New Ferry to France (Launch Offer)

BenEadir · 25-07-2014 8:44pm

August 1

MidlandsM wrote: »

HaVe a great time ben. Get that spanish lager they have on draught down ya!

Thanks MM, half way through the first one. It's going down real easy.

Ben

unkel · 25-07-2014 9:14pm

July 18

Bon voyage everyone

vienne86 wrote: »

The Oscar Wilde is always slower than the rest - always below 20 Knots. I gather they try to save fuel - she's old and must be a right gas guzzler.

I was wondering why it took relatively long on the OW for a much shorter sailing. 20 knots = 37km/h

I took GPS samples on the NA a few times going over and it did 40-41km/h mostly. Now the difference is only 4-5km/h which seems minor, but on a 800km journey that would mean 2 - 3 hours slower in the OW!

Forgot to mention this morning that none of us were sea sick and we didn't see or hear about any other sea sick people on either leg. The sea was very calm and wind less than force 6 on the way over, less wind but slightly bigger waves on the way back (such that you had to walk in the middle of the corridors not to bang against the sides)

unkel · 25-07-2014 9:19pm

July 18

Another tip I don't remember anyone mention yet (correct me if I'm wrong!):

In the bar, if you have small kids like we do, instead of ordering say 3 sodas for the kids (3 * €2.30), order just the one. And ask the barman for 3 glasses or cups of ice (they will give you this no bother / no frowns). The drink is a half liter bottle which will do 3 kids nicely. The drink is colder, the kids can have drinks more often and you still save a little bit of money. Everybody happy => Win-Win!

BenEadir · 25-07-2014 9:25pm

August 1

We're on the way. Talk soon Boardsies!

Ben

MidlandsM · 25-07-2014 10:07pm

unkel wrote: »

Bon voyage everyone

I was wondering why it took relatively long on the OW for a much shorter sailing. 20 knots = 37km/h

)

I sampled the speed too on my crossing...23mph is what i got. Same as you in old money.

unkel · 25-07-2014 10:42pm

July 18

23mph = 37km/h = 20 knots

That's a bit lower than what I measured (on the way over). Almost OW slow

On the way back things are slower alright. Presumably because of tides / currents. Scheduled times for NA are 21 hours over (we were a good bit quicker than that) and 22:15 hours back (we were a little bit slower than that)

BenEadir · 26-07-2014 4:33pm

August 1

We're just docking now. Great sailing. Very smooth, lots of room to sit down and mega comfie beds. Was a doddle.

Highly recommend it if you don't need a stage show!

Ben

MidlandsM · 26-07-2014 6:18pm

BenThere wrote: »

We're just docking now. Great sailing. Very smooth, lots of room to sit down and mega comfie beds. Was a doddle.

Highly recommend it if you don't need a stage show!

Ben

+1

it's a cracking service and deal in fairness.

poursuite du voyage sûr mon ami :pac:

alias no.9 · 26-07-2014 9:16pm

July 25

MidlandsM wrote: »

+1

it's a cracking service and deal in fairness.

poursuite du voyage sûr mon ami :pac:

Amen to the that brother. I missed the first off offer but having spotted this thread was lucky enough to pick up some early offer tickets from adverts a couple of months ago, face value plus STG£10 to change the name, I was all over it.
It's been another glorious day in the Vendee, sunshine from dawn to dusk, I had considered heading as far south as Biarritz but following this experience I'd stop here again every time rather than embark on that kind of epic journey with kids in tow.
I will be subscribing to the LD Lines newsletter.

Johnny_Fontane · 28-07-2014 3:46pm

August 8

Looking forward to Friday evening now. Will definitely be in the bar on Friday night for a few cold ones if anyone is around.

grenouille1966 · 28-07-2014 4:40pm

I recommend LD lines. Food good and not too pricey. Bar not great but the cabines are great....brand new.

I paid 325 euro return with jeep - four of us in total. In 2012 I paid 1,300 euro with Irish Ferries.

All Portuguese staff on LD lines. Very friendly and efficient. Very good French and English.

Nice if they had a play area though for kids 'une aire de jeux'.

All in all a pleasant and cost effective experience.

dockleaf · 28-07-2014 6:48pm

August 1

Some of our impressions from Fridays ferry crossing:

No queuing for cabin keys for us.

Very fast loading and unloading of cars.

