Ferry deals to France - Summer 2015

BenEadir

Hi all,

Boards member Johnny Fontane posted a bargain alert http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057103851 last December for the new LD Lines ferry to France which loads of Boardsies, myself included, took advantage of. Not only did I save hundreds of Euro on the fare but I also saved over €100 on diesel as LD Lines sailed into St Nazaire which reduced the drive to my destination by 4 hours Vs Irish Ferries to Roscoff or Cherbourg. On top of that the LD Lines service was excellent with very comfy beds, friendly staff etc.

As the old bargain alert is over I wanted to create a thread which people who benefited from the old bargain alert (and others) who are planning to return to France by ferry in summer 2015 could subscribe to so that when new fares and discounts/special deals come out they can be posted here and whoever has subscribed to this thread will know about them straight away as they are usually fairly time limited.

Good idea / bad idea?

Ben

grenouille1966

Between LD lines and booking direct with a 5 star campsite in France, I saved 1, 500 euro on 2012's holiday. 2, 500 against 4, 000 euro.

If I can get a cheap fare with LD lines next June, I will go again with them.

F.

jay0109

grenouille1966 wrote: »

Between LD lines and booking direct with a 5 star campsite in France, I saved 1, 500 euro on 2012's holiday. 2, 500 against 4, 000 euro.

If I can get a cheap fare with LD lines next June, I will go again with them.

F.

Looks like LD won't be operating in 2015, at least not that route

wombats

LD are not operating to France for 2015?? how come?? any more info on that?

grenouille1966

Who told you that??

I would say that is rubbish. The crossings were pretty much packed. I imagine they will be operating the Rosslare- St. Nazaire route in 2015 and beyond.

frash

See the main thread.....
Not looking good for next year at all.

Confirmed by LD Lines themselves.

wombats

Which main thread?

Link pls?

frash

wombats wrote: »

Which main thread?

Link pls?

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057103851

wombats

Yeah I found it thanks.

That's disappointing if they are not running in 2015 but sure we'll live in hope yet!

Wine Goddess

I think it's a great idea - we couldn't afford France this year because the ferry crossing costs so much and I missed the LD offer (boo, hoo!) so if anything pops up in here I'd be delighted!

BenEadir

Wine Goddess wrote: »

I think it's a great idea - we couldn't afford France this year because the ferry crossing costs so much and I missed the LD offer (boo, hoo!) so if anything pops up in here I'd be delighted!

Thanks WG, that's the whole idea of the thread. Boardsies looking out for and helping Boardsies

Ben

munchkin_utd

Wine Goddess wrote: »

I think it's a great idea - we couldn't afford France this year because the ferry crossing costs so much and I missed the LD offer (boo, hoo!) so if anything pops up in here I'd be delighted!

Landbridge (Irish Sea & channel crossings on 1 ticket) is only 145 euro or so to get to the continent mid week in high season, so a pretty good alternative to the direct ferry if it works for you.

Of course there's a few euro for petrol and tolls and maybe another €30 for a cheapo hotel en route in England or France, but still works out a fair bit cheaper than the direct ferry.

frash

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Landbridge (Irish Sea & channel crossings on 1 ticket) is only 145 euro or so to get to the continent mid week in high season, so a pretty good alternative to the direct ferry if it works for you.

Of course there's a few euro for petrol and tolls and maybe another €30 for a cheapo hotel en route in England or France, but still works out a fair bit cheaper than the direct ferry.

Must take hours though - anyone here ever done it & care to share their experience of it?

September1

frash wrote: »

Must take hours though - anyone here ever done it & care to share their experience of it?

It is not bad, if you could time land bridge drive to fall into night hours you would avoid traffic. It also saves a lot of time. I got IF cancelled once so had to make this journey and I left Cherbourg at 5pm and was in Dublin before 6am.

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Landbridge (Irish Sea & channel crossings on 1 ticket) is only 145 euro or so to get to the continent mid week in high season, so a pretty good alternative to the direct ferry if it works for you.

Of course there's a few euro for petrol and tolls and maybe another €30 for a cheapo hotel en route in England or France, but still works out a fair bit cheaper than the direct ferry.

Are you sure you can get this price in summer for whole family crossing?

munchkin_utd

frash wrote: »

Must take hours though - anyone here ever done it & care to share their experience of it?

Done it a good few times and with 2 toddlers and so long as you dont get caught in traffic in England its grand.
And, we normally make a little holiday of the journey itsself, if possible visit relatives/ friends in England (and twice a detour via Peppa pig world in Southampton!).
You can get family room in a premier inn or travellodge for 19pounds if youre booking ahead, and youve a car, so a hotel in an out of town location (with free parking) is actually a plus point and a couple of nights en route doesnt break the bank.

