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[quote user="LyndaandRichard"]Or is it that the long stayers have to subsidise the day trippers? Is that the logic?
[/quote]

Yeah I think you have hit the nail on the head.

This is the reason that, with great reluctance, I do not take the tunnel anymore but use Norfolk Line where I can select outward/return journeys separately regardless of how long I want to stay.  Travelling by boat is not my prefferd option but when it can be a fifth of the price I can't really refuse.

 

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The only logic - such as there is any - is that a day tripper is more likely to look at flying, so they have to be more competitive.

 

The failure of the logic is that a day tripper is unlikely to consider Eurotunnel in the first place.

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I'm thinking of switching the other way, i.e. back to Eurotunnel after using ferries. Going to try the frequent traveller deal.

Last 2 trips have been with LD Lines between Boulogne and Dover. The blurb suggests it is a fast crossing with the new catamaran but they are talking only of the time between harbour gates; the time between arrival at check-in and leaving the port on the other side is a different matter altogether. The cabin area in the new craft is fine but the car deck has been very badly thought out - takes ages to load and unload and it can be extremely difficult to get out of the parked vehicles. Lord knows how it satisfies safety regulations.

Will just have to make sure I make maximum use of the 10 tunnel tickets.

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We've used only Eurotunnel when taking the car for the last few years, apart from after the fire. We just used 8 out of the 10 tickets last year, so thought it wasn't such a good deal as we also had to pay £20/£30 for each crossing (we can't cope with early morning or late night crossings any more). It felt as though we had thrown money away.

However, when we looked at prices for crossing this year, we decided that even if we only cross a few times by car this year it could still be a good deal.

We know we'll definitely take 4 or maybe 6 crossings during the 12 months. So including £20 extra per crossing it comes to £115 per single trip (4), or around £80 (6) - always on dates and at times to suit us.

We'll see how satisfied we are at the end of the 12 months.

Jo
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Ever thought of shopping at Tesco and using club card points to put towards the cost.Every £10 in vouchers is £40 of the price of a crossing,in the past few years we have only had to pay a nominal amount .You may not like the shopping at Tesco but it puts a smile on my face when i cross for free.
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[quote user="Benjamin"]We had become Eurotunnel fans when they tried to be competitive on prices but I've just looked at prices for a trip in November and they're completely out of the window. P & O (for the first time ever) here we come.[/quote]

I panicked when I saw this as we have booked a trip out to France in September but not the return as we are not sure when we want to come back in November! I went immediately to the Eurotunnel website and managed to get a return crossing for £53 + the cost for the dog (£30) so about the same as a ferry but a much quicker journey. As we have an 8 hour drive from Calais to our house in Charente Maritime this is a much better option for us.

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  • 2 weeks later...

[quote user="tom"]Ever thought of shopping at Tesco and using club card points to put towards the cost.Every £10 in vouchers is £40 of the price of a crossing,in the past few years we have only had to pay a nominal amount .You may not like the shopping at Tesco but it puts a smile on my face when i cross for free.[/quote]

We've also used Tesco points for years, I don't think we've ever paid full price. One tip however, always leave a few quid to pay on the debit card, then at check in, all you need to do is bung the card in the machine... no frantic prodding of the machine!

Yours aye.

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ive just tried to book a eurotunnel day trip and thought id use up a frequent traveller ticket as they are in need being used.

am i doing someting wroong, as it cost out more expensive than an ordinary day return?

kim

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[quote user="Mel"]I think I would rather swim the Channel, towing my car behind me on a raft, than shop at Tesco to save a few quid![/quote]

Yes, Mel, I can appreciate your position.

However I went to an optician and managed to get some marvellous varifocals (not cheap) which magically cured my myopia.

Tesco isn't our exclusive 'shop' (we use all the bad guys and, hush my mouth, a few good independents as well!), but our savings on Channel crossings alone amount to around 70% overall... hardly a few quid, but again, each to his/her own.

Usually for the longer trips we use P&O, mainly due to the availability of a massive farmhouse breakfast which keeps us going to Tourville-la-Riviere. And yes, that's where we dive into Carrefour (La qualité pour tous!).

