Irish ferries check in times

bopper

I'll be getting the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead later this week as a foot passenger. I've never gotten the ferry at all to anywhere before.

The advised check in time is 30 minutes in advance, does that seem correct? As I'm not familiar with it at all I want to make sure I give myself enough time. Is the check in relatively simple or is it similar to an airport with scans/bag checks etc that might cause a que/delay. Thanks!

punisher5112

bopper wrote: »

I'll be getting the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead later this week as a foot passenger. I've never gotten the ferry at all to anywhere before.

The advised check in time is 30 minutes in advance, does that seem correct? As I'm not familiar with it at all I want to make sure I give myself enough time. Is the check in relatively simple or is it similar to an airport with scans/bag checks etc that might cause a que/delay. Thanks!

Nothing like an airport....

Moves quickly.

They scan the odd bag, but sure all the cars and trucks aren't checked unless customs is around.

Lord Glentoran

bopper wrote: »

I'll be getting the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead later this week as a foot passenger. I've never gotten the ferry at all to anywhere before.

The advised check in time is 30 minutes in advance, does that seem correct? As I'm not familiar with it at all I want to make sure I give myself enough time. Is the check in relatively simple or is it similar to an airport with scans/bag checks etc that might cause a que/delay. Thanks!

Yeah. They might be messin’ by putting up information regarding punctuality on their website.

No, seriously, they aren’t. Having said that please avoid cutting things so fine that thirty minutes becomes time critical to get to the ferry port.

blackwhite

Check in for foot passengers is relatively quick - generally there's between 30-50 passengers travelling on foot. There's no "airport-style" security to go through, just the check-in desk and then upstairs to the gangway/

I wouldn't advise arriving any later than 30 min beforehand though - on the rare occasion that car & freight loading is completed early they'll quite happily depart before the scheduled time.
I've been on the Swift where we've been away more than 15 min prior to scheduled departure time. Never been more than 10 min early on Ulysses though

Stark

Lord Glentoran wrote: »

Yeah. They might be messin’ by putting up information regarding punctuality on their website.

No, seriously, they aren’t. Having said that please avoid cutting things so fine that thirty minutes becomes time critical to get to the ferry port.

In fairness, I don't think the OP was suggesting that they arrive later than 30 minds beforehand, more asking if it's like an airport where you can arrive shortly before check-in closes but miss your flight/boat due to queues.

In my experience with ferries anyway, as long as you get there before the time they state, you're guaranteed to get on.

danm14

Going east, once you arrive by the stated check-in time, or on the appropriate FerryLink bus connection (which sometimes arrives after check-in is meant to close) you'll get on board.

Coming in the other direction, check-in will usually remain open about 10-15 minutes later than scheduled if there are passengers arriving on a delayed connecting train.

markpb

bopper wrote: »

I've never gotten the ferry at all to anywhere before.

Make sure you allow plenty of time to get to the correct part of the port. Dublin Port is a lot (lot, lot) bigger than most people in Dublin realise. It's over 3km from the Point/Eastlink to the Irish Ferries terminal.

Stark

markpb wrote: »

Make sure you allow plenty of time to get to the correct part of the port. Dublin Port is a lot (lot, lot) bigger than most people in Dublin realise. It's over 3km from the Point/Eastlink to the Irish Ferries terminal.

True that. Got caught out myself first time getting the ferry thinking it would only be a couple of mins from the East link roundabout. (more like 10 -15 depending on traffic)

XPS_Zero

I screwed up here too, I hadn't got a passport because I'd been so seriously ill for years and didn't expect to survive so never updated it.

Then it expired


I could not get a new one in time had to go to UK on the ship.
The port was huge (I didn't know about the Ferry Contracted bus) and i was wandering for ages, finally intercepted a taxi and he took me to the right dock. I saw the ship was still there so figured I was ok.


But instead of (as I imagined) walking up a plank/gangway thing onto a ship you get on a bus at the terminal and DRIVE on, so they'd already had the bus take off and all the doors were closed.


I had to wait hours for the next sailing in a freezing cold waiting area with no food and internet that didn't work.

