Sarkosy SeaFrance Deal is Rejected (1 Viewer)

[Jim]

Looking like the company will go under on Monday http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/magazine/

 

[WynandJean]

Bad news!!!
Wyn

 

[Jim]

Certainly is. In recent years the prices have been excellent, that will change. I have a personal issue with P&O from business dealings years ago. I could not bring myself to pay them a single penny, ever. IMO they are a horrible company.

There is still plenty of choice, but SeaFrance did keep all the prices down. That's probably why they are, where they are. :Sad:

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[Jaws]

Odd really.. I could never get a decent price from SeaFrance, hence my ( continuing ) love affair with DFDS ( Norfolk Line as was )

 

[Landy lover]

Odd really.. I could never get a decent price from SeaFrance, hence my ( continuing ) love affair with DFDS ( Norfolk Line as was )

I agree - I have always found DFDS as the best and cheapest - and incidently the most friendly and helpfull:thumb:

 

[slobadoberbob]

Gave up on boats - tunnel these days

I used to cross by boat all the time, Sealink (as it was many years back ... old British Railways days).. Stenna line out of Ramsgate. Dover to Calais by all the operators at sometime and the Harwich to Hook Van Holland (Stenna Line as it is now)... Yes even DFDS on the Harwich to Esbjerg route (first job I had in the city was working for DFDS or Danish Seaways)... But to be honest what with a dog the tunnel is so much easier and no sea sickness.

Fast journey, easy loading and unloading, do not need to leave the RV.. dog sitting beside me... and out of the train and on to the motorways... cost wise a tad more expensive (but still cheaper than the Newhaven to Dieppe route on Trans March etc., etc., and certainly a hell of a lot cheaper than Harwich to Hook van Holland .. nice ships and a decent bed, but to expensive and not a nice terminal either end.

Shame about SeaFrance and for all that used them.. I have in the past.. it's a ship .. nothing special on the crossing I made.. could have been P&O ... but I think I will stick to the tunnel from now on.

Bob

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[Craig Rogers]

Yeah, it is a shame for the customers and agree that now P&O are playing the robbing game, I'm actually more than happy to pay the extra money for going on the Tunnel.

When you add the extra it costs for the Tunnel, it's probably a small % of what the trip is costing.

Plus, after only using it once, I still am totally taken back by the whole operation and still mutter to myself....."So, I get in the mh, drive to Folkestone, drive ONTO a train which then carries me STILL INSIDE the mh UNDER THE SEA to another country in just over half an hour!"

Amazing!

 

[Jaws]

I have just revisited prices again as we only booked an outbound journey this time ( giving us more flexibility for our return )
These quotes are for midweek mid day crossing with a 8.4metre van and 3 meter trailer

DFDS £62.50

Chunell Cheapest time was £119.00 dearest time £164 ( for the same day )

Sorry but I just aint rich enough to hurl 60 beer tokens away just to save an hour or so !
( and Woman and I enjoy having a meal on the ferry, relaxing for a wee while and chatting.. Sets us up ready to 'get bizzy behind the wheel' when we get on 'tother side ! :thumb:

I should mention this is for March ( the outbound journey via DFDS was £47.00 ( £106 via the tunnel )

 

[slobadoberbob]

it is great in the ships cafe in a force 9

I have just revisited prices again as we only booked an outbound journey this time ( giving us more flexibility for our return )
These quotes are for midweek mid day crossing with a 8.4metre van and 3 meter trailer

DFDS £62.50

Chunell Cheapest time was £119.00 dearest time £164 ( for the same day )

Sorry but I just aint rich enough to hurl 60 beer tokens away just to save an hour or so !
( and Woman and I enjoy having a meal on the ferry, relaxing for a wee while and chatting.. Sets us up ready to 'get bizzy behind the wheel' when we get on 'tother side ! :thumb:

I should mention this is for March ( the outbound journey via DFDS was £47.00 ( £106 via the tunnel )

Last crossing I made back from Calais using the car a few years ago was firstly delayed by 5 hours due to the the force 9.. when we did get on and I got to the restuarant .. I threw it all up over the floor as we left the harbour.. Boy did I feel ill.. then when we got just outside dover we went up and down the coast for 2 hours until the ferry could get in side the harbour.. then we ht the jetty as we backed in and had to stay put for another hour until they could unload us... yes I really like ferry crossings in the winter months.... Now on the train, I sit and watch a dvd and finish a cup of tea or open the fridge and eat in peace and quite.. bit rushed as it is all over in 30 minutes hope you have a nice smooth crossing.

