It was about 18 months ago, my husband and I decided that we were spending far too much on cigarettes and tobacco. As he is a shift worker he has quite a few days off during the week, dependant on what shift he is on, so we decided we would abscond to the continent for duty free stuff every couple of months.
We saw an advert in our local paper advertising Hoverspeed. They had a special deal going to Ostend, so we decided to use them.
Dover is about 1½ hrs drive from where we live so we set of about 6am. Our “flight” as they call it, was at 8.30am. You have to be there ½ hr before departure so we gave ourselves plenty of time to find the place.
We found the terminal very easily. It is the first one you come across when driving to the port. There were ample parking facilities and the charges were not extortionate.
Booking in was a doddle, and they had a Thomas Cook Bureau De Change in the
lobby for us to change our money over to Belgium Francs. (BIG MISTAKE!).
We went through customs into the departure lounge, which was very well equipped. There were places to get food, a duty free shop for perfumes etc., and a large area where you could purchase beers, wines and cigarettes at unbelievable prices. The bonus was you could buy all the goods you wanted for collection on the return journey. They had special offers on multi cases of wines and beers, which of course you could not carry with you during the trip so the fact you could order your goods before your trip was very accommodating.
When our time came to embark, we were ferried to the Sea Cat by bus. It was walking distance away and I can only assume they do this to cover themselves from any personal injury claims.
The vessel was very comfortable and clean. There was a Cafeteria, Bar, clean Toilets, Bureau de Change and another small duty free shop. The hostesses were helpful but I thought their uniforms were a bit shabby and outdated. The hats they have to wear are a bit of an abomination!
They have since changed the vessels from the Sea Cat to the Super Sea Cat, (but not the uniforms), which I find not a patch on the previous ships. They may be bigger and faster, but they are tattered and obviously well used. Instead of an airy, open plan feel, they are more like an aircraft. The facilities are still all there but not as comfortable.
The crossing took around two hours and was very pleasant. There were outside decks to sit on if you so wished.
We arrived at Ostend on schedule and the only complaint I had was the walk you had to exit the port. It seemed like miles. They must have facilities for disabled people, as it would be impossible for someone with walking difficulties to manage the distance.
On leaving the port through the Railway Station, you find yourself in the heart of Ostend. You are within walking distance of the town centre, bus terminal and seafront. You can visit Bruges, as it is only 15 minutes and one stop away on the train or a twenty-minute drive.
The big mistake we made was changing our money into Belgium Francs. We bought our purchases in Ostend Town Centre and discovered most of the shops take English money. On working out the exchange rate etc., we found we had paid well over the odds. English prices were displayed in almost all shops and we had paid approximately 10% more by paying in Francs.
The same goes for Calais, most shops there take English pounds, but we found the cost of goods was more expensive in France than Belgium.
We also discovered that the cheapest place to buy duty free wines, beers and tobacco was actually at the Hoverspeed port. We learned by our mistakes and always purchase at the port now.
We have travelled with Hoverspeed many times now and the service has always been consistent. We have tried P & O, but find Hover speed more convenient and less hassle.
One thing Hoverspeed do not advertise is the fact they do a Frequent User Loyalty Scheme. We found this out by chance whilst talking to another passenger. You must have done at least three trips in the previous six months to qualify. You phone up and give them your booking numbers and they send you a number to quote when making further bookings. You then receive a 20% discount on the cost of your travel. This only applies to regular priced bookings and not to their offers.
We find that not only do we have a lovely day out, especially in the summer months, but also we are saving a fortune on our duty free purchases. Thanks Hoverspeed!
I seem to have heard about this somewhere else jewels, rofl.
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John
elspeth334 14.10.2001 23:34
Great Op very well written.Been a while have you not sobered up yet. Cheers Elspeth
emu128 20.08.2001 11:22
Great opinion, We always got the hovorcraft from Dover to Calais, instead of the big Sea Cat that we used to go on. ~ We only ever went on booze cruises! It was great but now all hovor crafts have stopped.............. Thanks and cheers. ~M~
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Aug 20th, 2001
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