Been to France?

[Guest Simon B]

Hello,

 

For those who don't know me (which will be most of you) I've just joined MMM to assist Mike and Jane.

 

I'm looking into ferry crossings and would be keen to hear from anyone who's been across the channel in the last year - which route you took, what you thought of the service, where you were heading etc.

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Simon

 

[Clive]

If anybody needs help then Mike does!!

 

Yes, we go to France twice a year and now always travel Sea France Dover Calais.

 

We used to travel P&O until they got greedy.

 

The Mrs is a bad sailor so the overriding consideration is the minimum time on the water.

And we don,t think the tunel is safe for people, only freight. We already know what the system in place is should there be a fire in the tunel and the first time they had to put it into action they got it all wrong! So its the quickest boat for us.

 

Regards to Rupert.

 

Hope to meet you at a show.

 

C.

 

 

 

[Guest Frank Wilkinson]

I've been going for years but it would be a great help if you could tell us where you live and where in France you're thinking of going. Dover/Calais for instance is quick and cheap but a total pain if you live 'oop north' like me.

For southwest France for instance Plymouth/Santander is good, but a longish sailing.

My all time favourite is Hull/Zeebrugge if we're going to eastern France/Germany/Benelux countries. But again, if you live in Kent, you won't be so keen!

Give us a bit more info and I'm sure that you'll receive lots of good advice from some very experienced travellers.

[Randonneur]

We came the opposite way in November from Dunkerque/Dover and back. The boats were exceptional but the food is C**P. It was so bad that my other half put in a written complaint.

 

We have used Speedferries, who are very nice people, but the vessel is very old and looking a bit worse for wear inside.

 

We used to use Brittany Ferries but the cost, even with the discounts, has got prohibitive.

[Keith T]

Simon,

not sure from the posting whetehr you are doing 'research' or actively looking for specific crossings....

 

However, for our part, you will see we live in Cornwall, and really there is only one logical crossing, Plymouth to Roscoff using Brittany Ferries. We have been using this for almost 10 years, and by and large it's OK, if perhapsp a little expensive. However, when you take into aco**** the additional mileage and time (ie fuel costs and overnnight stays) to find anything significantly cheaper (ie Dover /Calais etc), then there is nothing worth looking at.

The other side of this, of course, that it is far more pleasant driving in France, and fuel is much cheaper (still)!

When we first moved to Cornwall 10 years ago, I actually took qutie some time researching the figures, and found even then, when fuel was far cheaper, Dover was the only Crossing which would have come near the overall cost of Plymouth/Roscoff, and more recently, when we were looking to go 'across' France heading for Paris and the eastern side of France, it was still a much better option.

 

Our judgment is perhaps coloured by the fact of membership of the Brittany ferries 'Owners' club (which is now harder to join than 10 years ago, unless you actually do 'own' a static property in France!), but even taking into account the annual fee for this, and bsing on only 1 trip per year, the saving is still there.

 

You also ask about destinations - basically, as we are 'free spirits' (ie not working!), the whole of France is the destination - never plan in advance, and follow the sun is our motto!

[derek500]

We've been to England twice in the last six months both times using Norfolkline, Dunkerque/Dover. We come up from Valencia in Spain.

 

All four crossings on new boats, very comfortable and never crowded.

 

Also free Wi-Fi, and they let MHs park overnight in their car park in Dunkerque.

 

Haven't tried any other carriers yet, so nothing to compare Norfolkline with.

[Basil]

We go at least three or four times a year, we have always used P&O as they have always offered the best price, year before last average return was £68 this year we have one for £43.80 return and two others for £53 return via the Caravan Club. We also use the short dover/ Calais crossing.

We don't 'plan' to go anywhere just cross the Channel and follow our nose, though we are definately going to go to Italy on one of the trips this year.

We also would never use the Chunnel, first it has always quoted the dearest prices and secondly if it offered a cheap enough price I would then have to persaude my wife who has trouble going through the Dartford Tunnel!!

 

Bas

[watsoa]

Hi

 

I am in a similar situation to Clive - my wife doesn't like ferry crossings so we have to keep them as short as possible when we travel abroad. Try to keep costs down by using cheapest Dover-France crossing available which used to be Norfolk Line but for the past year we have switched to Sea France which is now a lot cheaper.

