LordThornber Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 We sailed the other week to France using DFDS, this was a first for us although we had used Norfolkline who DFDS took over (I think). Oh dear. Outbound, no problem escept for the Costa Coffee outlet being hopelessly understaffed and therefore the queueing time was bonkers coupled with some poorly trained staff in the cafe who couldn't operate the till. Inbound, well we arrived on time to check in and had to wait about 45 mins. Upon check in we were told that we'd be on the 10am sailing - not the 6am as booked. I asked why and was waved away, literally, just move on, but you may have a chance if you hurry up ?? Anyway in we went and we were greeted by a right shambles of cones and staff pointing here and there, he waved us onboard so we did sail on time, but to say I was disappointed at the previous goings on would be an understatement. But we did get on. Inside the Costa outlet was as bad if not worse, by the time we'd got our espressos the cafe staff told us to hurry as they were closing!! This was 1 hour into what should be a 2 hour crossing. We finished our breakfast and went to duty free, (we'd forgotten an item whilst in France) only to be told there was no alcohol sales permitted by this time. Being fully aware of the regulations around this, we asked as to why there'd been no announcement that booze sales were closing, they'd no answer. Before anyone parps up with make your own coffees and breakfasts, no thanks, not our thing, we're on holiday and let others take the strain, and that is what these outlets are there for after all. To cap it all, the sailing took 2.5 hours. I e-mailed DFDS, invited them to respond and to be fair they explained they'd had technical issues which held up the loading. They also explained that the ships staffing levels had been the same for the last 2 years and could not explain the Costa delays, the cafe shambles or the failure to announce in duty free. So that's all right then. On the flip side, the ship was empty, new and and absolutely beautiful. Don't think we'll be hurrying back to DFDS for a bit 8-) Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 ..I was waiting for the bit where you said you were claiming compensation!?.. (lol) (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 What's that saying Martyn, you get what you pay for! We have experienced similar to you but now we go over on the train from Folkstone. It takes 35minutes trouble and hassle free. It was recommended to us and it's the second time we have used it. We have used Britanny Ferries to St Malo as well but their prices have shot up in the last two years so we don't use them anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Indeed....... And a great example of why moi prefers the euro tunnel *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 rolandrat - 2011-10-25 10:57 AM It takes 35minutes trouble and hassle free. . The 35 minutes part is correct, but the tunnel can have its fair share of delays and problems as well......remember the fire? We have been delayed on a few occasions on the tunnel but far less then on ferries were we have experienced 4 hour delays in the past, and the conditions and ques on board (particularly at weekends) can be a truly awful experience.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Shows we all have differant experiences I guess. Never used DFDS but used the tunnel a lot a few years ago we experienced so many delays that we gave it up as a bad job, it is also expensive. For the last four years have used Seafrance multi trip system, nothing compares with it for price and convenience. I know the tunnel has a similar system but 10 trips are more than we require, the times are also to restrictive. The staff on the bars are a pretty rude lot but can ignore that, when their have been strikes or long delays we have always been given tickets for the tunnel or another ferry company, this has happened twice. If they go bust, which has been threatened for at least six years now will have to look elsewhere. In the last four years, outside of August, have never had the conditions Eddie described, in fact they always seem half empty as most of the vehicles are lorries and the drivers seem to stick to their own area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Rupert, probably because you dont travel in the peak summer/school holiday periods throughout the year.*-) Also why you think your multi trip good value, as I can assure you for those of us who have to travel in the peak, they are in no way a bargain, so the extra few quid for tunnel well worth it for speed and convenience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 We've used Sea France for the last three crossings and have no grumbles. A cross channel ferry is what it is and everything has to happen in a relatively short space of time so there are bound to be delays and cock ups from time to time especially when several hubdred people all descend on the cafe at the same time asking for a coffee. The catering as expected is pretty awful, the food is of a very poor standard and expensive and our solution is to arrive early, eat and drink whilst waiting in the car park before loading and just take a couple of bottles of cold drink and some nibbles on board to relieve the boredom! Simples - and hassle free! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 JudgeMental - 2011-10-25 12:05 PM Rupert, probably because you dont travel in the peak summer/school holiday periods throughout the year.