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

average_runner

Jpm123 wrote: »

I’m looking at flights from Dublin to Toulouse with Aerlingus for the last week in June. I’m wondering when is the best time to buy, now or should I wait till the sales after Christmas. It’s working out about €1000 euro for the five of us now and I’m wondering will be any cheaper in the sales

We booked ours this week and last year we booked in Dec. Cheaper right now. Sales on premium flights is very rare. Alot of seats gone on our flight.

munchkin_utd

quick update on the new Irish ferries vessel the WB Yeats, it set sail under its own steam last night at about 10pm and is now doing its sea trials.

You'd have to be hopeful that it meets the rumoured plan of being delivered in a few weeks and in service by December, which would mean that Irish ferries can also get on with confirming the 2019 schedules (and also confirming my ferry the week before christmas to get back to ireland from the continent with a boot full of christmas presents !)

eldamo

https://www.niferry.co.uk/irish-ferries-w-b-yeats-sabotage-sea-trials/

deliberate sabotage eh?

hmmm, at least the sea trials appear to have begun, would like to get my holidays booked

glorious self interest

kippy

eldamo wrote: »

https://www.niferry.co.uk/irish-ferries-w-b-yeats-sabotage-sea-trials/

deliberate sabotage eh?

hmmm, at least the sea trials appear to have begun, would like to get my holidays booked

glorious self interest

Curiouser and curiouser!

munchkin_utd

kippy wrote: »

Curiouser and curiouser!

Yep , but caterpillar helped repair the engine (1 of a total of 4) and this evening she was steaming at a little over operational full speed up the Baltic Sea.

So far so good.

jay0109

Wonder will this have any knock on impact on it's Irish operations

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46095038

UK holidaymakers are delaying booking Channel crossings for next summer amid concerns about the consequences of Brexit, Brittany Ferries has said.
Forward bookings were down between 4% and 5% from some of its regular customers, the company said.

sceach16

Anyone managed to get a satisfactory outcome?

treascon

sceach16 wrote: »

Anyone managed to get a satisfactory outcome?

Nope. I have sent several follow up emails to the national transport authority and just get instant generic responses back. It’s quite annoying really. I’m beginning to think nothing will come of it now anyway

MorganIRL

I think IF plan of waiting has proven correct for them as so many of us here on boards are waiting to see what they do and we are such a small portion of what actually books, the law of averages suggest that they will STILL get the bookings they need to make profit even with the discounts they have given for last yrs **** ups (which will be covered by this yrs increase in rates, sceptical me) the worst case is even the flights are holding prices as I have being watching for the last month and all they do is go up as the airlines are aware of the above.

SusanC10

Presuming most people have booked their Accommodation using previous IF Schedules as a guide for Dates ? That's what we have done.

Only problem is that if the new Schedule is different to previous years, it will be a problem to change the Accommodation. Eurocamp allow free changes until Dec 3rd - don't know what other operators do. But even if it is free to change, the preferred type of Accommodation or the Campsite may not be available.

We want to leave Ireland on a Thurs and leave France on a Saturday so fingers crossed we will still be able to do that.

eldamo

SusanC10 wrote: »

Presuming most people have booked their Accommodation using previous IF Schedules as a guide for Dates ? That's what we have done.

Only problem is that if the new Schedule is different to previous years, it will be a problem to change the Accommodation. Eurocamp allow free changes until Dec 3rd - don't know what other operators do. But even if it is free to change, the preferred type of Accommodation or the Campsite may not be available.

We want to leave Ireland on a Thurs and leave France on a Saturday so fingers crossed we will still be able to do that.

i havn't been that brave yet, it's a pain in the rear,

I ususally travel off peak so no problems, but my son will be starting school in september and my mother is turning 60 in the summer and is adamant that we all holiday together.

I would probably take the risk if it was just me my wife and kids, but not for my parents and sisters family too.

so many places in france seem to book rigidly saturday to saturday, none of the other ferry company schedules work for this.

ah first world problems but still, must be annoying for anyone thinking of travelling in january too, cutting it fairly close.

munchkin_utd

The WB Yeats has been doing laps, circles, reverses, side shimmies and whatnot in the baltic for the past week and is due back to the shipyard in an hour or 2 which according to insiders is to be the last visit there before heading to Ireland (possibly with pitstop at a danish ship yard) for signover to Irish ferries.

heres the type of stuff they are having fun with in the tests, and that track is only the past day or so !

SusanC10

We have only paid the €99 Deposit to Eurocamp which secures our preferred Campsite and Accommodation. That is refundable and we can make changes but only until Dec 3rd which is getting a bit close now.

SusanC10

munchkin_utd wrote: »

The WB Yeats has been doing laps, circles, reverses, side shimmies and whatnot in the baltic for the past week and is due back to the shipyard in an hour or 2 which according to insiders is to be the last visit there before heading to Ireland (possibly with pitstop at a danish ship yard) for signover to Irish ferries.

heres the type of stuff they are having fun with in the tests, and that track is only the past day or so !

Thanks for that info Munchkin.