Bob

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[Jaws]

I seem to have been born with sea legs Bob ( dad was a merchant seaman as was his dad ) so never really worries me .. In fact we came back during the gales in mid September last year.. Crossing took an extra hour but woman and I spent most of the time trying not to laugh at folk falling over !! ( Yes, wicked I know, but there is some great people watching to be had on a boat )

But yes, if you do not travel on water well I can well understand the need for paying double to avoid the discomfort .. I would probably be the same truth be told

 

[Reallyretired]

Travelling with a dog in the MH the tunnel wins every time, however for our booze cruises by car a few times a year we usually use the ferries and Seafrance was often the cheapest. We have not found DFDS to be very competitive for day trips in the past.

 

[lunarman]

I'm with the tunnelers here. It is so much more convenient, turn up a bit early they put you on the next available. Use Tesco vouchers and it is a lot cheaper than the advertised price.

Lunarman

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[Jaws]

But.. but.. well that means you have to shop at Tescos surely ?

All the chaves and scuffers.. all the scum bags and weird people like Mr Shiftzz buying a Maily Dale, all the pregnant 16 year olds ( and some of THEM I think are fella's )

nah.. THAT is a bridge too far even for cheap crossings...............

 

[sedge]

Soooo - sign up for Tesco Credit Card and use it when you shop elsewhere (or indeed in tesco's) - when you fill up your motorhome here or abroad, whatever whenever. Points points points.

But don't pay credit charges, set up a variable DD and pay the whole caboodle off every month. Of course if you ever actually need to take credit, then you'd have to change the DD very quickly.

Is what we do! hence why we have paid the Tunnel about £11 in total over the last 2 years and we've been on it about 6 x so far always in the MH. And usually been in bed in France by or before the time we should have actually got on the train in England, according to the booking we had!

Spent £995 for something using it in November, we had the cash in the bank and still paid on the credit card.

When you check in, it usually say 'can go right now but have to pay extra £X or you can get on the one before your booked one, free' so we opt for the first free one. Then hotfoot it down to the bit where you wait for loading as soon as ever that crossing comes up on the screen. At that point, the train that was gonna cost you £x extra is still loading, so if there's any room on the end of it - they call you through!

I love it.

 

[Jaws]

Tempting but my cards are both AmEx and I get air miles with them.. Been saving em for a few years now so we can get a free flights jobby to get to the US of A for the NeXXT bash
Florida John and a couple of others over there have pretty much laid on a bike for us, places to stay etc etc.. So do not really wanna pass that up in favour of a tescos credit card ! LOL !!

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[DuxDeluxe]

As above, I use the BA Amex card for all my travel expenses - get a free companion ticket every year and loads of BA miles. Enough for Mrs and self to do a long haul first or business class trip every year. Also fly BA a lot, which helps somewhat!

Back to topic - I would be very surprised if the French don't pull some sort of illegal rabbit out of the hat on this one

 

[niggle]

just came back via dover yesterday, talking to the port boys and customs and was told seafrance ships were sold to the company who now runs sally line,,, the only ships in were dfds ,,p/o. Dover was very quiet in all the port only 3 ships were there ??

 

[normanandsue]

I used to cross by boat all the time, Sealink (as it was many years back ... old British Railways days).. Stenna line out of Ramsgate. Dover to Calais by all the operators at sometime and the Harwich to Hook Van Holland (Stenna Line as it is now)... Yes even DFDS on the Harwich to Esbjerg route (first job I had in the city was working for DFDS or Danish Seaways)... [HI]
But to be honest what with a dog the tunnel is so much easier and no sea sickness.