L1011

If you've the ID for the ferry you've the ID for every airline that isn't Ryanair

XPS_Zero

L1011 wrote: »

If you've the ID for the ferry you've the ID for every airline that isn't Ryanair

Youd' think, but stop thinking logically. Don't get me started.. Ok you got me started...you're gonna force me into an off topic rant and I don't care!:cool:



No ID was asked for on the ferry. The airlines will only take a national ID card, which in Ireland is the PSC card (and for some reason a national ID card is SCARYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY...IT'S BIO METRIC YOU HEAR....BIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMETRIICCCCCCCCCCCCCC!!! (horror movie scream and quick zoom out quick the biometric is right behind you it's gaining on you run final girl run!!) also the government will have your pps number ....YOUR PPS NUMBER WILL BE ON THE CARD :eek::eek::eek::eek:...wait it was on the old cards too...and why is it bad that the govt that issues the pps number has it? of course they would....er....er....BIOMETRIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...ANNNNYWAY....



I didn't have a PSC card yet they were just rolling them out, I was on Disability Allowance but just had the basic card. When the PSC appointment DID come up they demanded I get a passport FIRST to get a PSC card, then terminated my weekly payments until I went to the appointment (with a passport) to get my PSC photo taken. I didn't have a drivers license.



This went on for weeks (all the while I'm seriously ill), as I tired to explain, first to the people at the desk then to the welfare officer that I can't get a passport with no f----g money!! So you have me in a catch 22, you are demanding something I can't get without money, and you have cut off my money until I get that thing!! These people are actual morons, I mean ACTUAL MORONS they are the dumbest people I've ever encountered in my life, the DSP staff, they are cruel, vicious, petty power hungry little tyrants 9 times out of 10 and they could never get a job in the real world, ever they've no flexibility or imagination at all.


I'm always amazed when I hear these utter twats on the radio talk shows talking about how people on welfare get money thrown at them and have it all so easy, maybe 10-15 years ago, but it's swung 180 in the opposite direction now, they've gone so hard after everyone they've reached level of petty cruelty, I just hope we don't end up like the UK. Oh but the lifers? Still totally safe! No disturbing them. I watched in amazement as a traveler girl no older than 15 marched in with 3 kids (yes, do the math they were different ages) hanging out of her and the buggy demanding money (no of COURSE she did't take a ticket or que, that's for us little people who actually wanna try at life) and they practically genuflected at her feet. There have been situations where the monster on the other side of the glass sat there with this smug satisfied smile and seemed to think they were teaching me some kind of lesson...but all they were teaching me was that they operate with no logic or sense whatsoever.



When I came to explain to one of them even if I had the cash I might be waiting ages on a passport with the explosion in applications (500,000 since the brexit referendum) he called me a liar and said I was making this surge in applications up and said he could call them right now and be told there were no problems and no delays. This is when it was all over the news and papers and online that the passport office was having trouble keeping up.



Eventually I had to borrow the money to get a next day passport under a special scheme that cost €110 I think it was. This is when my weekly pay, when I was getting it, was €188. This was after ending up in the emergency room because of the side effects of no longer taking my meds which I could now not afford, and figuring out ingenious ways to ration food out and take charity from my sister in the form of shopping.


I asked for something from the community officer to keep me going, I was told no because it would have to be left in my next payment, and since my payments are suspended that won't help me and they don't give out GIROs or cheques. Can I have something now for €25 for my meds at least? No. Can I borrow against my payment when they are reinstated then? Give me something off that future one deduct it when you pay me?

This one guy told me to apply and he'd do what he could, and I never heard anything back, no yes, no no...just nothing.
I laugh my ass off when I hear these ignorant **** on daytime radio portray it as you watlz in and just get a cheque for whatever you like off the guy.
I tell you what you do get hoards of cash for: being irresponsible enough to have kids while you yourself are already in poverty and on welfare, oh they'll throw f----g cash at you then! Including the cheque then and there! So if you are responsible enough to try to keep to yourself and sort your own situation out before bringing another mouth into the world to feed you are punished, do the opposite and you are rewarded, great incentive structure.



It was a total nightmare. Then after all that, what did they need the passport for? NOTHING! They took their own picture, my birth cert and a few security questions...that's it. All the info they got from the bottom line of the passport could have been gotten from DFA in a f---g email in 10 minutes or secure post of some kind in a day or two. All the documents I gave to the DFA I could have just given to the DSP, but they are too f---king inefficient to ever allow that. Those of you who have never been in recent years would be enraged at the levels of inefficiency and waste of the money that comes out of your paycheck every week.

Sending people to the same jobs seminars over and over and over with the same information over and over and over, staff that have to go to the departments website to look up basic information on the schemes they themselves administer! (I could do that at home!)...it's a nightmare.



Dealing with them is a nightmare these days, I hope none of you ever have the pleasure.

L1011

Aer Lingus will take work ID cards and realistically anything with a photo on it. Pretty sure BA and Flybe are the same. The ferry firms tell you to have the same