Ferry travel to France

[mjr]

We did Dunkerque before breakfast - the autoroutey way was fine (apart from that brief burst of passing HGVs! - but we soon had the road to ourselves again).
mjr's route looks a lot nicer, but we got to the town-centre pretty quickly and painlessly anyway. Midday might have been different!

Yes, all of my Dunkirk crossings were afternoon ones because of the bike bans on our trains crossing Cambridge before 9am or so.

 

[Chislenko]

Sat on the ferry as we speak, Plymouth to Santander, so far have seen no cyclists!

 

[matticus]

Sat on the ferry as we speak, Plymouth to Santander, so far have seen no cyclists!

Are you checking for tan lines? Or quads-to-bicep ratio??

 

[Cathryn]

I phoned this morning to make our booking. The phone line was 14p/minute and I reckon I was on hold/in conversation for ten mins. The lady had to make three separate reservations and do some adjusting to get our son booked on but the line was so poor I couldn’t quite make it out! And several hours later, email confirmation hasn’t arrived…which makes me wonder if I’ll need to phone that expensive line again and see where it is!

Not hugely impressed!

 

[Oldhippy]

I phoned this morning to make our booking. The phone line was 14p/minute and I reckon I was on hold/in conversation for ten mins. The lady had to make three separate reservations and do some adjusting to get our son booked on but the line was so poor I couldn’t quite make it out! And several hours later, email confirmation hasn’t arrived…which makes me wonder if I’ll need to phone that expensive line again and see where it is!

Not hugely impressed!

Pathetic isn't it really.

 

[Cathryn]

Pathetic isn't it really.

It really is poor. How is a family of three on bikes so hard to book or so unusual’

 

[Chislenko]

Are you checking for tan lines? Or quads-to-bicep ratio??

I'm looking for people who look knackered after cycling to Plymouth 🙂

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I phoned this morning to make our booking. The phone line was 14p/minute and I reckon I was on hold/in conversation for ten mins. The lady had to make three separate reservations and do some adjusting to get our son booked on but the line was so poor I couldn’t quite make it out! And several hours later, email confirmation hasn’t arrived…which makes me wonder if I’ll need to phone that expensive line again and see where it is!

Not hugely impressed!

Is there a transport Ombudsman/person or perhaps a call/letter to a consumer rights organisation?
It seems to me that with the boom in bikes over the past couple of years and the rising cost of fuel (not to mention the P&O issues) it's the perfect moment for a push for change.

 

[Cathryn]

Is there a transport Ombudsman/person or perhaps a call/letter to a consumer rights organisation?
It seems to me that with the boom in bikes over the past couple of years and the rising cost of fuel (not to mention the P&O issues) it's the perfect moment for a push for change.

There has to be something.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

There has to be something.

There does.
It shouldn't be beyond the ken of a cycling forum to drum up examples of shoddy service once the door has been opened a crack? The trick is getting the door to open a bit.

I wouldn't be happy with paying 14p a minute to make a reservation but if the line was that bad I'd be furious.

 

[classic33]

I phoned this morning to make our booking. The phone line was 14p/minute and I reckon I was on hold/in conversation for ten mins. The lady had to make three separate reservations and do some adjusting to get our son booked on but the line was so poor I couldn’t quite make it out! And several hours later, email confirmation hasn’t arrived…which makes me wonder if I’ll need to phone that expensive line again and see where it is!

Not hugely impressed!

0344 848 6090
dover.pax@dfds.com

Or, for the person in charge of the passenger side
kasper.moos@dfds.com

 

[vt2]

I phoned this morning to make our booking. The phone line was 14p/minute and I reckon I was on hold/in conversation for ten mins. The lady had to make three separate reservations and do some adjusting to get our son booked on but the line was so poor I couldn’t quite make it out! And several hours later, email confirmation hasn’t arrived…which makes me wonder if I’ll need to phone that expensive line again and see where it is!

Not hugely impressed!

If you did not get an email reply immediately, then you need to phone them again.

We booked 11 bikes and cabins for Portsmouth to St Malo ferry and back from Ouistreham for about 3 weeks ago - we go in three weeks time. Three of us were doing the bookings as we had vouchers to use up from a cancelled trip in 2020. They made a mistake on the first try and did not include the deduction for the vouchers. On the second try, this was sorted but no email confirmation received. On the third try, it turned out that they had misspelled my email address on the second call, so I would not end the call until I had received the email confirmation, which came through immediately. All this despite me having a BF account with all my details in it. Our vouchers said that we had to book by phone to redeem the vouchers, but one late addition was able to do the booking on the website including the redemption of the vouchers.