Fast journey, easy loading and unloading, do not need to leave the RV.. dog sitting beside me... and out of the train and on to the motorways...
[/HI]cost wise a tad more expensive (but still cheaper than the Newhaven to Dieppe route on Trans March etc., etc., and certainly a hell of a lot cheaper than Harwich to Hook van Holland .. nice ships and a decent bed, but to expensive and not a nice terminal either end.

Shame about SeaFrance and for all that used them.. I have in the past.. it's a ship .. nothing special on the crossing I made.. could have been P&O ... but I think I will stick to the tunnel from now on.

Bob

Bob I agree I would much rather use the chunnell but they won't accept my motorhome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Because I am a dual fuel petrol/lpg I am not allowed on their trains, yet you guys with RVs with their lpg gas tanks for domestic fuel are. Can never understand this so I am afraid I will be forced to pay the increased ferry costs, now sea france has gone.

Norman

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[BobProperty]

Because I am a dual fuel petrol/lpg I am not allowed on their trains, yet you guys with RVs with their lpg gas tanks for domestic fuel are. Can never understand this....

There's a limit to the size, can't remember it at the moment, but most appliance tanks are smaller than the main fuel tanks on an LPG powered vehicle.

47kg maximum at the usual 80% full
http://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/traveller-info/vehicles/caravans-campers-vans-and-trailers/

 

[scotjimland]

There's a limit to the size, can't remember it at the moment, but most appliance tanks are smaller than the main fuel tanks on an LPG powered vehicle.

47kg maximum at the usual 80% full
http://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/traveller-info/vehicles/caravans-campers-vans-and-trailers/

http://www.eurotunnel.com/uk/site-information/lpg/

edit

beat me to it ...

 

[Jaws]

Bob I agree I would much rather use the chunnell but they won't accept my motorhome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Because I am a dual fuel petrol/lpg I am not allowed on their trains, yet you guys with RVs with their lpg gas tanks for domestic fuel are. Can never understand this so I am afraid I will be forced to pay the increased ferry costs, now sea france has gone.

Norman

Norman, unless you go/went for the multi trip option, Sea France has always been ( at least for the past 11 years ) dearer than Norfolk Line as was ( as now DFDS )

Do you think with the demise of Sea France the other operators will increase their prices ?

Always possible I know but it does somewhat fly in the face of the basic DFDS business ethic

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[Jim]

Norman, unless you go/went for the multi trip option, Sea France has always been ( at least for the past 11 years ) dearer than Norfolk Line as was ( as now DFDS )

Do you think with the demise of Sea France the other operators will increase their prices ?

Always possible I know but it does somewhat fly in the face of the basic DFDS business ethic

Depends when you go and what you are driving I consistently found SF to be the cheapest way to cross with an RV. Also found their winter prices to very often be the cheapest by quite a margin. The flexible ticket was very good too, changing dates as many times as you like without incurring a charge, suited me.

 

[artona]

That photo on your mag............when we took a group over to france via SeaFrance we and three others were pulled over on the return trip. Even though we had paid for the tickets SF had not allocated the money so the SF officials demanded the 4 of us pay £1000 each to cover the cost of the whole group.

As I squared upto the official two guys dressed in black fancy dress like the ones in the pic appeared from no where carrying guns.

I was not backing down and Shona got seriously concerned to the point she refused to take advantage of the free crossing they offered us to say sorry for their mistake.

 

[Jaws]

Depends when you go and what you are driving I consistently found SF to be the cheapest way to cross with an RV. Also found their winter prices to very often be the cheapest by quite a margin. The flexible ticket was very good too, changing dates as many times as you like without incurring a charge, suited me.

I have never been in an RV, but my allocation has to be 12 metres with the trailer so comparable I should think.. Also been in the car and of course countless times on the bike

It sounds like the big advantages are the flexibility they show ( showed ) and of course the multi ticket prices seem to have been good too..

maybe they simply do not like me ( canna say I blame them ! :Blush: ) so always quote me higher :Sad:

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[Brisey]

It has been announced on BBC News that Sea France has shut down with the loss of 800 - 1000 jobs.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Sad news. Very surprised that Sarko didn't pull a last minute vote winning rabbit out of a hat to save them

 

[Craig Rogers]

Happy Christmas P&O :Sad:oh::Angry::Mad::Confused::tears::help::thumbdown:

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