Guest Tracker Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 We have crossed the channel many times (with and without the dog) and have always pre booked a return ticket at the same time as the outward booking - which has proved inconvenient sometimes when one is minded to stay a bit longer. We are now thinking of going over in December and down to Spain for Christmas and New Year - and maybe longer - via the Christmas markets in Germany and Belgium. We can easily book a specific outward crossing but it would be much better to either have an open ticket for return or simply turn up and pay to cross on the day - trouble is unbooked tickets can be bloody expensive! The dog is an extra complication and I wonder what people's experiences are with either the open return - if you can get them - or just turning up unbooked and needing to get the dog checked and scanned before crossing? Thanks I've had a quick look on the ferry operators websites but there seems very little practical help on this 'unconventional' approach to sea crossings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamie Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Hello Tracker I don't know if it is any help to you and you may have gone into the possibility anyway but we use the Sea France carnet which gives you 6 - 10 crossings from £64 return with full flexibility. You have to book a minimum of 3 returns just giving the first outward date (the other 2 are then valid for 12 months) a return date must be booked as well, but can be changed at any time, even at the check-in at no extra cost. Your outward date can be changed at any time also and you just turn up and they will put you on the first available boat. If you don't use all 3 returns one can be given to somebody else with no extra charge. We find this just right for us, having elderly mothers in their 90's and other family commitments and dates needing to be changed at the last moment. Hope this may be useful to you. Regards Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Rich I have had trouble in the past because, like you, never seem to get my return date right. For the last three years have also used the Sea France carnet system. This works great, as last poster said you just need to book your first trip and even this is not 'set in stone'. They guarantee to get you on the next two sailings but I have always got on the next one. Some dates are excluded, but this has never bothered me as they are from memory Friday/Saturday in August and some bank holiday days, look on Sea france web site it will give you the excluded dates. I buy six crossings, three returns, and you can pass two on if you wish, this is for a twelve month period. One thing it has gone up a bit this year and is no longer £32 a crossing for all m/h, I now pay £44 a crossing. It is best to book for a car then pay the extra for van this way you do not pay extra if you wish to cross in your car or pass a ticket on. You can sometimes get cheaper trips as you know but when you miss your time it always costs you. Never just turn up, did this once and it cost me £135 one way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philman Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 We also use the SeaFrance 6 journey carnet it suits us perfectly as we never come back on the day we had planned. However SeaFrance do a 'normal' return and for about a fiver extra you can make it fully amendable. So you can come back when you like without any amendment fees. Phil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac111051 Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 When we have been in this position we have asked someone in England to book the return ticket for us using the debit card number we have with us, then they just phone us with the booking reference number Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Hi , We have always booked return. In may this year, we had to change the outward trip, (booked on line) with Brittany, two days before date. I phoned Brittany, and was told you can change the booked ferry time, upto 24 hrs before , I would book return, and if need be change the return to suit . Must be done on line, but you should be able to access the internet somewhere, surely? Don't know about other ferry co's, as we live in Portsmouth , we pay more to go from here, as in the long run , we save on fuel, going to Dover each way and also on the French side, as we are usually going south, via Brittany. It takes us nearly three hours to get to Dover, and less than three to get to Cherborg.No contest in my book!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 When we go to the UK we often book just one way and wait until we know when we're returning to book our return trip. With ferry crossings you don't seem to save by booking a return. We have a dog with us and tend to book the France > England ferry with a company that charges 50% of the Pet fee for each leg and return with a company that only charges for France > England leg. e.g. next week we're crossing with LD Lines from Boulogne who only charge £15 for the dog France > England. We will more likely return with Norfolkline who don't charge for a dog on the England > France crossing. We almost always use the CC on line booking service and get good prices. When you know when you're going to return I'm sure you'll find a wifi hotspot where you can do the booking on line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 I'd suggest 'phoning SeaFrance and P&O to see what they can offer. All their fares are singles, priced against the day, and time, of travel. Travel to UK is normally cheaper before 14:00, and outward cheaper after mid-day, both having the best rates mid-week. In principle, so far as I am aware, you can book by phone, but I'm not sure how that would work if you are travelling, since you will not have a confirmation note to present on arrival. The same would be true if booking on line, unless you can take a portable printer and access, and print, your e-mails.However, I was told a couple of years back that provided you phone, or call in to the port office, at least 24 hours beforehand, you can always bring a booked return sailing forward. Obviously, where there is doubt, this just means booking the latest date you think you may return, and then bringing this forward. You are then changing your booking within the contracted period which, I was warned, is far better than missing the return crossing and then trying to re-book, since by then you have in effect, denied them the opportunity to carry someone else in your place. You may be subject to an additional charge if the new crossing is at a higher rate then the crossing you had booked but, provided you stick to roughly