Is there an estimated date of delivery of the ship to Ireland ?
Because I really think that is when IF will finally release the Schedule.

loyatemu

munchkin_utd wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbr9akNELdc

AndrewJRenko

treascon wrote: »

Nope. I have sent several follow up emails to the national transport authority and just get instant generic responses back. It’s quite annoying really. I’m beginning to think nothing will come of it now anyway

Do the NTA have any role in private ferry transport?

treascon

Apparently so. At the time of the wb yeates fiasco the info on the nta website advised to make a formal complaint with IF. If no joy from them a complaint could be processed through nta. Now if only I could actually get a response from them it would be something

SusanC10

Any word on the WB Yeats sea trials? Anyone any idea on when the ship might be delivered to IF?

Nekarsulm

SusanC10 wrote: »

Any word on the WB Yeats sea trials? Anyone any idea on when the ship might be delivered to IF?

See post 4412 at the top of this page.

fr6791

Long time lurker, thanks for the tips, first time poster.

We have been to Brittany in Benodet for the past few years and plan to go to Il de re this year. I can't decide on the campsite.
We loved St Gilles in Benodet and that suited our family of 6 . 4 kids aged 10 to 6.
Interlude looks like it might be good but it is not a Eurocamp option so the kids clubs might be only French.

Camping La Grainetière might suit too any advice?
Would love to hear, thanks.

AndrewJRenko

treascon wrote: »

Apparently so. At the time of the wb yeates fiasco the info on the nta website advised to make a formal complaint with IF. If no joy from them a complaint could be processed through nta. Now if only I could actually get a response from them it would be something

Interesting, I didn't know they had a role in dealing with appeals on complaints that wren't resolved. Here's what they said originally, for the record.



https://www.transportforireland.ie/irish-ferries/


If they're not responding, you could try getting a friendly TD to submit a PQ to ask the Minister what's happening. It might help to speed things up.

BailMeOut

Looking for a good recommendation in or around Nice. We have been going to Ile de Re for last 6 years which we absolutely love but thinking of making a change in 2019 and heading much further south. We would be flying to Nice and looking for a pretty mellow campsite where you can cycle everywhere and ideally a very nice local town for eating out and exploring. (good markets, cafes and restaurants). Any ideas?

josip

I don't have any concrete suggestions for the Nice area, I'm sure others here will have good suggestions.
We drive through France every year, but rarely camp along the Cote d'Azur.
Toulon is usually the last place we camp heading east and the next place we'll camp will be around Savonna.
We like the sea, so proximity to the coast is a must.
Along the cote d'Azur land is at a premium compared to the other French coasts and seaside campsites are few and far between.
We've stayed at a couple of inland ones around Frejus.
One was insect central and we lost half a Sunday at A&E getting a tick removed.
The other had a waterpark, but was a bit isolated.
Also the terrain gets hillier when you head inland from the coast if you plan to cycle.
Along the Med in France, the area around Portir Agnes has the best campsites in our opinion, with some possibilities for cycling along canals, etc. But it is nevertheless much busier than the west coast.

Music Box

Hi All. Does anyone know if Irish Ferries are replacing the Oscar Wilde with the new WB Yeates for the Rosslare France route. I kinda liked the Oscar Wilde.

darragh o meara

Music Box wrote: »

Hi All. Does anyone know if Irish Ferries are replacing the Oscar Wilde with the new WB Yeates for the Rosslare France route. I kinda liked the Oscar Wilde.

The WB Yeats will be replacing the Epsilon on the Dublin/Cherbourg route and will do a few trips from Dublin/ Hollyhead during the week. I read somewhere that the WB Yeats has a sister ship recently commissioned which may in the future replace the Oscar Wilde which in my opinion is getting a bit dated. However given the time needed to build WB, I'd say the OW is safe for another few years at least..

fr6791

BailMeOut wrote: »

Looking for a good recommendation in or around Nice. We have been going to Ile de Re for last 6 years which we absolutely love but thinking of making a change in 2019 and heading much further south. We would be flying to Nice and looking for a pretty mellow campsite where you can cycle everywhere and ideally a very nice local town for eating out and exploring. (good markets, cafes and restaurants). Any ideas?

I don't have suggestions for Nice but would love to hear some feedback from your trips to Il de Re as posted above, I am looking for recommendations for camping sites on the island, thanks

jay0109

Where could I find the sailing schedule for the OW out of Rosslare the past few years? I'm looking to travel late June in 2019, around 26th or 27th when the schools close

BailMeOut

fr6791 wrote: »

I don't have suggestions for Nice but would love to hear some feedback from your trips to Il de Re as posted above, I am looking for recommendations for camping sites on the island, thanks

We always stay at the Flowers site on Loix. It's small, quiet and perfect for us. The local village Loix is stunning and you are equal distance via bike to St. Martin, Courade and Ars so perfect location for exploring. PM me of you want more info as we know island very well.

First Up

jay0109 wrote: »

Where could I find the sailing schedule for the OW out of Rosslare the past few years? I'm looking to travel late June in 2019, around 26th or 27th when the schools close

Not published yet but I'd suggest you keep an eye on their website.

jay0109

First Up wrote: »

Not published yet but I'd suggest you keep an eye on their website.

I'm all over their website! I think I'll just book the accomm and see can I tweak it at a later stage when the ferry timetable is out. The campsite I'm looking at is nearly 600e cheaper than last year for roughly the same dates - can't turn that down!