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Across the Channel for £19!


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we are crossing soon in a 7.5 t lorry bringing stuff to SW France.  Norfolkline was (so far) the ONLY provider to allow this as domestic and quoted £73 return as the fare, compared with well over £300 their nearest competitor.  For only two hours, I am not fussed at the services so long as it is safe, and would value quietness. We shall see if the sales pitch lives up to the reality............... and if so enjoy spending the spare ££ on nice food en route per chance...
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For me (my health, age, etc.) the level of comfort I require depends to a large extent on the length of the journey. For an hour or two I am quite happy standing, wandering around, etc. as it is not too long to endure what people describe as “tatty” or less comfortable. For longer journeys it can get a bit harder and “better than basic2 can be beneficial. Ryanair is fine for me e.g. for an hour of so but I might prefer something a bit more comfortable if flying to e.g. Australia.

There seems relatively little difference between the Norfolkline and Speed Ferries pricing and thus for a short trip I would personally select the one with the faster crossing and more convenient arrival/departure ports.

Ian

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We have travelled with Speedferries, Sea France, P & O, Brittany Ferries and Eurotunnel, Speedferries offer an alternative to the big ferry companies and for £50 return do not knock it....... they have forced the big ferry companies to review their prices. Yes the boat is not top notch, but you are only on it for 55 minutes, they have food and drinks, if you dont like theirs, take your own........First on last off is unfortunate, it is not a ro-ro ferry which is why they cannot take caravans and larger vehicles..... you have to turn round to get off.

Personally we are travelling with them again at Christmas, if we are late.... so what.......we are staying overnight in Boulogne anyway........I will be pleased if they get another Ferry, they deserve to do well.......

We do not use the ferries as much these days as we tow a caravan and use Eurotunnel, but would always use Speedferries when we travel without the van as long as they manage to keep their fare structure reasonable..........good luck to them.........

 

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What wins it for me is that norfolk line as far as I know are the only company to make no distinction between a van and a mobile home this has always anoyed me in the past why should I pay more than a mobile home that is bigger than my van

And they alow a van upto 7 metres in length for the same price so all vanners you have to book NORFOLK LINE

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  • 4 months later...

Hi All

Why so much bitching?????????????????????

No one MAKES you use any of the X channel companies, and they ALL work for somebody, otherwise they would go bust.

Thankfully some people are of the same opinion and have voiced their view, I do not think it fair to cut them down.

I have used SF. and the coffee is crap, so what, I bought my ticket because it was cheap not because I wanted a good cup of coffee, again like some have said "You pays your money, your takes your choice" , they serve wonderful Coffee on LEAR JETS any of the moaners can charter one, maybe not as cheap as the ferries but they do serve nice Coffee and the staff are nice too, anyone want the number?

oops gone very quiet out there !!!!!!!!!!!

SF. have made some of the other operator's rethink, and why not, good luck to them, me I just use what is convenient / cheap, so sometimes it will be SF. other times it will not, so why not use this forum to HELP one another, rather than attacking.

I have just book with LD. first 2 weeks of April standard seat £78.50 Return, not as cheap as SF. but as I am going to Poitier suits me.

So lets have a few more SMILES

 

Love to everyone

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  • 4 weeks later...
[quote user="daryl-et-elaine"]

[quote]Are the moaners talking about the same Speedferries service I use. Seven return trips this year so far - every one on time and 3 of the 07.45 Dover departures left 10 minutes early. Bargain price and...[/quote]

 Please also remember that not everyone lives within easy access of Dover. It can take me as long as 10 hours to get to Dover, also the added mileage and time incurred in both getting there and from Boulogne to my house, plus the need for accommodation, all adds considerably to the "Bargain Price".

When one takes into account the added cost of fuel, tolls, accommodation requirement, vehicle wear and tear, plus driver stress and additional time spent behind the wheel, you don't need a degree in maths to work out that occassionly it is actually more cost effective to travel with one of the "expensive" operators, and before slagging them off for their "exorbitant" charges, do a paper exercise and work the costs out as if you resided in Chester, Oxford, or Ambleside, and were travelling to Blois, Tours or Limoges. You might then realise just how cheap the "other operators" really are!

I've used SF twice and not been over impressed. The reason I used them over my usual mode of travel is simple - they had an offer of "Buy One - Get One Free" - but never again!

