Cross channel rip off !

[AlfaDrivingFan]

I've been trying to get confirmation of dates for a trip across the channel in May / June, finally got the confirmation of dates this morning. Last night I checked cross channel ferry prices and a return was £58, not too bad.

I get on the site for a ticket this morning and overnight its gone up £20 ! Suddenly they want £78 return bloomin rip off merchants ! I'm booking 2 months ahead FFS ! Where's the advance booking bonus ?!?!

Ever since SeaFrance went under the prices on the cross channel routes have been going only one way.... up! It's such a rip off, don't get me started on Eurotunnel ! cheapest fare that fits with my schedule was £146 How TF do they stay in business ?!?!

It's not bad enough they have us over a barrel if we want to take a car on the continent, but there is no competition. It feels like everyone is putting prices up because they can not because they have to!

[1of1]

Strap some empty oil barrels to the car & paddle over

[AlfaDrivingFan]

Originally Posted by 1of1

Strap some empty oil barrels to the car & paddle over

DIY channel crossing......

[antpal]

True! I've done the trip over a hundred time now - nearly all with norfolkline. But since they got taken over and sea france went bust its become ridiculous! gone are the days of 16 quid each way!
Last time i sailed 3 weeks ago the cheapest way of travelling one way was to book a same day return ticket with p&o.
It's becoming a nightmare tbh

[Llanrads]

Hi Pat
we have just booked Porstmouth to Le Harve for the end of June b4 deciding that route Dover / Calais was £90 return with 4 in the car

[AlfaDrivingFan]

Originally Posted by Llanrads

Hi Pat
we have just booked Porstmouth to Le Harve for the end of June b4 deciding that route Dover / Calais was £90 return with 4 in the car

I went Portsmouth - Le Havre last year mate, Le Havre was a nightmare it was all flippin road works and diversions ! Getting out of Le Havre should have take about 15 minutes, after having to double back and mess around it took me nearly an hour ! Not so bad getting back to the ferry because you just follow the ferry signs.... if you see them in time

Edit: If you're going LD Lines they do good chips in their cafe

[AlfaDrivingFan]

Originally Posted by antpal

True! I've done the trip over a hundred time now - nearly all with norfolkline. But since they got taken over and sea france went bust its become ridiculous! gone are the days of 16 quid each way!
Last time i sailed 3 weeks ago the cheapest way of travelling one way was to book a same day return ticket with p&o.
It's becoming a nightmare tbh

We need another budget operator like SpeedFerries to take on the Dover - Calais / Boulogne route. At this rate it'll be standard to pay £100+ for a return I notice Norfolkline (DFDS) seem to have split their fleet to cover the Dover - Calais run, they only have about 5 departures per day !

[antpal]

What they done initially was add extra sailings from dunkerque. You probably know that getting through that port is usually a breeze.
I turned up there a couple of months ago and the place was rammed!
I was an hour early for my check-in but was told there was a crossing loading now and I could depart early.
I didn't know that sea France had gone, and dfds had borrowed a ship from LD lines to cope with the extra traffic. What a heap it was too. Much worse than p&o's older ships!

I've noticed that now dfds are starting a calais service they're drawing down the service in to dunkerque - which sucks as far as I'm concerned cos they seem to be finishing at 8pm on the weekends, and I always travel overnight on Fridays and Sundays.
But whatever, if they push the fares up anymore ill be sailing with whoever out of calais!

Very disappointed though. Norfolk line was an excellent service and unbelievable value.

[AlfaDrivingFan]

I travelled Norfolkline a few times, brilliant crossing, great service and very reasonable prices. I always went Club Class / First Class though After a long drive you want to be able to relax on the ship and not have screaming kiddies running around under your feet.

I haven't been on a P&O ferry since before SpeedFerries started up, they were always too expensive compared to either SeaFrance, Norfolkline or SpeedFerries. To show how bad the lack of competition and rising prices on the cross channel routes is I have just booked P&O because they were the best value crossing I could get !

On a midweek crossing, in off peak season, booked 11 weeks in advance and P&O are offering the best value ! Things really must be bad

I travelled LD Lines last year Portsmouth - Le Havre, wasn't very impressed but they were OK, good chips is the biggest plus I can think of

[antpal]

I only use the VIP service on NorfolkLine if i'm travelling during the day. You can't lie down on those sofas lol! Like i said, i usually travel between midnight and 4am, so priority loading isn't needed, and the ships are usually empty. So, armed with duvet and pillow you have a choice of any sofa you like (the ones to the left of the VIP lounge are the best ;-).

As mentioned, the cheapest way for me to go one way was to book a day return with p&o. I was booking 2 days ahead (Which never used to be a problem on Norfolk Line). IIRC, NL/DFDS was 112gbp one way (so an increase of 80 quid!), P&O was 190 and Eurotunnel was 220. It was only when i returned to the P&O website to confirm the price of the ferry i was looking at, that i forgot to click one-way, and was greeted by the exact same 190gbp crossing being 26(!!!) as part of a return!!
Annoying!

