Jay Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Brittany Ferries have an offer on at the moment. "Sail from Plymouth to Roscoff, Portmouth to Caen or from Portsmouth or Poole to Cherbourg and enjoy up to a week in France from as little as £175* return for a car and two passengers. This represents a saving of up to 35% on many sailings!"For once you can book either direction (i.e. from France to UK and return). LINK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audio Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I have never known Brittany Ferries to offer a good deal of late. Add up all the bits and pieces e.g. mandatory cabins for overnight crossings for the real price, is it still £175? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just john Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I used to think that they were the best, though expensive; but not after my last trip, the restaurant was below par, and the boat was overcrowded, worst of all they are not competitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurier Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I haven't used Brittany because they were just too expensive. Always used to come Norfolkline Dover to Dunkirk. However, to cut down the driving time, the last 3 times I have travelled this year I have used LD from Portsmouth to Le Havre and I think they are excellent and very competitively priced.If you can be a bit flexible and juggle the dates you can get a reasonable fare.If a cabin isn't available, as it wasn't last time, I used the LD sleeper seat and that was fantastic - a proper flat bed.Laurier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted June 5, 2011 Author Share Posted June 5, 2011 [quote user="just john "]I used to think that they were the best, though expensive; but not after my last trip, the restaurant was below par, and the boat was overcrowded, worst of all they are not competitive.[/quote]I agree but when you have to travel to Cornwall it makes a long journey for us via Dover.We have just booked a return trip (Roscoff - Plymouth) for mid July and the price was £175. Day crossings so a cabin was not needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 I am so sorry to hear that about Brittany Ferries. I remember the first time we used them. My kids were well used to ferries and then we got on a Brittany Ferry boat at Ouistreham and our eldest's face was a picture, he was 9 and asked in a little voice if it was a paquebot. And compared to all the other ferries it was luxurious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 My daughter returns home every three months from the UK via Condor and they usually work out cheaper by as much as 50% some months of the year than BF. Plus it only takes 5hrs from Weymouth to St.Malo as against the 11 overnight and very uncomfortable hours from Portsmouth. Downside is the weather when she has to transfer to BF which Condor do automatically but you still have to pay the extra if you wish to continue to travel and over the past four years,several times she has had to unload her car in Guernsey as people getting off there were put on before those going to either Poole or Weymouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I guess your daughter has a reclining seat for the trip ? Thats something I've never done - I like a cabin....We'd like to go Portsmouth St Malo for a long weekend but all the dates we can go have all the cabins booked ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 [quote user="Val_2"]My daughter returns home every three months from the UK via Condor and they usually work out cheaper by as much as 50% some months of the year than BF. [/quote]Never thought of them. Just checked their website for the same dates we are travelling with BF and the cost is a whopping 430€ and the ferry leaves at 6.30am from the UK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audio Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Russethouse,You could ask the ferry company to put you on a wait/standby list in case of any cancellations.Reclining seats can be noisy with crying babies or kids running around, not to mention the heavy snoring from the bloke next to you.Like you I prefer a cabin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 We hardly ever pay more than that on Brittany Ferries even without special offers. We use daytime crossings (perfectly feasible on the Portsmouth to Caen or Cherbourg routes), avoid weekends, and use our discount club membership which more than pays for itself. Even with extras like a dog the BF fare is competitive with, and often less than, the other Portsmouth service.Everybody has their own preference of course, but on the several times I have travelled with LD Lines I have not been impressed. Even at its worst the BF food is better than the pile-it-high-sell-it-dear canteen stuff on the competition. LD can be cheap on fares if you are able to book well in advance, but when we get quotes it is generally far from inexpensive, and the sailing times, being geared to freight requirements, are less convenient for us. I also have a rather higher level of confidence in the BF officers and crew than I do in LD's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Well Condor is handy for my girl because she works only 15mins from Weymouth terminal or 45mins from Poole terminale and the cats only sail during the day so no night crossings. She has paid less than £250 in mid july for a return ticket with a car and recliners both way (mandatory) which BF wanted over £100 more for same period. If you don't like being rocked about at 40knots and suffering the smell of vomit its worth doing. She leaves at 14.00 (UK time) and will arrive home at about 22.00 as we are just over 2hrs from St.Malo compared to leaving at 20.00 and arriving here at 10.30am Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 [quote user="Jay"][quote user="Val_2"]My daughter returns home every three months from the UK via Condor and they usually work out cheaper by as much as 50% some months of the year than BF. [/quote]Never thought of them. Just checked their website for the same dates we are travelling with BF and the cost is a whopping 430€ and the ferry leaves at 6.30am from the UK![/quote]Yes but look at the extra time you will get in France and you can sleep for the journey.My girl has done this crossing a few times as well and found it a bit tiring but she is young and soon slept it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 [quote user="Val_2"]Yes but look at the extra time you will get in France and you can sleep for the journey.My girl has done this crossing a few times as well and found it a bit tiring but she is young and soon slept it off.[/quote]Not interested in extra time in France since we live here! I think I will stick with BF until I can find something better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I had no idea you were in France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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