Ferry vs Tunnel

[tribalbrit]

We left beginning of August. After many years of using the tunnel we used P and O this year. Dog lounge was great and £230 less than the tunnel so voted with our feet.
If more do the same they might look at their pricing. Return Saturday. Hope it's warm back in UK

 

[gus-lopez]

Decided this summer (September 2nd)to come back on the P&O ferry from calais

there are your two problems.Last week for return before school & Calais. No probs at Dunkirk .

If more do the same they might look at their pricing.

I doubt they can. they haven't managed to make money for 25 years & that is why everything is looking shabby, there has been no investment,which is what is contributing to the regular breakdowns.shareholders have only received a divi once when they did yet another 'ten for one' share job.

 

[G1969]

I have just booked Hull-Rotterdam for

£435 Return Including 4 Overseas Site Vouchers
Inside 2 berth Cabins
7m Motorhome

That’s cheap, we paid £700+ in June (8mMH) , and looking similar for next year, is this direct or via a club/ discount code?

 

[Brains]

P&O now have pet lounges on their Dover Calais crossing - so no need to leave Fido on the car deck either.

But, it's P&O

I swore several years ago, that whilst P&O remain under the current ownership I would never use the company, even if it's the only and last option.

Remember this was the company that fired all their crews, and then re-employed some of them at half what they had been paid before, and filled the gaps with Filipino's who they underpaid until forced, two years later, to pay them minimum wage (which they are still, to this day, grossly underpaid)

So no, I never include P&O in any crossing options to the mainland.

 

[Brains]

Out of interest just checked Dover Calais on Irish ferries a few quid dearer than Newhaven/Dieppe and it would add nearly 400 miles to a round trip if we are heading South West.

Always check the mainland port to destination distance,
Ignore the the home to destination distance as it will be hundreds of miles out.

If you use Google Maps, London to Milan, as an example, according to Google maps the shortest route is via Dover/Calais.
However if you do it from Calais or Hook or Holland then suddenly Hook of Holland is arguably a day shorter and a lot cheaper !

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[Brains]

I do ...

Just be aware, in the event of a fire on the RoRo deck, they will flood the hold with Halon gas to deprive the fire of oxygen.

It will also deprive any living thing, which should not be on the RoRo deck, with oxygen.

You would not be the first or the last person to die this way.
The coroner will rule that you (or the dogs) were not permitted to be on the RoRo deck whilst at sea, for exactly that reason, so the fault is yours.

 

[our poppy llll]

We’ve not used the tunnel for well over 12 months. They’ve become too expensive just to save an hour or so each way on a six week trip. We’ve used P&O and been quite pleased with them so far.

P&O do a season ticket and I bought a pack of 3 returns early this year. We’ve used all three trips. Cost about £227 return for an 8.1 metre motorhome. Added to that, with the season ticket you get the flexibility to change your bookings without extra charge. If you cancel, it just gets put back into the account. We’ll probably buy another set of 3 very soon.

P&O pet lounge looks good. Not been in it because we don’t have a dog.

That’s Good to know!… I’ll look at getting a season soon!
We have stopped using the tunnel, and use the Ferry now, by the time you have booked in and done customs, it’s roughly the same time frame from arrival departing port to departing Calais port.
The tunnel price is just going through the roof, I also like to have lunch on board and get some fresh air. It’s very easy to get off and onto the motorway and get off onto Citi shopping for Aldi. We normally head towards Abbeville-Rouen and we get some food and fuel for the journey. I like the tunnel, but I now prefer the ferry..

 

[Shrimp]

Newhaven to Dieppe on the noon ferry on 15August for £184 return two adults. A bit of discount in there but I can't remember what. CAMC probably. Cheapest we could get and a useful boost on the way down to Ole de Re

Nice price, but we can’t go before the 20th Sept.

 

[Oldwindsurfer]

Cannot comment on the Ferries, but the carpark at the Tunnel UK side was jammed packed with M/Hs on this Tuesday when we arrived. My preferred route would be Newhaven if we did not have the dog, as we live nr Portsmouth.

 

[GeeCee]

We too are converts to the ferry having done 7 years of tunnel and price going up every time (we cross at least twice a year - both directions) not just every year. We actually like the Newhaven - Dieppe route and our dog appears unperturbed at being left. We've also done Dover - Calais, with dog lounge and without, and making use of the C&CC discounts. When we first did the tunnel 8 years ago you could get across for about £70-80. When we enquired to cross last Saturday prices were more like £300 - 400.

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[InvictaMoto]

But, it's P&O

I swore several years ago, that whilst P&O remain under the current ownership I would never use the company, even if it's the only and last option.

Remember this was the company that fired all their crews, and then re-employed some of them at half what they had been paid before, and filled the gaps with Filipino's who they underpaid until forced, two years later, to pay them minimum wage (which they are still, to this day, grossly underpaid)

So no, I never include P&O in any crossing options to the mainland.

Don't use Irish Ferries then. They did the same a few years ago....

