First on ...first off?? (1 Viewer)

[Ricardoe]

Can anyone tell me if they think think this is the case when getting your motorhome on a ferry..its just that we're going over (plym-ros) with our dogs and its quite a long trip..so the question is could we make it a bit shorter getting on first ?..any advice on this would be well appreciated..cheers rich

 

[DBK]

My experience of this ferry, and others, is getting on near the end usually means you are among the first to get off. This is because the first on are either sent up ramps to the top deck or down to the basement. Then the ramps are levelled and the rest load onto the deck which is at the same level as the boarding ramp. If you can be one of the first in this group then you should be right up at the front behind the doors.

But you have no real control when you get on anyway - they decide at the port which lines of vehicles are loaded and when, having sorted out vehicles by height etc.

But I wouldn't worry, as a percentage of the total time of the crossing the time for everyone to get off is very small - it just feels a long time!

 

[Muddibootz]

Not sure about that crossing in particular but being first on may get you first off but you couldn't guarantee it. Sometimes, we've been on ships where they'll start to load from the outside of the boat so you may get put in a slot where you have to wait for those on the inside to get off first. We've certainly had that. Having said that, it's not usually that much longer anyway once they get the traffic moving.

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[Ricardoe]

Cheers DBK,Muddibootz

 

[rangi]

You hav'nt got any say in wether you are first ,last or anywhere in between, The Loadmaster is generally one of the ships Officers working in conjunction with a Shore side Stevedore.
Best way is to sit there quietly and don't stress out. The Journey from Plymouth to Roscoff only takes 6 1/2 hours, but it can take up to 9 in rough weather

 

[DanielFord]

We had an interesting one on the way back this year! The ship started to disembark, so I gave the van keys to the wife, and went to get the dog out of the kennels. My thinking was, she'd be there much sooner than I would. Anyway, I arrived at the van, and there is no sign of the wife. The car deck we are on is now deserted, apart from our van, and one behind us, so I sat down next to the van and waited for wifey to re-appear, all the while the guy in the van is glaring at me through his windscreen.
Eventually wife and child re-appear, apparently it was chaos getting down from the upper decks. So we start to load up, I strap the dog into her harness, and then strap daughter into her car seat. Matey boy behind us has now taken to leaning on his horn to try to get me to hurry up.
Suddenly I see the problem, he has a trailer, and is obviously so totally incompetent that he can't reverse and go around us. So I took a little while longer to finish the last minute checks.
The clincher was, at check in, I had to jump out and go and talk to the check in girl, and he was still behind us!
So yes, my advise, chill a little, you are going to get off eventually

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[Ricardoe]

Thats hillarious..we came back to Newhaven in june and it wasn't..hillarious.I had to back my hymer up(before i had camera) and then manouvre it in to the middle lane right next to the ramp,it must've taken 3 mins...I complained to DFS but surprisingly never heard back! Then set off into the night into the middle of the biggest thunderstorm I've ever seen,at one point we were doing 10 mph on the M25( midnight). I mentioned this to DFS also,but didnt hear a thing

 

[Muddibootz]

Thats hillarious..we came back to Newhaven in june and it wasn't..hillarious.I had to back my hymer up(before i had camera) and then manouvre it in to the middle lane right next to the ramp,it must've taken 3 mins...I complained to DFS but surprisingly never heard back! Then set off into the night into the middle of the biggest thunderstorm I've ever seen,at one point we were doing 10 mph on the M25( midnight). I mentioned this to DFS also,but didnt hear a thing

DFS were very good when we had a problem with our sofa.

 

[DanielFord]

I had to back my hymer up(before i had camera) and then manouvre it in to the middle lane right next to the ramp

All this guy had to do was go back about 3 foot and then go forwards into one of the 3 adjacent empty lanes. I know why he didn't, we were next to the wall, and clearly, as previously stated he was incompetent. At one point during him hooting at me I did think about going and teaching him how to reverse a trailer, but I suspect that may have inflamed the situation even further!

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[Emmit]

If you are using the Plymuff- Roscoff route and your ferry is the morning ferry that leaves on Friday (or any other day for that matter), you can stay on the dock the previous evening. There might be a late ferry departing that night but there's loads of room for you to park up until the ferry leaves.

 

[Ricardoe]

Thanks emittdb..think I've found a Park4 night place 20 mins away

 

[simsy56]

I have been on dozens, if not hundreds of ro-ro ferries, and you go on when they tell you. I have generally found that the later you board the sooner you disembark. I have been loaded first and come off last, I have been on last and come off first, and all sorts in between. Just enjoy, and relax. Wherever you are, they will want you all of asap, to turn around.

Craig

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[Ricardoe]

DFS were very good when we had a problem with our sofa.

Yeh ..its DFDS,what a plonker

 

[simsy56]

I forgot to add, if you are first on, you will wait until the last one is loaded anyway. So it doesn't matter really.

Craig

 

[Wildbill]

Just go with the flow man chill and enjoy the trip man
Bill

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[Feltwell]

I've usually found that if you're first onto a deck, you're put in an outside lane at the edge - they fill those first.

It's a funnel effect to get out, so all the middle lanes have to empty first before the outer lanes can move. So first on, last off.

Took us ages to get off Dover Calais ferry week before last - 600 cyclists on board going to some event in Calais who were all given priority to get off first, Lord knows what they were doing but it took them forever. They were cycling off the ship, no bikes on cars.

Not sure what the race was but there were some who were really testing the stretching limits of Lycra, the Tour de France it certainly wasn't!