Brittany Ferries Property Owners' Club

[tegwini]

We're thinking of joining the BF property owners' club & wonder if it's worth the cost,  now £125 (reg/ annual membership fee). France  part only. 

 They talk of up to 30% off - a bit vague,  & I wonder how much it is on average.   We come to France about 5-6 times pa,   Port'mouth - Caen. But, do shop around when booking, but it seems that LD's prices have increased & their night crossings I really dislike.

Any information would be much appreciated, 

Regards

Tegwini

[MrCanary]

Hi tegwini,

I used to belong to it and if my most convenient route was operated by BF, then I probably would still belong. But I now cross higher up the Channel.

I very quickly got my money back in savings with them, so it is worth it.

With all the ferry companies that cross the channel, I think that BF are by far the best, most comfortable of all the ships. But, of course, that is reflected in what they charge from the outset. You get what you pay for. So, if that is your choice and you will be crossing regularly with them, definitely sign up.

I now use Transmanche Ferries from Newhaven to Dieppe. Their two ships are new, but are smaller and less luxurious than BF, but they are excellent boats just the same. They suit our needs, but I confess to still having a yearning for the luxury of BF...

Best wishes,

 

Mel

[Cendrillon]

We are definitely BF Property Owners Club fans, the best way to travel IMHO[:)]

[tegwini]

Many thanks Mel

Would  use Dover ferry, but live in Wiltshire on Hants border 40 mins from Southampton &  OH very reluctant to drive to Dover, and French home is in the Vienne.

 I have been doing some searches for a  mid June crossing & LD & BF prices not that much different - especially if you add in cabin price for 23:00 crossing with LD,  or if minus cabin a night minus sleep, & prefer daytime crossing any time.  We have used LD regularly, but their prices do seem to have gone up quite a bit.   Gone from Newhaven too, but again more driving on both sides.

Anyone out there using this membership??

Regards

Tegwini

ps even  more difficult decision  now that diesel in the UK is recently £1.14  to 1.20 per litre!

[tegwini]

Thanks Cendrillon

Do you know how much on average the percentage saved was?

Regards

Tegwini

 

[MrCanary]

tegwini,

I never had less than a 25% discount and often a 33% discount.

I would definitely rejoin if I was using your routes.

Mel

[Helen]

We joined the BHPO club last year and it has definitely paid off.  I started keeping a record of the travel costs and savings so I could decide whether it was worth continuing next year.  Over 5 crossings I have saved a total of £259, with % reductions ranging from 6.75% to 30.74%  (just to be precise!).  The variation depends in part on the duration of the stay (during winter we have travelled several times for just 4 days) and also on whether or not we have booked a cabin in either direction or both, as cabins are not discounted.  However, we reckon that for four of us, the cabin more or less covers its own costs as by the time you factor in the free breakfast and the fact that you aren't tempted by the cinema, shop or restaurant during the very long, boring crossing (having two teenagers comes into it!) 

We have tried LD lines but hated it - and for us, it more than doubles the length of the journey in France.  We have also tried the fast BF service once but decided that the amount of time saved did not make up for the experience of sitting in cramped, crowded seating for a higher cost.  So we will definitely be renewing our membership.

Hope this helps.

[suej]

  Hi,

  We have been members of B F P O Club for a number of years and do find it worthwhile.  There is usually a 30% reduction on crossings over 5 days and 15% on crossings of up to 5 days.

If you decide to do daytime crossings it's worth knowing that there are complimentary cabins on morning departures from Caen and on afternoon departures from Portsmouth for members. These need to be booked when you make the reservation, the one time I forgot to do so they took a bit of persuading to allocate me my 'free' cabin once we were on board!

happy sailing!

[Jacqui Too]

We joined BFPO club last year, but found that this year( although I will be renewing) that our first ferry trip out this year was £ 90 cheaper with LD Lines so we are going to try them, their times suit us as well , we have 2 dogs  and need to travel to/from the Dordogne this, we can do comfortably sailing out at 23.00 over night and getting to our house mid afternoon, then have until 4.00pm to get back to Le Havre.

I haven't booked our 2nd. trip yet but have compared the prices and they are about the same, so we will see if we like LD Lines before we make up our minds.