 

[Barti Ddu]

But, it's P&O

I swore several years ago, that whilst P&O remain under the current ownership I would never use the company, even if it's the only and last option.

Remember this was the company that fired all their crews, and then re-employed some of them at half what they had been paid before, and filled the gaps with Filipino's who they underpaid until forced, two years later, to pay them minimum wage (which they are still, to this day, grossly underpaid)

So no, I never include P&O in any crossing options to the mainland.

It's not just P&O though. Irish Ferries a couple of years earlier. Condor Ferries much before that.

P&O management, together with their HR and PR departments all got badly called out, unlike the others previously.

Channel crossings is a highly competitive market. I'd be surprised if the employment terms at any of their competitors is great either.

I'm booked on DFDS in 3 weeks time to come back across the channel from our current Scandinavian trip, but wouldn't expect their seamen's pay and conditions to be much better than P&O or Irish Ferries.

I believe it's also the same for the Philippino crew on most cruise ships.

If you buy anything sourced in China, the Philippines, most of South East Asia, you're tacitly supporting an exploited workforce. I'm not saying it's right, but it's an unfortunate and increasingly unavoidable fact of life.

 

[stewartwebr]

We have used the tunnel for as long as I can remember, especially during the good old days of frequent traveller. We like the tunnel for convenience and ease of travel. So, when I searched a few months ago and found Irish Ferries were a third of the tunnel price we thought we would give them a go. To our delight it was not that different, we were more than happy with the service for the price. Oscar Wilde going out was nice and had a pet area, on the way back we used the Isle of Ishmore which was a complete tub but for the price and 90 mins we are now ferry converts. Tunnel is just crazy with prices and service has dropped recently especially that crazy coned round robin to get to checkin

 

[gus-lopez]

they will flood the hold with Halon gas to deprive the fire of oxygen.

Not a lot of use dfds dunkirk to dover as open decks & why I used them when travelling with the diog as in the event of a problem you can go over the back down on to the deck to get the dog

(or the dogs) were not permitted to be on the RoRo deck whilst at sea,

which is exactly where they are expected to be & all vehicles with them together

Channel crossings is a highly competitive market. I'd be surprised if the employment terms at any of their competitors is great either.

P&O now have to pay minimum wage as per uk plus the french have now enforced EU conditions on them as they dock in the eu so crews all have to be changed every fortnight & no staying on the boat. :Assume the same applies to all the other companies.

 

[Tio64]

To answer the OP, we've voted with our feet, having used the tunnel for quite some time, we found the price rises too much.
Dover is a 4 hour drive for us, so yes, the ferry takes longer, but we use the opportunity to stretch our legs on the ferry and maybe get a bite to eat.

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[EuroTrotters]

That’s cheap, we paid £700+ in June (8mMH) , and looking similar for next year, is this direct or via a club/ discount code?

Caravan Club - You have to choose the combination option of site vouchers which reduces the booking price

 

[InvictaMoto]

In October we have three weeks away in the Moho. The Shuttle was £375 return. P&O including dog lounge £254. That's about 600 miles of diesel saved.

Ferry for us most definitely.

I just did a check on my dates. I assume they operate dynamic pricing as the differential has stretched to £140 for the same times and dates. I paid with Tesco too blowing two years of vouchers worth £180.

 

[Minxy]

We know exactly what you mean, and totally agree with you.
We had to be repatriated when our motorhome broke down in May. Only option was our dog put in a cage, on the car deck for six hours on the Dieppe to Newhaven route. Our dog was traumatrised, and still is at times of fear of being left alone and, if he even sees a cage he cowers.

Having had a dog severely traumatised which badly affected her for the rest of her life no way would I ever leave our dogs on their own and certainly not in a cage for that length of time on the car deck. I appreciate you were between a rock and a hard place so no option.

Just be aware, in the event of a fire on the RoRo deck, they will flood the hold with Halon gas to deprive the fire of oxygen.

It will also deprive any living thing, which should not be on the RoRo deck, with oxygen.

You would not be the first or the last person to die this way.
The coroner will rule that you (or the dogs) were not permitted to be on the RoRo deck whilst at sea, for exactly that reason, so the fault is yours.

Never said otherwise ... if my dogs died then personally I would be very likely to want to continue on anyway as they are my family, we haven't got any kids and the dogs aren't our kids (although they are spoilt) but they are most definitely our family.

 

[Flairy]

I know it cost me more and now we’ve lost our last dog,we’ve had 5collies in 50 years of travelling we will still go tunnel £330 +travel insurance ,I wouldn’t put myself through the irritation of the ferry and the people you have to contend with the noise kids running about parents who ignore them,no ill pay the extra whatever it is.

 

[DDJC]

We live 75 minutes from Dover/Folkestone and so are usually a tunnel user. Once the EES is implemented (11 November, I think), if I am crossing from Kent, the tunnel is the only option. The tunnel has tested the EU software and it works. And has built the French Border Police another eight booths, UK side and the same again on the French side (not sure if the UK border force has done anything - probably not).

