Mel B Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 I've just found out some interesting info regarding using your Tesco Deals Vouchers for the Isle of Wight ferry crossing with Wightlink ... yes, you've been able to do this for some time ... so what's new you may ask? Well, read on .... :-S According to the extract below from the Tesco info pdf it says: For Wightlink bookings, tokens can only be used on Standard return fares. Tokens cannot be used against Supersaver fares. All Wightlink bookings are subject to a £4 booking fee that can be paid for with rewards tokens. No mention is made specifically of the Saver option, so I've always assumed from the above wording that it is only the 'Standard' option that you can use Deals Vouchers against. So, I went onto the Wightlink website and did some return crossing quotes (for both Portsmouth and Lymington - no difference in price) and looking at the fare options the 'Standard' one was much, much more expensive, so it wouldn't make sense to use the Tesco Deals Vouchers for this. However, when I 'hovered' my mouse over the prices, I noticed that the 'Super Saver' info stated that Tesco Deals Vouchers are not accepted for it, however when I did the same over the 'Saver' prices info it made no mention of Tesco vouchers at all. *-) In the end I rang Wightlink to find out exactly what the situation is - ie are the 'Saver' prices Tesco voucher 'friendly' or not??? The upshot is that the only fare that you definitely cannot use Tesco Deals Vouchers for is the 'Supersaver' one, the 'Standard' one and the 'Saver' ones both allow them. :-> So, I've provisionally booked a return crossing for the summer at a cost of £52 (£24 each way plus £4 admin fee for doing it as a phone booking as you can't do them on line). Yes, we could have gone with the Red Funnel '5 night special' but that's restricted to 'out of high season' times and we'd then be stuck with just 5 nights there. This way we can spend a week there tootling round on the island and chilling, using CLs etc on a night time. B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJP Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Hi Mel Having never used Tesco vouchers and having a dislike for Tesco in general we do however get vouchers with our energy supplier now (EON). How many vouchers did you need to get that rate? How do you "cash them in" Sorry for the questions, but it is all new to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 Hi DJP The below thread gives pretty much all the info you need: http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=23652&posts=19 If you still have any questions just ask. :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camperadi Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 As an Island resident I have never used my TESCO vouchers because of having to buy at the standard rate fair. So what you have found out is of great interest to me. HOWEVER I cannot get close to the fairs you have been quoted on the Wightlink web site even allowing for my Island residents discount.. If your Chausson is longer than 6 meters and / or higher than 2.2 meters there is something wrong. So please check carefully because Wightlink will on arrival at the port. If your fairs are correct i would be interested in crossing times and duration because my high season return crossing in a Chausson Welcome 27 is around £90 /100 Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hi Stuart Our Chasson Flash 04 is 5.99m long, 2.75m high and 2.3m wide so it's not massive as motorhomes go - I've just gone onto their site and done the booking again and the prices are right at £24 per crossing (plus £4 admin fee). I believe your van is 6.9m long, 3.3m high and 2.3m wide so I've done the same booking but with your measurements and it comes up much more expensive at £55 for each crossing. I've experimented a bit with the sizes and even putting my van's height up to 3.3m doesn't make a difference at all to the price, however if I change it to being "over 6m" in length that's when the price shoots up! So you are suffering the much higher cost because you have a long one as it appears that size does indeed matter ... at least to Wightlink!!! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandyAndy Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Just out of interest how long does crossing take So it costs £66 to France and £55 to IOW , wondered how that compared with crossing times. Getting more interested in going as never been. Mandy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camperadi Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I am supprised that the Flash 04 is in fact less than the magic 6 meters Wightlink camper length. This allows them to use the very low FROM price in advertising. There are so few that fall into that size catagory that most pay VERY much more. I am pleased that you qualify for that much better (dare I say Bargain) price. Wightlink are very likely to measure your unit on arrival at the port so if you have a bike rack or similar it will put you into the next very much more expensive price band. I always book mine as 7 meters because it has a tow bar. I am sure you will have a good stay if you come to the Island, it is a lovely place with superb walks for your dogs. The crossing time is around 40 minutes. Which makes it one of the dearer (but not the most expensive) crossings in the world. Shorter routes seem to be able to charge more (compare it to some of the Scottish routes) although I and most of the Islands residents dont seem to understand why. Mel, if you want any tourist information/help please contact me. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Hi Stuart - thanks for the offer, I may well take you up on that nearer the time! We had a 5.53m 'baby' Rapido MH the last time we came to the IoW in 2003 so size wasn't an issue. We then changed to a 7.14m Rapido (from the sublime to the rediculous! :D ) and are now back down to a 'sensible' length again, not that we didn't love the Rimor but we really don't need that size of MH just for the 2 of our, and as intend to do more island hopping we really wanted to keep to the 6m maximum length if possible to avoid the high ferry costs. When we saw the Chausson Flash 04 at the NEC show in 2010 that was it ... we knew we'd found exactly what we wanted! What you need is a stubby MH that is high, although I don't know if it exists or what the handling will be like!!! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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