Ferry deals to France - Summer 2015

tony1980 wrote: »

Those Les Moules look really tasty and that créme brulée.....

you thinking of heading over tony?

BenEadir wrote: »

Just for you Bif!!

My original itinerary with the Ploughing Championship 25% discount ended up costing me €748. Exact same sailings, exact same car and exact same cabins out and back with the Holiday World 15" discount code is costing €919.

With my actual booking the "normal" price before the Ploughing Championship discount was coming in at €929. They then applied the 25% discount (which only applies to the sailing not the cabins) to leave the final price at €748.

Looks like the Holiday World discount is a case of them upping the "normal" price by 15% in order to discount it back down again by 15%. (I know that's not technically correct but I can't be ar$sed working out the correct mark-up number).

Bottom line is relative to the booking I made in September the Holiday World 15% discount actually works out at an equivalent 1% discount

Slight correction: I just checked on the normal Stena website and the current "normal" price for the standard booking (same dates, cabins etc) is now €1,039 Vs the "normal" price of €929 back in September.

I guess they push the prices up as the ship fills up and they are confident there will be enough demand to pay the higher prices but then again they might have just pushed up the normal prices for a few days to give the impression that the Holiday World 15% discount is a good deal.

Ya couldn't be up to their tricks!!!

Cheers Ben...appreciate the effort. It confirms my hunch that it is still best to book as early as possible with whatever discount you can get (obviously if you are sure of your dates). Thanks again.

poochiem wrote: »

I'm booking Roscoff to Cork, there aren't any discounts for Brittany Ferries are there?

some campsites (siblu, and maybe others) will give you a discount on the ferry. I dont think theres any traditional discount codes as such.

actually scratch that, my work pc is defaulting to UK site which is in sterling. Its still 4 times for euro paying people. I withdraw my sneaky remark!

kbannon wrote: »

The last time myself and herself used club card vouchers we found that the full price had to be paid for the ferry before the Tesco discount was applied.
As it turned out, booking normally received pretty much the same discounts (if not better) that she felt her club card points were wasted!

You don't have to pay in full anymore. You can send in your tesco vouchers up until a month or so before travel. Definitely not a waste of clubcard points! You need to book over the phone though. Also you'll get the early booking discount when booking with tesco vouchers.

Clubcard price is the same as normal rates (without a promotion attached), except for the booking fee

jay0109 wrote: »

No, exact same base rate as anyone else would pay at that time, except for the €40 booking fee

€20 each way

So school summer holidays are almost upon us, are there any late discounts available for those of us who are only now looking to organise a campsite holiday in France? I'd like to bring a 4X4 with two adults and two kids to either Roscoff or Cherbourg in mid July for two weeks. I've secured accommodation in Olonne-sur-Mer so I'm looking to book a ferry which arrives in France Sat July 11th and return Sat July 25th. Both Stena and Irish Ferries are coming in at circa €1,200 including a 2 star 4 berth cabin both ways. I know I'm probably booking late but wasn't expecting to have to pay this much for the ferry. I recall paying circa €750 a few years ago for the same type of itinerary also in July.

Any suggestions on how I can reduce the cost of do I just need to accept I left it late and have to pay full price as a result?

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

So school summer holidays are almost upon us, are there any late discounts available for those of us who are only now looking to organise a campsite holiday in France? I'd like to bring a 4X4 with two adults and two kids to either Roscoff or Cherbourg in mid July for two weeks. I've secured accommodation in Olonne-sur-Mer so I'm looking to book a ferry which arrives in France Sat July 11th and return Sat July 25th. Both Stena and Irish Ferries are coming in at circa €1,200 including a 2 star 4 berth cabin both ways. I know I'm probably booking late but wasn't expecting to have to pay this much for the ferry. I recall paying circa €750 a few years ago for the same type of itinerary also in July.

Any suggestions on how I can reduce the cost of do I just need to accept I left it late and have to pay full price as a result?

paid €1,033 for 2 adults and 2 kids + car and we booked in January.

Thanks guys, looks like I'll just have to pay the man!!

You could try doing the maths and seeing if travelling a day or two earlier or later might be worth your while. Or, if the cost of the cabin is significant enough, check out whether it might be more economical for 3 of you to fly while one takes the car and no cabin. To be honest though, given that the primary schools will just be off you are travelling at a pretty busy time, so it will be expensive.

z

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

More like piracy on the high seas

I booked two weeks ago with Stena Line for the first two weeks in August for €760 return - two adults, 1 child and 4 Berth outside cabin on both legs of the trip.

mattb74 wrote: »

Hi all. After deciding not to go away this year, the June bank holiday weather has finished me off and I've found a great deal at a campsite in Northern Brittany so have had a change of heart. The ferry that suits us timewise is the Stena Horizon. We can get a 4 birth inside cabin. We will have a 5 month old with us as well as 2 girls, 9 and 6. Do you think we could make this work? I was thinking the girls could top and tail in 1 bed and put the baby in another as there probably isn't enough room for a cot/buggy/travel cot. We have been on the Oscar Wilde the last 2 years so would see a noticeable difference in quality? Thanks all.

in the Oscar Wilde you can fold up one of the bottom bunks (one side the bottom is a sofa and the other folds flush to the wall) and put a travel cot there.
Of course the f*+$&ers dont tell you this (sure, families with young kids looking to bring carloads of baby equipment wouldnt be a major market for them or anything).
We ended up not bringing a travel cot and finding out too late that it would have fitted, even in a 2star cabin.