If the Cherbourg ferry was cheaper/ running at the dates we wanted then we'd probably use it that little bit more, but the spin through England is fine once you've a little thought put into what you're at.

munchkin_utd

September1 wrote: »

Are you sure you can get this price (edit: €145) in summer for whole family crossing?

€145 is valid for midweek during high season, but beyond the car and driver youre paying a little per person - but still less than say a cabin cost on the direct ferry.
its €145 for the initial adult plus car, €25 for subsequent adults, infants <4 are free and >4 are €12 a head.
So car with 2 adults and 2 small kids €170, or 2 adults and 2 bigger kids is €194.
http://www.stenaline.ie/ferries-to-france/europe-by-car

If youre fixated with getting to Brittany, and as far west as possible (because thats where everyone knows from the roscoff ferry dropping them there), then landbridge proabably is too much hassle for the savings - too much driving and too much time.
But for south of France its almost the same distance from Calais than Cherbourg, or if going to the Normandy coast its a handy drive from Calais. Its only 3h20min from Calais to Caen for instance.
Or to somewhere like La Rochelle, its a trek from Cherbourg anyhow and from Calais its a couple of 100km longer so its just a longer trek in the car.

webpal

Just in case you don't know, tesco tokens are worth 4 times their value on irish ferries. So if you have accumulated 50 euros worth of tesco tokens that's 200 quid off your irish ferries trip. We use them every year.

tom traubert

So, Brittany Ferries emailed me today. Booking is now open for next summer.

I received an online quote - last sailing in June, return mid July - for family of 5, (all kids 4 or more), mpv with rear mounted bikes and a 4 and 2 berth outside cabin.

Total cost return, a few euro short of 1600e!

I don't think so !

wombats

I just checked brittany for late June/early July with 2 adults, 2 kids 1 infant. 1340

We paid 1370 this year

Are ld lines really not sailing next year?

dubal2008

I just got quoted on Brittney Ferries Rosslare to Roscoff out 1st Aug back 14th inc deluxe cabin for 4 with roof box all in €987...that is not bad as in the past we paid well over that price

Kerry Gooner

dubal2008 wrote: »

I just got quoted on Brittney Ferries Rosslare to Roscoff out 1st Aug back 14th inc deluxe cabin for 4 with roof box all in €987...that is not bad as in the past we paid well over that price

Is this a new route next year, thought they only sailed from Cork

dubal2008

Apologies meant to write Cork....

BenEadir

Just price Cork -> Roscoff return out July 11 back July 31 with an MPV + bike rack 2 adults + 2 kids + outside 4 berth cabin each way and it's coming in at €1,238 which is just over twice what I paid this year for Rosslare to St Nazaire with LD Lines and Roscoff to Rosslare with Irish Ferries.

There's no motivation to book that fare this early that's for sure.

It'll be interesting to see if any discounts or special prices are issued in the run up to or just after Xmas.

Let's keep our eyes and ears peeled for each other. It would be great to save a few hundred Euro on the ferry as it goes straight into the holiday spending money budget which is much more enjoyable than spending it to sit on a big boat!!

Ben

dubal2008

I'm looking into the Irish Ferries and Siblu deal with Tesco points from what I read is that if I shop even €100 per week with them that gives me 4000 points after 40 weeks and that is worth 3 times that in travel vouchers for use against ferry and accommodation, as we pay approx €130 per week at present to shop anyway it seems like a no brainer to do this

September1

dubal2008 wrote: »

I'm looking into the Irish Ferries and Siblu deal with Tesco points from what I read is that if I shop even €100 per week with them that gives me 4000 points after 40 weeks and that is worth 3 times that in travel vouchers for use against ferry and accommodation, as we pay approx €130 per week at present to shop anyway it seems like a no brainer to do this

It is 4x so you would get €160 but IF would charge you extra €20 (just make sure you buy your trip in two separate tickets, as otherwise it is €40). Tesco Mobile and Tesco Credit Card are another good sources of points.

Stone Deaf 4evr

Got an online quote this morning myself, to travel the same dates as I did this year (1st week in august , back 2 weeks later) has gone up by €180, if I leave it till the 2nd week of august its still higher by €90.

A bit disappointing really, I was hoping that the Success of the LD lines route would have forced prices down. Now that they've come out and confirmed that they're not operating next year, its granting a wee bit of a monoply.

i wonder is there any hope of a price drop around january?