 

Alan W

[empress]

We have had mixed experiences with Norfolk Line. The first time we went the roll-on-roll-off-ferry was out of action so our driver had to reverse into a very tight space. She managed very well but her passengers suffered dreadfully with bad nerves. The second time we used them most of the lounge areas were taken up by sleeping freight drivers so very little seating room left for passengers. Last year freight drivers had their own section on the new ferry which was a great improvement But chaos on return journey as very little organization at Dunkerque, Bastille Day so no proper staff on duty - three lines of traffic waved onto ferry at once! The one major bonus is there are no coaches full of school parties. We have tried both P&O (had shares) and Sea France which was much better. This year we are booked on Sea France once again. Loved Brittany Ferries the three times we used them but very pricey.

 

Hope this may be of some use to you. Empress

[carolh]

we travelled Dover/Dunkerque - via norfolkline September last year, on the 8am crossing Saturday morning - the queue in the restaurant for breakfast was a farce! Charles must have queued for 30 mins at least!

Service was appalling - but the vessel was clean and comfortable.

return journey was fine, but it wasn't a saturday - so much more civilised

B-)

have booked again for june this year, 6am on a saturday this time! £68 return. It suits us.

Carol

[Roy]

Frank Wilkinson - 2007-01-23 1:04

My all time favourite is Hull/Zeebrugge if we're going to eastern France/Germany/Benelux countries. But again, if you live in Kent, you won't be so keen!

Give us a bit more info and I'm sure that you'll receive lots of good advice from some very experienced travellers.

Yes agreed, Hull Zeebrugge/Rotterdam is the way to travel if you live in the north.  Overnight makes it quite pricey though.

Roy.

[Tony Jones]

When we lived in the Northwest we used to avoid the Dover routes - used Brittany, Poole/Cherbourg most often. But now we're in Essex, the kids don't come with us anymore, and we use Seafrance (Dover/Calais) every year. We're tied to school hols by wife's job, but by booking online around Christmas we can get a return crossing in July/Aug for around £70 (hi-top SWB Transit, 1989 vintage).

One year we used the SeaCat, which was fast and comfortable but facilties were basic and it doesn't "feel" like part of the holiday.

We've also used the tunnel, but only with a car for day-trips in December, so probably doesn't help in your survey.

Back to Sea France: If we're getting an early boat, we have fish & chips in Dover then park overnight on the multi over the terminal building for £8. On the way back, we often allow too much time to get back to Calais, but if we're early we just use the aire at the beach and watch the other ferries coming and going. We usually have a main meal on the ferry on the way home, and have always found them fine for quality and value.

We never book any other aspects of our holiday, we use aires (and more recently France Passion) for about 2/3 of the time, and if somewhere is full up we move on. We've visited Normandy, Brittany, West coast, Loire Valley, South-West, Camargue, as well as bits of Holland, Germany, Italy, Spain ....

This year we're going to explore Alsace and Lorraine - unless we change our minds!

Hope this helps - and all the best with the new job!

Tony

[Guest Frank Wilkinson]

Tony Jones wrote:

When we lived in the Northwest we used to avoid the Dover routes - used Brittany, Poole/Cherbourg most often. But now we're in Essex,

Tony, I aways had you for a sensible and intelligent man but now I've learned that you've left the northwest to move to Essex you'll have to go on my idiots' list I'm afraid!

 :-D :-D :-D 

And I know it's slightly off topic but it does show Simon that we can have a bit of fun!

[Guest Simon B]

Afternoon all, it's research for the magazine that I'm doing so any experiences you can offer would be much appreciated. Thanks for the input so far - it's excellent. Keep it coming!

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

[Brian Kirby]

Simon

Welcome aboard!  Living in East Sussex, only a few miles from Newhaven, we have a natural tendency to favour Newhaven - Dieppe. 

However, that crossing became very unreliable some years ago, so we took to travelling to Dover instead. 

We have almost invariably found Seafrance to be best on price, and have had no real complaints about their ships, crews, food etc.  Their only real fault has been cavalier timekeeping.  Against that we have returned at the "wrong" time on several occasions and have always been accommodated without complaint or surcharge.