[/quote]

 

I have used BF for 10 years then became more infuriated with their inflation busting increases, especially wrt cabins, so I moved to P&O for a couple of years.  I now use a mix of eurotunnel and speedferries - buying both their books of 10 single trips.  We live in Oxfordshire and our holiday home is on the 79 / 16 border.  My thoughts - the extra 3 hours on the motorway plus tolls plus diesel is far   outweighed by the savings.  5 return trips on speedferries is less than a single return by BF in March - never mind August.  We are converted and wish BF the same as P&O.

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It all depends on where you are coming from and going to. But a lot of people are finding that if they can get one of LD Lines' special offer fares (my sister actually managed it over the end-of-May bank holiday, traditionally one of BF's most costly periods) then although the fare is still more than Speedferries, the savings on mileage etc more than make up for it. LD Lines' biggest problem is that they only have the one ship, which is very short of cabins. There is a further bonus in that Portsmouth seems a much more convenient port for most compared with Dover.

Don't forget Transmanche, between Newhaven and Dieppe, which has recently got the first of its two new ships. Now that Sea Containers has officially pulled out of ferry operation then the way seems clear for Hoverspeed to return, operated independently, by its old management, which had been proposed earlier but the idea had to be squashed.

So choice is improving, and nobody is forced to use any ferry company if they feel they are being overcharged. Valid competition can only have a beneficial effect on improving value for money overall.

Incidentally the ferry which was laid up in Boulogne apparently waiting for Speedferries to agree charter terms was bought by an operation similar to Speedferries in Norway, known as Master Ferries. For those who have questioned Speedferries' reliability, Incat, Speed One's shipbuilder, has published figures that show that in 2005 1342 Speedferries' sailings went as planned (a 98.5% reliability record). Of the 20 lost sailings, 11 were due to poor weather, five were caused by factors such as strike action and blockades in France, and four were due to technical difficulties. Unfortunately there are no punctuality figures. Although this is not such a good record as Normandie Express, for example, it was still better than similar ships managed to achieve in the Mediterranean where there are not the same wave height restrictions.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Recently returned from a visit and travelled via SF got a return for £38, £19 each way and upgraded for £10 to get on and off early and received free coffee/tea or soft drink with a snack and papers included.

Not bad as you would buy a drink at least on the 50 mns journey. Mainly upgraded to get off quick and start the journey. Used them many times and never delayed, perhaps I'm lucky perhaps not, have used other carriers over the years and dont care much for frills for 50mns its a means to an end, get me there quick please. Did I miss the frills on the Shuttle?

 

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I booked the other day with Speedferries for the middle of May.

56€ return, two people and the car.

Excellent.

I seem to think I got a good price when I went with P.O. in February but I arrived early - story of my life - and they wanted an absolute fortune to change the crossing time.  Same happened when I arrived for the return voyage...I booked in about two hours early and the person on duty asked if I wanted to go earlier for thirty quid!  Yet the 'middle' sailing I took was the same price as I had paid so I took that.

I think they were 'avin a laff.

Hoverspeed charged 10€ when I arrived unannounced after my Dad had left the hospital early and I drove up three days in advance on the off chance.  Which is fair enough.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I use both.. The Norfolkline Maersk is a cracking ship, like a mini cruise ship. Due to its size (It is a big boat), it's usually  a smooth crossing but it takes two hours and don't forget it does sail into Dunkerque which is a dreadful place and for many will not justify the savings.  Now I generally don't mind extra miles if i'm making big savings but if the timings of the crossings aren't available to your liking you can end up wasting your last day, or missing half of your first.. much more important on mini-trips or even on 5day trips

They charge far too much for the on board cinema, but they do have two reasonable kids areas, both playing a disney or similar DVD. The food is more than adequate.. I'd say on a par with average pub grub.. certainly better than Speedferries but as others have mentioned, its 50mins on Speedferries crossings, so a coffe normally suffices. Norfolkline also recently had a kids eat free offer on which saved £3 on each kids meal.. nice touch, and they have a fast food cafe, and a well stocked cafe and bar. They are usually punctual.. all in all a professional operation. Every bit as good as anything i've experienced with P&O or BFs... I would note you usually have to queue for ages at Dunkerque as they invariably give much higher prioity to Freight users checking on.. Obviously this doesn't slow down the crossing but with a back seat full of tetchy kids, getting them out of the car and into the lounge an hour earlier might be a consideration.

