P&O Ferries > Reviews (29)

I would like to tell you about one of the many sea trips i have experienced going from Hull to Zeebrugge and return trip with P & O Ferries. I cannot rate them high enough.

For anybody looking for a short break, maybe to shop in the city of Brugges or to travel on into France to look for some cheap beers and wines, this is the trip for you. That is providing you are not of the travel sickness kind.

We had done the Dover to Calais route 3 times and found that for the price we was paying (well we just turned up at Dover at midnight and asked for a 24 hour shopper trip, paid on credit card as they would not accept cash the cost was anything from £25 to £100). We got fed up of that method as it meant we only got 90 minutes break from travelling. I live a good 6 hours drive from Dover. I decided one day to have a look at P&O web site to compare prices by booking over the internet. I was quite shocked in my opinion to find them pricey and also noticed that when you tried to book online

there was either a problem with the booking page or the "offers had either run out "or was fully booked even though the web page clearly said places available. Not to be outdone i decided to ring the company direct.

I was looking for the special 2 for 1 deals that i had seen advertised on the web page. That was 2 adults sharing one cabin for the price of 1 adult. A fuel surcharge for the car was additional and worked out that by taking your own car would only cost an extra £6.00. Taking your own car has greater advantages if you dont mind or dont get confussed with driving on the other side of the road. I was given a reference number by an operative and a quote for £95 for the both of us and the car. I told the operative i would get back to her as soon as possible.

Now ive got to admit, i am a little bit of a scrooge sometimes and if you can get things cheaper i will follow all routes. I decided to hot-foot down to my local travel agentsto see what they could do. I honestly expexted there to be a bigger price difference but as i say, you have to explore all avenues. I was, needless to say, left with my jaw resting on the floor with the quote given to me by the local travel agent. The quote they got for me was a good £30 cheaper than booking direct with P&O. Amazed ???? I booked right away for the crossing the day after. So, my advice is to shop around and dont always believe that the quotes you get from the internet are the cheapest.

Right, back to the trip itself. To go by Hull for us means only a 1 hour car journey. You have to be at King Georges Dock between the hours of 2.30pm to 5.30pm to go through passport checkin. Sometimes they do search your car before you board. This is a good thing and not a negative, they are only looking for free boarding passengers and security risks. We tend to get there earlier rather than later as we like to watch the ship being loaded. If you are early, Hull does have a self service cafeteria (vending machines for coffee, pop, chocolate and crisps, that sort of thing and toilet facilities).

Basic layout and definately not the Ritz. Set off is usually approx 7pm. Bars, cafe and shops are open from 4pm onwards.

When its time to board, a chappie comes along and moves the stop cone away from the beginning of the boarding lanes. You follow the directions of the lads who wave you upto the ships Loading bow. You drive up a steep ramp and around the ship so that you are facing the right way for coming off at the other end. If you are disabled they will park you up as near to the lifts as possible. Once onboard the ship, leave your car in nuteral, turn off alarms and hand-brake

on. Lock your car up and away you go either by the passenger lifts or the stairs to find your cabin. A point i forgot to mention is on going through passport checkin, you are given all the tickets needed and your cabin numbers. On your cabin tickets it gives you the cabin number and also the colour of the deck you are on. This being either red, blue or green. At least this helps you know which colour deck to go to to fing your cabin.

The cabins... depending on how many are travelling or what upgrade you have asked for or paid for can vary. Seeing as i am a self admitted scrooge i booked for the bog standard 2 birth inside cabin. They are all en-suite. We arrived at our cabin and noted really just how small and dark they are. Being an internal cabin meant no window. If you are claustaphobic this is not the cabin for you. You will need the external cabin (this does not mean the door to the cabin leads onto the decking but just simply means you get a room with a view .... a windowThey are also slightly bigger. Please note that at night time, you cant see anything by the way. The cabin was basically metal bunk beds, the top bunk being like a pull down shelf but very sturdy, accessed by metal ladders that was stored away behing the cabin door. Point to note about the ladders if they are very hard to get up and down and they hurt your feet. The cabin as i mentioned before was really small and was standing room only for one at a time whilst the other sat on the bottom bunk. The en-suite shower room consisted of a sink, the toilet immediately next to it and the shower hose almost above the toilet. When you showered everything gets wet, so best to get undressed and dressed by your bunks. Also wise to leave your dry towel on your bed.

The ships really are fantastic and kept very clean. The staff are very friendly and helpfull. I love going to reception to order extra pillows for our cabin. They are always delivered within 30 minutes of ordering with no quibbles. This also applies to the free travel mini soaps and shampoos they leave in your cabins. There are 3 levels to the ship that you can explore. Green level contains cabins to the front of the ship and the ships two main restaurants. The restaurants are the Four Seasons with its carvery and buffet-style dining, or the first class menu in Langan's Brasserie, you are guaranteed an excellent meal. Got to admit only ever dining in the Four Seasons.

You can pre-book your meals when you book with the ferry company. The Four Seasons meal is approx £15 per person and its one of those, eat what you can, get up as many times as you want and stuff yourself full self service. Ive found that if you dont pre-book and you have not had time to eat say at KFC on your way to Hull, you can book a meal at reception as soon as you get onboard. You dont save that much by pre-booking, probably about £2 per person.

The blue deck , again contains cabins to the front of the ship, the reception area , coffee bistro where you can order a pizza, hotdog, cake or sandwhich and the main bar with small dance area and side bar. Also the small casino area and small area for gaming machines.Dont worry you cannot hear any noise from these areas if you are on blue deck.

Red deck again consists of cabins to the front of the ship, lounger area and the piano bar which is totally non-smoking and the cinema. The cinema is an extra cost £4 and is payable at reception. They usually have 3 different films on.

Exits to the decks are at the rear of the ship and generally in the middle of the three decks to the side.

Great evening entertainment in the bars, disco for the children and usually a singer or local group. No babysitting service is provided but you can get an early morning wakeup call with a cup of coffee and tea for a surcharge.

Prices for coffee from the coffee bistro range from approx £1.40 upwards depending on which style coffee you want. The duty free shops have a great variety of wines, spirits and beers and a fine selection of tobacco and cigarettes. The gift shop which hosts the perfume and aftershave section is my favourite. With all the sample bottles you do come out smelling like an advertisement board. You can also get some good quality jewelry at discounted prices. I usually treat myself to some Pave jewelry. Costs for duty frees are quite reasonable too.

You board in Zeebrugge at approx 8am the following morning. We usually spend the day looking around and shopping and return back for the ferry from 4pm onwards.

If you have never tried this trip you are honestly missing a treat. Its a great fun getaway from the dreary routine life at home. We find its a great trip away from our teenage kids and just gives us a refreshing break away. These trips set sail from Hull on a daily basis. Departing at 7pm.

Would i do this trip again ....Absolutely, ive done it about eight times now and each and every trip has been worthwile. The cheapest ive paid for this trip including car has been as little as £65 for both of us. Prices will of course boom during the peak summer season and holiday terms, winter being the cheapest time to go. Saving my pennies now for the next trip.