Fast ferries - can anyone help please

[blossom]

Hiya

We are going across to France next year from Poole to Cherbourg, we have the choice of traditional ferry (4and a quarter hours) or fast ferry (Condor) (2and a quarter hours) which is a catamaran type . . . eldest daughter hates the roll of a traditional ferry and she (and I tbh) can't wait to get off once we're on . . .

Has anyone been on the fast ferries and can yu describe what the ride is like? Is it less roll-y, is it noisy, can you go outside on deck, and anything else you think we might like to know?

When we've been before we've done the shortest crossing Dover-Calais which is only just over an hour but we are driving down the west coast of France so hubby refuses (reasonably enough) to drive 3 hrs out of our way to Calais only to have to drive all the way back to the west coast of France the other side! (btw flying is not an option)

Absolutely any info which will help us decide which to do will be greatly appreciated geeks, thank you very much for reading. . .

 

[naturalnails]

We have used the Speed Ferries for the last 3 years from Dover to Boulogne - we used to travel on the overnight ferries and I much prefer the Speed Ferries.

Apart from the fact it is only 50 mins - any discomfort is short lived LOL.

I think any movement might be more bumpy rather than rolly - imagine being in a sports car as opposed to a limousine LOL.

Going outside may not be an option, but possibly - never been on the Condor but I think you can on the Speed Ferries.

Hope that helps.

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Okay, I can't grantee my info is correct here, because I don't remember too well, lol. We definitely did the Hoverspeed from Dover to Belgium quite a few years ago. We also did P&O Ferries from Southampton to Le Harve which was around 6 hours. 2 years ago we did Brittany Ferries Hover Speed from Southampton to Cherbourg which cut the journey down to about 2 1/2 hours so it is definitely quicker.

On the longer ferry crossing on P&O you are on a mini cruise ship really. Choice of about 3 restaurants, with loads of different seating areas, some quieter than others. There is a supervised kids club and a small movie theater. Plus there is a pool below and play area up on deck along with quite a large duty free shop. So there is plenty to do.

On the fast ferry service the ship is much smaller with no option for quieter areas. We found it a wee bit crowded. Duty free is tiny and only one option for food and drink so small kids are more likely to get restless. But then your crossing is much quicker.

Hope this helps.

 

[Chameleon]

IMO,if you are saving pennies and want a cheap and cheerful option,LD lines from Portsmouth to Le Havre is the best option.The ship is not as brilliant as Brittany ferries,but the price difference is so much cheaper.

It takes an overnight crossing to do this.

brittany ferries is overpriced,and has the monopoly at the moment...but watch this space regarding LD as they are incorporating new crossings and another new ship for next year.

For a high speed crossing ive done this from Poole to Cherbourg,but my husband calls this the "vomit machine"...im ok with it,but hes not,so beware:!:

I hope you enjoy western france...what area are you intending on going??

If you need any more info,pm me,and ill be happy to help.I used to live in brittany at one time.The people are amazing,a totally different cul;ture to the rest of France,thier accent is totally different to my southern french accent,but they are a proud nation.

Good luck with finding a speedy but enjoyable crossing!

 

[Seanny]

Hi, I'm in Ireland so i'm not sure how pertinent my info is to you but here goes.

We've just come back from France on the slow ferry. yes it is slow, so plan your trip accordingly. If you're going to use a slow ferry, make sure you get a cabin. Our crossing took 18 hours 'Rosslare to Roscoff' and return of 'Cherbourg to Rosslare'. Both crossings were great with minimal sea disturbance. The cabins are basic, ours had 2 bunks, a wc, wash basin and shower. If possible, get a cabin with a porthole as this allows you some natural light. The alternative to not having a cabin is sleeping in a chair somewhere on the ship with no private washing facilities. Dont even go there!

Restaurants? Our ferry had 2 'proper' restaurants, one charging slightly more than the other. We figured that they were both getting their food from the same kitchens so we went with the cheaper option on the way over. The food was ok, nothing to write home about but there was plenty of it and a reasonly selection to choose from. On the way back, we opted for the more expensive restaurant and it was absolutely top notch, as good as you'll find in any high street restaurant, the surroundings were much better too and they had a waiter service. This really was the much better option and its the one we'll be taking from here on in.

Weather: Its very important to note that the high speed ferries are much more susceptible to bad weather than the slow ferries. Its not uncommon for the high speed ones to be cancelled altogether while the slow ones can still sail, please bare that in mind.
Time: I know this may sound silly but give yourself plenty of time to get to the ferry port. We used AA Autoroute to plan our journey and the estimated times were way below the actual times required, we very nearly missed the boat!!
have a great holiday!

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Time: I know this may sound silly but give yourself plenty of time to get to the ferry port. We used AA Autoroute to plan our journey and the estimated times were way below the actual times required, we very nearly missed the boat!!
have a great holiday!

Very good point Seanny. I second this. We made it by the skin of our teeth twice. Fortunately we drove on to the first ferry as they started to lift the ramp!! Second time we arrived about 5 minutes before departure, but found the crossing cancelled due to bad weather.

