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

billbond4

It was on the Irish Ferries Twitter

54and56

SusanC10 wrote: »

There is a rumour on the Irish Ferries Enthusiasts Forum that the OW is "sale agreed" and that is why no Rosslare route has been released.

Our friends who we are meeting on the Campsite have now booked Stena from Rosslare. They wanted to have it booked as Eurocamp told them that Free Amendments are ending Dec 24th.

Pretty much confirmed - https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2018/1218/1017939-irish-ferries/

Edit: I see I'm late to the party with this news.

Glad I had already booked Stena. If IF are going to charge the guts of €1,500 for a return trip with regular cabin high season it'll make me re-think whether these holidays are still worth doing Vs fly drive to Spain/Italy etc. Much as I'd like to spend a few hours on a shiny new ship it's still just a way to get from A 2 B and hard to pay a serious premium for.

Edit#2: Whilst I'm not a conspiracy theorist I can't help thinking that by not being definitive in their statement it's possible IF could be forcing people who were keeping their options open to book the WBY and once they are happy they've mopped up as many people as are likely to pay the increased WBY rates they can announce that the OW will resume Rosslare to Roscoff after all and be able to discount OW fares as it will no longer be the jewel in their fleet.

Just sayin.........

SusanC10

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Pretty much confirmed - https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2018/1218/1017939-irish-ferries/

Edit: I see I'm late to the party with this news.

Glad I had already booked Stena. If IF are going to charge the guts of €1,500 for a return trip with regular cabin high season it'll make me re-think whether these holidays are still worth doing Vs fly drive to Spain/Italy etc. Much as I'd like to spend a few hours on a shiny new ship it's still just a way to get from A 2 B and hard to pay a serious premium for.

Edit#2: Whilst I'm not a conspiracy theorist I can't help thinking that by not being definitive in their statement it's possible IF could be forcing people who were keeping their options open to book the WBY and once they are happy they've mopped up as many people as are likely to pay the increased WBY rates they can announce that the OW will resume Rosslare to Roscoff after all and be able to discount OW fares as it will no longer be the jewel in their fleet.

Just sayin.........

We are heading to Italy (flying) in 2020 for definite now. We had been talking about doing it one of the years anyway.

You could be right on the OW.

First Up

Je_suis_Jean wrote:

Edit#2: Whilst I'm not a conspiracy theorist I can't help thinking that by not being definitive in their statement it's possible IF could be forcing people who were keeping their options open to book the WBY and once they are happy they've mopped up as many people as are likely to pay the increased WBY rates they can announce that the OW will resume Rosslare to Roscoff after all and be able to discount OW fares as it will no longer be the jewel in their fleet.

And what would the OW be doing in the meantime?

kippy

First Up wrote: »

And what would the OW be doing in the meantime?

I think I read, on this thread, that it was due a major refurb/service.

First Up

kippy wrote:

I think I read, on this thread, that it was due a major refurb/service.

That sounds reasonable - and would be a sensible way to manage resources.

darragh o meara

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Pretty much confirmed - https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2018/1218/1017939-irish-ferries/

Edit#2: Whilst I'm not a conspiracy theorist I can't help thinking that by not being definitive in their statement it's possible IF could be forcing people who were keeping their options open to book the WBY and once they are happy they've mopped up as many people as are likely to pay the increased WBY rates they can announce that the OW will resume Rosslare to Roscoff after all and be able to discount OW fares as it will no longer be the jewel in their fleet.

Just sayin.........

I'm on the same line of thought as you on this, If they were definitely not going ahead with the route the message wouldn't have used the word "Unlikely"

To me this feels like IF are leveraging for a reduction in costs involved with using Rosslare, or they are having trouble selling the new ship and trying to get as many as possible booking the Yeats. Unless they have sold the OW, I cant see them having it lying idle next year, these things cost a lot to not be making money and I cant see it being cost effective on the IRL-UK routes.

I would love to get to see the new ship but the thought of driving to Dublin from down South with a caravan in tow just doesn't appeal to me unfortunately.

My prediction is that the Rosslare route WILL be in action next year and maybe on a slightly reduced timetable. Brittany and Stena will no doubt do very well out of this though.

