Having used the services of Hoverspeed on the Dover - Calais route several times in the last year, I decided to add my thoughts after reading some of the older reviews, just to bring potential travellers up to date.
Hoverspeed operate a few other routes, which I have not used - this review will only cover the Dover/Calais route.
Travelling between the UK and the Continent gives you a huge amount of choice, from cut-price airlines to traditional ferries and speedy catamarans or the Channel Tunnel. Having hunted around for the lowest cost to get 6 people to a cottage in deepest rural France,
or 5 people across to Holland to visit relatives, I finally decided to use Hoverspeed. Not necessarily the fastest route for us due to the long journey from our home in the Midlands, and again the other side of the Channel, but definitely the cheapest.
So where to start with the Hoverspeed experience?
Well the booking process (I have used the website every time) is extremely painless. It's all kept to a minimum of questions - who you are, when are you going, and how are you going to pay (Always keep an eye out for the "special offers" page, as the booking process doesn't always add those into the equation). Add an email address and two minutes later all is confirmed with a booking reference, no tickets to wait for or collect. And all for £92 for a 7 day return in the peak of the August holiday season!
The only thing that remains to be done is to turn up on time at Dover. Not a huge problem for us as our route misses the worst parts of the M25, and the Hoverspeed terminal is very easy to find and well signposted. On arrival just hand your booking reference over, a quick flash of the passports, and 30 seconds later drive on to your designated lane. Park up there for a short while and visit the modern and clean terminal building, grab a coffee from one of the vendors inside (prices slightly cheaper than an average motorway service area), a quick whizz around the shop and back to the car for boarding. Simple!
Boarding is the source of my only gripe. Being the owner of an MPV, I get charged for an "overheight" vehicle, and every time I have used Hoverspeed I get to board in a standard height "slot". Seems £10 down the drain to me, money for old rope, though the is charge is less than with other ferry companies.
Most of the crossings I've had have ended up with little room for maneuver around the car once parked, but have not had any problems with damage. There has always been more than adequate seating provided, comfy(ish) aircraft type seats on the outer seating areas, and bench type seats in the centre, generally pretty clean considering the fast turnarounds the crew have to make to keep the scheduled 8 (low season) to 15 (high season) crossings per day.
And then the crossing itself.......
I consider myself a veteran of many dozens of ferry crossings, almost never suffering with queasiness in the worst that the Channel and North Sea can throw at you. But there is something about the very fidgety ride of the Seacat in less than perfect weather that makes for a very unusual sensation. On the worst crossing, (actually in August!) the weather was appauling, most people were ill or feeling ill. The crew though, were excellent, bringing around cold wipes and ice and generally helping as best they could.
In the better weather, the crossings were excellent, very fast (between 45minutes and one hour 5mins) with the kids more than happy to run around on the small deck area and watch the big plume of spray issuing from the back of the boat.
And then disembarking. Very easy to get out of the Calais terminal, with excellent links to the nearby motorway network.
On the return leg, again the terminal is well signposted from the local motorway, the check-in just as simple, but the terminal not quite as impressive. Perhaps they ran out of money after refurbishing the Dover terminal, because it was not quite as modern or well presented with the catering facilities a little basic. Still unless your crossing is delayed, chances are you'll spend little time there.
In summary: The service does offer excellent value for money, but in poor weather it can give even the most salty seadog a problem. Service at check-in and onboard excellent and friendly. Calais terminal a little shabby compared with bright and modern Dover counterpart
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Nov 12th, 2004
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