Guest JudgeMental Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 what is the problem Mel....are you a BFshareholder of wanabe barrister? :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 You've all misunderstood completely. It was a simple innocent typo: Bolero Boy simply put an R in the word by mistake. For "crooks" read "COOKS!" What he was REALLY complaining about was the price of the FOOD on BF. :D :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMS Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 We live within 15minutes drive of the Portsmouth ferry port so when I was working we usually used BF (their club membership abot £60 a year provided a +30% discount). It was very good for the night crossing and be home in a few minutes, I also used the overnight crossing and went straight to work, though somewhat tired! Now we are retired the cost of BF is the reason we drive to Dover as the increase in time is not a limiting factor and the extra cost of fuel is neglible compared to the hundreds of pounds requested by BF!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Many years ago we were booked on P&O to Le Havre but due to industrial action the sailing was cancelled. We were offered a place on a BF night ferry or we could drive to Calais and put in a claim for tolls and fuel. We chose the latter because the BF crossing was some hours longer and we had a young dog. I cannot remember the actual figures now but the (honest) claim was for a significant amount of money, well over £100 I think, and we also lost a day of the holiday. I would much prefer to sail from Portsmouth but the price for a motorhome, rather than a car, plus a dog is quite prohibitive now that they have a virtual monopoly. LD Lies are cheaper but their sailig times are not very convenient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 bolero boy - 2012-01-25 10:50 AM ;-)What is it that happens on these roads that I am missing? . You are fortunate that you don't need to use the Dartford crossing. Even the roads minister, Mike Penning, is now suggesting that another crossing should be built. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel wood Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 JudgeMental - 2012-01-25 4:44 PM what is the problem Mel....are you a BFshareholder of wanabe barrister? :D Sorry JUDGEMENTAL but I don't think your post makes sense. For your edification, I am not a BF shareholder or a wannabe barrister - I just think that it is not fair to call a ferry operating company "crooks" if there is no evidence that the company is doing anything illegal. If one consider the prices too high or not good value then one is not obliged to travel with them. We do really need to show some peace and goodwill to each other. Peace be with you Judgemental. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapidoman Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 we live midway between portsmouth and poole and we have to go to the Rapido factory in april.shorter distance from caen to mayenne but brt-ittany ferries wanted £405.00!! DFDS 48.00 its cheaper to go to dover and travel than brittany ferries. also booked august bank holiday out back end sept with dfds and towing £58.00 return :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 rapidoman - 2012-01-26 11:29 AM we live midway between portsmouth and poole and we have to go to the Rapido factory in april.shorter distance from caen to mayenne but brt-ittany ferries wanted £405.00!! DFDS 48.00 its cheaper to go to dover and travel than brittany ferries. also booked august bank holiday out back end sept with dfds and towing £58.00 return :-D If there was only one operator doing Dover/Calais none of us would be gong for £60 return.It's called competition. One only has to look at Air fares prior to Easy Jet and the like to see the parallels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 There seem a few things that are being discounted in making these comparisons. First, ferry fares have never observed the simple logic of "how much does it cost to cross the Channel?" Even back when they all published their fares, in advance, for the whole year, in a printed catalogue, they varied. So yes, there is still a large element of: you pays your money and......................... But, if a Dover Calais ferry takes 1hr 30mins for the crossing, and one on the western routes takes 6 hrs for the crossing, it is surely obvious that the DoCal ferry will make 2/3 trips while the latter is making just one. So, same ship, same cost, same crew, but higher throughput, equating to lower cost per vehicle carried and, if you're lucky, lower fares. Add to this the need to run night services across the western approaches, and you add a greater need for cabins (+laundry), and higher a demand for food, so probably a more costly ship, with a more costly crew. Perceptions of service quality will colour judgements as to whether increased fares are good value, but Brittany Ferries have long been a relatively expensive carrier. DoCal used to be relatively more expensive, because it catered for those who didn't like ferries, and wanted to keep their time aboard to a minimum. The tunnel shot their fox, so now they have to undercut that to get people onto ferries. Then, they have to compete with each other to get traffic. DFDS go to Dunkirk, which is a) a longer crossing, b) not so handy as Calais unless travelling east and c) not Calais! So, they must keep their prices low. However, if they get the Seafrance fleet, they'll probably get the Seafrance slots, and no doubt we'll see another demonstration of illogicality until that all settles down again. Me? I'll just stick to the tunnel on Tesco vouchers for the time being! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Whilst we all like to get a bargain (I include myself in this) and want a cheap fare, has anyone stopped to think why the prices differ? Maybe the long crossing on BF is a reasonable price that they need to get to make a profit on a crossing whereas the Dover/Calais prices are dictated by competition and not necessarily a decent profit to fund future investment. You can only operate if you make a profit and the smaller that is the more risky it is. You only have to look at what happened to a 'low cost operator' recently on the Dover/Calais route. ie SeaFrance The only way you can make a small profit per vehicle is to fill the ship on every trip-this is why I believe DFDS have offered these cheap prices with the Caravan Club-to fill the ships at weekends when the trucks are laid up. I am not a BF shareholder nor have I any financial interest in any ferry operator but as earlier poster stated-you pay your money and you take your choice. Last year I travelled with BF this year (to a different area destination admittedly) this year I am going with DFDS both of which were substantially discounted by the Caravan Club. Last year I got from Poole to Cherbourg in a couple of hours-I had to pay a suppliment to use the Fastcraft-the same would apply if I took a short crossing to Calais and used the autoroute-I'd have to pay tolls and extra for the trailer! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobalobs Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 As previously posted the Brittany prices for Portsmouth/Bilbao out Caen/Portsmouth return were ludicrous. Tried Portsmouth/Caen but again over £500 and cabin needed because of sailing times. Reverted to Ld lines to go Newhaven/Dieppe. We have used them satisfactorily before. Return price for daytime sailings-- £208. A saving of nearly £600 on the initial quote so we can afford to buy food in Euroland!! Should mention in case people do not know that Ld give a 20% discount on Newhaven/Dieppe for the over sixties. Every little helps!!Have to ring to get the discount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnSue1664232222 Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 I just did a very quick price comparison between BF (Portsmouth/Caen) and LD Lines (Portsmouth/Le Havre) them being similar routes. I picked any old dates, 20th April out and 7th May return. The LD price was £416 while the BF price as a Club Voyage Member (cost £60 a year once joined) was £375. Nothing scientific about it. Just a quick check. If people want to travel to Dover and pay £60 that's okay. If people don't want the hassle of the much longer and costly drive both sides (i'm from Swansea) then that's okay. Maybe if you juggle dates and times looking for the best deal there may be savings to be had. I've only so far used P&O from Dover twice (grubby and not nice) and BF 6/7 times from Plymouth and Portsmouth (quality boat and quality service). John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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