 

[IaninSheffield]

With the problems that several folks seem to have experienced booking their bikes on particular routes, I had a mooch around the booking systems of several of the ferry operators. I attempted to book a return trip for a group of 2x adults & 2x children (each with a bike) with differing degrees of success.
It would seem, as contributors to the thread have found, that P&O and DFDS have online booking systems which don't easily accommodate a family or group travelling with bikes. Stena, Brittany Ferries and the domestic(?) operators have implemented booking systems or policies which would appear to make life much easier.

Summary:

Operator	Route	Website, bike info	Notes
PandO	Dover - Calais	https://www.poferries.com/en/routes/dover-to-calais/travel-information/travelling-with-a-bicycle	If you book a number of adults, you can choose 'Bicycle' when asked for vehicle details. As soon as you include more than one child however, you no longer have the option to choose 'Bicycle' as a vehicle. As you work through the system and reach the point where you need to select the specific sailing time, it shows only the number of people you've selected, but only 1x bike, rather than the same number of bikes as people.
	Hull - Rotterdam		As above
	Cairnryan - Larne		As above
	Liverpool - Dublin		Foot passengers with bikes are not allowed to travel
DFDS	Dover - France	https://www.dfds.com/en/passenger-ferries/ferry-crossings/cycling-in-europe/france	You're able to select 'Bicycle' as the vehicle option on the first page of booking. On the second booking page when you reach the point where you need to select the specific sailing time, it shows only the number of people you've selected, but only 1x bike, rather than the same number of bikes as people. What's more, it looks like you're charged for this single bicycle!
	Newcastle - Amsterdam	https://www.dfds.com/en/passenger-ferries/ferry-crossings/cycling-in-europe/holland	As above
	Newhaven - Dieppe		As above
Stena Line	Harwich - Hook of Holland	https://www.stenaline.co.uk/faqs/at-the-port/how-do-I-get-on-to-the-ferry-with-my-bicycle	You're able to select 'Bicycle' as the vehicle option on the first page of booking, however, you can also select the number of bicycles you wish to carry, which then follows you through the rest of the booking.
	Cairnryan - Belfast		As above
Brittany Ferries	Portsmouth - France	https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/...-information/booking-the-correct-vehicle-type	After selecting the route, dates and number of people, on the second page, if you choose 'Bicycle' as 'Vehicle' the system automatically adds one bike per person - you can't change the number. So for tandem users, that might be a problem ... or not - maybe the cost would be the same? In the 'Help' section, it mentions that if travelling with a tandem, you should call the Reservations Team.
	Portsmouth - Spain		As above
Condor Ferries	UK - Channel Islands	https://www.condorferries.co.uk/fer...ey/travel-advice/travelling-with-your-bicycle	If you work your way through a booking, entering 'Foot passenger' where asked how you're travelling, you can then add the requisite number of bikes as 'Extras'.
IoM Steam Packet Co.	UK - IoM	https://www.steam-packet.com/faqs	Bicycles are carried FoC when a foot passenger ticket is bought (no need to book)
Red Funnel	Southampton - Cowes	https://www.redfunnel.co.uk/en/isle-of-wight-ferry/faqs/	Bicycles are carried FoC when a foot passenger ticket is bought (no need to book)
Wightlink	Mainland - IoW	https://www.wightlink.co.uk/travel-advice/vehicle-type-guide	Bicycles are carried FoC when a foot passenger ticket is bought (no need to book)
CalMac	Scotland - Isles	https://www.calmac.co.uk/faqs/tickets-and-reservations/bicycle-tickets	Bicycles are carried FoC when a foot passenger ticket is bought (no need to book)

 

[grldtnr]

If you did not get an email reply immediately, then you need to phone them again.

We booked 11 bikes and cabins for Portsmouth to St Malo ferry and back from Ouistreham for about 3 weeks ago - we go in three weeks time. Three of us were doing the bookings as we had vouchers to use up from a cancelled trip in 2020. They made a mistake on the first try and did not include the deduction for the vouchers. On the second try, this was sorted but no email confirmation received. On the third try, it turned out that they had misspelled my email address on the second call, so I would not end the call until I had received the email confirmation, which came through immediately. All this despite me having a BF account with all my details in it. Our vouchers said that we had to book by phone to redeem the vouchers, but one late addition was able to do the booking on the website including the redemption of the vouchers.

