Upon request by many we are organising an  weekend Christmas cruise to York in Northern England with P&O Ferries. York is a wonderful historic town with a beautiful city center. In fact, it is even called “Britain’s most beautiful town” by Bing. Not only is the destination itself great, but this time we travel as a group by overnight ferry, so it’s also a lot of fun as we’ll organise a group dinner on board, a socialising event in the bar and of course show our moves on the dance floor. And to make it even more interesting, we will visit one of England’s very best Christmas Markets! Note we have spots for only 40 people, so don’t delay your reservation.
This awesome Christmas trip takes place from Friday 17 November late afternoon (16h30) until Sunday 19 November with a scheduled return at noon in Brussels. So it is not even necessary to take a day off, but maybe you have to leave 1 or 2 hours early. Just come directly after work to the Place Schuman pick up point. We will travel by P&O overnight ferry from Rotterdam Europoort to Hull, and also return to Rotterdam. Just FYI, 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 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!
Schedule of our 3-day trip
Our schedule is carefully planned and we should have enough time in York to enjoy the city and Christmas markets.
Friday 17 November
16h30 – Departure from Brussels by luxury coach
20h30 – Departure from Rotterdam Europoort
Saturday 18 November
08h00 – Arrival in Hull
09h30 – Arrival in York
10h00 – Guided city tour
12h00 – Group lunch (optional)
13h30 – Free time
17h30 – Return to Hull by bus
20h30 – Departure to Rotterdam Europoort
Sunday 19 November
09h00 – Arrival in Rotterdam Europoort
11h30 – Arrival in Brussels
Our transportation
We travel with a 5* luxury coach. This one is much more luxurious than a regular 4* coach that we usually use. It even has a limited number of First Class seats, with just 3 seats per row, instead of 4. It really doesn’t get any better than this! We now offer a FREE UPGRADE to first class for the first 20 reservations!!!
About York
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!
After the guided tour you are invited to join us for a nice typical local Christmas meal in a great local restaurant. We don’t know where we will have lunch yet, but you can indicate whether you would like to join upon checkout. We always try to search for a great restaurant with a good price-quality ratio.
Visit the York Minster
No doubt the highlight of our visit to York will be the visit of the famous York Minster. Â 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 is meant to cover the very high operating costs of the Minster (21.000 GBP per day).
Christmas markets
After lunch, or eventually already 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. There’s mulled wine, Christmas cocktails and draft ales available from an independent licensed bar.
Return journey
We depart again in the late afternoon to catch the boat from Hull. Like on the outbound journey, we’ll have dinner, 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 we have breakfast before getting off the boat and driving back to Brussels. We should be back by noon on Sunday, so you can relax and eventually plan something for the afternoon or evening.
Our 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 over 12 decks. It has 546 huts for 1360 passengers.
Choose your hut
You can choose between a single hut and a twin hut. The twin huts have two single beds and can be used by couples, 2 friends sharing or 2 solo travellers who don’t want to pay the additional single room surcharge. 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. Each cabin includes:
- En suite WC and shower
- Toiletries
- Bedding & towels
- Continental plug points
- Clothes hooks & hangers
- Air conditioning
- Reading lights
- Located in a preferred area of the ship
Meals
There are various restaurants to choose from during this trip. If you just want to have the cheapest (but good) dinner + breakfast buffet menu, that costs €35 per one-way journey (so €70 in total for dinner and breakfast together). You could also opt for the brasserie style dinner and breakfast menus. Although we encourage/coordinate having dinner in smaller or larger groups, we do not want to make reservations as you may first want to see the various on-board restaurants. For breakfast, you also may want to just get a coffee and croissant, so we leave this up to you to arrange during the trip.
Trip fee
The basic trip fee includes the following:
- trip to and from Rotterdam Europoort by 4* luxury coach
- return trip overnight ferry from Europoort to Hull
- two nights accommodation in a 2-persons outer-cabin with 2 separate beds (with sea-view, so the best cabins)
- trip from Hull to York by 4* luxury coach
- a guided tour in York by an official local guide
- optional: a buffet dinner on the inbound and outbound journeys
- optional: a breakfast on the inbound and outbound journeys
COMMENTS & SPECIAL TERMS
- The bus trip will be carried out by Lauwers Reizen from Boechout, 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 an eventual cancellation coverage.Â
- 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). We organise at least one get-together before the trip so you can meet other travellers. 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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Upon request by many we are organising an  weekend Christmas cruise to York in Northern England with P&O Ferries. York is a wonderful historic town with a beautiful city center. In fact, it is even called “Britain’s most beautiful town” by Bing. Not only is the destination itself great, but this time we travel as a group by overnight ferry, so it’s also a lot of fun as we’ll organise a group dinner on board, a socialising event in the bar and of course show our moves on the dance floor. And to make it even more interesting, we will visit one of England’s very best Christmas Markets! Note we have spots for only 40 people, so don’t delay your reservation.
