 Poster: A snowHead
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welshskier, I have never paid a penny extra on the tunnel - I tend to book later but turn up early. I also stretch my legs and eat my food but gain an hour on the journey thanks to the speedier trains.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Depends where you live surely. I've been going to Flaine mostly for the last 10 years from Bristol area. Used to use P&O night sailing from Portsmouth to LeHavre until the route closed. It was good in that, as others have said, you could get a meal and use the boat as a hotel via a cabin. But expensive even with stockholder discount. The tunnel is quick and easy to use but means another 140 miles round trip plus no evening meal (we're usually in too much rush on UK side and too late in France). We use a F1 overnight usually (Bethune until it closed). Tunnel much cheaper via Tesco (do SHs keep Tesco going!!).
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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billb, probably, there's quite a lot of us saving for deals, which reminds me my latest Tesco vouchers haven't arrived yet, and I've got a few crossings to book.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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So aren't Tesco Clubcard vouchers usuable on any ferry crossings then? Just Eurotunnel?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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VolklAttivaS5, only on Eurotunnel .
Convert them to 'Clubcard Deals first though.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hells Bells, yeah I know about Clubcard Deals, that's how I did it last time. It's a shame ferries aren't covered because I'd probably go by ferry then. Mind you, ferries can be that cheap I don't suppose it's worth it when you consider it might only cost £30 to cross return sometimes.
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Hells Bells, VolklAttivaS5, Tesco used to do P&O Dover Calais (used it once when tunnel booked up at HT) but now just Ireland. They do Stena Harwich to Hook of Holland but that's the wrong direction I guess.
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billb, ah right.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Hmmm just got a quick quote for a ferry booking for a possible trip next season and it was either £115 return for Dover/Calais or £46 return for Dover/Dunkirk which obviously takes a bit longer. Therefore since the Eurotunnel would cost me only £35 return on Clubcard Deals it's a lot cheaper and quicker.
So glad I used Clubcard Deals for the first and only Eurotunnel crossing I've done so far! No need to pay full price ever again 
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VolklAttivaS5, Hope they keep offering it or multiple crossings will get expensive 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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billb absolutely. dread them cancelling it. Five crossings this year, one by ferry for EOSB becasue of the ash cloud, the rest free using Clubcard deals.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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VolklAttivaS5, P & O dropped the long western channel crossings. We used to do Portsmouth - Le Havre, because we live 10 minutes drive from Portsmouth ferry terminal. But timing it was always a problem - to avoid having to do Paris at a busy time. I looked at coming back Brittany Ferries into Portsmouth, but the prices were just laughable. About £350 one way IIRC.
I've never paid extra on the tunnel - usually can get on the next train, no extra cost (I always book the most expensive crossing of the day, with my Tesco vouchers; no expense spared. then the risk of having to pay extra is very low).
Geneva did close a few times last winter, in the very bad weather. They did say it was the first time in XXXXX years but I don't think that's true. I remember a day about 6 years ago when they were closed for an entire Sunday and caused chaos. But they close much, much, less than any of the other airports around. And when they were closed people were spending many hours stationary on French motorways anyway. When the weather closes in, no way of travelling is too great. After all, look what happened to the trains!
billb, you can get a multiple crossing deal on eurotunnel, which isn't bad, but tesco deals are even cheaper. I was quite surprised how much longer the Norfolk line ferry took, compared to eurotunnel. About 3 times as long - at least. When the weather is bad in the winter the ferries can be vile; full of people throwing up or staggering around with their duty free trying to act nonchalant and making out they're quite accustomed to doing North Atlantic convoy protection duties in a Corvette.
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Out by the tunnel, back by Sea France (Sea France don't charge for the dog, Eurotunnel charge £30).
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You know it makes sense.
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pam w, Yes, Tesco deals have to be the best deals for channel crossings. We don't do that many actually - 3 last year (2 skiing) and will be 2 this year (would have been 3 but had to cancel one). UnlikeHells Bells, who must have clocked up some miles from the north!!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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billb, we certainly have, but we have the problem of a lack of flights, and a dog. ssnowman, SeaFrance normally charge for the dog too, it gets added on to the return crossing fare when I've booked in the past. I used them for a one way trip last January (Calais-Dover). However, they don't on a one way from Dover to Calais.
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Poster: A snowHead
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If I lived in London it would be Eurotunnel, simply to avoid the pressure of making a specific ferry. That said the ferry is fine, although from my experience make sure you have more than one driver, I drove out alone this year - the others flew out and one drove back with me. The crossing from Rotterdam to Hull was very rough and we got almost no sleep, between the two of us we had just enough energy to drive from Hull back home. Had the crossing on the way out been as rough then I would never have made the 14 hr drive from Rotterdam to Zell am See in the one day.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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i prefer the ferry to the tunnel - rarely use either living in scotland though.
one thing i would say is that Norfolk Line have been much cheaper and just as good as P&O. Also, they sail into Dunkirk and are the only ferry line to do so so it's a fair bit quicker getting away from the ferry and on to the open road at the other end.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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shoogly, I had noticed the Dunkirk option took 2 hours on the crossing instead but was substantially cheaper, as per my quote I mentioned earlier. How long does it take to get to the Alps from Dunkirk instead out of interest?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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VolklAttivaS5, can't judge on the outward journey,as we got stuck behind a lorry fire for 3 hours, but we did VT to Dunkirk in about 9-9.5 hours with loo stops, lunch stop etc. As I sat in the back and let You Raang sit in the front, I can't guarantee that the speed limit was not exceeded.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hells Bells, not a lot in it then compared to docking at Calais based on my only experience and how long that took.