However, tra-laaaaaa, since last spring Newhaven Dieppe is back in service, with two completely new, and very nice, ships.  These are proper RoRo ships, not those silly speed boat jobs that can't run when there are waves, so the service is fairly robust!  The price is inevitably higher than from Dover, against which the saved time and reduced mileage both sides of the channel is substantial.  The crossing is around 4 hours, 4 crossings each way per day, the food is actually quite good, the crews are all French (after some very shabby skulduggery in getting rid of the British crews from the previous vessels), and quite plesant, and Dieppe is such a nice place to land.  Oh, and they don't make a fuss if you turn up at the wrong time either!

So that is how we crossed three times last year, and hope to do so again this year.

[mark lambert]

have done the dover calais route the last 2 years, nothing wrong with them at all,ist time ,fast ferry, a little crowded but ok. Last year used the normal ferry,very comfortable,very busy, but we went to the top of the boat and found a very quiet lounge for tea and cakes, lots of stairs so perhaps thats why it was quiet.P&O. travelling to Dover is/should be 4.5 hours by car, took about 6 hrs both times,(m25)travelling from Dover to cardiff took 8hrs the first time and 11hrs last year, M25 blocked again.No more! from now on we will try portsmouth or plymouth

[Keith T]

mark lambert - 2007-01-23 3:40 PM

 

No more! from now on we will try portsmouth or plymouth

 

Hi Mark

Suggest you consider Plymouth very seriously, exc trip down the M4/M5 then A30, and Plymouth is a 'cosy' little port, and Roscoff is great, if you've not been there? There's an excellent Aire at Roscoff (does get rather full, though), or you can stay on the Harbour Carpark (recently extended and well used for overnighting) or, as we now try to do, use the Aires along the estuary at St Pol de Leon, a few minutes on the way from Roscoff to Morlaix.

[Tony Jones]

Frank

Someone's got to try to bring some civilisation down here. However, you'll be pleased to hear that even since we moved down, my son went to Bolton Institute for three years to get his degree. Apparently they couldn't teach him anything down!

But we ARE much nearer to the channel here (which puts us neatly back on topic)!

 

Tony

[Steve OReilly]

My favourite crossing is from Portsmouth and, when I was still working, we crossed to Caen, Cherbourg or Le Havre on overnight sailings. Now that I'm retired, we cross the channel at least fives times per year. Although we can select crossings at 'unpopular' times, the cost of Brittany Ferries is prohibitive. LD Lines, who now cover the Portsmouth/Le Havre route are half the cost of Brittany Ferries. However, they cross at night and I've found that booking a cabin is problematic.

 

So last year we used the Frequent Traveller facility from Eurotunnel. £390 for ten single crossings with a £9 supplement for every crossing with the motorhome; £39 supplement for a trailer; and no reduction for a motorcycle. Travelling at the 'peak' period in the day costs an extra £20. Only the trailer supplement seems excessive to me.

 

In December we popped across the Channel with P&O from Dover to Calais for £10 each way. This was a special offer from a newspaper. We took the motorhome and collected a VeloSolex I'd bought on e-bay to add to the collection.

 

In June we took two bikes on Eurotunnel. It's some years since I last used the tunnel with a motorcycle and I wasn't impressed. The instructions given to 'secure' the bikes during the crossing left me feeling very 'insecure'.

 

Despite searching around for alternative ferry crossings this year I've renewed the Frequent Traveller deal with Eurotunnel. The good points are that trains are frequent; the weather is irrelevant; the company has always let me travel at a time and date I didn't book; and I've only ever had to pay a 'peak' period surcharge if I travel within a couple of hours of my booked crossing - if I'm two days early it's been free!

 

So it's off to France with our nephew and his mother for half term in February and then to Spain and France for 6 weeks when he goes back to School. It's a hard life being a(n occupational) pensioner.

 

Steve

[mom]

We had a honeymoon with Norfolk Line for a time, but we're now back with SeaFrance for most trips.  They can be a little slow, and the faff about when unloading, but they are predictable and reasonably reliable and good value.  We always travel over after work on the Friday night and camp at the aire at Calais beach.  Gives us an early start the next morning.