Last year we were disappointed with the High-speed Normany Express, no club class seats, rubbish food, screaming kids, thank god it was only 3 1/2 hours! on the return trip we went Condor Ferries from St Malo to Poole, paid for club seats and boy was it worth it, only down side it goes to Poole!!

Only wish Ryanair would take doggies and my worries would be over!!

[Gastines]

Also worth noting that there is a 15% discount on 3 trips a year for members family or friends. We've been members for years and it definately pays off.Once you get over the extra cost of joining,why it's extra I don't know, it's only £55 for yearly renewal and is soon recuperated. Still hoping that one day B.F. will offer us on this side of the channel, the advantage of a cheap 24hr crossing, even if it's only in the winter.No complaints about the Barfleur,it seems to sail whatever the weather.

Regards

[PaulT]

Must say I far prefer using the Tunnel. Closer than Dover, about 40 mins journey time, the dog is with us (hate to think the state she would get in to on the car deck).

The reduced crossing time means that the overall journey time is reduced and there is no discomfort when the sea is rough.

You can get 10 single crossings for £39 each and can pay a supplement to cross at peak times.

For the crossings we will make this year, we are going out before 6am so it is just £39 but coming back around 8pm so there is a £20 supplement (£30 at certain times). Wev could have gone Norfolk Line which would have been cheaper but far less quick or convenient.

Paul

[Cendrillon]

Paul

I think "convenience" is the key word.

It all depends where you are travelling from / to. For some people Dover is a long drive and roads are not always trouble free and of course it will depend where you want to get to in France, some parts of France are a long drive from Calais.

[tegwini]

Thanks for  the replies everyone -

we will be joining the BF PO club,  it does sound as if it might save money & it does suit us to travel from Portsmouth,  Dover is at least a 3-4 hours drive & once in France a really long drive from Calais.   Caen is much better for us.

It would be nice to see more competition on the ferry routes & disappointing to see the big increases in LD fares.

Regards to all

Tegwini 

[KathyF]

I don't think you will regret it, tegwini.  We've been members since buying our house 5 years ago and it suits us very well, given where we live in the UK and France. I thouroughly recommend the free or discounted cabins on day-time crossings, which make all the difference to the journey for us.

 

[clarksinfrance]

We used to be members of BF property owners club, but after the second year ditched it. The reason being, when we rang for a price, or checked out BF website using our POC number, we then compared this price to a freely available price using the internet ferry shops, and on every occasion we could get better prices freely available to everyone, that said, we did not have to travel on a Saturday, so that may have been part of the reason. At the end of the day you pays your money and takes your choice.

[Monika]

Clarksinfrance, I wonder if you would be allowed (under the Forum rules) to tell me which internet ferry shops you use?  I am trying to do a bit of research if we could get our crossing Poole Cherbourg cheaper that way than through the Owner Club. Thanks?

[KathyF]

I'd be interested to know too.  I've just checked the C heap Ferry site for our proposed dates and times (Portsmouth-Caen) and got a quote £96 more than we've been quoted on the BF site and that's not including any accommodation. [8-)]

[rodie]

 hi we ,just went on the pont aven ,from plm -santander aand return roscoff - plymouth , we are alsoin the bf travel club ,we saved £85 on £500 crossing , ,you also get  free breakfasts if you go over nite crossing ,we like the bf ferrys and think the travel  club is worth it , we used to travel newhaven- to dieppe on hoverspeed , it was only a 2 hr crossing i think ,that was a good route

[Kitty]

I've been a member of this Club since 2004 and it has saved us money every year.  You can pass discounts onto friends/guests for three journeys per year and so you score Brownie points with these friends.  The free breakfasts (up to £5.50 per person) in the restaurant are worth having.

 

[Mayennaise]

We have been members for just over two years. We live about  and hour and a half from Caen and our family live in Portsmouth so it is a 'no brainer' for us. Before joining we tried LD, Speedferries and Condor but none of them are up to the standard of BF. We always get up at the crack of dawn to catch the 9am sailing from Caen and return on the 3.30pm from Portsmouth - free cabins both ways! I agree with Cathy that the breakfasts in the restaurant are worth having. That is the first place Mr M heads for when we board at Caen!

[Renaud]

If your journey requires an overnight stop then a cabin on a ferry is very good value. If we have our lurcher with us we take the Eurotunnel and stay somewhere overnight en route, but by ourselves the take the BF night ferries.