Ferry deals to France - Summer 2015

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

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

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

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.

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 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 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 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

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