We boarded about 8pm and were off the car within 10 mins. Sometimes with other companies your car moves but you end up being in different queues for up to half an hour or longer.

We arrived an hour early in France and despite being on top, were off within 15 mins.

Cabins were spotless and bunks were wide but as with the other ferries, noise travels so people coming back to their cabins later talking in corridor will wake you. So would people with children next door.

Crossing was very smooth, probably the smoothest I've ever experienced due to good weather, no doubt.

Crew nice and professional. Plenty of space on the ferry, didnt feel crowded as IF and BF can in summer.

Actually there is a 'soft play area' for kids- aka some large mats on the floor in one area where small toddlers can horse around but no toys!

The cons~

No lift! Don't know if this was mentioned before but be careful all those with buggies and large suitcases.

I thought the food very poor, much worse than IF and BF, very little choice.

The shop is tiny! Tiny! Make sure you bring books, magazines or whatever you would like in that line.

Someone said the cappuchino was great--they owe me the price of one- it was horrible.:p

You lose more time on the ferry because of the times of arrival and also on the way back.

All in all, great value for the price- we had paid 350 or so for 4 with an outside cabin including insurance- would I do it again? Yes, at our stage of life it was grand- our children are old enough to play board games, read books, watch a dvd, draw etc. We all totally relaxed, had long showers, read, played games, played cards- in the end, despite bringing dvds with us we didn't even have time to watch one. I wouldn't be as keen with a small toddler, I'd say the day would be very hard work to keep them amused. Our children really enjoyed the day which ended up being a real family day- life is normally so busy they don't get as much one on one attention.

grenouille1966 · 28-07-2014 7:09pm

We had to queue for nearly an hour when we left from Rosslare on 20 june...maybe down to teething problems. The customs delayed UA for another hour but nothing to do with LD lines.

Have to disagree, the restaurant is smallish but the food is nice. The choice is limited granted but the quality quite good. Nothing as suave or chic as the Irish Ferries restaurant but the pricing was reasonable.

TV channels limited...Portuguese mostly (no French/English from what I saw) ....they were not even showing the French - Switzerland match which bugged me somewhat.
They need to revamp the bar and have beers to suit Irish and French palates. They also need a play area for children with special flooring and activities/equipment.

Yeah, shop is miniscule OK..no papers of any description or language......St. Nazaire is great though. Only about 200 k from Benodet in Brittany and about 200//300 from Vendee or Bordeaux region.

Sailing hours are a bit iffy.....21.00 leaving Rosslare and midnight leaving St. Nazaire.....need to change that I am afraid.

If I can save the guts of 500/600 euro r/t using LD lines over IF, I will continue to use LD lines. If it is only about 200 euro or so I will take IF if holidaying in Brittany. Further South I would still probably take LD lines.

dockleaf wrote: »

Some of our impressions from Fridays ferry crossing:

No queuing for cabin keys for us.

Very fast loading and unloading of cars.

We boarded about 8pm and were off the car within 10 mins. Sometimes with other companies your car moves but you end up being in different queues for up to half an hour or longer.

We arrived an hour early in France and despite being on top, were off within 15 mins.

Cabins were spotless and bunks were wide but as with the other ferries, noise travels so people coming back to their cabins later talking in corridor will wake you. So would people with children next door.

Crossing was very smooth, probably the smoothest I've ever experienced due to good weather, no doubt.

Crew nice and professional. Plenty of space on the ferry, didnt feel crowded as IF and BF can in summer.

Actually there is a 'soft play area' for kids- aka some large mats on the floor in one area where small toddlers can horse around but no toys!

The cons~

No lift! Don't know if this was mentioned before but be careful all those with buggies and large suitcases.

I thought the food very poor, much worse than IF and BF, very little choice.

The shop is tiny! Tiny! Make sure you bring books, magazines or whatever you would like in that line.

Someone said the cappuchino was great--they owe me the price of one- it was horrible.:p

You lose more time on the ferry because of the times of arrival and also on the way back.

All in all, great value for the price- we had paid 350 or so for 4 with an outside cabin including insurance- would I do it again? Yes, at our stage of life it was grand- our children are old enough to play board games, read books, watch a dvd, draw etc. We all totally relaxed, had long showers, read, played games, played cards- in the end, despite bringing dvds with us we didn't even have time to watch one. I wouldn't be as keen with a small toddler, I'd say the day would be very hard work to keep them amused. Our children really enjoyed the day which ended up being a real family day- life is normally so busy they don't get as much one on one attention.

alastair · 28-07-2014 7:38pm

July 4

dockleaf wrote: »

The cons~

No lift! Don't know if this was mentioned before but be careful all those with buggies and large suitcases.