*-) Also why you think your multi trip good value, as I can assure you for those of us who have to travel in the peak, they are in no way a bargain, so the extra few quid for tunnel well worth it for speed and convenience Eddie the price works out at £39 a crossing, even in high season their is only a £5 extra charge. Some dates, August weekends only and bank holidays are charged a lot extra but easily avoided, Other school holidays are not charged extra, I did say we use outside of August. The biggest thing is that although we can book Dover/Calais we never know when we are coming back and in the past have been caught by just turning up. With the multi trip we can change times or just turn up with no extra to pay, in practice I telephone the night before to check times and book us on. As for time the tunnel saves half an hour this is completely meaningless for us on holiday. We can also pass or sell a couple on to others if we do not need them. For us it is the best value and most convenient. If you have short holidays in Europe and can book a return date then I guess other options may be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 half an hour? more like 2-3 hours as we normally get on next available train and are probably in France before your ferry has left port! Plus not having to drive into Dover and joing ques of traffic that can reach back up the M20? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert123 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 JudgeMental - 2011-10-25 12:36 PM half an hour? more like 2-3 hours as we normally get on next available train and are probably in France before your ferry has left port! A slight exaggeration, it should have been an hour. We always get on the next one and the trip is 90 minutes but really who cares sitting in the lounge reading or having a drink is all part of the holiday but if this time is so important to you I have no problem with that, just pointing out it is not important us and I suspect many others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggs Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Hi I agree with Rupert regarding the Seafrance multi trip ticket, I have used it for four years now, as far as I am concerned the best thing about it is the fact that you can turn up at the port and (subject to space) you can travel on the next ferry. I live 50 miles north of London and like many people have to use the M25 and M20, if a ferry has already been booked I have to leave several hours earlier to allow for hold ups on the motorways, this of course does not apply with the multi trip ticket. Also when returning you do not have to worry, for the last day of your holiday, about arriving at the port at a certain time . In fact I am very concerned about the outcome of this weeks decision on the future of Seafrance. I would like to know if anyone knows of a similar alternative ticket. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Tried the Tunnel a few times every time been delayed I stick to the boats now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeti Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 M'Lord if you have a complaint about the Costa fortune coffee franchise,you may get more satisfaction by writing to Costa direct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 At the time of booking the sailing was 60% cheaper than the tunnel, that's why we used it. Some might say you get what you paid for, I disagree, if a business is offering top quality branded outlets, (Costa), they should be available and user friendly, (i.e. no excessive queueing) at the point of use. The only reason there was a queue on both crossings was that there was only one staff member. It had nothing whatsoever to do with folk piling on at the same time, the queue remained throughout the sailing. I have yet to contact Whitbread, (Costas owners and of whom I am a shareholder) to point this poor service out. Perhaps some people are happy to receive poor service regardless of what they pay, maybe, but I'm not. As for brewing up in ferry car parks and/or using flasks, taking your own food on board, well fine if that works for you, but that is like something out of the dark ages for us and certainly not a solution for our needs. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 yeti - 2011-10-25 1:37 PM M'Lord if you have a complaint about the Costa fortune coffee franchise,you may get more satisfaction by writing to Costa direct. Indeed, I'll be contacting Whitbread - the owners. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 We did Sea France, then DFDS, then P&O,then back to Sea France after trying both alternative operators, as the Sea France experience was infinitely better as far as customer service, and speed of crossing especially on the Moliere. A change to our sailing from DFDS was met with a surcharge, as was P&O in their case an astonishing £69 to travel back exactly 24 hours before scheduled which was more than the initial fee, despite telling them my Wife was unwell, and that was out of the peak season, we ended up staying over at Gravelines. Tried the tunnel once but found it costly and my other half found it claustrophobic, and to be honest never tire of the sea crossing, probably the closest I'll get to a cruise ! We don't do motorway type catering,or wish to pay for what I consider to be poor quality food / drink as is often the case, prepared and served up by folk on minimum wage has never inspired my confidence. As for time, well we've got all the time ion the world so a little over a one hour crossing compared to the tunnel timings is not an issue for us. I will add that we have always found sea France to be very flexible, in that if they have got a space and you turn up early, they will get you on. Our last sailing cost us £76 return. Dim problem. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 LordThornber - 2011-10-25 1:46 PM As for brewing up in ferry car parks and/or using flasks, taking your own food on board, well fine if that works for you, but that is like something out of the dark ages for us and certainly not a solution for our needs. Fair enough Martyn, but I don't quite understand why the van facilities are good enough for the entire holiday but not good enough for refreshments at the ferry port? There is no right or wrong way of course and if it is your preference to queue for and pay for substandard refreshments at silly prices then that is your choice - enjoy! As we are well able to live for a couple of hours without a hot drink or food we don't bother with a flask and we find a bottle of soft drink or water is quite adequate for the crossing. Each to his own! