Experience Ferry Enthusiast. Travel upwards of 30 times a year on various routes and ships, if you ...
Experience Ferry Enthusiast. Travel upwards of 30 times a year on various routes and ships, if you need any help, advice or information drop me an email.
Member since:29.03.2004
Reviews:3
Members who trust:1
Bit of Background Information.
Normally we holiday in Normandy so would generally use P&O from Portsmouth, but this year decided to return to Austria - thus alternative ferry routes were needed.
Norfolkline Themselves.
Norfolkline have been operating for about 4 years now between Dover and Dunkerquein France. The crossing time is roughly 2 Hours. They have built a very successful freight route using three purpose built ferries. For the last couple of years they have been taking bookings from Cars, Motorbikes and Motor Caravans etc. No coaches or footpassengers.
Because they are mainly freight orientated they are a budget carrior - no flash glamour of other operators and no paying for things you dont need / use. They are currently building two more purpose built ferries, this time with the car passenger in mind. These ferries are due to enter service mid next year and will be designed in a way to provide dedicated seperate areas for lorry drivers and car passengers.
My Experience.
Shopping around some nine months prior to the holiday found Norfolkline to be the cheapest by far. We paid £99 return for a car and five passengers. Nearest quote from other operators was in the £200+ area. Being a family that want a stroll on deck, drink and something to eat we opted for the "No Frills" offerings.
Booking online was simple and easy - completed in less than 5 minutes. We did need to change the car registration number a couple of months - fearing the long wait on the phone and amendment charges I was very impressed when the phone rang three times and was answered by a human.... 30 Seconds later the registration number was changed and nothing to pay.
Tickets were collected from the check in desk at Dover. This again was a simple process - handed in the printed confirmation sheet and it was handed back with the outward bound ticket. Through check in very quickly - the lass on the check in desk was very poilte and helpful (even given the fact that it was 5am!!!).
Boarding commenced on time and the port staff walk down the line of vehicles and collect the boarding cards. Cars are normally loaded on the highest vehicle deck at the front of the boat so that they are off loaded quickly at Dunkerque. Plenty of staff on the car deck, with clear directions. Cars not packed as tight as with P&O etc.
The passenger decks are basic but clean and tidy. They consist of a lounge with large sofas at the front of the ship, small shop and a restaurant. Some reclining seats are available but not sampled. Crew are British and very polite and helpful.
Breakfast was excellent. Having travelled on P&O, Stena Line, Brittany Ferries I was expecting the typical ferry food. But Norfolkline are quite different. Granted the selection is not vast but then when the most passengers they carry on a crossing is 300.
The menu was £5.95 for a five piece cooked breakfast and drink. Now we made the mistake when ordering that a five piece cooked breakfast does not mean that you can have: 1 Sausage, 1 Piece of Bacon, 1 Egg, 1 Portion of Beans etc. Nope with Norfolkline you can have as much of each as you want, providing you only have five different items. Food was hot and cooked very well - not greasy at all. The seating in the restaurant area is basic - granted - typical metal furniture - but served its purpose very well.
By the time we had relaxed over breakfast, had a look at the lounge at the front of the boat and then gone on deck we were well into the crossing. The ships head over to Calais before turning and heading up the coast to Dunkerque. Plenty of outside deckspace with seating available.
Inital impressions clearly show why they took so much business away from other operators, they are an excellent No Frills operator and at a price the other operators just can't match.
The return trip was much the same, the only difference to report is in the food.
This time it was an evening meal and again this was excellent. About 6 different choices available and prices were very good. Food again cooked properly and not greasy.
Disembarkation is again simple, the crew tend to have the cars parked at the same area near the front of the ship so at the opposite end to the docks in Dover. However they simply offload half a dozen lorries to clear a route through for the cars and then they are off before the rest of the lorries.
Overall Impressions.
What can I say, we have booked for next year already. If you are after a simple no frills crossing to France then this is for you. There is non of the glittzy, crowds, noise of the other operators. Also the crew dress in uniform but you also see the deck crew walking about - basically you see them working.
If all you want is somewhere to sit (either inside or on deck), something to eat and a stressfree crossing - these are for you. --------------------- Now I have rated these as to what I think, I appreciate that they might not be to everyones taste. But as said it all depends on what you want from the crossing.
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Thanks for the comments. Dover to Dunkerque is the only route. There are some very good offers with them at the moment. Just received an email for £88 return
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Nov 2nd, 2004
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