Travelling by Ferry

[Winston Smith]

I've been on P&O Hull - Zeebrugge and Rotterdam (I work on there now!!) and done the tunnel.

Tunnel is great if you live south end of UK and would always be my preferred option down there. 

For me it's too far to be a sensible option and would require a stopover as soon as I got into Europe or an overnighter before.

The strapping issue isn't a major one Debs.  Don't strap over the seat, find a point on the frame either side and strap down.  Leave in gear and if you can set your front brake on with a small strap or similar.

I never over-seat strap as the bike is more likely to move as well as the potential damage to the seat covering.

Did the Santander crossing earlier this year and the Barcelona/Genova - crew strapped the bike down on both ferries.  Neither were over seat.

[Ubertours]

Quick tip Debs, if the tunnel cost is over £50 return, book a day return and don't come back, then do the same for the return. Usually works out about £23 each way.

[Bumpkin]

I agree - when Brittany Ferries mullered my hoilday earlier this year I booked the tunnel and did two day retrun tickets at around £30 each - with booking in advance and the usual simplicity and lack of queues offered by the tunnel.

The 150 mile loop at either end of the journey didn't help my mood, but at least the crossing was reasonable, comfotable and quick.

[viper]

when i book the tunnel its always in advance, i dont pay a " return " but put in my dates and then choose which out going train i want and then choose which incoming train, they are individually priced dependant on peak pricing .

i got to the tunnel early and got an earlier train at no extra cost( subject to spaces ) , on my return i also got there early but the earlier train was a £5 more as it was peak crossing , i paid the difference and boarded , what a service.

[Boomer]

I've done all of them from Sally Line to SeaFrance, P&O to DFDS.
The Tunnel is the best for travel to France/Belgium/Holland/Germany/Switzerland/Austria/etc.
For further north I use the overnight ferry by DFDS from Harwich to Esbjerg.
If I lived Ooop Narth then I would use the Hull-Zeebrugge route

For the south (Spain/Portugal) I use the tunnel as well.
This is due to 2 VERY bad experiences in the Bay of Biscay.
Not the ferry companies fault, just REALLY bad weather.
The ride through France is actually quite fun if you plan it right.
Stay off the Autoroutes and take a little longer to get there.
Beats the hell out of chucking your cookies for 2 days in a force 12.

[mecki]

The thing that really gets me about the ferry from Hull is the cabin price.
They charge the same for a bunk in a tiny hole as you would pay in a luxury hotel for a decent room.
And don't get me started on the prices on board. 

The only reason I was using the Hull ferry so far has been the fact that I would loose a whole day if I travelled south and use the tunnel.
But now I am able to finish at 13:30 on Fridays so I can make the tunnel in the evening, stay in a decent hotel in the North of France and get a proper meal without getting ripped off. 

[viper]

yup the hull ferry along with all european ferries do overcharge , but they can , they have a monopoly, you dont have to have a cabin , but ive done that before , its awful.

on a plus side for us, using the hull ferry to zeebrugge saved me the trip from manchester via the tunnel and back up again, so in reality i saved

[Winston Smith]

You do have to take a cabin Viper.

They work out about £380.00 return per cabin.  If you book four of you the cheap way to do it is book a bike rider and pillion (£380) then two foot passengers and three bikes as cargo. 

Usually works out about £120.00-£150.00 return per person.

I work out that to go down south will cost about £70 in petrol, £100-ish for the chunnel and at least one night b&b at, say £40 so there's no saving really plus losing two days travelling through the UK on speed camera alleys!

[mecki]

on a plus side for us, using the hull ferry to Zeebrugge saved me the trip from manchester via the tunnel and back up again, so in reality i saved

Saved what actually?
OK it costs about 30£ more in petrol and takes at least 3 hours longer to get to Folkestone from up North.
But with the ferry you loose a couple of hours on embarkation and customs too. 
And riding even 4 hours on the GTR is a breeze even if it involves the M25.
But you can save over £100 on accommodation or can stay at a really nice place instead.
Furthermore what you pay for a crappy buffet on the ferry will buy a very nice meal including a bottle of wine in France. 

[mecki]

If you book four of you ... usually works out about £120.00-£150.00 return per person.
I work out that to go down south will cost about £70 in petrol, £100-ish for the chunnel and at least one night b&b at, say £40 so there's no saving really plus losing two days travelling through the UK on speed camera alleys!

That may well be right if it's four people going but if you're on your own it's a no-brainer. 

[viper]

You do have to take a cabin Viper.

They work out about £380.00 return per cabin.  If you book four of you the cheap way to do it is book a bike rider and pillion (£380) then two foot passengers and three bikes as cargo. 

Usually works out about £120.00-£150.00 return per person.

I work out that to go down south will cost about £70 in petrol, £100-ish for the chunnel and at least one night b&b at, say £40 so there's no saving really plus losing two days travelling through the UK on speed camera alleys!

ha ,didnt know about the compulsory cabin, I took a ferry from ancona in italy to greece and i didnt have to have a cabin, slept on the deck, it was a miserable miserabl experience

[trousersnake01]

Another thing about this strapping down lark is that its a massive weight on the side stand with the rolling of the ship and your extra luggage weight and the pulling of the ratchet downwards

[Winston Smith]

Another thing about this strapping down lark is that its a massive weight on the side stand with the rolling of the ship and your extra luggage weight and the pulling of the ratchet downwards

Again the advantage of "holding" it in place rather than strapping down

[O.C.]

So much has been said in the past about ratcheting bikes down on ferries.

I've done it for donkeys years and NEVER had a problem, its really not necessary to excessively ratchet your bike down so much that it could strain the side stand, just enough to hold the bike secure, and as Winny say leave it in gear plus put some string or simular around the front brake lever/throttle.

If it's a very, very rough crossing your bike will always suffer the chance of falling over, but as I said I have NEVER experienced this and believe me I've been on some very bad crossings on ferries that weren't anywhere near as stable as todays ferries are. In fact when we returned from the N.W 200 two years ago the ferry cap[tain radiod ahead to say that he wouldn't accept bikes on his next sailing as it was just too rough, we were allocated a ticket for the next day and given food vouchers, however the weather, even in May really was of biblical proportions, so it was a good decision.

Yes, try and avoid strapping over your seat, although I always do, and I protect my seat with a piece of nice carpet which always does the job.

The Hull Rotterdam/Zebrugge ferry is pricey, but then they all are, the crossing is a part of our holiday and the cabins are very clean and comfy, the restaurant and its service is outstanding, so I don't begrudge it too much.

I remember sleeping on the deck of the I.O.M ferry years ago....its not good. 

When I travelled to France earlier this year, myself and a pal left The Lake District at 0600 hrs, and arrived at our destination in France which was 90+ miles from The tunnel terminal at exactly 16.30 hrs the same day,it was about 500 miles in total...on the GTR it was a breeze.

[mecki]

The Hull Rotterdam/Zebrugge ferry is pricey, but then they all are, the crossing is a part of our holiday and the cabins are very clean and comfy, the restaurant and its service is outstanding, so I don't begrudge it too much.

Maybe my standards are a bit higher than yours. 
Even the rooms and beds in the cheapest hotels are more comfy than the glorified broom cupboards you can hardly turn around in they call cabins with tiny rock-hard bunks.
And even the cheapest restaurants in France serve better food than the overcooked stuff they serve on the ferry.
But I have to agree, the DFDS Newcastle Amsterdam ferry is an even bigger rip-off. The food is better, though.
Now that I can finish work at 13:30 on Fridays without having to take half a day off I will no longer use the ferry from Hull and rather ride down to Folkestone and stay in the North of France overnight.