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 Methinks it's all gonna go downhill from here........................ I'm off:'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 Tracker - 2011-10-25 2:25 PM LordThornber - 2011-10-25 1:46 PM As for brewing up in ferry car parks and/or using flasks, taking your own food on board, well fine if that works for you, but that is like something out of the dark ages for us and certainly not a solution for our needs. Fair enough Martyn, but I don't quite understand why the van facilities are good enough for the entire holiday but not good enough for refreshments at the ferry port? There is no right or wrong way of course and if it is your preference to queue for and pay for substandard refreshments at silly prices then that is your choice - enjoy! As we are well able to live for a couple of hours without a hot drink or food we don't bother with a flask and we find a bottle of soft drink or water is quite adequate for the crossing. Each to his own! The clue Rich is there in the sentence, van facilities. You may use all your own cooking facilities whilst on holiday - but we don't. We eat out and in. I'm not in the van whilst on a boat, I don't want to be making and carrying refreshments, be them large, small or just bottles of water. We are not people who "manage" or "make do" , we have what we want. When we want it too. As for substandard refreshments and silly prices, I didn't have you down as a Costa Coffee user at all. You must have had a bad experience as mine have always been positive, you (usually) get what you pay for. I've used our new outlet in town today, as ever, superb quality coffee in a lovely comfortable setting. Costa is an excellent brand producing excellent coffee, that's why we patronise them. The price is irrelevant to me if I enjoy it and is value for money. Do try them again, I'm sure they must have had an off day for you to make such negative comments about them. Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I must have been lucky then if I haven't experienced any tunnel delays. Last year it cost £132 and this year £156 return. I will definately use them again. What we did when we arrived in Calais was to park at the Site de Europe for the night and went into the complex to one of the many bar/cafes for a pint and a meal which is reasonably priced. The parking area is very safe and is overlooked by the very large police station. All the cross channel ferries have seperate HGV drivers fascilities where the food they serve is far better than the rest of the ship, I have used them many times in the passed. It is all included in the ferry charge, they look after the drivers because they want repeat business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sooty10 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I am with Tracker on this one. It's not that we can't afford the Costa Fortune or even Megabucks, just don't think it value for money. We have bought meals on board in the past but decided the price charged and quality of food do not match up. Only on board for a couple of hours so we do as Tracker does. Sooty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John J Thompson Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 From the "This is Kent " website. The choice of crossing may be reducing. Future of SeaFrance thrown into doubt by EU ruling on rescue deal FUTURE viability of SeaFrance ferry services between the Port of Dover and Calais has been questioned by the European Commission after it rejected the troubled company's financial rescue package. A probe into the ongoing restructuring of the French firm was launched by EU authorities earlier this year and the investigation has now ruled that the deal, which sees funds provided by state-owned parent company SNCF, breaches European rules on state aid. Doubts have been cast on the future of Dover-Calais ferry firm SeaFrance . The Commission expressed concerns over market confidence in the viability of the operation and the firm's reliance on financial support from the state-run railway operator. Workers at SeaFrance are currently on strike - forcing the cancellation of all sailings between Dover and Calais today - as the French commercial court in Paris prepares to decide the future of the business at a meeting in the capital at 2.30pm local time today. Five coaches departed from Calais this morning taking staff to Paris to be present at the court hearing, where the company will either be liquidated or a takeover bid will be approved. One port insider expressed incredulity at the fact that on the very day the future of the company is to be decided all sailings are cancelled. He said: "The sad fact is that these days their carryings are so low that when they strike, the tunnel and other ferry companies can absorb the traffic in the blink of an eye. "What is incredible is that on the very day the French court sits to consider whether there's a future for the company, guess what - SeaFrance is on strike again." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I think if Sea France goes it will be very bad news, less competition will almost certainly lead to higher fares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolandrat Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 It doesn't seem all that long ago when Townson Thoronson was on the Dover Zeebrugge run and one of the ships sank whilst leaving the port. They were orange and green in colour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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