In the last few years we have made trips to Italy (twice), Belgium, Poland and the Baltics, all over France, Spain and Portugal.  We never book sites, using mostly France Passion and Aires in France, mostly area di sosta in Italy and a mix of formal and less formal sites in Poland and the Baltics.  We only used formal sites in Spain and Portugal because we were more nervous in those days!! 

[mansell]

I just cant believe no one has said the shuttle, I nearly always use it smooth easy and I have done over 200. 10 miles less into dover, straight out on the other side and you are not subject to Seafrances oeriodical strikes.

[peejay]

Hi.

 

We have travelled many times with P&O Dover/Calais before and was our 'prefferred opererator', mainly because of the flexibility when turning up early for a sailing.

 

On a recent trip abroad with P&O we were charged an extra £57 for the outward journey because we arrived 2 days early, even though the ferry we boarded was on a cheaper 'lite night' crossing tariff. I had no opion but to accept this at the time but Judy wrote a letter querying the charge. We received the expected standard reply today quoting the terms and condidtions which as always, have you stitched up like a kipper but they did state that if you want a fully flexible ticket then the only option is to purchase a 5 trip season ticket.

 

I could see nothing about this on the website so i thought i'd ring them to enquire and also to have a moan about their pricing policy.

 

The result;

 

If you turn up early and want an earlier sailing, expect heavy supplements this year. You can expect a £10 ammendment fee as standard but you will almost certainly be charged extra, even if its a lower tariff crossing *.

 

The only way to get a flexible ticket with p&o this year is to purchase a 5 trip season ticket. You cannot purchase 1 flexible rtn ticket.

 

The 5 trip season ticket is not available online and can only be purchased over the phone, The cost per return ticket for a motorhome up to 12mtrs is £128. Any number of the tickets can be shared amongst family and friends. The price isn't great for me but it might interest those with larger motorhomes or RV's who need full flexibility. I asked and there is no real restriction on who you share the tickets with, they just need a transfer name and no further checks are made, might be worth a few folk with large motorhomes/rv's getting together and sharing the tickets if the price is good and you want full flexibility.

 

You cannot use tesco vouchers to purchase the 5 trip offer.

 

I thanked the lady for her help and informed her that I shall not be travelling with P&O for the rest of this year, but more than likely will be using SeaFrance who have a more flexible booking policy with far better prices for motorhomes.

 

* off the record, when I spoke to the lady at the terminal, she said that in general they now have a 2 hour window either side of the sailing where you will only be charged an ammendment fee, but this is not an official statement.

 

Moral of the story is 'always shop around' and check the smallprint carefully, especially if your sailing times might change after booking.

 

 

pete

[Ralph]

Whichever is currently cheapest to be honest.

We always go from Dover (well it's only 90 miles away) and have used all 3 routes from there (Speedferries to Bolougne with car not the MH) and used all the operators AFAIK.

I honestly don't think there's much to choose between them and price is most important. I know some people quote the standard of service, comfort of seats etc. but as Dover to Calais is just over the hour I would happlily stand all the way if it meant getting a cheaper fare.

Obviously if we were ever to take the long haul down to Bilbao etc. then my perspective would be different.

 

 

[Brian Kirby]

I think also, don't just turn up early/late, but if you want to change your sailing date/time, phone the carrier first and ask if you can change.  You may get the same answer, but Seafrance, hitherto, have always been prepared to make changes without charge.  When coming back early, I have just gone to the terminal and asked if I can travel the next day, so they have a chance to slot us onto an undersubscribed sailing.

[Ralph]

Not sure if that's still the case Brian.

I booked with SeaFrance for this year and there are 3 rates (can't remember their real names so I've used my own):

 

Cheap. No transferable. You must travel when booked.

Dearer. This costs £7.50 to change the booking each time you change.

Dearest. You can change as often as you like.

 

Obviously these assume you are still travelling in the same price band otherwise an extra charge is made.

 

I booked Dearer for the outward trip and Dearest for the return on the basis that I probably won't change the outbound date but want flexibility on return. It actually only cost me £5 extra so well worth it.

 

Still only came to £90 return for June of which £30 is for the dog so I was happy.