This event is unlikely to take place considering the current corona measures and travel restrictions. If things change, we will inform our community as soon as possible.
Christmas is celebrated all around the world. But only in England you can celebrate it in Dickens-style. Therefore we organise a third edition of the Weekend Christmas Cruise to York in Northern England. York is a picturesque historic town with a beautiful city center, completely dressed up for the Christmas season. Not only is the destination itself great, but the overnight ferry from Rotterdam to Hull is great fun too. We’ll have a nice a group dinner on board (both ways) and socialise in the bar afterwards with live-music. If you want to spend time on your own, your partner or friends, that’s perfectly fine too. Allow us to make table reservations nonetheless, because the food and service superb! And to make it even more interesting, you will visit one of England’s very best Christmas Markets!
This awesome Christmas trip takes place from Friday 27 November until Sunday 29 November (departure 16h00 from Place Schuman in Brussels on Friday, and a return around 12h30 noon on Sunday). So it is not even necessary to take a day off, although maybe you have to leave your office 1 or 2 hours early. We travel by P&O overnight ferry from Rotterdam Europoort to Hull, and vice versa. For your information, P&O also sails from Seabruges to Hull, but we consider Rotterdam Europoort a better option due to the later departure time on Friday, as well as the earlier arrival on Saturday morning in Hull, and finally later departure on Saturday evening from Hull. This means we can leave later on Friday, and also enjoy considerable more time in England. Besides these boats are larger and newer, so it’s all in our favour!
Approximate price
We cannot say what the final price is for this trip, but we estimate a total price of up to €500 all-in (bus, boat, hut based on 2 people sharing, 2x breakfast buffet, 1x dinner buffet and 1x à la carte dinner).
Pre-reserve your spot now
If you feel like joining this trip you may want to get your name on our special pre-reservation list now. This is for free and comes without any obligation. However, it allows us to estimate the number of people who want to join and to prepare the trip accordingly. It also allows us to contact you when the trip is fully confirmed. People on our pre-reservation list will receive an interesting discount if they book early.
Included in trip
Trip to and from Rotterdam Europoort by 4* luxury coach
Return trip overnight by ferry from Europoort to Hull
Two nights accommodation in sea-view hut with 2 separate beds
Trip from Hull to York by 4* luxury coach
Guided tour in York by an official local guide
2x dinner (buffet & à la carte, some non-alcoholic drinks included)
2x breakfast buffet
A great group of international people
An unforgettable expat experience
Optional
Single hut
Child ticket
Families of small groups are more than welcome on this trip to England. Children up to 11 get €150 discount and from 12 to 17 years get €100 discount. Please contact us before by email or phone though, 0495-345144 or info@expatclub.org.
Pictures
Celebrate Christmas in York
In 2017 we organised our first trip to the beautiful Northern England city of York. With its immense Cathedral, lovely city center and unique Christmas atmosphere, this is one of our best seasonal destinations.
Few cities in England are as old as York. Founded in 71 AD by the Romans, it quickly became an important regional capital. That importance grew through the middle ages when it was chosen as one of the main centres for the Church of England. It grew as a city due to wool trading. During the industrialisation the city was transformed into one of the countries primary railway hubs with the confectionary industry being one of the foremast blossoming sectors. With about 200.000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area, York is nowadays especially known for its university, the health care industry and local tourism. And for tourists, there is definitely a lot to see!
Our schedule is carefully planned and we should have enough time in York to enjoy the city and Christmas markets. Please note that the schedule may still change for various circumstances, such as weather or traffic conditions. Your host, the bus driver, local guide and receiving destinations will always do their best to give the best experience. Thank you for your understanding.
Friday 27 November
16h00 – Departure from Brussels by luxury coach
18h30 – Arrival and check-in at Rotterdam Europoort
20h30 – Departure from Rotterdam Europoort to Hull
20h00 – Buffet dinner (included)
Saturday 28 November 07h00 – Buffet breakfast on board (included)
08h00 – Arrival in Hull (leave luggage onboard)
09h30 – Arrival in York
10h00 – Guided city tour
12h00 – Group lunch (optional)
13h30 – Free time
17h30 – Return to Hull by bus
18h30 – Checkin on boat (same hut)
20h30 – Departure to Rotterdam Europoort
21h00 – Dinner on board (included)
Sunday 30 November 07h30 – Breakfast on boat (included)
09h00 – Arrival in Rotterdam Europoort & checkout
12h30 – Arrival in Brussels
Transportation
We travel with a 4* luxury coach with reclining comfort seats and extra leg space. There is an on-board toilet and a DVD system with 3 flatscreens. The bus will stay with us the entire trip, so it will also accompany us to York. It will be parked very close to the city center.
The Pride of York from P&O Ferries arriving in Hull, Northern England | by Andy Beecroft (own work), via Wikimedia Commons
Ferry
We travel with P&O Ferries from Rotterdam Europoort to Hull with the Pride of Hull. It has several bars, restaurants, a casino, shops, a cinema and a show lounge, all spread over several decks. It has 546 huts for 1360 passengers. And yes, the bus + driver will join us to the other side as well.
