France Ferry & Campsite info (use Search function) mod warning post 1

loyatemu

yeah, that's our return trip cancelled - bunch of assclowns!

First Up

Anyone thinking of taking the ferry to France (any ferry) this summer better hurry. There's 6,000 unexpected customers ahead of them in the queue.

whiskeyman

What a total fupp up of epic proportions!!
Lousy of them trying to shift blame on the shipbuilder. They should have had their people there to monitor the timelines and understand the knock on implications.
Piss poor project management, PR and communications.

AwaitYourReply

I think this late announcement must be an absolute nightmare for all passengers especially those families who were booked for travel on Irish Ferries new vessel W.B.Yeats.

Maybe there are still some limited options for some passengers looking to consider other ferry operators, depending on dates.

http://www.brittanyferries.ie/ferry-routes/ireland-france-ferries/cork-roscoff

According to the BF website
Sail from Ireland to France with Brittany Ferries' on Cork to Roscoff ferry route.

* Cruise ferry sailings from Cork every Saturday, returning Friday

* économie sailings from Cork every Monday returning Tuesday

Flippyfloppy

Offering full refund/ landbridge fuel costs and 150 voucher for NEXT YEAR, which I think is a bit cheeky. What sort of compensation did they offer the previous batch of cancelled customers?

mikerd4

Looks like my son and wife are flying back early due to club commitments, anyone any idea if i can get a refund from irissh ferries since they wont be sailing with us?

AwaitYourReply

mikerd4 wrote: »

Looks like my son and wife are flying back early due to club commitments, anyone any idea if i can get a refund from irissh ferries since they wont be sailing with us?

Best to contact Irish Ferries Dublin Customer Contact Centre

Tel: 0818 300 400
Tel: +353 818 300 400
e-mail: info@irishferries.com

Lines open:
Monday - Friday 0800-1900
Saturday 0800 - 1600

54and56

mikerd4 wrote: »

Looks like my son and wife are flying back early due to club commitments, anyone any idea if i can get a refund from irissh ferries since they wont be sailing with us?

Did they pay for the "Flexi" optoin when buying their ticket? If so (and if IIRC) then they can cancel and get a refund up to almost the full value of the unused portion of the ticket depending on how close to sailing they cancel their ticket. The exact details are here.

It looks like if they haven't paid for the Flexi option when booking they won't get anything back if they cancel within 20 days of the scheduled sailing.

Edit: On re-reading your post do you mean that you are still returning with your car and have possibly booked a 4 person cabin but your son and daughter won't be with you? If so I doubt you'll get any refund regardless of flexi or otherwise as you're still returning with your vehicle. You might be able to downgrade from a 4 to a 2 person cabin and see a refund of the reduced price if there is one??

First Up

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

I think this late announcement must be an absolute nightmare for all passengers especially those families who were booked for travel on Irish Ferries new vessel W.B.Yeats.

Maybe there are still some limited options for some passengers looking to consider other ferry operators, depending on dates.

http://www.brittanyferries.ie/ferry-routes/ireland-france-ferries/cork-roscoff

According to the BF website
Sail from Ireland to France with Brittany Ferries' on Cork to Roscoff ferry route.

* Cruise ferry sailings from Cork every Saturday, returning Friday

* économie sailings from Cork every Monday returning Tuesday

There's the Stena service to Cherbourg also.

mikerd4

Yeah i didnt think there would be but thought it worth checking. We wont be changing our cabin either way.

YeahOK

Our outbound journey on the WB Yeats was cancelled a few weeks back and our inbound journey has just now been cancelled today.

When we rang to rebook, they had reserved space for us on the Oscar Wilde a day later. I assume it will be something similar this time around. TBH, the €150 voucher for next year really is a bit cheeky. I'd sooner they gave me €150 off this years sailing.

AwaitYourReply

First Up wrote: »

There's the Stena service to Cherbourg also.

This is correct. I gather that the Irish Ferries vessel, "Epsilon" currently serves Dublin Port to Cherbourg route (in addition to Dublin Port to Holyhead) although; some information on the Irish Ferries website may still need to be updated following the latest cancellation details announced this afternoon.

As you mentioned, one can also sail from Rosslare, Co. Wexford to Cherbourg with Stena Line as I recall it used previously be operated by Celtic Link Ferries until 2014.

During Summer 2018 season you now have the option of X 2 outbound sailings each week from Cork to Roscoff with Brittany Ferries. 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the ferry operator's services ex-Cork from Ringaskiddy Ferry Port this year!

