Poster: A snowHead
|
Have started to book channel crossings for this seasons ski trips, and trying to compare costs found that the PO Ferries threw up an error for any crossing after mid-January. I emailed them and they "have not posted any prices for next year yet". This seems a bit strange when all their competitors are selling crossings! Has anyone heard any rumours of them pulling out of the cross channel market?
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
I have experienced the same problem trying to book a sailing for Feb half term weeks ago. I rang them and was told that the prices would be released at the end of next week, but that was nearly three weeks ago and still nothing.
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
I contacted them by email late October and was given the following response
Unfortunately I'm unable to confirm when fares for 2015 will be available at the present time. Ordinarily we would start to load these prices into our systems around the end of October. I'm sorry for any inconvenience caused and I'd be grateful if you could contact us closer to the time.
I presume that this has something to do with the Marine Pollution controls which come into force in January and are going to cost the ferry companies a lot of money. A google news search suggests that they have a number of staff wage issues to deal with and a restructure of some type may occur in the new year.
I've booked DFDS.
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
Well even if they are not planning on quitting they are unlikely to have many customers! I have gone for Eurotunnel for 2 trips, with one still to book.
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
PandO out of Hull have been available for over a month to beyond the end of April 15 - so don't think it can be that serious - maybe just deciding on how many to run??
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
P&O will be more expensive than Myferrylink and DFDS, so you may as well book with them if you can. The P&O boats might be a bit nicer, but it's a bit like comparing Watford Gap services with Corley services.
|
|
|
|
|
|
It does seem strange that P & O have taken so long to confirm their schedule. However surely they are the best ferry option on the Dover to Calais crossing as they have a more frequent service. If you arrive early you may get on the one before, if you get stuck in traffic and miss it (as we did last time) you won't need to wait till the next day.
|
|
|
|
|
|
@snowymum, dfds and Myferrylink run every two hours so it's not too bad. We got stuck on the M25 and missed our boat we only had to wait a short time to load on to the next boat.
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
@hammerite, Sorry I didn't realise the others were so frequent. I think when l last looked at myferrylink it was when it was fairly new and had 3 crossings a day.
|
|
|
|
|
|
If using a ferry we would normally use P&O because they are the only ones that have run at all frequently through Saturday night /Sunday morning from Calais coming home after skiing Saturday. DFDS and MyFerrylink are pretty useless for that. With no P&O available we have paid a bit more for Eurotunnel. With people booking alternative crossings if they do keep going they will have lost a lot of custom
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
@RobinS, DFDS run through the night and their frequency is just as good as P&O. I switched a long time back as there was no contest on pricing. Now DFDS have taken over the route it is a wee bit more expensive but the quality of the boats has risen. I find the crossing quieter than the Calais ones in every sense (fewer coach parties and noisy booze cruisers maybe). My sister always crosses back using the midnight ferry and when she arrives early she is always put on an earlier boat without any hassle whatsoever.
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
I had the same issue this time last year,and got the same response from P&O, so its not unique. It is a strange approach to running a business when you dont allow you customers to book yet your competitors do.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I had the same issue and called them about it back in September. They said that they would call me back once the tickets are available. I received a call on Thursday from them and booked the tickets there and then for half term. It was still throwing up the error online yesterday, so may be worth calling them.
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
As regular travellers across the channel we find that it's impossible to beat the DFDS Multi trip offer. We have 5 open return crossings booked for next year at a total cost of £320. There can be supplements for the very peak times but they are fully flexible and can be used by members of the same family.
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
@Timc, lets hope that they don't make hitting the Dover Harbour wall a regular occurence then.
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Let's hope so
|
|
|
|
|
|