Yours aye,

Barbu

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Hmm? I have to confess that a 70% saving is somewhat interesting. It's just that, whilst not against supermarkets in general (I love Sainsburys and Leclerc), I just get a tad fed up with the way Tesco is trying to monopolise the world!

But I do take your point on the savings to be had and I am quite keen to try Eurotunnel instead of the ferries...
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[quote user="Mel"]Hmm? I have to confess that a 70% saving is somewhat interesting. It's just that, whilst not against supermarkets in general (I love Sainsburys and Leclerc), I just get a tad fed up with the way Tesco is trying to monopolise the world! But I do take your point on the savings to be had and I am quite keen to try Eurotunnel instead of the ferries...[/quote]

I wish Tesco would monopolise the world or at least just open up in Bordeaux!

With a Tesco on my doorstep, I would never have to consider a trip back to the UK again............[:P]

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As an additional point about Tesco whether you hate or love them. As of last Monday they have permanently doubled their points on every purchase, which effectively means you save and spend twice as quickly as before.

Baz

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Mel, is it a long time since you visited a Tesco?

I love Waitrose and M&S food hall as much as the next person, but for basic brand-name products like loo rolls, cat food, or whatever, where's the sense in choosing to pay a higher price for the same thing?

Couple of examples. My mobile phone died on me recently and I whizzed into my local small Tesco and bought a new Nokia at around half the price I would have paid elsewhere, even online. Their Loratadine non-drowsy anti-allergy tabs, of which I have to take one a day, are a quarter the price of the same thing at Waitrose.

In these tough financial times, it's Tesco or Sainsbury's for the basics, Waitrose and M&S for the treats. I hope I'll be able to say the same in a year's time!

Sorry, madly off topic now, but related because my new mobile is also helping pay for a trip to France - result!

And, no, I don't work for them.
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[quote user="Baz"]

As an additional point about Tesco whether you hate or love them. As of last Monday they have permanently doubled their points on every purchase, which effectively means you save and spend twice as quickly as before.

Baz

[/quote]

Yes - they certainly know how to sucker the masses in.

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So, I'm a sucker but I don't care.  Mind you, in France now, so Tesco not an option.

All I know is that when we had our UK house insurance with them and the roof was damaged by a storm, they took our estimate of costs without question and the cheque was in the post within a fortnight.

Also, with my Tesco Credit Card, I used to regularly get over £30 every quarter in voucher points which I could spend on my shopping or quadruple the nominal sum by, for example, using the points at other retailers.  Bought a mattress worth over £500 from MFI for little over £100 plus however many voucher points it was.

Always been treated fairly when I had to return things or query charges. 

As for my local Intermarché, there just wouldn't be any common grounds for comparison.

 

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[quote user="Mel"]Sorry, I know we are going off topic here, but quality means something to me as well and that is a word that does not sit easily with Tesco...[/quote]

Mel, I can only follow up Fay's comment... Tesco simply would not survive if it did not provide quality. Sure, like any other retail outlet, it offers the general dross that too many families regard as a staple diet. But if you want quality, you can find it quite easily. We regularly buy a whole salmon for beans when it's on offer and, as something of piscean connoiseurs, we know quality when it smacks us in the face (see Monty Python sketch for reference).

But as I said in an earlier post, it's horses for courses. If you don't like shopping at Tesco, that's your decision. But don't take those of us who do to task because of your prejudices, particularly if we are getting cheap cross channel travel while you are dragging your car across on a raft with a rather salty rope in your mouth!

Hey Ho,

Barbu

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Sorry, sorry, sorry...

Yes, way off topic. Tesco are brilliant at hoodwinking people into believing they are cheaper than the likes of Morrisons and Sainsburys - wrong! There is only one genuinely cheap supermarket chain in the UK and that is Asda.

I live in the northern suburbs of Norwich where I have access to all the major supermarkets. When I do a big shop, I drive to the furthest from me - which is Sainsburys. When I want a cheap shop, I go to Asda. And when I need a couple of items for convenience, I go to Tesco because it is the nearest big one...

I think I am a bit of a supermarket anorak!
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