Main Car & Passenger Ferry Operators:
www.irishferries.com
www.stenaline.ie
http://www.brittanyferries.ie/
http://www.poferries.com/en/portal (using UK Landbridge)

AwaitYourReply

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

Best to contact Irish Ferries Dublin Customer Contact Centre

Tel: 0818 300 400
Tel: +353 818 300 400
e-mail: info@irishferries.com

Lines open:
Monday - Friday 0800-1900
Saturday 0800 - 1600

Anyone affected by today's announcement is encouraged to contact Irish Ferries via the following communication methods:
Tel: +353 (0) 818 300 400 or
email: customersupport@irishferries.com

fdevine

First Up wrote: »

Anyone thinking of taking the ferry to France (any ferry) this summer better hurry. There's 6,000 unexpected customers ahead of them in the queue.

6000 bookings, equating to c.19,000 passengers

Anyone get a call about rebooking etc?

mr_edge_to_you

I called IF at 15:03, within seconds of the RTÉ news pop up alert being received on my phone. Managed to get through straightaway and got booked on to OW a day earlier. We had planned to spend a night in Normandy on the way back up so we’ll just sail back from Roscoff on the day we leave the camp site.

It seems that the company we booked the campsite through will be passing the bill for the extra night onto IF.

I called them 10 days ago before paying off the ferry and campsite balances and was advised everything is on track. Unbelievable carry on!

If I’d known I was going to be on the OW I would’ve gone with BF. Much nicer experience.

BailMeOut

wonder will Brittany Ferries start raising their prices now with what they have left?

mr_edge_to_you

BailMeOut wrote: »

wonder with Brittany Ferries start raising their prices now with what they have left?

Very little availability left. I was toying with idea of requesting refund and booking with BF.

First Up

I see their phone lines have crashed now. What an unholy mess.

Flippyfloppy

https://www.ccpc.ie/consumers/travel/ferries/


Ferries

The National Transport Authority is the enforcement body in Ireland for consumer rights when travelling by sea and inland waterway.

Information
If your ferry sailing is cancelled or delayed, the ferry company has to inform you of the situation as soon as possible, and no later than 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time. The ferry company is required to give you information about the new departure and arrival times as soon as they are available.

Delays or cancellations
If the ferry has been cancelled or delayed for more than 90 minutes, the ferry operator must offer you a choice between:

Rerouting to your final destination at the earliest opportunity and at no extra cost, or
Refund of the ticket price (within seven days)
Assistance

If the ferry you are travelling on has been cancelled or delayed for more than 90 minutes, the ferry operator is required to offer you free snacks, meals or refreshments, in proportion to the waiting time.

Accommodation
If your sailing is cancelled or delayed and an overnight stay becomes necessary, the ferry operator must provide you with accommodation free of charge, in addition to the snacks, meals or refreshments. The total cost of accommodation is limited to €80 per person per night, for a maximum of three nights.

Compensation


You are entitled to compensation from the ferry operator equal to 25% of the ticket price if you are delayed in arriving at your final destination by at least:

One hour on a journey scheduled to last up to four hours
Two hours on a journey scheduled to last between four and eight hours
Three hours on a journey scheduled to last between eight and 24 hours, or
Six hours on a journey scheduled to last more than 24 hours
If the delay exceeds double the times set out above, the compensation will be 50% of the ticket price.

Exemptions
You will not be entitled to rerouting, refund, assistance, accommodation or compensation if you are travelling on an open ticket on which the time of departure is not specified, unless you hold a travel pass or season ticket
You will not be entitled to assistance or compensation if you are informed of the cancellation or delay before you buy the ticket, or if the cancellation or delay is caused by your own actions
You will not be entitled to accommodation or compensation if the ferry operator can prove that the cancellation or delay was caused by weather conditions which would make it unsafe to sail, or by extraordinary circumstance (such as natural disasters or strikes)
Complaints
Any complaints to be made should be directed initially to the relevant ferry operator (staff at terminals or crew on board).

Each ferry operator must have a complaint handling process in place. For further information, contact your ferry operator.

If you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint, you can contact the National Transport Authority.

