Ferry - Help! They can't/won't provide cot?

tobytobe

Hey all,

Just wonder if someone has any suggestions on this. We are taking the ferry to England next week (not sure about the rules so won't say the name just in case?) and sailing from Dublin to Liverpool. It is a night time crossing. There are 3 of us adults and husband and I are taking our 8 month old baby

I noted from at the time of booking (online) that cabins are compulsory for overnight sailings and it states something like every person/child has to occupy a berth or cot. I put in all our details including that passenger 4 is an infant under 1 year of age. The only cabins on offer were 2 berths and nothing was stated about the cot being in the cabin or otherwise. I booked the 2 berth cabin (it being all that was on offer, remember having put in all our passenger details) for both the outbound and return trip.

I emailed the ferry company just to enquire if the cot was automatically reserved by the booking and if the passenger details would have shown that a cot was required or if we would have to reserve it separately. I got an email back to say that no cots were available "on this route" and I would have to bring a travel cot although space is limited in the cabin, which to me suggests that a travel cot won't even fit??. I emailed back explaining that regardless of the route, the website states that cabins are compulsory for all overnight crossings and if that is the case, then why when peope are booking and include infants in the booking details are cabins of a sufficient size not offered? If these are not available or all booked up then we should be told that there would not be any way of accomodating the baby on that crossing? The place where we are staying are providing a cot so we have not organised to borrow a travel cot and anyhow it looks like it won't even fit in the cabin.

Does anyone have any ideas about what I should do if I can do anything? I was under the impression that the cabins were allocated going on the information provided and that if nothing suitable was available then the system would have to notify you of this - like in the event of there not being a big enough cabin for a cot., then you should be told before booking and paying? He is only 8 months old and I know what those beds are like. They are very compact. I would not risk sharing the bed with him even only for a few hours. My mum and the baby could have the cabin with him in the bottom bunk sort of wedged in place and my husband and I could go to the seats but this is really not even safe enough for us to be comfortable with it.

I suppose the only other option is to turn the buggy back into a pram (it doubles as both) and he can at least sleep lying down in it. Is this a stupid question though or will he be ok sleeping like that for a few hours (brakes on of course!)

I just need to know if anyone knows if I can do anything about pushing them to be a bit more helpful considering we booked what we did going on the process the site took us through. No comments either please about me, my husband and my mother all being out in the open sea together - we have plenty of those!!

thanks in advance from a clearly bedfuddled first time mum who probably worries too much about everything?

tobytobe

January

I think if he still fits in the pram part of your buggy then you should just use that for the crossing, he'll be fine sleeping in that for a few hours. Especially if you think there'd be no room for a travel cot in the cabin..

Not that it excuses the ferry company from not telling you that they do not provide cots... unless it's in the t&c's somewhere!

sunnysoutheast

Have you only booked one two-berth cabin for three adults and a baby? I take it you all get on with each other!?!? These cabins are small....but having your own toilet is worth every penny IMHO.

Can you remove the "cot" bit of the buggy and put this on the floor? If it was me I'd leave junior in the buggy to sleep, but maybe try to orient it bow-stern rather than port-starboard. You'll probably find that he'll be awake a fair bit anyway, you can't predict what a young child will be like.

As a veteran of many Fishguard-Rosslare crossings for Christmas and New Year with two under-threes, my advice would be not to stress about it too much. We once shelled out for 2x2berth cabins and I spent the entire crossing walking up and down the boat with one or other or both of them, while mummy tried to get one or the other to sleep in the cabin.

SSE

tobytobe

Hi - thanks for the replies

I had to book the 2 berth cabin. The system would not let me book 2 cabins (as it exceeded the no of adults!!!) and the standard 2 berths were all that available. Hubby said me and my mum can have the cabin with baby and he would take one of the seats out in the lounge or something so that was fine. It was only when I asked about the cot that they said the child had to sleep in that I was told he wouldn't be getting one!

The ts &cs say that every adult must be in a berth and each infant in a cot which they provide free of charge in "certain"cabins. I could only book what the system would let me so it was when I emailed them that I was told it was "on this route" that cots were not available and to bring my own cot even though it might not fit (!) so it was just as well I had asked.

We will probably lie him in the pram version of the buggy - thanks for the tip about how to face him too, sunnysoutheast.

tobytobe

ScouseMouse

you have a PM

olaola

TBH I'd rather use my own pram/cot than one that was provided to me by the ferry company!
In any situation!

tobytobe

Prob right Olaola!!!! thanks