This awesome Christmas trip takes place from Friday 17 November late afternoon (16h30) until Sunday 19 November with a scheduled return at noon in Brussels. So it is not even necessary to take a day off, but maybe you have to leave 1 or 2 hours early. Just come directly after work to the Place Schuman pick up point. We will travel by P&O overnight ferry from Rotterdam Europoort to Hull, and also return to Rotterdam. Just FYI, 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 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!
Schedule of our 3-day trip
Our schedule is carefully planned and we should have enough time in York to enjoy the city and Christmas markets.
Friday 17 November
16h30 – Departure from Brussels by luxury coach
20h30 – Departure from Rotterdam Europoort
Saturday 18 November
08h00 – Arrival in Hull
09h30 – Arrival in York
10h00 – Guided city tour
12h00 – Group lunch (optional)
13h30 – Free time
17h30 – Return to Hull by bus
20h30 – Departure to Rotterdam Europoort
Sunday 19 November
09h00 – Arrival in Rotterdam Europoort
11h30 – Arrival in Brussels
Our transportation
We travel with a 5* luxury coach. This one is much more luxurious than a regular 4* coach that we usually use. It even has a limited number of First Class seats, with just 3 seats per row, instead of 4. It really doesn’t get any better than this! We now offer a FREE UPGRADE to first class for the first 20 reservations!!!
About York
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!
After the guided tour you are invited to join us for a nice typical local Christmas meal in a great local restaurant. We don’t know where we will have lunch yet, but you can indicate whether you would like to join upon checkout. We always try to search for a great restaurant with a good price-quality ratio.
Visit the York Minster
No doubt the highlight of our visit to York will be the visit of the famous York Minster. Â 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 is meant to cover the very high operating costs of the Minster (21.000 GBP per day).
Christmas markets
After lunch, or eventually already 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. There’s mulled wine, Christmas cocktails and draft ales available from an independent licensed bar.
Return journey
We depart again in the late afternoon to catch the boat from Hull. Like on the outbound journey, we’ll have dinner, 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 we have breakfast before getting off the boat and driving back to Brussels. We should be back by noon on Sunday, so you can relax and eventually plan something for the afternoon or evening.
Our 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 over 12 decks. It has 546 huts for 1360 passengers.
Choose your hut
You can choose between a single hut and a twin hut. The twin huts have two single beds and can be used by couples, 2 friends sharing or 2 solo travellers who don’t want to pay the additional single room surcharge. 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. Each cabin includes:
- En suite WC and shower
- Toiletries
- Bedding & towels
- Continental plug points
- Clothes hooks & hangers
- Air conditioning
- Reading lights
- Located in a preferred area of the ship
Meals
There are various restaurants to choose from during this trip. If you just want to have the cheapest (but good) dinner + breakfast buffet menu, that costs €35 per one-way journey (so €70 in total for dinner and breakfast together). You could also opt for the brasserie style dinner and breakfast menus. Although we encourage/coordinate having dinner in smaller or larger groups, we do not want to make reservations as you may first want to see the various on-board restaurants. For breakfast, you also may want to just get a coffee and croissant, so we leave this up to you to arrange during the trip.
Trip fee
The basic trip fee includes the following:
- trip to and from Rotterdam Europoort by 4* luxury coach
- return trip overnight ferry from Europoort to Hull
- two nights accommodation in a 2-persons outer-cabin with 2 separate beds (with sea-view, so the best cabins)
- trip from Hull to York by 4* luxury coach
- a guided tour in York by an official local guide
- optional: a buffet dinner on the inbound and outbound journeys
- optional: a breakfast on the inbound and outbound journeys
COMMENTS & SPECIAL TERMS
- The bus trip will be carried out by Lauwers Reizen from Boechout, 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 an eventual cancellation coverage.Â
- 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). We organise at least one get-together before the trip so you can meet other travellers. 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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