Van.Bosch

Does this cause any capacity issues for S19? Or is WBY offering the same as S18?

Peckham

Surely it would be foolish of IF to put out this message, only to go back on it at a later stage.

They had an awful 2018 in terms of PR and annoying their customers.

They'll surely want to keep their bibs clean in 2019, and not be going back on announcements.

darragh o meara

Peckham wrote: »

Surely it would be foolish of IF to put out this message, only to go back on it at a later stage.

They had an awful 2018 in terms of PR and annoying their customers.

They'll surely want to keep their bibs clean in 2019, and not be going back on announcements.

If you were cancelling the route, would you use the word "Unlikely" It would be better to say, Sorry we wont be running that route next year. Using Unlikely means they can back track if needed and sell out the WB Yeats in the meantime. Leaving it so late makes it harder for competitors to charter another vessel to increase capacity thus further pushing more traffic to IF.

Peckham

darragh o meara wrote:

If you were cancelling the route, would you use the word "Unlikely" It would be better to say, Sorry we wont be running that route next year. Using Unlikely means they can back track if needed and sell out the WB Yeats in the meantime. Leaving it so late makes it harder for competitors to charter another vessel to increase capacity thus further pushing more traffic to IF.

Perhaps. We'll find out soon enough!

Vic_08

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Pretty much confirmed - https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2018/1218/1017939-irish-ferries/

Edit: I see I'm late to the party with this news.

Glad I had already booked Stena. If IF are going to charge the guts of €1,500 for a return trip with regular cabin high season it'll make me re-think whether these holidays are still worth doing Vs fly drive to Spain/Italy etc. Much as I'd like to spend a few hours on a shiny new ship it's still just a way to get from A 2 B and hard to pay a serious premium for.

Edit#2: Whilst I'm not a conspiracy theorist I can't help thinking that by not being definitive in their statement it's possible IF could be forcing people who were keeping their options open to book the WBY and once they are happy they've mopped up as many people as are likely to pay the increased WBY rates they can announce that the OW will resume Rosslare to Roscoff after all and be able to discount OW fares as it will no longer be the jewel in their fleet.

Just sayin.........

Sounds very far-fetched, expecting to fill sailings of that sort at short notice would be a huge gamble. The fact is that WB Yeats has 2.5 times the capacity of OW as it is, their priority will be to fill the one ship not double their costs by running a second at cut prices.

Besides, reliable sources suggest that a deal has already been done to sell Oscar Wilde. Her days were always going to be numbered and with the disaster of a year IF have had the cash would be welcomed. Keeping an elderly ship just for summer seasons never sounded like a long-term plan, I would say they have taken the decision to do it a season earlier than planned.

jay0109

Peckham wrote: »

I booked with Eurocamp last week, and they said that after 24th December they would allow changes, and that you just pay the price difference if booking more expensive dates.

This Irish Ferries debacle now means I need to either add a night or lose one.
Is it before the 24/12 (not after) they'll accept changes, subject to availability?

DavyD_83

Feck.
I'm booked in to benodet, North brittany. Extra 2hrs+drove from cherbourg.
Will look into Brittany, Cork - roscoff tomorrow. Is that the only direct sailing into roscoff now?
IF really haven't recovered well from the original WBY failure in my opinion.
The note have the years up and running to service the ppl who missed last year, but sounds like procibg negates any voucher benefit. And now they've pulled their other reliable route.

On a side note, I signed up with 2 email addresses to "be the first to hear about" Irish ferries 2019 France schedule and have yet to receive any emails at all.
I'm not on FB or twitter, so still wouldn't have had a clue anything had happened if not for boards.

MorganIRL

Booked with IF, not because we particularly want to but the ferry times are far kinder to young families which we have. The journey from Mayo is definitely easier now, although we never used the Dublin route before because of the dates and extra cost from Dublin. Not happy with the staggering price increase and had stena booked but the pros of a happy car far out weigh the cons. Although if eurocamps hadn't offered the black Friday deal I don't think the budget would have allowed the Dublin route.

Ceist_Beag

DavyD_83 wrote: »

On a side note, I signed up with 2 email addresses to "be the first to hear about" Irish ferries 2019 France schedule and have yet to receive any emails at all.
I'm not on FB or twitter, so still wouldn't have had a clue anything had happened if not for boards.

