Stena Britannica

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I realized I never shared this part of our Europe trip.

Before we'd even started planning our trip, we saw some show on Discovery or one of those stations about the world's greatest ships.

Stena Britannica was one of them. It is basically a ferry boat, transporting people to and from London and The Netherlands. You can sail during the day, or go on an overnight trip, which is what Brian wanted to do.

We had to reserve a cabin in additon to tickets. We did this all online before leaving.

We did the Rail and Sail option, which includes train tickets from your city in the Netherlands (Amsterdam for us), fare for the ferry, our cabin, and train tickets to your city in England (London for us).

The train from Amsterdam to the Hook of Holland, where the port is took about an hour. The train station is right beside the port. In the photo above, you can see the walkay that takes you to the ferry. 

We literally were the second people to board the boat. We got there before they even opened boarding, we were so eager to ride this thing! After dropping our stuff in our cabin, we explored the ferry.

There was a sit down restaurant, as well as cafeteria style restaurant. We ate there, and the food was okay. They accepted either Euros or pounds.

There were some other common areas, like a bar and a computer room, as well as a gift shop. Outside on the deck was basketball court.

View of the town from the ferry.

While waiting to sail we watched many many trucks load on to the ferry, as well as regular passenger cars. Truck drivers had their own quarters on the boat and their own lounge too.

Hallway leading to our cabin.

 Our cabin. I had booked us an outside cabin for 2 people. When we arrived and saw room for 5 people, I panicked, thinking we would have to share a room with strangers. But a visit to customer service told us that they ran out of 2 person outside cabins, so were "upgraded" to a 5 person room. Fine by us! 

There was a TV in the corner. We watched the Dutch version of The Voice! Other options were Murder She Wrote and some other really old TV shows!

The bed was comfy. Once we got out to sea, I couldn't tell we were in a boat, and the next morning when we arrrived, I didn't even know we had arrived. Everything was so smooth. The best part was the wake up call at 6am...Don't Worry, Be Happy whistling over the PA system. How could we not wake up with smiles on our faces?

 The bathroom. Shower was to the right of the sink.

After disembarking and going through customs, we took the train to Liverpool Station in London, rested and ready to see the city!

Overall, this was a fun experience.

Yes, there are faster ways to get to London from Amsterdam.

I priced it out, and the cost of taking the Talys and Eurostar trains to London, plus an extra night in London, cost more than the Rail and Sail option (essentially a moving hotel!) we chose.