the same time of day, and are still midweek if that is what you booked, that should not arise - unless there has been a general fares increase in the meantime. The remaining issue is the admin charge for changing the booking. Last time I looked both the above carriers had three flavours of tickets: those that were fixed both ways, those that were flexible one way (you specify which way), and those that were flexible both ways, increasing in cost from former to latter. There was an undertaking to "fit you in" on the nearest available crossing where you had booked a flexible ticket. There was, in all cases, a price penalty for making booking changes that were not included within the range of flexibility you had selected, and no undertaking in that case to get you onto any particular crossing. However, it seemed to me that the price penalty for post hoc amending was about the same as the extra cost of the more flexible ticket, so the only gamble was whether there would be an acceptable, available, slot. Travelling out of season the pressure on space is not generally acute so, provided you can be flexible about when you actually travel, I don't think the risks are too severe.However, the details do need to be teased out, which is why I suggest phoning instead of relying just on the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Brian Kirby - 2009-08-01 6:05 PM In principle, so far as I am aware, you can book by phone, but I'm not sure how that would work if you are travelling, since you will not have a confirmation note to present on arrival. The same would be true if booking on line, unless you can take a portable printer and access, and print, your e-mails. Not a problem. We book on line and write down the confirmation number and give them that when we check in. We always save a copy of the booking confirmation on the laptop, just in case, but have never needed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potjoe Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 When we go down to Spain Nov/Dec only book one way,I look on the net at sea france and p&o to see the best price/time and then phone the caravan and camping club for there best price.When we come back i look on the net OR phone the club and ask them to phone me back which they will do and then get the booking number of them put all the info:name, reg, time, number booking on paper and give in at the office.I find it not poss to book out in one year and return another IE.out in 2009 and back in 2010 hope this helps. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonB Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 P&O also do a scheme similar to the Seafrance Carnet called - a Season Ticket! A minimum of three return trips can be purchased, and in our case works out at about half the normal price for a large van. Having said that we went for years purchasing a return ticket with P&O and then completely ignoring the actual return date, on one occasion we were five weeks late on returning. We were only ever charged once for 'admin fees', to the grand sum of £10 about eighteen months ago. This only applied to the Dover/Calais crossing and we did not take the mickey by turning up during the middle of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
602 Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Hi, We arrived at the Calais end of the tunnel in the wee small hours (circa 5AM). Used the intercom to arrange for the dogs chip to be checked. Took a long time for the lady to arrive at the office, probably had to get her out of bed. But we departed two trains earlier than we had booked for. I have read that arriving on spec, at the tunnel costs a lot more than pre-booking. Remember that your dog has to visit a vet between 24 and 48 hours before departure. Don't arrive at the ferry town, then start looking for a vet. We once booked to return on a Monday. Vet charged us an extra €20 for a Sunday appointment. 602 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smifee Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 i book a single and when i want to go home i use the internet in the calais library to book my return. i usually travel in the wee small hours so i can drive round the M25 when it's quieter & haven't had a problem getting a crossing. having booked the ticket i call at a vet at the appropriate time. i am trying to convert them from a rendez-vous system to a just drop in system. i find that asking for the nearest alternative vet works wonders when they try to insist on an appointment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 602 - 2009-08-02 6:37 AM Hi, We arrived at the Calais end of the tunnel in the wee small hours (circa 5AM). Used the intercom to arrange for the dogs chip to be checked. Took a long time for the lady to arrive at the office, probably had to get her out of bed. But we departed two trains earlier than we had booked for. I have read that arriving on spec, at the tunnel costs a lot more than pre-booking. Remember that your dog has to visit a vet between 24 and 48 hours before departure. Don't arrive at the ferry town, then start looking for a vet. We once booked to return on a Monday. Vet charged us an extra €20 for a Sunday appointment. 602 You're wrong about the vet. The dog has to TRAVEL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 starvin marvin - 2009-08-05 8:14 AM 602 - 2009-08-02 6:37 AM Hi, We arrived at the Calais end of the tunnel in the wee small hours (circa 5AM). Used the intercom to arrange for the dogs chip to be checked. Took a long time for the lady to arrive at the office, probably had to get her out of bed. But we departed two trains earlier than we had booked for. I have read that arriving on spec, at the tunnel costs a lot more than pre-booking. Remember that your dog has to visit a vet between 24 and 48 hours before departure. Don't arrive at the ferry town, then start looking for a vet. We once booked to return on a Monday. Vet charged us an extra €20 for a Sunday appointment. 602 You're wrong about the vet. The dog has to TRAVEL I shall continue! The dog has to travel between 24 and 48 hours after seeing the vet, not visit the vet. After the consultation you cannot travel for 24 hours but must embark by 48 hours. The MMM editor, whatever his name is, made this same mistake in a recent article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 smifee - 2009-08-03 9:19 PM i book a single and when i want to go home i use the internet in the calais library to book my return. Why do you wait until you get to Calais to book your crossing? You then have to find a vet and then wait at least 24 hours until you can leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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