Choose your hut
You can choose between a single hut and a twin hut. The twin huts have two single beds and they can be used by couples, 2 friends sharing or 2 solo travellers who don’t want to pay the additional single room surcharge. For 3 or 4 friends travelling together, or for families up to 4, we can also arrange huts with bunk beds, which are basically the ones as above with two extra beds hanging above the lower ones. There are no double beds (i.e. one large bed) available on this ship, so also couples are invited to stay in a twin hut. The huts are not very big, but they are comfortable nonetheless (good beds). Expat Club only arranged outside huts for you, so you will have a window. Each huts includes:
En suite WC and shower
Toiletries
Bedding & towels
Continental plug points
Clothes hooks & hangers
Air conditioning
Reading lights
Sea-view window
Located in a preferred area of the ship
Room options for solo travellers
If you travel alone you either opt for a single hut, but a surcharge applies (price visible once you reserve your spot). You can avoid the single room surcharge by sharing a “twin room” with 2 single beds (only 1 male room available!). During the outbound trip we introduce you to all other ladies group who also want to share a room, and you mutually agree with whom you’d like to share the room. So you will never have to search for a room partner yourself, and do not have to worry about having to pay a solo surcharge. Since our participants are all adults, there is always a kind person to share the room with. It is a perfect way to lower your costs and to meet another friendly expat.
Meals (2x breakfast + 2x dinner included) There are various restaurants to choose from during this trip, but Expat Club would like to offer you a great meal on both the outbound and inbound journeys. We reserve tables at “The Kitchen” restaurant on the outbound trip, which serves a magnificent buffet dinner (some non-alcoholic drinks are included), and on the inbound trip we will try to reserve tables for “The Brasserie” restaurant which offers an à la carte service (t.b.c., drinks not included, maximum value of €30 per person applies).
York
Upon arrival we will be welcomed by our friendly guide Matthew who also showed our group around in 2017 and 2018. He will take us to all the most important parts of town, including the Cathedral, the abbey and the Shambles. Learn about York’s history that started almost 1950 years ago, in 71 AD, when it was founded by the Romans.
The famous Minster. Our guide will take us around it.
The well preserved York city walls
The Castle of York
Climb up to the impressive Clifford’s Tower
The highly-acclaimed York Railway Museum where you can see England’s history through a rail-perspective. It’s the largest rail museum in the world!
What is the next part of town you would like to visit?
Typical English houses and gardens
The Minster from behind
The Olde Stare Inne, York’s oldest pub at a stone’s throw of the Minster Cathedral
Visit the York Minster
No doubt the highlight of our visit to York will be the visit of the famous York Minster. We leave it up to you if you would like to visit this church inside. The entrance fee is 10 GBP or 15 GBP including the ascent to the tower. Both fees include a guided tour (upon availability). The entrance fee covers the very high operating costs of the Minster (21.000 GBP per day).
Christmas markets
After the guided tour, you will have a lot of free time to visit any of the main tourist attractions in town. However, you are also more than welcome to hit the Christmas markets.Traditional chalets shine out from their positions along Parliament Street, St Sampson’s Square and The Judge’s Lodging, where Small Business Christmas will be taking place with stalls selling locally-made handcrafted gifts. Explore Davygate and Coppergate for inspired gift and stocking filler ideas or find local flavour at York’s famous Shambles Market. Thor’s Tipi is back on Parliament Street after a popular first season. Cosy up around a log fire and enjoy a hot chocolate or something stronger.
Return journey
We depart again in the late afternoon to catch the boat from Hull. Like on the outbound journey, we will have dinner on-board (included in the trip fee), enjoy the facilities on the boat and of course use the time to enjoy the company of a fun group of expats. In the morning you can have a healthy breakfast again before getting off the boat and driving back to Brussels. We should be back by noon on Sunday, so you can relax and possibly plan something for the afternoon or evening.
Comments
The bus trip will be carried out by Lauwers Reizen, one of our trusted coach partners.
For this trip you require a valid passport, eventually in combination with a U.K. visa. To check if you need a visa, click here.
We need the gender and age of all passengers at the date of travel. We prefer you enter this information during the checkout process, but you can also send us an email or call us later about this.
This trip is carefully planned. Still, all timings are indicative and may change due to various circumstances.
The trip is sold as a package. You cannot go with your own transportation and arrange your own accommodation. If there are specific things that you do not want in the package, please let us know and we will try to find a solution.
You are personally responsible for getting a good travel insurance that covers you for any unforeseen emergencies and medical expenses during the trip towards the United Kingdom, and a possible cancellation coverage.
You are personally responsible for using the ferry hut in an appropriate way. Any missing or broken items will be billed after the trip.
Expat Club cannot be held liable for delays that are beyond our sphere of influence, but which impact the program (e.g. missed guided tours due to delay of the ferry), neither can Expat Club be held liable for weather-related cancellations or any other unforeseen events that influence the course of the trip, including, but not limited to technical problems with the coach, strikes, storms etc.
Expat Club cannot be held liable for personal injuries during the trip, such as, but not limited to, things that happen during the guided tour. Joining this trip is at your own risk.
If you do not find a hut partner on your own, we will find one for you (male/male, female/female). If you book for a shared room, you will not be required to pay for a single room in case there is no room partner for you. Also, during the outbound trip we will connect you with others in the same position. If you decide to take a single room during the trip, then you will have to fully pay for it yourself.
If you book a double / twin room and your travel partner (friend) cancels, you will have to pay the single room supplement.
Due to the nature of this double overnight trip by ferry there is a 6 weeks cancellation period. This over-rules the regular conditions, in line with section VIII-e of our terms & conditions. You can cancel up to 6 weeks before departure with a refund (cancellation fees apply).
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