[PhilzAlfa]

Originally Posted by ADF

I've been trying to get confirmation of dates for a trip across the channel in May / June, finally got the confirmation of dates this morning. Last night I checked cross channel ferry prices and a return was £58, not too bad.

I get on the site for a ticket this morning and overnight its gone up £20 ! :headbang: Suddenly they want £78 return bloomin rip off merchants ! I'm booking 2 months ahead FFS ! Where's the advance booking bonus ?!?!

Ever since SeaFrance went under the prices on the cross channel routes have been going only one way.... up! It's such a rip off, don't get me started on Eurotunnel ! cheapest fare that fits with my schedule was £146 How TF do they stay in business ?!?!

It's not bad enough they have us over a barrel if we want to take a car on the continent, but there is no competition. It feels like everyone is putting prices up because they can not because they have to!

To be honest, £78 to cross the channel sounds like a bargain compared with the taxi in Bristol that charged me £20 to go 3 miles the other night because I was going "out of the zone". But I take your point about the fare increasing by £20 overnight!

[AlfaDrivingFan]

It gets feckin worse The £58 fare that was on offer on Wednesday but not on Thursday is now on offer again ! I've just wasted £20

I checked all the web sites yesterday before I booked but couldn't find the £58 fare on offer anywhere ! Just had a look and it's back ! What are they playing at ?!?!?

[antpal]

Do you cross often?

[AlfaDrivingFan]

Usually two or three times a year, not so much the last couple of years but I want to get back to it I'm sick of airports and security making life a misery, going back to the ferries Saying that I was pulled over and searched at Portsmouth last year, first time thats happened since the IRA were active

[ACAPULCO AL]

they're forever fannying about with their fares. i watched them all like a hawk for a couple of months in the run up to last summer and they were all up and down like a yo-yo, sea france as well as p&o. bad news sea france have gone though, the channel neede MORE competition, not less

[n13roy]

This is why the Swansea to Cork Ferry went bust, too many stupid price increases all the time, and extortionate day travel prices with a Car. People hate being ripped off, and just stopped using it..........

They only have themselves to blame though IMHO........

[antpal]

Al - the biggest disappointment for me is DFDS - I can't remember in recent years ever paying more than 50gbp for a standard return before Norfolk Line were taken over. I totally agree, there should be more competition.
I used to have a freight account with Euro Tunnel for my van, and the most i ever paid under that agreement was 110gbp each way, which was very cheap, as i know that most freight gets charged hundreds for each journey. This makes me even more sour that the ferry companies are making so much money from freight why charge private travellers so much.
I can't see DFDS succeeding long term - they've already alienated one customer (me), so they must have done the same to many many more.

ADF - I was searched recently too - it was a pain because I used to work for the MoD so had certain ID that exempted me from that kind of hassle!! And of course, i was cutting things very fine and the search made me miss my boat lol!

If you were thinking of taking up travelling regularly again i know that P&O do a 'frequent flyer' type scheme where you by 10 crossings for 229gbp - i'm not sure of the terms though. I spent an age regularly badgering norfolk line asking them to consider doing something similar, as at one point i was using them 6-8 times a month, it never happened though!

I really do hope the service from dunkerque keeps going though, and the price doesnt get any worse, as it's by far the most convenient route for me.

[ACAPULCO AL]

never tried dfds. what route do they go - dunkerque? i paid about £60 return with seafrance last summer, the year before we paid a frankly absurd £38 with P&O. all were good crossing times for us with 2 kids

i heard a rumour that eurotunnel were the highest bidders for seafrance's 3 ships purely so they could sell them off elsewhere and eliminate some of their competition. not sure if that ever materialised, but if not it'd be great if a new operator would snap them up and start running the dover/calais route. stena maybe? or maybe even a new venture for mr branson?? dunno about the moliere but the rodin and berlioz are perfectly good vessels

[antpal]

Yeah, DFDS sail Dover-Dunkerque. I never travelled with sea france, and if im honest i would think out of the 100+ crossings i've made probably less than 10% have been with other operators. The ships on that route are so much better than P&O's - more sofa's, less chairs etc. Plus the extra 30 mins crossing time means 30 mins extra sleep (and about 20 mins less driving!).
I guess we just have to wait and see how the summer pans out. Hopefully it won't come to the point where flying becomes financially viable ('cos i can't be ar*ed with that hassle!).

[ACAPULCO AL]

bit difficult getting an alfa on a plane as well

[Captain Slow]

I miss SpeedFerries. I used them a few times, £25 iirc.

Why did they close down?

[antpal]

They went into administration in 2008. Hadn't been paying their port taxes in France I believe.

[Captain Slow]

Ah yes. I remember, I was living in France at the time, having used speedferries to get there, I had to use Norfolk line to get back.

[howell811]

Just holiday in the u.k.

[FredDibnah]

Just booked my Eurotunnel return for last 2 weeks of June and it is indeed 146 quid.

I actually think that's pretty good value.

I'd happily pay 10 times the price of a ferry to go via the tunnel. It's quick, simple and easy. Last time I went on a ferry it took forever to load, was like a bad motorway service station to wait around on for the several hours of crossing, and took forever to get off it at the other end.

No comparison in my book.