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

First Up

Uncle Pierre wrote:

According to the local newspaper here in Wexford, who got a tour of the boat, it's a "no frills" service which is aimed squarely at freight and truckers. A small self-service restaurant, a small bar, and no mention of any other facilities apart from the cabins and some recliner seats.

Don't think I'd fancy 28 to 30 hours on it myself. And I speak as somebody who has no issue at all in spending 18 hours or so on the Stena boat to Cherbourg, that some people here think is too basic.

Stena to Cherbourg is about my limit so I think another 10-12 hours on a similar ship would be too much, especially if trying to keep kids amused/occupied

And the Stena ship is much better than what Irish Ferries are using from Dublin to Cherbourg so I think I'd look very closely at the MV Kerry before booking.

VintageJelly

First Up wrote: »

Stena to Cherbourg is about my limit so I think another 10-12 hours on a similar ship would be too much, especially if trying to keep kids amused/occupied

And the Stena ship is much better than what Irish Ferries are using from Dublin to Cherbourg so I think I'd look very closely at the MV Kerry before booking.

You think stena is better? I wouldn’t have thought it is. I’ve never been on Stena. Roslare suits us better though so I’d be interested to hear what you and others like about stena

alias no.9

First Up wrote: »

Stena to Cherbourg is about my limit so I think another 10-12 hours on a similar ship would be too much, especially if trying to keep kids amused/occupied

And the Stena ship is much better than what Irish Ferries are using from Dublin to Cherbourg so I think I'd look very closely at the MV Kerry before booking.

Stena Horizon and the old IF Epsilon are very similar with Stena having an extra public lounge area. The BF Kerry looks much the same (as is the BF Connemara and the short lived LD Norman Atlantic that did Rosslare - St. Nazaire in 2014 and later sank in Greece) but not sure if it has an internal layout closer to the Horizon or Epsilon but all 3 are freight orientated.

These days, IF use the WB Yeats for Dublin Cherbourg, their only French route, its a much more passenger orientated ship.

First Up

VintageJelly wrote:

You think stena is better? I wouldn’t have thought it is. I’ve never been on Stena. Roslare suits us better though so I’d be interested to hear what you and others like about stena

Last time I went I used IF (Epsilon) from Dublin to Cherbourg and back to Rosslare on Stena (Horizon). Neither is exactly luxurious but the Stena ship is considerably the better. If Rosslare suits you better then I'd have no hesitation. If the prices are similar, I would probably drive from Dublin to Rosslare in preference to IF.

Don't get me wrong; they are both truckers ferries and not a patch on the old Oscar Wilde or the Brittany Ferries ship from Cork (I haven't used the WBY yet .)

First Up

alias no.9 wrote:

These days, IF use the WB Yeats for Dublin Cherbourg, their only French route, its a much more passenger orientated ship.

They still use the Epsilon on some sailings so I'd be careful to check. Big difference between the Epsilon and WBY.

alias no.9

First Up wrote: »

They still use the Epsilon on some sailings so I'd be careful to check. Big difference between the Epsilon and WBY.

Thought they'd got rid of it when they cancelled Rosslare Cherbourg, maybe not.

Ikozma

Think herself wants to give camping in france a skip this year, I'm sad about this, off to boring Spain it is then

Nekarsulm

alias no.9 wrote: »

Thought they'd got rid of it when they cancelled Rosslare Cherbourg, maybe not.

They sold the Oscar Wilde.
(29 million Euros, to the Mediterranean Shipping Company.)

alias no.9

Nekarsulm wrote: »

They sold the Oscar Wilde.
(29 million Euros, to the Mediterranean Shipping Company.)

I know that, I thought the Epsilon went as well. There was speculation that it was to be switched to Rosslare Cherbourg when the Oscar Wilde was sold. When they cancelled Rosslare Cherbourg, it seemed redundant.

First Up

alias no.9 wrote:

I know that, I thought the Epsilon went as well. There was speculation that it was to be switched to Rosslare Cherbourg when the Oscar Wilde was sold. When they cancelled Rosslare Cherbourg, it seemed redundant.

The Epsilon has been doing Dublin/Cherbourg all winter while the WBY did Holyhead. The IF website says the WBY will return to the France route in Spring 2020.

volchitsa

VintageJelly wrote: »

You think stena is better? I wouldn’t have thought it is. I’ve never been on Stena. Roslare suits us better though so I’d be interested to hear what you and others like about stena

I like Stena Horizon, clean and simple, but then we no longer have children traveling with us. That said, there are always children on it, there's a (smallish) play area for tinies and a cinema for teens, so unless your kids are very demanding it's probably fine, but not amazing, true enough.

(I noticed at Christmas - we do the journey a couple of times a year for family reasons so not just summer travel - that the mattresses were not great any more, they need to be replaced IMO, but I imagine they'll do that in preparation for the upcoming peak season.)

First Up

There is now a clear difference (and clear choice) in the ferry options to France.

The WBY from Dublin and Brittany Ferries Pont Aven from Cork offer a high degree of comfort and choice. These are proper "cruise ferries" catering for non-commercial passengers.

The IF Epsilon from Dublin and Stena Horizon from Rosslare are truckers ferries with limited catering and leisure options. The Stena boat is the better of these two.

The WBY currently operates to Holyhead - a complete waste - but will be back on the Dublin/Cherbourg route for the summer.

In the meantime, Its a trucker ferry I'm afraid.

Pretzill

I'm heading out on the WBY at the end of this month - it's back in the Cherbourg leg then. I don't think it's luxury either to be honest, but it has enough comfort for such a long journey. The OW was a better option and I believe the Pont Aven is very good too.