I saw a lift from the lower car deck up to the lobby/ bar floor. Didn't use it, but saw some passengers use it for returning to the car deck.

dockleaf · 28-07-2014 9:34pm

August 1

alastair wrote: »

I saw a lift from the lower car deck up to the lobby/ bar floor. Didn't use it, but saw some passengers use it for returning to the car deck.

We boarded on top deck-5- and wanted to go straight to cabin on 6- asked staff and were told no lift. So maybe there's one between 4 and 5 but none between 5 and 6?

alias no.9 · 30-07-2014 10:35pm

July 25

dockleaf wrote: »

We boarded on top deck-5- and wanted to go straight to cabin on 6- asked staff and were told no lift. So maybe there's one between 4 and 5 but none between 5 and 6?

We drove onto deck 5 outbound and definitely no lift up to 6. Tonight we drove onto deck 3 iirc and there's a lift to 5 and a long long link corridor along the side of the car deck area of deck 5 to get to reception.
All aboard for the return (I think) and onto pint number 2. Weather was a bit overcast in St Jean De Monts since the weekend with a few showers but nothing that troubled the trusty Alias tent. All in its been a great holiday, our first proper family summer holiday, we've been doing mostly spring and autumn over recent years.

alias no.9 · 30-07-2014 10:39pm

July 25

Serious fun being had by the smallies in the 'play area' again. We overcomplicate their 'entertainment' sometimes.

unkel · 30-07-2014 11:49pm

July 18

And that play area is new. They must be listening to feedback / trying to improve their service. It wasn't there on our way over on 11/07 but it was there on our return this time last week.

Anyway, safe trip home and don't forget to watch out for dolphins / whales tomorrow

moodrater · 31-07-2014 12:30am

July 11

unkel wrote: »

Anyway, safe trip home and don't forget to watch out for dolphins / whales tomorrow

Saw tons of dolphins, including one group of between 25 and 30, porpoises, one orca, 2/3 minke and a sunfish. Other half has the attention span of a goldfish and thought everyone was making it up

dockleaf · 31-07-2014 8:39pm

August 1

Having a fantastic holiday around Biarritz, Hossegor, Cap Breton, would highly recommend the areas to those yet undecided where to go. Loads of good restaurants, LOADS of places to go, things to do. So many things we are having to cherrypick, but most days the children just want to go to the beach. We're trying to persuade them to head for the pyrenees but even for ourselves the sea is so hard to leave...we are really spoilt for choice. Fresh fish/seafood every night, gorgeous chilled french wine, patisseries, we are heading home on the ferry next wednesday but living it up while here.;)

Once again, merci bien to Johnny Fontane for a fantastic bargain...

billie1b · 31-07-2014 9:27pm

dockleaf wrote: »

Having a fantastic holiday around Biarritz, Hossegor, Cap Breton, would highly recommend the areas to those yet undecided where to go. Loads of good restaurants, LOADS of places to go, things to do. So many things we are having to cherrypick, but most days the children just want to go to the beach. We're trying to persuade them to head for the pyrenees but even for ourselves the sea is so hard to leave...we are really spoilt for choice. Fresh fish/seafood every night, gorgeous chilled french wine, patisseries, we are heading home on the ferry next wednesday but living it up while here.;)

Once again, merci bien to Johnny Fontane for a fantastic bargain...

In Hossegor get a coffee from Chez Margaux, lovely littke coffee shop with great coffee and macaroons, visit Glaces Romane, best ice-cream in the area, directly across the road from it is a creperie, they're great from there, try take a trip down to the canal/lake if there too, if your good swimmers and high tide, you can jump from the bridge into the canal and swim up to the lake, on low tide you can walk the lake from one side to the other, there is also a La Creperie du Lac here, really lovely crepes too. There's a little yacht club by the lake too, with a restaurant, lovely little food selection and you can go out on the lake for an hour.
In Capbreton there's a local pizzeria, cant remember the name, its beside a local dvd rental store, pizzas are great from it. There's a pirate village between Capbreton and Hossegor, just on the left by the bridge and also has amusments.
In Seignosse, 7 minutes from Hossegor, there is an Aqua Park, its named Atlantic Park, great big slides and water fun for cheap, they have lots of other activities too, last time I was there last year, if I remember correctly it was €9 per adult and €7 per child, they also have a ticket for the family but you have to ask at the entrance.
Hossegor and Capbreton both have Casinos too if your interested.
Have fun and enjoy the rest of your holidays and safe journey.

