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Brittany Ferries 2006 Prices Increased?


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Just received the news that you can now book Brittany Ferries for 2006.

To test their fares tried booking a return for standard car overnight, Portsmouth Caen and return in August for two people.  Friday night fare £635. Off peak day crossings on Tuesdays only £400 Bargain!

Similar midweek daytime in early May are a reasonable £300 (£340 including cabins)

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Why not join BF's Property Owner's Club? Portsmouth - Caen Return night crossings in August 2006, car, 2 people, cabin each way - Total cost £476.30.

£207.00 for the May crossing (including cabin each way!)

Both the above are on the basis of a two week stay and would be cheaper still for a longer period away.

If like me, you reside in the North West of the UK, the most cost effective means of getting to Dept. 36 is by Brittany Ferries. My total mileage can be extended by almost 200 miles by using the Tunnel or a crossing from Dover to Calais or Boulogne, also the journey from the Lake District to Dover can be an absolute nightmare, and has taken me as long as 10 hours.

Now, add to the additional fuel costs of that extra 200 miles, the requirement for a hotel, additional Tolls (especially if you are daft enough to use the as-the-crow-flies route via the outskirts of Paris), then I'm sorry but a crossing Portsmouth to Caen or Saint Malo works out a damn site more economical in both time and cost than anything going out of Dover! Plus, take the night crossing to Saint Malo and get a decent nights sleep and a free breakfast!

Daryl (A very satisfied Brittany Ferries customer)

 

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I don't supose the Newhaven - Dieppe Transmanche crossing would be of interest either then. But they do have 2 new boats appearing next year, promising a crossing time of 3 hours.

And we will have to wait and see what the new operator on the Portsmouth - Le Havre route will be charging, but their news release suggested that they will be undercutting some of the other operators.

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As Daryl we prefer to use the Western routes to travel to our maison secondaire in 36 ( maybe we're neighbours)   We tried speedferries - but hate the longer drive both sides of the channel.

I have booked 2 crossings with BF - one for October and one for Christmas. I was surprised with the cost of the Chrsitmas crossing, with the BF owners club discount, it was alot less than I thought it would be.

So - who is in the running for the Portsmouth - Le Harve route??  I haven't seen anything in the press ( maybe I take the wrong daily).

 

 

 

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[quote]As Daryl we prefer to use the Western routes to travel to our maison secondaire in 36 ( maybe we're neighbours) We tried speedferries - but hate the longer drive both sides of the channel. I have b...[/quote]

Hi Jean,

I'm off back to my maison secondaire next week until the end of October. Another month playing "Robert le Bricoleur", interspersed with regular refreshment breaks in the company of a colleague from a neighbouring hamlet.

Where are you? I'm located in a small village close to Levroux.

Daryl

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[quote]According to a posting on the Anglo-Normande forum, there will be no service from Cherbourg to Portsmouth/Poole between the beginning of November to end of January. It's beginning to look like a deat...[/quote]

It sounds as if that other forum is both behind the times and inaccurate.

That information was issued in a press release at the beginning of August, and had the person actually read it they would see that the service, operated by Barfleur, is still running from 11 November to 2 January, but carrying freight only. The service will not run from 3 Jan to 22 Jan, when the ship will be drydocked for scheduled maintenance and refit. According to BF, the route carries few passengers during that period anyway, and there will be an increased Portsmouth-Cherbourg service to compensate.

From 23 January Barfleur will re-enter passenger service, and will be dedicated to the Poole route, rather than taking time off to supplement the Portsmouth-Cherbourg service as was the case in 2005. So rather than a 'death wish' this represents an increased service over the 2005 sailing schedules.

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Hi Daryl

We're over again from 14-22 October -  like you, playing M & Mme Les peintures.

We're further South, near Ste.Severe.  We did look at two places near Levroux prior to buying our 'pile'.

With regard to the new crossing.  I had a quick look at the website.  Prices were more than

I'm paying with Brittany Ferries.  Hovever BF's prices are creeping up.  I looked at prices for my daughter on Sunday & when I booked tonight, they had gone up by £30.00

 

 

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[quote]If the Barfleur is going to be freight only during the winter, what ship is going to carry passengers on the Cherbourg-Portsmouth route. Will it be the Val de Loire again? And do you have any idea of...[/quote]

It looks as if the Val de Loire and Bretagne will both be used on this route after the Barfleur has gone and before the high speed ferry returns at the end of March.

Brittany Ferries has published a timetable, which should be available on the company's web site. It basically offers:

Nov/Dec/Mar - from Portsmouth - morning and overnight crossings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with afternoon crossings on the other days, except Saturday, when the crossing will be overnight. From Cherbourg there are morning and night crossings on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, afternoon sailings on the other days.
Jan/Feb - from Portsmouth - morning and overnight crossings on Tuesday and Thursday, with afternoon crossings on Monday and Wednesday, night crossing Sunday. From Cherbourg there are morning and night crossings on Monday and Wednesdayday, afternoon sailings on Tue, Thu and Sun.