More information
You can find more information on the National Transport Authority’s website.

loyatemu

spoke to them earlier and the options were to return 2 days earlier or 3(!) days later - neither is really possible so we've to call back tomorrow to see if they can squeeze us onto the OW the day after we were due to return. :mad:

molly dolly

feck feck feck, I will probably have to change my original OW booking but was holding out to see what happened this weekend with ds1 in community games. Now all options to change for August are gone. And the joy is the OW ferry will be rammed both ways.

josip

The irony of this is that a lot of the additional delay will be due to 3-4 weeks of summer holidays that the German shipbuilders will take.
Many of whom will be able to drive south to their usual campsites/resorts in France/Italy/Croatia as normal without having to worry about space on a ferry they were building.

vienne86

Just trying to check availability on Brittany Ferries one day sooner than my WB Yeats crossing.......website seems stuck......must be busy!

MorganIRL

On a selfish point of view heading out nxt Tues on OW, (had nearly booked the WBY) would this mean IF are gonna pack extra people on all other sailings to france now because of the cancellation? Should we allow extra time for boarding etc? Had tried ringing over weekend to get the 'speedy exit' after reading a few posts here but couldnt get an answer. I guess that option will be gone now.

AwaitYourReply

BailMeOut wrote: »

wonder will Brittany Ferries start raising their prices now with what they have left?

Usually tourism operators such as commercial Airlines, Ferry operators, Hotels, B+B Guesthouses, Tourist Hostels etc; will all have a certain rates threshold that varies depending on time of year. The months of July/August will tend to be the busiest prolonged period in this part of the world as most families tend to use their annual holiday leave at this time. Capacity is often stretched to the limit during the busy Summer season even when all services are running smoothly so; I do not believe an operator just goes in to hike rates as they are already busy. Rates tend to fluctuate depending on supply and demand so; they will probably increase automatically as more & more customers book whatever spare capacity is left which is probably limited at this stage.

One thing is certain, other operators like Brittany Ferries, Stena Line etc; will endeavour to accommodate customers where possible as they will want to make a positive impression towards those customers upset and inconvenienced by this series of Irish Ferries cancellations involving those bookings originally intended for travel on the W.B. Yeats vessel. All you can do is enquire as early as you can as the rates will increase as capacity is filled on other services during the busy Summer sailing period.

http://www.brittanyferries.ie/information/contact

vienne86

MorganIRL wrote: »

On a selfish point of view heading out nxt Tues on OW, (had nearly booked the WBY) would this mean IF are gonna pack extra people on all other sailings to france now because of the cancellation? Should we allow extra time for boarding etc? Had tried ringing over weekend to get the 'speedy exit' after reading a few posts here but couldnt get an answer. I guess that option will be gone now.

You should be fine IMO. I have travelled many times on the OW, and have been on some very full ships! They are very efficient. We used to have a house in France, 550 Km from the port, so always hoped for a speedy exit. I found checking in late worked best - that meant we were on deck 3, in among the camper vans, but deck 3 is emptied before deck 4, where most of the cars are parked. We would always be at Rossare in good time, but would delay checking in. If you are travelling from Dublin, Enniscorthy can be slow, and there is a stop-go system on the N11 right now, just south of Oilgate. Enoy your tip!

First Up

The OW has enough space even when full but restaurants can get busy. If you plan to use the Berneval (table service), I'd recommend getting your name down early. You can only do this in person after you board and have your cabin number.

BenEadir

babaduck wrote: »

My parents swear by two campsites - Pointe St Gilles in Benodet & Le Grand Metarie in Carnac. This year, we're off to Le Bois Masson (a Siblu site) at the end of August in St Jean de Monts. Most French campsites close around 12th September so it's the latest we can go.

Incidentally, we cashed in our Tesco vouchers for Irish Ferries and Siblu deal vouchers, so our holiday ended up costing us €90 cash in total!!!

Stayed in Les Bois Masson a few times and really enjoyed it. You'll also have access to the sure across the road Let Bois Dormant which is quieter and has a laid back pool area.

St Jean de Monts is a great area to explore, tons of beaches, activities and restaurants.

BTW, what value Tesco vouchers did you need to cover the ferry and Siblu bar €90????

MorganIRL

vienne86 wrote: »

You should be fine IMO. I have travelled many times on the OW, and have been on some very full ships! They are very efficient. We used to have a house in France, 550 Km from the port, so always hoped for a speedy exit. I found checking in late worked best - that meant we were on deck 3, in among the camper vans, but deck 3 is emptied before deck 4, where most of the cars are parked. We would always be at Rossare in good time, but would delay checking in. If you are travelling from Dublin, Enniscorthy can be slow, and there is a stop-go system on the N11 right now, just south of Oilgate. Enoy your tip!

Thanks vienne86 we were considering this year to eat b4 boarding (2Adults +7,5,1yrs kids) due to this forum. So with extra people now on board its a serious prospect. Thks for info on roadworks also.