With the problems that several folks seem to have experienced booking their bikes on particular routes, I had a mooch around the booking systems of several of the ferry operators. I attempted to book a return trip for a group of 2x adults & 2x children (each with a bike) with differing degrees of success.
It would seem, as contributors to the thread have found, that P&O and DFDS have online booking systems which don't easily accommodate a family or group travelling with bikes. Stena, Brittany Ferries and the domestic(?) operators have implemented booking systems or policies which would appear to make life much easier.

Summary:

Operator	Route	Website, bike info	Notes
PandO	Dover - Calais	https://www.poferries.com/en/routes/dover-to-calais/travel-information/travelling-with-a-bicycle	If you book a number of adults, you can choose 'Bicycle' when asked for vehicle details. As soon as you include more than one child however, you no longer have the option to choose 'Bicycle' as a vehicle. As you work through the system and reach the point where you need to select the specific sailing time, it shows only the number of people you've selected, but only 1x bike, rather than the same number of bikes as people.
	Hull - Rotterdam		As above
	Cairnryan - Larne		As above
	Liverpool - Dublin		Foot passengers with bikes are not allowed to travel
DFDS	Dover - France	https://www.dfds.com/en/passenger-ferries/ferry-crossings/cycling-in-europe/france	You're able to select 'Bicycle' as the vehicle option on the first page of booking. On the second booking page when you reach the point where you need to select the specific sailing time, it shows only the number of people you've selected, but only 1x bike, rather than the same number of bikes as people. What's more, it looks like you're charged for this single bicycle!
	Newcastle - Amsterdam	https://www.dfds.com/en/passenger-ferries/ferry-crossings/cycling-in-europe/holland	As above
	Newhaven - Dieppe		As above
Stena Line	Harwich - Hook of Holland	https://www.stenaline.co.uk/faqs/at-the-port/how-do-I-get-on-to-the-ferry-with-my-bicycle	You're able to select 'Bicycle' as the vehicle option on the first page of booking, however, you can also select the number of bicycles you wish to carry, which then follows you through the rest of the booking.
	Cairnryan - Belfast		As above
Brittany Ferries	Portsmouth - France	https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/...-information/booking-the-correct-vehicle-type	After selecting the route, dates and number of people, on the second page, if you choose 'Bicycle' as 'Vehicle' the system automatically adds one bike per person - you can't change the number. So for tandem users, that might be a problem ... or not - maybe the cost would be the same? In the 'Help' section, it mentions that if travelling with a tandem, you should call the Reservations Team.
	Portsmouth - Spain		As above
Condor Ferries	UK - Channel Islands	https://www.condorferries.co.uk/fer...ey/travel-advice/travelling-with-your-bicycle	If you work your way through a booking, entering 'Foot passenger' where asked how you're travelling, you can then add the requisite number of bikes as 'Extras'.
IoM Steam Packet Co.	UK - IoM	https://www.steam-packet.com/faqs	Bicycles are carried FoC when a foot passenger ticket is bought (no need to book)
Red Funnel	Southampton - Cowes	https://www.redfunnel.co.uk/en/isle-of-wight-ferry/faqs/	Bicycles are carried FoC when a foot passenger ticket is bought (no need to book)
Wightlink	Mainland - IoW	https://www.wightlink.co.uk/travel-advice/vehicle-type-guide	Bicycles are carried FoC when a foot passenger ticket is bought (no need to book)
CalMac	Scotland - Isles	https://www.calmac.co.uk/faqs/tickets-and-reservations/bicycle-tickets	Bicycles are carried FoC when a foot passenger ticket is bought (no need to book)

I've not had a perfect experience with Stena line to Hoek van Holland, had minor difficulty in the past, solved when they 'phoned me after I got in touch with customer service, that is a popular route to the Netherlands.
But my experience with Brittany ferries was NOT the same,I definitely am against paying premium prices to speak to someone to book, seems nuts to pay to pay over the odds to buy services, it ought to be standard price or a free phone rather than 0800 numbers, after all most phone contracts give you an amount of minutes free, 2 calls to Customer services ,then that's all gone!
I do not see what the difficulty is In booking a cabin & bikes in one name, why do booking systems have you making separate bookings for each cyclist.
It's just nuts.

 

[mjr]

With the problems that several folks seem to have experienced booking their bikes on particular routes, I had a mooch around the booking systems of several of the ferry operators. I attempted to book a return trip for a group of 2x adults & 2x children (each with a bike) with differing degrees of success.

Could @Richard Fairhurst use this for a "Bikes on boats" page like the "Bikes on trains" one on cycle.travel?