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

If like me, you reside in the North West of the UK, the most cost effective means of getting to Dept. 36 is by Brittany Ferries. My total mileage can be extended by almost 200 miles by using the Tunnel or a crossing from Dover to Calais or Boulogne, also the journey from the Lake District to Dover can be an absolute nightmare, and has taken me as long as 10 hours.

Now, add to the additional fuel costs of that extra 200 miles, the requirement for a hotel, additional Tolls (especially if you are daft enough to use the as-the-crow-flies route via the outskirts of Paris), then I'm sorry but a crossing Portsmouth to Caen or Saint Malo works out a damn site more economical in both time and cost than anything going out of Dover!

[/quote]

I  Like Britany ferries...and  I too am from the North West (Preston) but there the similarity in our viewpoint ends i'm afraid.

For the crossings you mention in August, I can go via speedferries for £50.00 return. The drive in the UK is around 40miles more, so an hour and a gallon of petrol each way. The drive in France (I am in dept 50, in Normandy) is about 220 miles more (so 3hrs and £22.00 more... and  I reckon I hand over around £18 on the tolls

According to my quick calculations that means going Dover to Boulogne i'll spend a total of  £138 as opposed to £476.00  [:D]

That means i'll save £338.00. There is no cost saving doing it any other way. Now i'll admit that it's nice to break up a long journey from 'up north with a seven hour "cruise" in a cabin, to arrive fresh in France, but by the same token, you could always book into a Travel lodge in the UK on the way down and sail the following morning. I tend to drive through (masochist that I am), and it is a very long journey, but i'll be over £300 better off and i'll get there just as quick.. because I'll hit France in around an hour. I guess it just depends how much you are prepared to sacrifice. In high season i'll suffer the extra driving because of the massive savings but at low season maybe i'll pay the extra

As many will point out, this is only for a given set of conditions and circumstances. The speedferries  price is fixed all year around, whereas BF's is fluid (I would be tempted by BF's price for the May crossing for example) but there are other factors too. What if you have a small trailer, a van or a  caravan?. BF do not cater for these very well. My last crossing with a long trailer was £400 cheaper with Norfolkline going into Boulogne than it was via BF into Caen or Cherbourg in High season  (£140 as opposed to £672)

Quite simply there shouldn't be such a difference between the operators and the routes but unless BF get some competition it looks like i'll be drinking red bull and popping pro-plus for the foreseable.... On the upside, the £300 i'll save will buy some lovely vin rouge for my cellar

Lee

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I was doing my accounts the other day, and when adding up the frightening amount spent on ferry and other travel to hand over to the expert comptable, it was evident that the crossings I've done and booked so far in 2006 were virtually identical in cost to the equivalents in 2005. So, no, I don't think prices have gone up for 2006 (that isn't saying they are cheap, before, as usual, I get written off as a BF spokesperson) but as correctly stated the fares are fluid so it is difficult to make direct comparisons, particularly in peak seasons.

Now the train fares in England HAVE gone up for 2006, but that's a different story altogether of course.

My predictions for the future? BF will stay about the same, LD Lines will get cheaper, Speedferries will creep up (they will have to to sustain a service), P&O - who can tell?. I wonder if any of that will work out as expected.

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  • 1 month later...

Hi there

I live in Portsmouth and belong to the Brittany Ferries Property owners club and thought their prices were way too high! £400 return for 16 days in the summer and that is with my discount! (I haven't renewed my club membership)

I got a crossing for £85 with sea France...I know that means a two hour drive to Dover at the beginning and end and a few extra tolls on the way in France but we're still saving around £200. Fortunately we like driving!

I'm really not impressed with the price increases Brittany Ferries have introduced over the last few years. Perhaps it's because they've got no good competition.

Meduse

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[quote user="Meduse"]

Hi there

I live in Portsmouth and belong to the Brittany Ferries Property owners club and thought their prices were way too high! £400 return for 16 days in the summer and that is with my discount! (I haven't renewed my club membership)

I got a crossing for £85 with sea France...I know that means a two hour drive to Dover at the beginning and end and a few extra tolls on the way in France but we're still saving around £200. Fortunately we like driving!

I'm really not impressed with the price increases Brittany Ferries have introduced over the last few years. Perhaps it's because they've got no good competition.

Meduse

[/quote]

We have also been BFPOC for many years, 1993, until I looked at the price increases especially wrt cabins.  We now use eurotunnel (5 returns for £390) and the odd speedferry return.  We have saved over £1200 a year when you take into acct tolls etc - that is a no brainer.  We enjoyed the overnight to StMalo but I can travel from Oxon to eurotunnel and down to Dept 79 in less than 11 hours.  BF was, in total, 17 hours and I do not sleep that well on ferries.  Each to their own but keep up the good work Eurotunnel and Speedferries.

Vernon

 

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