Another thing I would recommend is booking at an inexpensive hotel near your port overnight if you have an early morning departure. It puts us more at ease as opposed to getting up before dawn to get to a far away port.

 

[blossom]

Aw, thanks so much for all your informative replies, plenty of food for thought there! Thank you for sharing so much detail, really appreciate that.

We live about half an hour's drive from Poole so should be OK there . . . I wonder if a fast ferry is cancelled do you wait and get on the next available one to go or are you completely stuffed? !

My sister in law uses LD lines, she says they are great, but an overnight crossing isn't something we would do really, just want the whole process to be over as quickly as possible; we are not good travellers really LOL!

We'll be driving a long way down the west coast to close to Biarritz, my niece is getting married on a beach there, so we thought we'd build a holiday around that time. It'll be a damn long way but if we have a fortnight we should have time to recoup, and the scenery should be gorgeous as they are by the beach and also can see the Pyrenees from their house, sounds wonderful!

Any more responses would be very very welcome, thankies!

 

[Seanny]

Tracey, I can only imagine the looks on your faces as you saw that ramp going up. Our trip down to the ferry was that bad, speeding, bad language, cursing and swearing, spitting and shouting. It was terrible and Jackie's not normally like that at all. LOL Seriously, it was one of the most stressful days of my life, hopefully never to be repeated. We arrived at the ferry port 10 mins after sailing time, luckily they waited an extra 20 minutes because so many people had gotten caught in traffic.

Driving in France on the other hand is a doddle. Motorways all over the place. We had a 400 mile drive when we got off the ferry and honestly, it was a breeze. We stopped once for coffee and sandwiches. Oh yeah, dont let your fuel go too low, the petrol stations on our route were few and far between with major differences in pricing.

If you havent driven on the continent before, be extra vigilant when driving on single carriage roads, its extremely easy to make a turn and exit on the wrong side of the road. The person in the passenger seat can be a big help here especially in the early stages. When making a turn, just remind the driver out loud 'to make the exit and stay on the right'. Jackie done this for me for most of our small road trips and I really valued it.

On the whole, The french motorists, at least all those we encountered were great, much better than wher we're used to here in Ireland. Everyone obeyed the rules, speed limits, etc.

HTH

P.S. Dunno if this is of interest to you but I'll mention it anyway. If you make an effort to speak French, just a few simple phrases, the French people will really appreciate it. Neither Jackie or I have french but we did learn some phrases and managed to order our food, greet people, say goodbye, etc in stilted French we noticed that everyone concerned made a special effort to make us feel welcome. We noticed that this special effort wasnt alwasy made with others who had made no effort.

 

[ValencianNails]

We took the Poole to Cherbourg ferry when we moved to Spain, it was our first time on a ferry and I was quite impressed with the facilities and space onboard.
I don't like the movement of the sea when in a boat etc, the rolling and whole experience makes me feel ill, I wasn't looking forward to the ferry and was surprised to find that I personally found the journey was ok and I didn't feel ill at all.

 

[Chameleon]

Aw, thanks so much for all your informative replies, plenty of food for thought there! Thank you for sharing so much detail, really appreciate that.

We live about half an hour's drive from Poole so should be OK there . . . I wonder if a fast ferry is cancelled do you wait and get on the next available one to go or are you completely stuffed? !

My sister in law uses LD lines, she says they are great, but an overnight crossing isn't something we would do really, just want the whole process to be over as quickly as possible; we are not good travellers really LOL!

We'll be driving a long way down the west coast to close to Biarritz, my niece is getting married on a beach there, so we thought we'd build a holiday around that time. It'll be a damn long way but if we have a fortnight we should have time to recoup, and the scenery should be gorgeous as they are by the beach and also can see the Pyrenees from their house, sounds wonderful!

Any more responses would be very very welcome, thankies!

Oh my,it will be a fairly long drive from Le Havre...it will be even longer from Calais

The French motorways are a doddle,have money at the ready for tolls,although you can use your credit card aswell.

Biarritz is a lovely area,in the pyrenees atlantiques departement.The town has lovely beaches,the best for surfing aswell.You must visit musee du chocolat if you love chocolate!Bayonne is a lovely town aswell.The basque people are very welcoming.

Bonnes vacances!!

 

[ladybgemini]

My in laws live in France, in brittany and when we go we always get the tunnel. I wont go on the ferry again after the last time lol, was a nightmare.

From what my in laws have said in the past, if you dont travel well, dont get the speed ferries. The best option is the overnight one, you can sleep through it and the crossing is much calmer. The Dover Calais route always tends to be rougher than the bigger crossings because it's such a small distance.

Get travel bands, i wore these on my first ferry 2 years ago but husband refused to look like a girl with red wrist bands on and he couldnt move for the whole 2 hours we were on the boat. Sat on floor with head between his knees and left me to look after myself and a 7 month old baby. Bloody wuss he is!!!!!! (He bought the bands for the return trip!!!)

Rachel

P.S. The lower you can get on the boat, the less you feel the movement.