PS : if you have kids stock up on Doliprane, same as Calpol only its less than €2 a bottle, we usually get 12 bottles of it, we also stock up on Smecta and their equivelant of Solpadiene but I cant remember the name of it, sounds mad but it saves money over the year and you know you'll always have it.

dockleaf · 31-07-2014 9:53pm

August 1

Fantastic tips, thanks! Intend to hit some of those cafes/patisseries over the next few days...:P

paddylonglegs · 31-07-2014 10:22pm

Folks, I know there was a checklist going around a while ago. But for people that have been there and back this summer, anything that you found really handy while being away and being on the ferry. Specifically people that were on campsites, any tips for site?

We plan to stay in at nazaire the night we land and drive down the next morning

Chees!

MidlandsM · 31-07-2014 11:28pm

paddylonglegs wrote: »

Folks, I know there was a checklist going around a while ago. But for people that have been there and back this summer, anything that you found really handy while being away and being on the ferry. Specifically people that were on campsites, any tips for site?

We plan to stay in at nazaire the night we land and drive down the next morning

Chees!

Fans....no air con in the accomadation in the campsite.

Johnny_Fontane · 01-08-2014 10:04am

August 8

Heading tonight, car packed, bike rack assembled, roof bag at the ready.

how bad will the N11 from dublin be tonight?

Stab*City · 01-08-2014 10:51am

August 22

paddylonglegs wrote: »

Folks, I know there was a checklist going around a while ago. But for people that have been there and back this summer, anything that you found really handy while being away and being on the ferry. Specifically people that were on campsites, any tips for site?

We plan to stay in at nazaire the night we land and drive down the next morning

Chees!

What page is the checklist on? Leaving today two weeks cant wait!

vienne86 · 01-08-2014 11:34am

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

Heading tonight, car packed, bike rack assembled, roof bag at the ready.

how bad will the N11 from dublin be tonight?

I use that road a lot and would expect it to be busy tonight. That said, a lot of people seem to head off early, so it might be OK for you. Keep and eye on AA roadwatch.

billie1b · 01-08-2014 11:38am

dockleaf wrote: »

Fantastic tips, thanks! Intend to hit some of those cafes/patisseries over the next few days...:P

Cool, keep me updated how you get on, just to let you know aswell, there is an industrial area between Seignosse and Hossegor, its named Soorts-Hossegor, its factory outlets, lovely bug wine shop and clothes shops (rip-curl, billabong etc).

BenEadir · 01-08-2014 11:42am

August 1

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

Heading tonight, car packed, bike rack assembled, roof bag at the ready.

how bad will the N11 from dublin be tonight?

There's a lot of Motorway work going on around Jack Whites/Arklow which delayed us by about 30 minutes as there were long tail backs and we were stopped all together once or twice for five minutes at a time. We left Stillorgan around 3:15 and got to Culletons Bar for some food around 6pm.

Have a great trip. If anyone deserves a great trip over it's yourself JF. I just wish I was on the sailing with you to buy you a pint!!!

Where are you heading to when you land? The weather in St Jean de Monts has been pretty good. A bit of overcast for a few hours here and there but generally warm and sunny.

Ben

Johnny_Fontane · 01-08-2014 11:46am

August 8

BenThere wrote: »

There's a lot of Motorway work going on around Jack Whites/Arklow which delayed us by about 30 minutes as there were long tail backs and we were stopped all together once or twice for five minutes at a time. We left Stillorgan around 3:15 and got to Culletons Bar for some food around 6pm.

Have a great trip. If anyone deserves a great trip over it's yourself JF. I just wish I was on the sailing with you to buy you a pint!!!

Where are you heading to when you land? The weather in St Jean de Monts has been pretty good. A bit of overcast for a few hours here and there but generally warm and sunny.

Ben

There are ten of us (6 adults/4 kids) heading to the Loire, just south west of Tours. We've rented a big house, it looks pretty nice.
Then 4 days camping at the end in St. Jean de Monts.

New Ferry to France (Launch Offer)

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