The last time I was on the stena (formerly Celtic) the beds were all un-foldable and from memory it looks like you could get a cot between the beds but theres then no space otherwise in the cabin.
Still, the beds themselves are actually realtively large, not sure if its a full 90cm side regular width, but you could easily lie a baby beside an adult comfortably.

AOH77A wrote: »

Hi, Was in Domain des Ormes a few years ago. We were only supposed to stay one week but stayed a second week we enjoyed it so much. Weather was great which helped. Lovely walks around the golf course. We stayed with Canvas and the kids loved the kids club.

Is there much to do in Domain des Ormes? We're used to campsites on the west coast e.g. St Jean de Monts, Palmyre etc and I'm open to trying something inland for a change (particularly if there is a golf course I can use ) but I'd be concerned that a lack of restaurants and things to do in the vicinity would pretty much mean we are stuck on the campsite for the duration whether we like it or not.

What would a round of golf every day for 14 days cost????

tennis12 wrote: »

If you have any more questions about the site let me know.

Thnaks Tennis12, appreciate the response. I don't want to hijack the thread so I'll just ask one more question.

I'm used to Siblu camps in St Jean de Monts and Bonne Anse Plage. If we were to try Domaine des Ormes for a change I'd want to play a round of golf every morning. Would that cost a fortune? When I've looked at green fee's in France previously I've always been put off by the cost.

Do Domaine des Ormes do a weekly pass or similar which for a fixed cost would allow me to play as much or as little as I'd like? Also, is the course any good? Is it well maintained etc or is it just a boring, flat parkland course which isn't very well maintained i.e. poor bunkers, poor greens etc?

Cheers.

For those staying anywhere near Perpignan, Canet , Argeles etc
excellent deal to Barca from Perpignan, express Bus, approx 4stg each way person

http://forum.anglophone-direct.com/ftopic14927.php

Ideal for a day trip, without having to drive, park etc

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Thanks Tennis12. I appreciate the tip ref playing late at night but I think my family would kill me if I was sauntering off to play golf when they are heading out for dinner!!

€70 a round is off putting. I could easily end up paying €1,000 for golf over the two weeks. I only pay €1,500 a year for membership in my local club and that gives me unlimited golf 52 weeks a year, subject to the Irish weather of course!!

Ah well. I guess we'll be staying by the coast.

The prices and deals on their website are better than that.

Tinder Surprise wrote: »

Hi.
Anyone know if Irish Ferries do some sort of a cancellation list?
Ive been offered a last minute deal for accommodation which would be crazy to pass up on, but to my frustration I cant get a sailing back for myself and the family, as its booked out.

Roscoff --> Rosslare Sat 18-Jul-15 18:3018:30 Oscar Wilde.

Outbound I can get, but its full on return dates.

long shot I know, but anyone any experience in this?

if its full its full.

An alternative is to get a ferry via England. Heres the grid of options and prices.
http://www.stenaline.ie/ferries-to-france/europe-by-car

should you have little kids then travelling via the English south coast brings you by peppa pig world, and if not then you can pop round to Stonehenge or other interesting places en route from Portsmouth etc to Fishguard.

If you dont like that option, then you have to deal with a lack of direct ferry by staying in france longer. Stena has places for cars, but no cabin.

Tinder Surprise wrote: »

Hi.
Anyone know if Irish Ferries do some sort of a cancellation list?
Ive been offered a last minute deal for accommodation which would be crazy to pass up on, but to my frustration I cant get a sailing back for myself and the family, as its booked out.

Roscoff --> Rosslare Sat 18-Jul-15 18:3018:30 Oscar Wilde.

Outbound I can get, but its full on return dates.

long shot I know, but anyone any experience in this?

Two things:-

1. You could (if you have the cahoona's) just rock up to the Oscar Wilde on July 18th and try and get on. There's always going to be a few no shows plus they always have capacity for trucks just turning up so I'd personally be confident they wouldn't sail without you providing you are there nice and early and treat the office/admin staff in a courteous manner. You mightn't get a cabin but you'll get seats.

2. I rocked up at Roscoff a few years ago after three weeks chilling in France only to realise my booking was from Cherbourg!! My wife and I just burst out laughing when we realised our mistake (it was that or a row blaming each other) and the kids burst out crying as they thought we were stranded forever. Long story short we ended up sailing with a British ferry company to Portsmouth (I think) and then drove to Holyhead to catch the Irish Ferry to Dublin. Irish Ferry's were cool and whilst they couldn't give us a refund they did give us a free trip from Holyhead to Dublin and the funny thing is we ended up walking in the door of our house only two hours later than we would have if we had gone Roscoff -> Rosslare -> drive to Dublin.

We were about €400 out of pocket for the ferry to Portsmouth though but c'est la vie.

If the deal you're being offered on accommodation is saving you a good lump of cash and the worst thing that happens is you give back some of that saving by having to pay a premium to get home you're still on a winner right?

First Up wrote: »

I've done the Roscoff to Portsmouth ferry and the drive to Holyhead. Found it pretty long and not helped by long delays on the M5. We broke the journey and overnighted somewhere near Wolverhampton. Its a long drive in one go, but it can be done.

I know, I did it in one go with a 20m motorway stop to get diesel, some burgers, a coffee and a Monster energy drink plus it was lashing rain the whole bloody way and I couldn't see 50m ahead of me.

When I got off the ferry in Portsmouth and keyed in Holyhead into the GPS the ETA was literally 20m before the Holyhead ferry was due to depart. Needless to say I put the pedal to the metal and we made it with about 20m to spare but it was a long focused drive I can tell you.

All part of the rich tapestry of travelling.