BenEadir

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

I was hoping that the Success of the LD lines route would have forced prices down. Now that they've come out and confirmed that they're not operating next year, its granting a wee bit of a monoply.

Has it been made official? Link?

Ben

Stone Deaf 4evr

BenThere wrote: »

Has it been made official? Link?

Ben

Just had a quick look back through the threads, and i dont think any offical announcement has been made one way or the other. I really hope they stay running, while their timetable doesnt suit me, competition is great to keep the rest of them on their toes.

munchkin_utd

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

Got an online quote this morning myself, to travel the same dates as I did this year (1st week in august , back 2 weeks later) has gone up by €180, if I leave it till the 2nd week of august its still higher by €90.

A bit disappointing really, I was hoping that the Success of the LD lines route would have forced prices down. Now that they've come out and confirmed that they're not operating next year, its granting a wee bit of a monoply.

i wonder is there any hope of a price drop around january?

Ach, wouldn't call having 3 companies (stena, irish ferries, britanny ferries) running 4 routes between Dublin/ Cork/ Rosslare and roscoff/ cherbourg a monopoly.

They are definitely exploiting supply and demand on the summer peak season though (as do ryanair and aer lingus and all other airlines), but as I pointed out above, if getting the car on the continent is your main aim then the landbridge deals are very reasonable.

dubal2008

I checked landbridge for my dates and it worked out for 4 people to be more expensive when you take in a night in a cheap hotel and food for 4 and diesel

BenEadir

dubal2008 wrote: »

I checked landbridge for my dates and it worked out for 4 people to be more expensive when you take in a night in a cheap hotel and food for 4 and diesel

Plus time! How many extra hours would people be prepared to detour via the UK to save (for example) €200???? The hassle of all the extra driving, staying in a $h1thole motorway/cheap hotel etc Vs spending that time at your destination is a complete false economy unless there is a major saving.

Stone Deaf 4evr

BenThere wrote: »

Plus time! How many extra hours would people be prepared to detour via the UK to save (for example) €200???? The hassle of all the extra driving, staying in a $h1thole motorway/cheap hotel etc Vs spending that time at your destination is a complete false economy unless there is a major saving.

Exactly. I always say to friends who are planning a ferry trip for the first time to add up exactly what it'll cost in both time and money to get from doorstep to doorstep. Eg, I could probably get a cheaper ferry from rosslare, but the fact I'm living 20 mins from cork port rules that out unless I was saving crazy money

September1

BenThere wrote: »

Plus time! How many extra hours would people be prepared to detour via the UK to save (for example) €200???? The hassle of all the extra driving, staying in a $h1thole motorway/cheap hotel etc Vs spending that time at your destination is a complete false economy unless there is a major saving.

I took land bridge once from Cherbourg and it took me at least 7 hours less to arrive home - so I'm not sure about extra time. However I agree at extra driving, costs and hassle.

J@yK@y

Over the years we have meet plenty of families from the North of England (Manchester/Liverpool) that drove to the south of France. Many have complained about the drive in the UK taking longer than the drive from north to south of France due to traffic congestion on English motorways etc.

However, this can probaly be avoided by avoiding peak times, public holidays etc. It is worth considering if planning a landbridge option.

With small children it may be easier to spend 16-22 hours on a ferry as opposed to 8-10 hours driving and 4-6 hours on a ferry.

BenEadir

September1 wrote: »

I took land bridge once from Cherbourg and it took me at least 7 hours less to arrive home - so I'm not sure about extra time. However I agree at extra driving, costs and hassle.

That's interesting but I'm not sure I understand. So you go Cherbourg -> Poole/Portsmouth by Ferry then drive to Fishguard/Holyhead and then a ferry to Rosslare/Dublin? And that was 7 hours quicker than a straight ferry from Cherbourg to Rosslare? I'm a bit confused as the Cherbourg -> Rosslare ferry is circa 16/18 hours so to beat that by 7 hours means Cherbourg -> UK -> Drive -> Ferry to Rosslare is only 11 hours??



Ben

September1

BenThere wrote: »

That's interesting but I'm not sure I understand. So you go Cherbourg -> Poole/Portsmouth by Ferry then drive to Fishguard/Holyhead and then a ferry to Rosslare/Dublin? And that was 7 hours quicker than a straight ferry from Cherbourg to Rosslare? I'm a bit confused as the Cherbourg -> Rosslare ferry is circa 16/18 hours so to beat that by 7 hours means Cherbourg -> UK -> Drive -> Ferry to Rosslare is only 11 hours??



