Hello Dear Reader,
In response to the requests; here's my froogy guide to how to travel by car ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff in Brittany. First of all there is the booking. You can book almost a year in advance, usually November the year before, for let's say July the following year. You'll need to book well in advance if you want a family sized cabin, because most cabins are only two berth. If you have no children and a stronger constitution than DB and I , you can just book a reclining seat each. That's the cheapest option. If you travel by day, you don't need to book a cabin or seat and that is by far the cheapest option. Google the name of the ferry company and go to their website for prices and time tables.
Food - We travel by night so don't take any thing and usually just buy a cup of tea on the way out. We bought something to eat on the return and it was highly priced, but not the rip off it could be with a captive audience. In the day, families take big picnics as it would be unaffordable for a family of six or more to buy food in the cafes and bars on the ferry. We've done this ourselves.
Arrival - We choose to arrive really early, then we watch a film or read. We would rather wait for two hours in advance to be one of the first ones off the ferry when we arrive home in Plymouth. We live thirty minutes from the port and were home 7.15 this morning. On arrival, you will go into a queue and go through passport control, who will then give you a boarding pass, which you hang on the rear view mirror and keys for your cabin, which look like thick card credit cards which you insert in and out of the cabin door to get in.
Getting onto the ferry.- You will be marshalled onto the ferry by the staff in smart airport like attire. They will tell you which lane to drive in, which deck to drive to and where to park - 'exactement!' - You will be parked bumper to bumper and at peak times, there is no gap between one car and the next, so jump out quickly before another can jams you in.
The cabins - Your cabin can be found by checking your ticket in advance. The first number tells you which floor it is on and the other numbers tell you which cabin number. You can adjust the temperature of your cabin. It has two bunks, one of which you will need to pull down and there is a ladder to the top bunk. The beds will be all made up waiting for you. Towels and toiletries are provided inside the ensuite shower room.
I'll add more information tomorrow, I hope the short film helps - Please ignore the fire at the end......I was trying to take a photo.
Love Froogs xxxxx
Brittany Ferries are great and you still feel as though you are in France when you are on board.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that you had a lovely ( and frugal) holiday!
We used Brittany ferries for years, always taking an over night crossing going out and a day crossing coming home.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you had a good holiday.
X x
Nice-looking boat, cabins only look small though?
ReplyDeleteFroogs, we only went to Brittany once (OH collapsed on the boat and ended up in hospital in Morlaix) we travelled down from Edinburgh and went over on the night ferry to Roscoff too.
ReplyDeleteWe have also travelled to St Malo overnight, again from Edinburgh, we spoilt ourselves and had a commadore cabin, we got fruit and continental breakfast, both of which we packed into our picnic bag, the fruit lasted us most of the holiday!!
We also used the French ferries from Dover, laterly we went through the tunnel using Tesco vouchers to pay for it. The last couple of journy's we did were both to the south of France so involved staying in the B & B chain overnight going down and coming back, you get a 'help your self to as much as you can eat' breakfast so bread, butter cheese, yogurt and fruit found its way into our picnic bag. On a couple of occasions we also hard boiled eggs to have with our lunch.
Reading about your trip filled me with nostalgia for things passed. We both love France and the french people, unless a miricle happens we will never get back again.
We even had two side trips to Paris for long weekends flying from East Midlands......
Thank you very much for all those informations and the video ! I'm going to show the video to my children, as they have never been on a ferry !
ReplyDeleteDo you think arriving 2 hours in advance is enough or more is better ?
I love ferry travel. We took a French ferry from Dover once. There were 4 of us and taking the bus to Dover and the ferry from there was a great saving for us.
ReplyDeleteFor your American readers, the Alaska Marine Highway ferries are a great way to get to Alaska! We did this 18 years ago and we loved it. We went around the first of July and it was light for nearly 24 hours. Although we had booked a cabin, I could have just as easily slept in a recliner seat in between fabulous views of the Inside Passage. Some younger, hardier types pitch pop-up tents on the deck. Also, the most memorable picnic we've ever had was after we picked up a chicken "meal deal" in Juneau and took it aboard the ferry. Ferry food was good and reasonably priced, but this was better!
So glad you had a nice holiday!
Brilliant little film, I've never seen the Brittany ferries before.
ReplyDeleteYou've still not tempted us to travel by ferry though we both get horrendously seasick (yes, Lovely hubby WAS in the Royal Navy for 24 years, but on a submarine after discovering just HOW seasick he got). We did price up the ferries to Guernsy, where we're going in a few weeks in the interest of frugality, but we managed to get flights instead for the same price....PHEW!!
Sue xx