What's the deal with ferries?

[MsLDN]

Is it just me who thinks ferries are a real rip off?

Hmm, well they do vary. The New Haven - Dieppe ferries (Transmanche) are really cheap if you're just travelling with a bike - £42 return per person provided you don't get a cabin is what I've paid before and still seems to be the price. Brittany ferries to Caen or St Malo are quite a bit more expensive. But I still think even the more expensive ones are worth it - so little hassle compared to trains and (especially) planes. And you don't get treated as a total nuisance for having the audacity to travel with a bike.

 

[dellzeqq]

I think Newhaven to Dieppe is reasonably priced. And you can tie up your bike if you want to - as others have said the cyclists get on first and get off first, so there's plenty of time. If you're three up then lock your bikes together, but don't be slow about getting down to retrieve them because other cyclists will be waiting. If you can get a cabin it's nice to be able to take a shower.

A word of warning - there's a metal mesh bridge going in to Dieppe - if it's wet I'd get off and walk it.

 

[vernon]

Is it just me who thinks ferries are a real rip off?

Yes.

 

[Sittingduck]

Yes.

Thanks for confirming that

 

[Crackle]

Thanks for confirming that

You never give up sd, I'll give you that: Tenacious sdee

 

[Fab Foodie]

Is it just me who thinks ferries are a real rip off?

I think they're good value, Dover-Calais, Citroen C8, Roofbox, 5 people, peakish summer crossings with priority boarding less than £130 seemed pretty good. Off-peak we could have got for less than £80.

 

[Sittingduck]

Yeah, I suppose I just always remember the deals they used to do a few years ago. Dover to Calais, with a car for £1 etc! When I was thinking about taking my bike somewhere earlier in the summer, I looked at a few options and was a bit shocked to see it was almost as expensive as flying.

 

[_aD]

You call these things with cars on them ferries? This is a ferry.

 

[rich p]

I took a car, 4 people and 4 bikes on the roof on the Dover-Calais route in July for £72 return. I booked it in the spring though.
I think the cost for cyclists can seem quite high at times but I've just got a quote from Seafrance for a return trip in September for £26. Not bad IMO.

 

[PpPete]

You call these things with cars on them ferries? This is a ferry.

[comedy yorkshire accent]
Ah - you were lucky, I remember when that one were just a rowing boat
[/comedy yorkshire accent]

 

[Crackle]

Yeah, I suppose I just always remember the deals they used to do a few years ago. Dover to Calais, with a car for £1 etc! When I was thinking about taking my bike somewhere earlier in the summer, I looked at a few options and was a bit shocked to see it was almost as expensive as flying.

You know there's no such thing as cheap flights

 

[TheDoctor]

Only feckin' gobshites think there's ferrys flights for 50p.
That song is hilarious.

 

[slowmotion]

Is it just me who thinks ferries are a real rip off?

No, they are not all a rip off. A Harwich to Hoek van Holland overnight return ticket, including the bike and a cabin, each way, with ensuite shower and loo costs £113.90 this month if booked a while ago.

A London to Milton Keynes return rail ticket costs about £40, doesn't it? It's not hard to make the choice.

 

[Sittingduck]

No, they are not all a rip off. A Harwich to Hoek van Holland overnight return ticket, including the bike and a cabin, each way, with ensuite shower and loo costs £113.90 this month if booked a while ago.

A London to Milton Keynes return rail ticket costs about £40, doesn't it? It's not hard to make the choice.

Marylebone to Solihull on Chiltern Railways, is a tenner... return!* Anyway, looks like I am outnumbered on this, bah.






*subject to terms and conditions and not rush hour times, etc etc...

 

[srw]

Marylebone to Solihull on Chiltern Railways, is a tenner... return!* Anyway, looks like I am outnumbered on this, bah.

It would need to be return if you're going to Solihull.

From memory that same tenner will get you from Ardrossan to Brodick (with your bike) - a far more enticing journey.