Now, speedferries... I love em. I would use them all the time were it not for my occasional need for  access with a decent sized trailer or caravan (their limit is 7meters which means a five foot trailer MAXIMUM! on a family saloon)

They are consistently cheap, unlike BF who's pricing structure seems to be random. I've never failed to beat a quote from them even when I had their membership card.. waste of money

Anyway, back to speedferries...The layout of the boat is basic, the food limited, the coffee hot and wet. The shop is basic and they only sail into Boulogne.. but hey for the majority of people thats better than dunkerque. Its also a one hour crossing and because of their need to turn around quickly to maximise the route, the delays are minimal. It would be pointless for the boat to be any better equipped, or to have any more ameneties.. You are on board for 60mins

Overall I prefer Speedferries. I'll like them even more if they get another boat or another route... Wouldn't it be great if they got a route to Cherbourg, Le Havre, Caen or St Malo !! It must have been looked into i'm sure.. and it may have already been mentioned somewhere on the board why this isn't going to happen, but it would be such a popular decision and would give the likes of BF a bit of badly needed competition

It's nice to have choices at the no-frills end of the crossings market. I've mentioned before there are some MAJOR savings to be made with both of these companies.. I want them both to carry on

Lee

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Hi, I have used both, I would just like to say thank you to both companies for bringing down the price and in breaking the monopoly of the large companies and their tiered rates depending how long you wanted to be away for! Its a taxi ride, same cost to carry you for a day trip or a two week annual vacation. More power to their elbow's and I look forward to Speedferries getting their 2nd & 3rd boat. Long may they continue to sail. Art  
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I've used P&O for years(and Sealink and Stena and TT and Hovercraft) not because of the comfort or coffee but because I want to be able to turn up at the port  and go, hopefully ,on the next boat(the most I have ever been charged was £10 and it's usually nothing).I do not want to have to blast along the motorway at 130mph.(and you see plenty of them) to catch a ferry that only sails occasionally nor do I want to sit on the dockside watching boat after boat come and go.I will stay with any company that sails every hour/hour and half.I have used and don't like and cannot afford the tunnel but I have used Ryanair(to Montpellier)-no complaints-you get what you pay for!
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JC

I totally agree.  Especially if you are driving the UK leg of the journey to get to the port.  I allowed myself 2 hours to get to Dover, as I needed to be there by 9.00am, thought at that time of day it was better to play it safe, knowing how chocker the M25 can be.  Only to find it took me just over the hour, which is great, but then I sat for what seemed ages for a Speedferry crossing.

When I use PO or Seafrance, they will put you on the next crossing, and its great.

 

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Depends on how willing you are to pay the extra. If, like me, you make several crossings a year, price becomes a big factor and I'm willing to tailor my travel times to fit in with SpeedFerries rather limited service.

I do wish, though, that they would respond quicker to emails (other than the automated replies), particularly when trying to convert SuperTickets or SuperVouchers to actual bookings. But admin staff cost money, of course. It's a case of striking the right balance between cost and service.

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I have for a number of years extolled Norfolk Lines and the new boats are a real step forward.  However I have just returned having used them this weekend and was disappointed - poor food (and an upset stomach the next day which may or may not have been related), half the toilets out of commission, running late (first time ever for me) etc..  So everyone can have an off-day.

 

Those who complain about the extra distance from Dunkerque should consider that it takes 17 minutes from the ferry terminal in Dunkerque to the A26 - it takes about 7 minutes from Calais ferryport.  So the extra time is about 10 minutes - plus, admittedly, the extra time on the boat - which if you have a long frive in front of you can be a bonus, giving the driver a good respite. 

Those who travel South via Paris or further East (A26/A4 Rheims Troyes Dijon)) can make further cost savings since the Dunkerque - Lille motorway/dual carriage way is toll free.  It does however show this a bit in the quality of the road surface.

 

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Would like to say that we have never been delayed on Speedferries and would always recommend them!

This thread made me chuckle, after the journey we endured with our young children this time last week, admittedly not across the Channel!