Dover however is deep in the midden. They have no space to create a holding system, and the EU software they are using there has an 80% failure rate. Yep, four out of five people aren't recognised by the biometrics.

I have done Newhaven (70 mins away) and Portsmouth (2 hours) recently and although the cheapest, we found Newhaven to be unpleasant. The crossing is too short, so no sleep, and the cabin we got was dirty with litter not cleared away. Portsmouth to St Malo night time crossing was lovely, although pricey. This is now our go-to route for Western and Southern France. The best thing about Newhaven and probably Portsmouth, Plymouth & Poole is that EES will affect them less as they have far fewer crossings, so less traffic build up.

For us then, it remains the tunnel and Portsmouth.

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[Carpmart]

The hovercraft service was always my favourite way to cross the Channel. I think I last used it in early 2000’s. Awesome it was!

 

[EuroTrotters]

Apart from bookings already made by ferry and by air travel to Europe. I am not forward planning anything else until we see if….

A it’s implemented
B how much chaos it causes

This is the first year I have not had enquiries from British people for bookings for our villa.

All the enquiries are from those in Schengen countries.

 

[Barti Ddu]

The hovercraft service was always my favourite way to cross the Channel. I think I last used it in early 2000’s. Awesome it was!

I've fond memories of the Hoverspeed service across the channel too. The noise, the vibration, the salt spray plastering the windows, the rising up off the ground as it started up. It was an exciting way to get to France.

 

[TwistNShout]

Like others, we've always used the tunnel but this time the cost was too much so we booked with Irish ferries. Really easy, we turned up early and put on the next ferry. Out of season so not at all busy. Our only complaint is that we paid in advance for breakfast, definitely cooked well before and kept warm, we won't bother again.

 

[Carpmart]

I've fond memories of the Hoverspeed service across the channel too. The noise, the vibration, the salt spray plastering the windows, the rising up off the ground as it started up. It was an exciting way to get to France.

And they always called it ‘the flight’ as in your flight will depart in 10 mins etc..

We made a catastrophic error of judgement once in 1997. We took our old Sprite caravan on the Hovercraft. It certainly wasn’t the smoothest crossing ever and when we got to France and looked inside the caravan, every single item, from every single cupboard and locker was strewn across the floor. A burglar would have made less mess! Didn’t use it again with a ‘leisure’ vehicle.

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[Shrimp]

Would be lovely if ‘le Shuttle’ would read most of this and realise they need to bring Frequent Traveller back.

 

[Barti Ddu]

And they always called it ‘the flight’ as in your flight will depart in 10 mins etc..

We made a catastrophic error of judgement once in 1997. We took our old Sprite caravan on the Hovercraft. It certainly wasn’t the smoothest crossing ever and when we got to France and looked inside the caravan, every single item, from every single cupboard and locker was strewn across the floor. A burglar would have made less mess! Didn’t use it again with a ‘leisure’ vehicle.

Yes, the seating was in rows like an ultra wide aircraft, and you had uniformed cabin crew. I think that they were originally certified by the CAA rather than the Maritime safety authorities, but I may be mistaken.

 

[harris_david19]

We use Dover Dunkirk with DFDS, although no pet lounge the dogs go to sleep and you can ask at information desk and they will take you down midway to check on them

 

[Angleseyjj]

But, it's P&O

I swore several years ago, that whilst P&O remain under the current ownership I would never use the company, even if it's the only and last option.

Remember this was the company that fired all their crews, and then re-employed some of them at half what they had been paid before, and filled the gaps with Filipino's who they underpaid until forced, two years later, to pay them minimum wage (which they are still, to this day, grossly underpaid)

So no, I never include P&O in any crossing options to the mainland.

I, too, refused to travel by P&O for a couple of years after their disgraceful treatment of their crews. However, travelling on Irish Ferries I noticed that the Captain's "Welcome aboard" speech was delivered with an Irish accent, but the crew members in the food and duty-free shops seemed to be mainly East European. I suspect that Irish Ferries may not be very much better than P&O. Brittany Ferries, though, does seem to me to be staffed by folks with French accents.

 

[wireman]

We are going to use the tunnel for the first time tomorrow. OK, it was more expensive than Newhaven but we used that for many years. However, the newly updated cabins are worse than the old ones (well in MHO) and the return journey was a nightmare and the dog was upset by it for the first time. Middle of howling gale all the way across coming back and the ship was terrible. Also an extra hour on the normal trip and was unable to sleep because of the up and down due to a high water roll. Our dog is more important to us than a few quid hopefully. Relatively a shorter land trip home to the ferry using Dartford crossing which costs us another 5 quid (there and back for that cost BTW) but what the hell it's only money at our stage in life. We like to take it easy and comfortable these days; no rush to get anywhere and use airs or even a camping car park so we enjoy the trip rather than make it cost as little as we can.

Horses for courses.

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