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Cambridge to Holland ticket: what would happen if disruption caused a missed ferry?

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gingerheid

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Hello

I'm thinking about travelling from Cambridge to Holland overnight, staying a night, and returning. What would happen in the event of disruption causing me to miss the ferry at Harwich?

It looks like 6 out of the last 10 Cambridge - Harwich trains haven't run! (I realise that this doesn't mean you'd have missed the ferry on every occasion; I haven't looked at the details).
 
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gingerheid

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You'd be rebooked onto the next one. That may or may not be any use, of course.

Would a refund be available if this wasn't any use?

And what would happen in re accommodation? It wouldn't necessarily be possible to get back to Cambridge, and if it was it would be a mission to get back to Harwich for the next ferry.
 

Wirewiper

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Do you know why the trains haven't run? If it was a known and pre-planned cancellation you could ask to be rerouted via London or Norwich, or simply catch an earlier train to Ipswich.

I don't know what happens re: accommodation. Of course if you had turned up for the train and found it cancelled, would you not simply have stayed in Cambridge?
 

LAX54

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When the Cambridge to Harwich train terminates at Ipswich, take next train to Manningtree and change or it's a taxi to the Port, there is plenty of time for this.
(think it sails at 2330)
 

Aictos

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When the Cambridge to Harwich train terminates at Ipswich, take next train to Manningtree and change or it's a taxi to the Port, there is plenty of time for this.
(think it sails at 2330)

Can people claim back the cost of the taxi fare though?
 

30907

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Unless you are tight for time, I would travel earlier from Cambridge (changing at Ipswich and Manningtree) and board early. From memory, boarding starts 8-8.30pm. The posh restaurant is good!
 

reb0118

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Unless you are tight for time, I would travel earlier from Cambridge (changing at Ipswich and Manningtree) and board early. From memory, boarding starts 8-8.30pm. The posh restaurant is good!

I concur. You can book the restaurant in advance through Stena - I've often found it fully booked upon boarding. That said I've had a decent schnitzel & chips from the cafeteria before. Getting on early allows you to get settled onboard, freshened up, fed & watered, and tucked up in bed before the ship sets sail.
 

306024

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Boarding starts around 20.30- 20.45 ahead of the arrival of The Hook Continental at 20.54. The ship sails at 23.00.

In the event of serious delay see the station supervisor at Ipswich (or Colchester if travelling via London) Easier for them to arrange a taxi if necessary than at Manningtree.

The ships are quite superb and a meal in the posh bit is indeed pleasant.
 

30907

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I concur. You can book the restaurant in advance through Stena - I've often found it fully booked upon boarding. That said I've had a decent schnitzel & chips from the cafeteria before. Getting on early allows you to get settled onboard, freshened up, fed & watered, and tucked up in bed before the ship sets sail.
Agree - except that I can't get to sleep till we're out to sea :(
 

gingerheid

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I can highly recommend the direct Eurostar to Rotterdam or anywhere

It was actually because of that service that I starting thinking of making the journey (perhaps e* there and flying back...). But travelling overnight is so convenient...
 

AlbertBeale

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This issue of guaranteed connections on rail-boat journeys, and whether there are officially recognised "connection times" such that you're looked after in the same way as on rail-rail links if you're delayed, was raised in another thread recently (https://www.railforums.co.uk/thread...present-and-future.189175/page-3#post-4299004). (This thread also has other discussion of the Harwich-Hvh route.)

I'd welcome a definitive answer re connection times and so on relating to rail-ferry links.
 
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On a service collapse at Colchester one night, I was assured that the ferry would always be held for the rail-connecting services. With the padding in the check-in times, that would usually mean keeping the terminal open rather than an actual late ferry departure? I guess the thing to do is make oneself known as soon as trouble starts. The staff at Colchester always seem to be on the ball, so a trip to the customer services desk next to platform 5 might help.

A few years ago I was on a train to Liverpool with a rail-sail ticket on the advertised service for the ferry. Unfortunately a signal failure killed the WCML. The fantastic guard got through the Stena call centre to the terminal, and got them to hold the boat. He booked a taxi to take us to Birkenhead and arranged for people to meet us at Liverpool to help us run to the taxi with our luggage. When we arrived the terminal was closed and we were driven to the ferry on a port vehicle, there was definitele a late departure thanks to this. That's the sort of customer service that reaffirms your faith in the human race.

Edits for clarity.
 
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superjohn

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I would concur with others that it would be wise to set off earlier than the suggested train, especially given the issues Greater Anglia have at the moment.

Maybe I’m over cautious but I take that approach for all such connections, flights even more so. The refund/accommodation entitlements are kind of irrelevant if I need to be on a particular boat or plane and I plan the journey accordingly. If I end up with an hour or two to kill at the port so be it.

For that particular journey I suspect there would be a good chance of the ferry being held. The sailing schedules for both ships have lengthy layovers at Hoek but very tight turnarounds at Harwich. As such any delays can be more easily absorbed on the eastbound journeys. I doubt Harwich port has much by way of Stena staffing once the ship has left so they would aim to avoid having to deal with a load of displaced passengers if at all possible. On the other hand the eastbound overnight is the Britannica and I have found its English crew are noticeably less passenger friendly than their Dutch counterparts on the Hollandica. I suppose it comes down to who makes the decision to hold the ship, the crew or Stena management.
 

ashkeba

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I am sure the Mayflower Inn about 20 minutes walk away does good trade as a result of greater Anglia's unreliability!
 
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The one time this happened to me (but now over a decade ago), following complete signal failure at Witham the ship was not held (I got there at c.2315). There is a Premier Inn about 400m from Parkeston Quay which I stayed in, then went via Eurostar the next morning. Travel Insurance covered it. Parkeston Quay was deserted, so the question of what assistance the Railway/Stena might provide became very moot, very fast. By the far the best option I would have thought is to leave Cambridge at least 90mins in advance of the through connection and go via Manningtree.
 
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