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VolklAttivaS5, no, we headed down the motorway towards Lille, then rejoined the A26 further south . It wasn't such a straightforward trip out of the port, but that might have been due to stopping for fuel, wine, and swimming shorts for a certain doc.
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VolklAttivaS5, there's not much difference in the journey to Calais and Dunkerque, though when we reached the junction to head towards Lille there were diversion signs noting that road works on the Lille route could cause hold ups. Unusually, they even had the same sign in English, so we headed up the A26, then you get signposted to Dunkerque before you reach all the signs for the ferry and tunnel in Calais. Our journey took longer because of the weather - pouring with rain the whole way, so heavy in places that even the rainy day speed limit of 70 mph would have been unsafe.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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We usually make some sandwiches to eat on the train and buy one of those ridiculously large and expensive coffees between us. If I've been driving I find that that just leaves me 20 minutes for a quick nap - recline the seat, all very comfortable.
It's a good job it's not in an underwater pipe. Parts of the Channel are so shallow it'd be very scary to see a squatting supertanker miss by centimetres.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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pam w, we usually sit and eat our pork pies on the way out, hubby does the Times Crossword, and I try and doze off.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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LD Ferries still do a Portsmouth - Le Havre crossing
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Tiger2, I agree it's not very different to a train, but the ferry doesn't rock from side to side and you can get a seat. Whilst I've had rough crossings in the past most ferries now are so big they seem to cope with big seas very well.
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You know it makes sense.
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Ferry every time for me - I hate sitting in the car on a train through the tunnel. Last tunnel trip no toilet working hot as hell and nowhere to buy any drinks to quench your thirst.
After a long drive I like being made to leave the car and take a proper break. I don't use the pay extra VIP Lounges any more - I go to the à la Carte restaurant and have a good meal - no chavs or noisy plebs to be found there  I then take a walk around the deck and enjoy the fresh air.
Only use Norfolk Lines these days as I dislike having to pay for a VIP lounge on Stena, P&O or Sea France just to have a bit of P&Q. Loading and unloading from NL does not take too long especially in Dunkerque and I'm refreshed back on my way home to the Alps! At £19 a crossing can't be beaten to be honest
Anyone got any experience of the Zeebrugge to Rosyth crossing? Looking to use it next year when visiting Scotland with friends.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Quote: |
LD Ferries still do a Portsmouth - Le Havre crossing
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I looked at LD but they were surprisingly expensive - they used to be quite reasonable. But it is August, and I was booking quite late. NL was OK, and the cheapest, but when I still had several hours to drive, I did resent the time it took - well over two hours.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Samerberg Sue, perhaps the nicer restaurants are the place to go then for peace and quiet, after all anyone can pay the extra to stay in the VIP lounges especially as some nibbles and drinks are included so they could be equally as noisy as the main ones are.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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We nearly always go in the Langan's brasserie if we are travelling P&O - sometimes breakfast which will keep us going all day. You do get away from the hordes. Always look at the prices of the various crossings and if its particularly cheap then we will do Norfolk Line or Sea France but if not much in it at all then P&O it is. LD from Portsmouth is good for us too but as pam w, says that can be expensive, just depending on the time of year. We have done the tunnel a couple of times years ago but it didn't work for us - do like to have the break and chance of something ok to eat.
Also got stuffed last time as I had whizzed through M&S and picked up some salads for the journey and was then horrified to find my tomato and mozzarella salad was something like £11.30 - teach me to shop without my specs on - quite ruined the journey as I banged on about it whenever I remembered it. Was a nice salad and rather a lot of it but even so...
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| welshskier wrote: |
| Whilst I've had rough crossings in the past most ferries now are so big they seem to cope with big seas very well. |
Fine unless the first choice ferry has a fault and they bring on the backup vessel!
On P&O from Rotterdam to Hull this was an older, smaller, ship called the Pride of York.
Although I cant fault the service, the food or the staff the ship was older than me and I'm 42!
I can"t imagine the good people of York would be too proud?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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robboj, sounds like it had been left over from the Viking invasion. VolklAttivaS5, when we go via SeaFrance, we always go for lunch in the restaurant. Never been on a really full noisy ferry though.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I agree with pam w, Norfolkline are worth a go. We used them to go out this summer as they were the cheapest and it was a pretty good experience, made a change to go to Dunkerque rather than Calais. I then received an email saying they had been bought by DFDS and were doing promo rates, so booked our ferry out for the winter season £19 one way. If you arrive up to 2 hours early for your ferry you can get on an earlier one FOC.
Boats are nice, toilets clean, and they have a children's entertainer dressed as a pirate who comes round making balloon animals and doing magic tricks.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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the ship was older than me and I'm 42!
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Prime of life....
for a ship.
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I've just converted my Clubcard vouchers to deals. As long as Eurotunnel are the only cross-channel option available via Clubcard, it's a no-brainer for me, and I only book a ferry if I don't have enough vouchers.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I always used to use Spew (sorry Speed) Ferries but as they suffered greatly with rough seas in the winter started using the tunnel. I use it at Easter and pay most of it with tesco vouchers. I recently used P&O for a summer crossing for the first time for a few years because of cost and while it was OK I took ages to clear the dock at Dover.
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I took ages to clear the dock at Dover.
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one of the great things about eurotunnel - straight in and out off the motorway at both ends.
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FAQ
).
We made ours just, but there were only 8 cars on the overheight section, despite huge queues, obviously decided to keep to schedule rather than clear backlog.
Think this could have an impact on them as is beginning to lose the convenience that it first had over ferries