Spa and sauna jacuzzi on stena line is very nice 5 star look and feel staff always pleasant read more

i was visiting my brother in the UK, and had to return back to Amsterdam, and my brother and mum decided they wanted to come back to Amsterdam with me for a couple of day's visit, to check out the apartment I was renting, and the neighboorhood I was living in. The cost for all of us flying back, was slightly prohibited, so I started seeing if there were any train or sea options available. Rightaway the Stena line's ferry from Harwich to Rotterdam (UK to the Netherlands) was a real contender. For a round trip, including taking over the car, and pre-booking an en-suite cabin was £150 and change. This was so great, as then I could also shop at Costco, and pack up my brother's car instead of trying to fit everything into my one allocated suitcase. There was also a train option, but the ferry just seemed like such a relaxed, luxurious way to travel and indeed it was! Travelling down from the motorway, there's clear signs to get to the Port and the booking email sent by the company has a map link, which takes you to your destination. Customs and clearance was easy, and while we were running a bit past the boarding time cut-off, we weren't the only stragglers, as two other cars also pulled up behind us! On board, the amenities are great. The directions to our cabin were easy to decipher, and the cabin itself was super comfortable and well designed. We had a lovely space to read, there was a movie theater (prices were a bit expensive), a free outdoor basketball court, a teenage video game hangout area, play area, etc. However the food we purchased, aka the x2 sandwiches, were a let down, which is why its not 5-stars. The bread was this soft white kind, and it was just so meh. Fish n' chips were okay - and I know for next time to bring my own food. The whole trip was so wonderful and relaxing - this ship wasn't massively busy/ full, and the seas were calm. We left the UK in the morning and landed in the port of Rotterdam in the evening, so yeah, it did take longer than flying or on the train, but for me, it was just a great day trip. Overall, however fabulous experience, and I cant wait to find an opportunity to do this again. ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND! Yelp 29/ 2019 read more

See all

When one of my friends suggested that I give Amsterdam a visit for sightseeing, I would ordinarily have flown. But my usual air carrier (Star Alliance) doesn't have direct flights from London to Amsterdam and I didn't want to have to connect in Frankfurt and have to waste half a day traveling. So I checked out the ferry. What a deal! For £122 round trip from Harwich to Hoek van Holland (near Rotterdam), I had a 'redeye" on the way out and another for the daytime return. For both trips, I upgraded by £22 or so for a cabin. Easy boarding process and really, quite a nice en suite (private bathroom) cabin. Sure it was small, but it was efficient. After boarding, I dropped my suitcase in the room and went in search of food. (There isn't much in the terminal.) They have a decent restaurant with a few set items, I had the chicken curry and a beer, watching the disembarkation process through the window. By the time the naan bread had scooped the last of the sauce from my plate, we were on the way. I returned to my cabin (I had booked a single, but they upgraded me to a triple) and fell into a solid sleep, only waking when they announced we were an hour from docking in Holland. A quick shower and time to queue for Immigration. Pretty much the same for the return, I was "only" upgraded to a double cabin, but the process was exactly the same. Bonus! Free wifi on board. Some gaming and video sites were blocked, but my email and Facebook and Yelp all worked just fine. Tip: There's an extra charge for an outside cabin compared to an inside one. It's worth the few extra £ for the view. There are onboard things for the kids - a movie cinema (not free) and a games room. The ride was a little bumpy, so if you get seasick (I don't) you may want to take one of the available meds for such things. The only downsides are that their sailing times were not perfectly convenient for my schedule, but they might work fine for yours. Also, Harwich is not exactly the center of the world. There is a direct train to and from Liverpool Street to the Harwich International Rail Station, right next to the terminal. Or park your vehicle. Or take it with you - it is a ferry! read more

See all

This was my second time using Stenaline to travel form London to Amsterdam. It's a wonderful little day trip for relaxation in a hectic world. The first time I purchased a spot in the lounge and then a room for a short nap. This time I just got a ticket and stayed any place I could get a seat. Which wasn't a problem. There are plenty of seats. I did find a nice improvement in the food available in the dining room. It was more appetizing and flavorful than my previous trip. I had a small breakfast treat and then a late lunch before it closed down. The fries were so much better then before and my entrees was delicious. The staff was very helpful on this trip and accommodating for my meal. I will definitely use this mode of transportation again for my next trip. Is a nice break in a hectic 3 weeks of travel. read more