Uncle Pierre

VintageJelly wrote: »

YI’d be interested to hear what you and others like about stena

I just like the fact that they go from Rosslare

We're in Co. Wexford ourselves, and it's just a handy 40 minutes or so down the road. Irish Ferries would need to be absolute 17 star luxury altogether, with my own personal servant, and at a cheaper price than Stena too, to convince me to travel from Dublin instead, with all that entails.

Macy0161

I thought the WBY (2019 holiday) was a step up from the OW (2018 holiday) tbh. Hard to see them that different though either way.

About all my children would really be arsed about is wifi - so how's that on the Brittany Ferries Rosslare option? As we were thinking of it for 2021...

First Up

Uncle Pierre wrote:

We're in Co. Wexford ourselves, and it's just a handy 40 minutes or so down the road. Irish Ferries would need to be absolute 17 star luxury altogether, with my own personal servant, and at a cheaper price than Stena too, to convince me to travel from Dublin instead, with all that entails.

Just be aware that Rosslare- Roscoff with BF is on their "economie" ship, not the Pont Aven. The Stena Horizon is basic enough as well, although better than the IF Epsilon.

dixiefly

We are travelling on the ferry (hopefully) at the end of may returning mid-June.

The campsite we are staying in is not too far from Lyon and towards the Alps - we plan to stay a night or two in Lyon and then drive to Cherbourg over 3-4 days.

Does anyone have a recommendation for somewhere nice to stop off to break the journey?

We previously stopped off in Tours, Djon and up at the Arramanches at the Normandy beaches.

Any recommendations would be welcome.

First Up

dixiefly wrote:

The campsite we are staying in is not too far from Lyon and towards the Alps - we plan to stay a night or two in Lyon and then drive to Cherbourg over 3-4 days.

Lyon to Cherbourg is an 8-9 hour drive so if you are devoting 3 or 4 days to it, you will have plenty of time to fill.

dixiefly

First Up wrote: »

Lyon to Cherbourg is an 8-9 hour drive so if you are devoting 3 or 4 days to it, you will have plenty of time to fill.

Hmmm

It probably seemed more when I did it before - the midweek boat is way cheaper than the Monday one.

Will hava a think and chat with the missus, might just go for the Monday one as we have a few days leeway on the way out also.

Uncle Pierre

Have driven from Lyon area to Cherbourg in just a day myself. Set off around 9 a.m. for about four hours, stopped for a few hours for lunch and a walk around, and then another four hours to Cherbourg itself. Honestly couldn't advise on how to stretch the trip over three or four days. Would suggest that unless there's somewhere along the way that you really want to go, you consider just spending an extra couple of days at your campsite instead.

First Up

If I was driving from Lyon to Cherbourg I'd probably overnight in Saumur on the Loire. Its a bit more than half way but there is an excellent winery there (Ackerman). If wine is of interest it is well worth a visit and for stocking up (especially bubbly.) Lots of restaurants and a good range of hotels in/around the town. About 3 hours from there to Cherbourg.

Mind you, I'd probably have loaded up in Lyon too!

Jeffm587

First Up wrote: »

If I was driving from Lyon to Cherbourg I'd probably overnight in Saumur on the Loire. Its a bit more than half way but there is an excellent winery there (Ackerman). If wine is of interest it is well worth a visit and for stocking up (especially bubbly.) Lots of restaurants and a good range of hotels in/around the town. About 3 hours from there to Cherbourg.

Mind you, I'd probably have loaded up in Lyon too!

Great Tank Museum there too assuming it will still be open !

Deeman83

Anyone starting to get concerned on the effect of the Coronavirus on your summer holiday?

Hopefully it all dies down after easter and the warmer weather slows the spread of the virus.

ShamoBuc

Not travelling till end of July, I would be shocked it things are not back to normal by then.

Pretzill

dixiefly wrote: »

Hmmm

wrong.quote .

I was due to sail out at the end of this month and I've postponed it until September -

Stone Deaf 4evr

Deeman83 wrote: »

Anyone starting to get concerned on the effect of the Coronavirus on your summer holiday?

Hopefully it all dies down after easter and the warmer weather slows the spread of the virus.

Travelling mid july, only have flights paid for and 200 deposit on the campsite,

but being perfectly honest, I just hope my own loved ones get through it unscathed. france will always be there next year, and money can be earned again.

MorganIRL

Flights paid for and only deposit for site. Similar to someone else, just hoping all my crew get through and if we have to leave it so be it.. if anything it'll make hols cheaper next year... #toosoon

DavyD_83

We're due to go to carnac for 2nd & 3rd weeks of June.
I only have €100 down for campsite and can cancel ferry fully with Flexi option at the moment.
Full balance on campsite due next week.
Have to have a serious chat about our options this week and make a bit of a plan.

Has anybody made the drastic decision to cancel and already booked France summer trip?

dixiefly

DavyD_83 wrote: »

We're due to go to carnac for 2nd & 3rd weeks of June.
I only have €100 down for campsite and can cancel ferry fully with Flexi option at the moment.
Full balance on campsite due next week.
Have to have a serious chat about our options this week and make a bit of a plan.

Has anybody made the drastic decision to cancel and already booked France summer trip?

Not yet.

We paid in advance for our campsite as we got 20% off before Christmas. We did take the option of cancellation insurance but I am unsure if it will cover this.

Have just paid a deposit on the ferry at this stage.

Agreed that this is small in comparison with what others are dealing with but I will still be very disappointed if its cancelled.

Nekarsulm

Have the ferry paid in full, so will be travelling unless this thing turns into something like Stephen King's "The Stand".
Never pre-book campsites, so we're free and easy that way.
Not travelling 'till August, so hopefully it'll have blown over by then.