all in one building, and I waited for the train to Leiden. Which would require a change at a place called Schiedam.
The train from Hoek van Holland Haven to Schiedam was spotless.
Changing trains was easy, and I jumped on this double decker train. As it was not about 6.00pm, it was busy, however there was ample storage and I did get a seat.
I had booked a house boat in Leiden, and the owner met me at the station and drove me there. She had some bad news, the plumbing had gone on the boat and I couldn't stay.
However she arranged to pay for a hotel for me (I stayed at an Ibis as I had never tried them before - most comfortable bed EVER!) and the next day all was well and I was able to stay on the houseboat...
For a lovely few days in Leiden!