I really enjoyed this trip! I will reserve my single and minimal complaint for the end. Out of all the things that went wrong on our European trip, this mode of transport was a nice bright spot as far as consistency goes. We booked our tickets on line a while in advance for an overnight ferry from England to Holland. It was booked for the middle of the week, like a Wednesday night or something. With one single purchase, our tickets included a train ride from Liverpool Station in London, the ferry of course, and a train ride into Amsterdam. Oh, and we paid extra for breakfast also, so I can include that too. We flew into Heathrow and took the Underground straight to Liverpool Station. We had some time to kill, so naturally we hit up a pub outside the station. The good thing about the train tickets to the Stena port about an hour away is that you can take any train, any time, to get to the ship. Their website listed the last trains to leave in time, and we took one sooner. If I remember correctly the ship left port at 9:00pm. The ship was very similar looking, inside and out, to a legit cruise ship. I have been on several Carnival cruise ships and that's what I was reminded of. The security to get on the ship was quick and easy; random bag searches, where they quickly peered in my suitcase, and I was past this part in under a minute. Definitely beats airport security. We got in and settled into our room, which was a three-person room with two beds. It was actually a decent size, at least compared to what I expect on a cruise ship. They are very proud of their mattresses, displaying the brand name on the door and in marketing material, and with good cause. They were comfy! Our shower was decent and I believe we had free refreshments in the mini fridge. We could not complain about the room, especially for the price! I believe it was 49 euros total for the room. Needing Internet, we set off to explore the ship. The night we set sail the ship was really quite empty, I don't think there was more than 100 passengers on board. We went to the main floor and explored some. There was a cafe, restaurant, several bars (where I first discovered the mind-blowing two different types of Heineken on tap: Heineken, and Heineken Extra Cold, whose name is pretty self explanatory), a legit movie theater, game rooms, an outside deck, and of course the Internet room. It wasn't until I arrived at the computers that I realized they have free WiFi available throughout the ship! But we were able to check our reservations, and decided to call it a night. We were woken in the morning by speakers in the room announcing that we were hitting shore in about 30 minutes. It was loud enough to wake us but a gentle enough voice to not be frightening. We got up and ready and headed upstairs for a breakfast buffet. The food was good, a wide selection of traditional Dutch breakfast food (or so I think). We were the last group to finish eating, but the employees around were very friendly and not imposing. We did not feel rushed. We found our way off the ship and quickly proceeded through customs. It was cool getting a stamp on my passport, and instead of the typical airplane logo stamp, we got a ship! I didn't know there was different stamps. We walked maybe 100 feet outside the ferry terminal and boarded the first train to Rotterdam, where we switched over to another train to Amsterdam. It was an early morning crowd of what I would assume to be people heading to work. The trains left the ferry terminal in 5-7 minute intervals. All in all, it was a very smooth process, and I would highly recommend this travel option. I want to try the day ferry next time, as this trip I basically only used the ferry to sleep. My one complaint was that the ship ride was too short! I only had seven hours on board to eat, shower, research, and sleep. But if the biggest complaint is arriving too soon, who cares! read more

Let me see... how much would you pay for a night in London or Amsterdam? If your answer is well below 100 pounds then you will have to explain me how. So, say you are in London and want to go to Holland. You can certainly hop on a flight and get there in a few hours (one hour flight if there's no delay, plus travel to and from the airport, checkin, security and so on). Still you would need to pay for your hotel night either in London or Amsterdam (assuming you are not a local). You can also take the train through the Eurotunnel which will get you there in about 5 hours but you will also have to pay for your hotel. Being in that situation, I started researching the option and found this alternative: train and overnight ferry from London to Amsterdam. There are several option that let you have the train ticket from London's Liverpool st. station to Amsterdam (actually, you can also leave from any station in Anglia and go to any stations in Holland for the same price) with trains on both side of the North Sea crossing and a ferry ticket that include a room from Harwich to Hook De Holland. Options start below 100 pound one way and every room on the boat is just like an hotel room with full restroom and shower. Since it was my first time trying this, I was a bit suspicious and wanted to make sure that my cabin would offer a good night sleep so I opted for the "captain's class" which brought my total to about 170 pounds including a buffet breakfast in the morning. Even at that price, it's not so easy to find a clean room in London. My "captain's class" room was in front of the boat with large windows giving me a great view of the crossing and the arrival. The cabin was quite large and very comfortable so I had a very nice sleep. Not only that, but it came with a fully stuffed mini-bar which is included! That's right, no additional charge so I had a glass of CAVA sparkling wine at night while relaxing in my room. After a good night and a nice shower, I had the buffet style breakfast in the restaurant and we were in Holland! So basically, I paid for the room had a great experience without the stress and security associated with a flight and got the transportation from London to Amsterdam free! I am sure that not everyone would consider that, but for me it's a great alternative and would redo this anytime that the situation would allow! read more

Great overnight ferry to Hook of Holland. Comfy beds in cute cabins with tvs. Couldn't get the wifi to work tho. Shower was amazing! Food was waaaaaaay overpriced for nothing special and charging €5 for water stinks. But breakfast was delicious, a buffet with all sorts of yummy delights. read more

The ferry was a really great alternative to traveling by plane or train and there were many things to do on the ferry. We were going from Holland to England and the traveling time was only 7 hours but the beds were very comfortable and the rooms were a decent size. Overall the ferry reminded me of a cruise ship. All the staff I encountered were helpful and I am really glad I got to have this experience. I would definitely recommend Stena Line to everyone. read more

Yes I like them and their lovely smoking room on The Britannica next to the fore restaurant with fun music playing in the background. A very pleasant way to get to Hoek Van Holland and we hired a clean cabin for a three hour snooze. We had an appetising three course meal in the sit down restaurant on a lovely sunny day which helps I suppose because it's not rough. I found Stena Line to have a nice fun atmosphere after we caught the train from Liverpool Street. Competent staff at the Purser's Desk - some of them British who helped us with our onward trains in Holland. Good fun! read more

Awful customer service. Waited on hold for more than 30 minutes. Then the person I was talking to was rude and unable to answer any of my questions. Will be flying from now on. read more

The ferry crossing itself was great, but god help you if you need to contact customer services! I've seen many similar reviews on other sites. I had an item confiscated (it said nowhere on their site that I couldn't bring it with me) and so I issued a complaint. At the time of writing, it's been over two months since I started emailing them and I'm yet to receive even an acknowledgement that they have received my emails! I assume they are either incredibly under-staffed or they're hoping I'll give up after enough time! read more