+1 IF really don't have a clue about PR. I'm going to completely rethink our plans for the summer now, France looks out as the sailing days of the other two operators don't suit and I'm not prepared to pay the rates IF are looking for.

Peckham

jay0109 wrote:

This Irish Ferries debacle now means I need to either add a night or lose one. Is it before the 24/12 (not after) they'll accept changes, subject to availability?

I was onto them today to discuss possibility of changes and she said that "there is no charge up until the 23rd December to make any changes"

However, a few weeks ago I was onto them and they indicated there was some flexibility after December too.

I'm in a similar position, had planned on splitting my 8 hour journey across France over two days, however now have an extra day on way out. Arrive on Thursday morning, but not booked onto campsite until Saturday.

Extra night on that campsite not an option unfortunately. Hopefully some post-Brexit sales will get me somewhere decent for 2 nights.

_Brian

Booked August, increase of €200 on similar dates last year on the OW.


Will cut our drive here in ireland by 3 hours each way and in france near 2 hours each way.. Towing caravan that means we will save some of the €200 on diesel.


Have one campsite booked Lake Annecy near Alps, have some stop overs to book now..

dixiefly

A quick related question.

We vhave gone to France twice by car - last time in 2016 - and I do not remember an option to get the ferry from Dublin to Roscoff / Cherbourg.

Yet IF mentioned in their statement that they are looking to continue the ferry service from Dublin to Cherbourg.

Has there been a service from Dublin to Cherbourg for the last number of years?

dixiefly

_Brian wrote: »

Booked August, increase of €200 on similar dates last year on the OW.


Will cut our drive here in ireland by 3 hours each way and in france near 2 hours each way.. Towing caravan that means we will save some of the €200 on diesel.


Have one campsite booked Lake Annecy near Alps, have some stop overs to book now..

We stayed at a lovely little campsite not hugely far from there. Its called Le Coin Tranquille, a fabulous campsite with a super restaurant.

First Up

dixiefly wrote:

Has there been a service from Dublin to Cherbourg for the last number of years?

Yes, they operated from Dublin with the Epsilon, which I think is similar to the Stena Horizon.

dixiefly

First Up wrote: »

Yes, they operated from Dublin with the Epsilon, which I think is similar to the Stena Horizon.

Ok thanks I must have been just tuned into Rosslare.

54and56

First Up wrote: »

And what would the OW be doing in the meantime?

What is it doing now?

Peckham

Je_suis_Jean wrote:

What is it doing now?

Dublin to Cherbourg. See it regularly in Dublin Bay.

54and56

Peckham wrote: »

Extra night on that campsite not an option unfortunately. Hopefully some post-Brexit sales will get me somewhere decent for 2 nights.

What's your final destination?

Peckham

Je_suis_Jean wrote:

What's your final destination?

Saint Avit Loisirs. Near enough to Bergerac.

54and56

Peckham wrote: »

Dublin to Cherbourg. See it regularly in Dublin Bay.

Well that reinforces my hypothesis that IF are keeping the option open of switching the OW to the Rosslare-Roscoff route I've the WBY takes over from the OW on the Dublin to Cherbourg route should the rumoured sale of the OW not complete early in the new year.

jay0109

Even if the rumoured sale of the OW went ahead in early 2019, surely it wouldn't be ready for service with some other ferry company for months. And so would miss most of the 2019 year which makes no sense.

Seems to me that the OW will appear in Rosslare sooner rather than later

juneg

Peckham wrote: »

Saint Avit Loisirs. Near enough to Bergerac.

We've stopped over in Domaine de la Breche near Saumur. It's a fine campsite with all the facilities. Took in a visit to a chateau in Saumur as well.

54and56

Peckham wrote: »

Saint Avit Loisirs. Near enough to Bergerac.

Can't really help with suggestions if you're taking the inland route via Poitiers etc but if you wanted to do the sightly longer (about 50 minutes driving) Western route via La Roche-sur-Yon then I'd recommend La Rochelle of you'd like a seaside city (with a great aquarium) or La Paylmyre which is a small town with super beaches and an amazing zoo. Both would be ideal for a two day visit.