Ben

My route is Cherbourg to Galway, so let's go through steps for Irish ferries:
Check in: 5 pm
Departure: 6 pm
Arrival to Rosslare: 11.30am
Disembarkation from OW: 12.30am
Arrival to Galway: 4pm (fastest route by google maps without traffic)
Total: 24 hours (as one hour time difference)
You lose a lot of time as IF is pretty slow on unloading Oscar Wilde

Going via UK:
Check in: 4.15pm
Departure: 5 pm
Arrival: 7pm
Disembarkation from BF fast ferry is really quick, they use some system without tieing ship and at 7.20pm I was out of port however that is not so important because you have 5 hour drive between Porstmouth Harbour and Holyhead and Ulyssess departs at 2.40pm with checking not later than 2am. You would only need to depart Porstmouth at 9pm. However we did some stops on a way and still had to wait quite long in Holyhead.

Check in: 2.10am
Arrival to Dublin: 5.55am
Departing Dublin port: 6.30 am
Arriving Galway: 8.37am
Total time: 17h 22m

Difference 6 hours 38 minutes

I must admit you caught me cheating sir. Although I recall being before 8.

BenEadir

September1 wrote: »

My route is Cherbourg to Galway, so let's go through steps for Irish ferries:
Check in: 5 pm
Departure: 6 pm
Arrival to Rosslare: 11.30am
Disembarkation from OW: 12.30am
Arrival to Galway: 4pm (fastest route by google maps without traffic)
Total: 24 hours (as one hour time difference)
You lose a lot of time as IF is pretty slow on unloading Oscar Wilde

Going via UK:
Check in: 4.15pm
Departure: 5 pm
Arrival: 7pm
Disembarkation from BF fast ferry is really quick, they use some system without tieing ship and at 7.20pm I was out of port however that is not so important because you have 5 hour drive between Porstmouth Harbour and Holyhead and Ulyssess departs at 2.40pm with checking not later than 2am. You would only need to depart Porstmouth at 9pm. However we did some stops on a way and still had to wait quite long in Holyhead.

Check in: 2.10am
Arrival to Dublin: 5.55am
Departing Dublin port: 6.30 am
Arriving Galway: 8.37am
Total time: 17h 22m

Difference 6 hours 38 minutes

I must admit you caught me cheating sir. Although I recall being before 8.

Fair play Sept1, if 7 hours (I'll give you the extra 25 minutes for effort!!) were that inportant to me or I had an appointment in Galway at 9am I'd jump through those hoops but man it's a lot of hassle compared to relaxing on board with the kids, having a few beers, playing cards/watching movies/reading etc plus getting a full nights sleep.

The landbridge saves 7 hours and may be less expensive (ferry + fuel + ferry) Vs IF but for that amount of hassle I would have to be saving at least €300 each way and the 7 hours I'd gain would be immediately lost as I crashed for 8 hours on arrival in Galway!!!!

Ben

September1

BenThere wrote: »

Fair play Sept1, if 7 hours (I'll give you the extra 25 minutes for effort!!) were that inportant to me or I had an appointment in Galway at 9am I'd jump through those hoops but man it's a lot of hassle compared to relaxing on board with the kids, having a few beers, playing cards/watching movies/reading etc plus getting a full nights sleep.

The landbridge saves 7 hours and may be less expensive (ferry + fuel + ferry) Vs IF but for that amount of hassle I would have to be saving at least €300 each way and the 7 hours I'd gain would be immediately lost as I crashed for 8 hours on arrival in Galway!!!!

Ben

I do not think it is less expensive - landbridge prices in this thread were based on going to Calais which is much more east and requires passing London. Route I took would cost a family around 400E each way plus fuel costs. That is not so far from regular prices, well above LD pricing.

BenEadir

September1 wrote: »

Route I took would cost a family around 400E each way plus fuel costs. That is not so far from regular prices, well above LD pricing.

I'm guessing 2 X 5 hour drives through the UK would cost circa €200 in fuel (total guess on my part based on my own driving experience) which makes the entire Home -> Cherbourg return trip via landbridge €1,000 or so. That's higher than the €980 best price I've been able to get with IF for next year and less than the €1,200 or so Brittany ferries want both of which are without any discounts which will hopefully come along pre/post Xmas.

I guess if you like driving.......

Ben

paddydriver

Confirmed that LD Lines not doing the St Nazaire route next year.

http://afloat.ie/port-news/ferry-news/item/26520-ld-lines-to-cease-ireland-france-spain-services

Tempted by land bridge but likes others said I would need to be making big savings to justify it! I currently can get Stena from Rosslare > Cherbourg for €1050 for end of June. Anyone know how to get comparable with IF or do I need to wait for them to issue schedules and prices etc?

