LD lines ferry. Portsmouth-Le Havre return with dog!

[fen and Ian<P>Many thanks.<P><P>Fen<P>]

Can someone please put my mind at rest? We are bringing our dog over to France for the 1st time with LD lines. Has anyone used this company with pets? Never done it before, so ALL new territory, and nervous. Do the crew allow you to check on pets? Are they regularly checked by the crew? Are they allowed out of the car on the deck? Any info would be extremely welcome! We are quite clear on the admin' side, and already have an appt with French vet 35 hrs prior to return.

[Christine Animal]

There was a little thread about dogs on ferries, Brittany Ferries looks good   [:)]

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/711481/ShowPost.aspx

When I came over to live back in 1968, I flew from Southend to Calais with my Mini in the plane and my 6 month old Great Dane in the car.  It was only a short flight and she was fine.  I wonder if you can still do that.

 

[Robbie34]

I have used LD Lines with my dog.  Brilliant at Portsmouth where they got me to put my hazard lights on so that I would be recognised as having a pet on board, and I was put near the front where it was cool, and easy to get at the car if there were any problems.  The return from Le Havre was a disgrace.  Despite being the only one in the lane for pets on board they couldn't have cared less.  They were going to place me near the back of the boat where it was difficult to observe the car and locate it in case of problems.  I complained when on board and I went to check on Charley, with a crew member, during the voyage.  It was stiflingly hot and I complained about this. 

I wrote to LD Lines upon my return and they were excellent at responding.  Chris Howe-Davies replied within a few hours to my first e.mail and was passing my complaint to Le Havre.  I received a reply next day apologising and saying they had tightened up procedures after my complaint, and have given me a free return crossing with my dog.  I think they have responded brilliantly and and rapidly, and it says a lot about them as a company.  I'm more than happy to recommend them.

I'm not happy with BF who couldn't have cared less.  It was impossible to check upon my dog as the car was loaded on the section that is raised and impossible to get to.  I have never used them since then and won't ever.

[Will]

I have to say that Brittany Ferries is usually very good about looking after animals on board and allowing owners access to them. However the company policy is to leave it up to those on board to decide whether, and when, animals can be visited (maritime regulations only allow pasengers on the car decks when accompanied). One or two captains are reluctant to spare crew members - there may be other more pressing matters needing their attention - but most are very cooperative. There is absolutely no reason why raised vehicle decks should not be accessible during the voyage - if that's what you were told, somebody was feeding you bull***t.

Glad to hear that somebody agrees with me about LD Lines' excellent response to customer complaints. I thought I was in a minority of one after reading all the whingeing on another forum, where LD was previously flavour of the month, and where the company's chief executive often posts.

[Deimos]

I cannot comment on LD as I only have experience of Brittany Ferries and Transmanche. On both these you are treated exactly the same as cars without pets - and this works fine. On both your car is where you happen to arrive on the car deck (which has not mattered as dogs stay in the car anyway and never seems to bother them where they are). On BF I tend to visit them once during the night (mid crossing). I only go as far as necessary to see they are OK - basically, if they are calm and sleeping/lying then there is no point in disturbing them saying hello so the dogs are never aware I've even been there. As my visit is in middle of the trip I have never had any problems (though have woken the guy on more than one occasion). On the Transmanche crossings, being shorter I have not worried about checking them. I do tend to try and get to the car before the rush as everybody else rushes down as my dogs are anything but calm. Transmanche were very cooperative in this regard - taking me down and leaving me on the car deck whilst the boat was docking. On BF its less of an issue as you just start queuing by the car deck door a bit earlier.

Ian

[westland]

I agree with Robbie34 re: BF. Having found ourselves amongst lorries on an open deck in the full blast of the July sun we negotiated sitting in the stair well with our dog for the whole of the crossing.  They really weren't interested in why we were "making such a fuss".

[Robbie34]

I don't check on my dog unless I'm concerned about its welfare.  It is far better to leave your pet so it doesn't get upset again when you leave.  However, my concern is that the animal should be comfortable and not disteressed due to high temperatures or noise and disturbance.  The vehicle should also be easily accessible so that pets can be checked.  P&O state that animals are checked during the voyage, and my experience, except for one journey, was that all vehicles with pets were together at the front of the boat.  The one exception was on one of the cruise boats returning from Cherbourg.  It was like an oven on the deck with heavy lorries and Charley was very distressed.  I complained to the Pursar, who agreed, and I was given an outside cabin, free of charge, where I stayed with Charley for the whole of the voyage.

[Hotspur]

Well I hope LD lines are better than BF. Their handling of pets has lead to me to always using Eurotunnel who are brilliant at facilitating the whole process. When travelling on BF no concession was made to my 58Kg long haired german shepherd cross (who I hasten to add is not overweight). The temperatures on the car deck were very high and the crew were very reluctant to allow us access to the dog for watering and general cooling down. Since then, the 35 minute hop on Eurotunnel has been the only option for us and BF have lost at least 1 Property Owner from their club. What's more our amiable dog is so distinctive he is greeted at Calais like along lost friend by the efficient and courteous staff.

[Dave]

We have recently travelled to and from France with LD lines taking our boxer dog, and had no problems at all. On the return trip we arrived at le Havre and were taken straight through and onto the boat.

Both crossings were full. It will be interesting to see how (or if) BF responds to the competition from LD.

Hope you enjoy your trip as much as we did ours.

Dave.