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First Impressions -
although a bit confusing,
the P&O check in booths we're easy enough to find, and the staff
were very helpful in getting us checked in on the next boat, as we
had missed ours because of an accident earlier in the morning on the
M11. Not even really that busy considering it was the Monday before
le mans. and there was no sign of the free break fast we had been
promised by BP.
-
The Port -
once the car was parked up
in the queue we had a bit of time to wonder around the small
terminal building. it wasn't really too busy which was nice. There
was a small bar which wasn't very busy but then again it was about
11 in the morning
-
Embarkation -
very quick and efficient,
we waited around 5 minutes and then were on the boat up near the
front.
-
Comfort -
not a great deal in the way
of comfort or indeed rest as we appeared to be sharing the boat with
about three loads of school kids off to France. So not a lot of
chance to catch up on sleep during the crossing, but then again the
crossing is only an hour and a half so its no great loss really.
-
Facilities -
There was certainly plenty
to keep yourself entertained with, as well as the custom 'duty free'
shop on board there were about 4 different restaurants. a couple of
bars and a lounge spread out over 4 decks the toilets and showers
we're also in brilliant order considering the amount of use the
encounter and the small turn around times between sailings
-
The Journey -
Hour and a Half crossing so
quite quick for a boat, very smooth, just a shame it wasn't a bit
warmer so we could spend some time on the deck outside.
-
Disembarkation -
went very well considering
this is normally the part of the journey when a car on the boat
normally breaks down mysteriously we were the last back to our car
and were off the boat well with in ten minutes and onto the French
auto route in no time
-
Value -
given a choice between the
chunnel and the ferry. I would take the chunnel every time, however
when we looked into booking the chunnel it was going to cost around
£200 as opposed to the £85 that it would cost on the ferry, so we
went on the boat purely because of the saving. Yes, its a bit longer
but its not worth paying an extra £115 to get there in 35 minutes
-
Overall -
Dover is the easiest and
quickest port to get to for us, and seeing it was so much cheaper
than the chunnel really this year it was a no brainer. Next year
we're aiming to go on the chunnel but really I would have no
hesitations about going on the boat again. Like going on a plane,
the thing is the luck of the draw with your fellow passengers, but
going around Le Mans time means you have a good idea of the type of
people your gonna be sharing the boat with.