Our journey was leaving from Algiers to Marseilles (22 hours) last Monday at 12 midday, which meant checking in a 9.00 to do all the police and customs checks.  At the port, the authorities were telling everyone to come back at 15.00, so we squeezed in some extra sightseeing (it is a lovely city in some parts).

At 15.00, we were bustled into a queue where we sat for 2.5 hours without any explanations on the delay, before being offered free juice and mineral water - the sun was beating down in 30° C temps; at this point we were wondering when we would ever board.

By 20.00 we had moved slowly through all the formalities, drive 20m, stop for police to search cars, drive another 20m, stop to arrange cabin facilities on board, drive 20m again for this time the customs to search cars, aaaaarggh!  By now we could see the reason for the delay - a large 3m square hole in the side, with teams of welders working frantically to fix it... still no idea of when we would leave, still no staff to offer explanations and everything was closed, except a small café (not cheap by local standards) who were doing a roaring trade!  A few dirty hole in the ground toilets with no running water were available - nice!

By this time, people were hungry, tired and impatient and starting hooting their horts and a small mob, led by a French guy managed to find a suited person from the boat company and insisted at least the women and children be allowed to board and have some food on the boat.  Meanwhile my husband waited outside and after all the men were offered steak sandwiches in their cars at the docks, they finally came onboard at 2.00am!

Luckily all food onboard was being offered free!  Next day, the welders were still hard at work - one of them had said the boat had hit rocks causing the damage, there was a ministerial visit the previous day, and they were doing what would normally be a week's work.

No announcements were made but we finally set off that evening at 19.00 after nearly a full 24 hours on the boat!  I was then violently seasick, just to round it off.  Finally arrived home on Thursday morning at 3.00am.  This led to the kids missing 2 days of school as well!

At least if channel operators hit these problems, there are other options and they aren't government run!

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Norfolkline Dover into Dunkerque is the cheapest, followeed by a 425 mile drive :-(

Alternatively, Britanny ferries goes into Santander in Spain which is a few miles less

to Limoges. More expensive on the ferry itself I would have thought (norfolkline with a 4.5metre trailer cost me £120 return off peak recently, whereas you need to apply to your building society for a second mortgage if you want to go with Britanny ferries..) but you'll pay less Tolls, drive 50 miles less each way in England and have a more interesting ferry crossing if you go via Santander.

I'm not aware of a cheaper way into France than Norfolkline with a big trailer... If there is i'm sure somebody else will mention it
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Hi

We paid £390 for 10 x crossings on the tunnel. I know that we're restricted by what times we can travel (before 1330 from France and after 1500 from UK) but the fare is the same no matter how long we are away for or the time of year (including holiday periods and bank holidays). If we turn up early, and there is a slot available then we've always been given that at no cost.

Bob B

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We travel from SW England to SW France via Dover these days as the BF prices are insane.  Speedferries £38-£58 return, and even with tolls and fuel the savings are massive.  Two of us driving means we can do the trip in one go, and although it adds about 3 hours onto the drive, the quick crossing time still saves us 2 hours overall.  I am happy with the 55mins sat in a seat, and don't feel the need for a higher quality boat.

Regards

Simon

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My sentiments entirely, Simon.

If they could just sharpen up things and be a little better at keeping to their time-table - without prejudicing safety issues, of course - I would be more than satisfied. Who needs frills on a one-hour crossing?

I am sure I make more trips to France now largely because SF have brought down the cost of getting over there with the car. Long may they succeed!

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I think you are absolutely right, Coco. Sometimes people can't not get enough. When SpeedFerries started, the price level were definitly much higher, and you could easely spend £250 for a return crossing.   So, I have no doubt that it is because of SpeedFerries that other operators have lowered their prices, just like what happened when Ryanair first introduced their low cost concept. 

I have travelled with SpeedFerries several times when I visit my family in France and it's true that their catering concept are not terrific and sometimes it has been difficult to get through to their Call centre, but I just got a newsletter from them saying that they have improved their customers service. They have now open 24/7 and promesses a instant reply to enquiries by phone.

In the same newsletter they are also promoting a new offer in connection with World Cup in Germany 2006. During the World Cup period they offer tickets at £19 to and from France along with a 12-trip Voucher at a regular 10-trip voucher price £270. The 12-trip voucher is valid for 2 years after purchase.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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