Danglar Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I got scared off returning from Dieppe by all that fuus that the TV News channels put on about the bad weather : Dover port closed, Portsmouth pictures of high waves and wind, flights cancelled and so on. So in the morning I booked with Eutunnel and gave up the second leg of the return ticket I had paid for weeks ago.Then at around 16:00 hrs I called the Transmanche info tel number and the computeriseed voice (why can we talk to human beings anymore ?????!) said that all was running as per schedule . Aaarhhh!!!!!So , what happened ? Does anyone know and/or did travell on the Seven Sisters yesterday ? Nino Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Guerriere Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 http://www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/public/ferry.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robkat Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 A work colleague lives within spitting distance of the Transmanche terminal & said he saw the ferry come in yesterday & leave again this morning!Kathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danglar Posted March 11, 2008 Author Share Posted March 11, 2008 thank you for your replies. I have found the telephone number (only a fax is shown on the website) of the Port of Newhaven from the Newhaven City Council and I received confirmation the ship arrived as per schedule last night. So, I have thrown money out of the window. Never, ever will I fall for journalistic headlines again (I had good reasons to panic: a train connection in London for this morning and everyone knows how much ic costs in UK buying a train ticket on the same day of travels).Listening to the BBC 24hrs news and SkyNews it felt like the end of the world was near ! What c...y sensationalistic reporting that was (and I feel I know where that type of reporting has been copied from....).Thanks againNino Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Talk about don't shoot the messenger [:)]They don't put Operation Stack into action without good reason so it seems that perhaps the reporters were not solely to blame, perhaps the people running the service could make the contact number more easily accessible ???[Www][Www] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Operation Stack is in place because of the SeaFrance strike - the Dover port closure due to the weather merely made the situation even worse.The Transmanche Ferries web site ( http://www.transmancheferries.co.uk/contact.html ) has full contact details, including freephone numbers for both Britain and France. If you are booked on a ferry that is cancelled or seriously delayed, the operator should contact you - but I recognise that this doesn't always happen.Portsmouth port was operating more or less normally, with slight delays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cendrillon Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Danglar said"I got scared off returning from Dieppe by all that fuus that the TV News channels put on about the bad weather : Dover port closed, Portsmouth pictures of high waves and wind, flights cancelled and so on. ""Listening to the BBC 24hrs news and SkyNews it felt like the end of the world was near ! What c...y sensationalistic reporting that was (and I feel I know where that type of reporting has been copied from....)."If you had been one of those people whose homes were threatened with flooding or indeed aboard the stricken Swedish ship near Isle of White I don't think you would have thought the TV News channels were making a fuss!http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/2/1182074/ShowPost.aspx#1182074 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danglar Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 [quote user="Will"]Operation Stack is in place because of the SeaFrance strike - the Dover port closure due to the weather merely made the situation even worse.The Transmanche Ferries web site ( http://www.transmancheferries.co.uk/contact.html ) has full contact details, including freephone numbers for both Britain and France. If you are booked on a ferry that is cancelled or seriously delayed, the operator should contact you - but I recognise that this doesn't always happen.Portsmouth port was operating more or less normally, with slight delays.[/quote] When one calls the tel numbers shown on their website one does not speak to a person but one is instead given to select options . Select "sailings update" and you get a recorded COMPUTERISED VOICE message, which sometimes it is difficult to comprehend without wanting to hear it a second time ! Select "sailings times" and you get back to the main menu!... I bet the only time one gets through to a person is when selecting to purchase a ticket!I am surprised to read that Portsmouth was operating almost to norm. I had considered Le Havre (the closest to my house) but was put off even trying by the BBC's pictures of terribly rough sea and their reporting of sailings cancellation. As for Dover, I had considered - the night before my UK departure - to purchase a one leg ticket on the short crossing as a back up, so I tried all the websites (P&O, SeaFrance, Speedferries) to check on availability and prices and ALL appeared to be accepting my booking for Monday afternoon. Instead a warning would have been nice at that point, after all they have the capability of rejecting a booking and - showing why - when a sailing is booked up. I think there is a too much commercially opportunistic hijacking on these days: grab the money now, then we'll see , eh ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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