Do the end of June sailings fill up fast or will there be any better offers over coming months?

Thanks

BenEadir

paddydriver wrote: »

Do the end of June sailings fill up fast or will there be any better offers over coming months?

Thanks

My experience is there is a lull in between returning holiday makers keen to lock in their ferry dates for next years holiday (either because they always travel on certain dates or they have already booked their accommodation) who tend to book between now and the end of September and the new year when a lot of people traditionally book their summer holidays - in days gone by you'd always see loads of package holidays advertised from St Stephens day onwards.

IIRC special offers, if there will be any this year given the reduced capacity between Ireland and France if the LD Lines Rosslare - St Nazaire route isn't replicated or replaced with another Ireland - France service, are usually promoted in the pre Xmas spending period when ferry companies would like to boost their cashflow.

I paid less than €600 this year going over on LD and back on IF from Roscoff so I for one won't be doing anything in terms of booking a ferry until I see some proper deals i.e. €700 - €800 return for MPV + roof box and bike rack for 2 adults and 2 kids with a 4 berth outside cabin.

Ben

paddydriver

Thanks Ben, I was on LD Lines too this year for our first trip to France so anything more than that is expensive to me.. Can't imagine I will get anything much less than €1k for next year. We would be same with potentially few bikes and roof box. Even Stena is near €100 more now than when I looked last week.. but hoping that's just cause kids back to school and more parents deciding on next year holidays.

MelachiT

*subscrisbes*

Going to keep an eye on this thread. Will be looking out for Summer bargains myself. Missed the LD lines bargain this year.
We travelled with IF on the Dublin - Cherbourg route. Travelled out 12th July and back 10th August. Cost was €832, 2 + 1 & a 4 berth cabin out and back. After using my Tesco tokens we paid only €430.

juneg

I see that the sailing prices for Late August are much cheaper than late June and I suppose the weather should be better by that time. We could still have the kids back to school in time. I've priced the ferry leaving on 16th Aug for 10 nights at €651

However the campsites seem to be more expensive and might well be more packed with people.

Is it worth waiting until August to holiday in France?

MidlandsM

Subscribed!


I was on the ld lines super deal this year....safe to say will never see the likes again.

However, ahoy there me harties.....there is light on the horizon......i checked stena there and a ferry mid june to early july 15' is coming in around €651.

Might be an idea to book early?

Thoughts?

MelachiT

juneg wrote: »

I see that the sailing prices for Late August are much cheaper than late June and I suppose the weather should be better by that time. We could still have the kids back to school in time. I've priced the ferry leaving on 16th Aug for 10 nights at €651

However the campsites seem to be more expensive and might well be more packed with people.

Is it worth waiting until August to holiday in France?

August is traditionally the month the French take holidays... that probably explains the higher campsite rates then. The roads can also be much busier in August also.

BenEadir

MelachiT wrote: »

Travelled out 12th July and back 10th August. Cost was €832, 2 + 1 & a 4 berth cabin out and back. After using my Tesco tokens we paid only €430.

How many Tesco vouchers did you need to make that kind of sailing? We do about 20% of our shopping in Tesco but if I knew we needed €x value in vouchers I'm sure we'd switch a bit more from Dunnes or wherever to Tesco.

Cheers,

Ben

paddydriver

MidlandsM wrote: »

i checked stena there and a ferry mid june to early july 15' is coming in around €651.

Might be an idea to book early?

Thoughts?

We have 3 in primary school now so not keen on taking them all out. The other thing we noticed too was that all the campsite activities only kicked off 1st July - so not sure kids clubs etc would be happening.

If we had been with a Eurocamp or Kelair etc then I think they had their own clubs catering for Ireland and UK booked families but when going direct to campsite's we could only get on their's.

That said, €400 cheaper ferry tickets would pay for a lots of kids entertainment!

jay0109

BenThere wrote: »

How many Tesco vouchers did you need to make that kind of sailing? We do about 20% of our shopping in Tesco but if I knew we needed €x value in vouchers I'm sure we'd switch a bit more from Dunnes or wherever to Tesco.

Cheers,

Ben

You don't need to shop in Tesco....everything you put on your card earns points though shopping in Tesco gets higher points

BenEadir

jay0109 wrote: »

You don't need to shop in Tesco....everything you put on your card earns points though shopping in Tesco gets higher points

Apologies if I'm being a thicko but exactly what card are you referring to?

Ben

DUBLIN_person

BenThere wrote: »

Apologies if I'm being a thicko but exactly what card are you referring to?

Ben

Think they are referring to the Tesco credit card