Hoverspeed (Hoverspeed Fast Ferries)

Member Name: polydeuces

Product:	Hoverspeed Fast Ferries
Date:	06/08/08 (140 review reads)
Rating:

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Disadvantages: -

I travel regularly to Europe on business as wells as for holidays. Generally this means about 12 channel crossings a year. I tend to prefer the Eurotunnel service for my business trips when time is the most important factor but I have also used the Ferries frequently and over Easter 2001 used the new SeaCat service which has replaced the discontinued Hovercraft service. I thought I would take the opportunity to share my views on the different services.

The premise is this, if you are driving over to France or Belgium from the Dover area which is the best service. I am comparing the SeaCat service run by Hoverspeed, the le Shuttle service run by Eurotunnel and the Ferry as run by P&O Stena line. I will compare ease of booking in, ease of boarding and getting off, comfort on board during the journey, smoothness of the crossing, terminal facilities and overall value for money.
Booking In
All the services are easy to use and booking in does not take very long. There can unfortunately be some delays with Eurotunnel due to the large numbers using the service and traffic backs up along the M20. For this part though I give the following marks out of 10 ;-
Hoverspeed : 8 P&O Stena Line : 8 Eurotunnel : 5

Easy of Boarding and Getting Off
The Eurotunnel trains are very easy to drive onto and off again. The P&O Ferry is also large enough to be a simple drive on at the stern and off at the bow (or vice versa). On both these services the cars are in almost straight lines whenever you get on or off. Alas this is not the case with the SeaCat. Cars seem to be jumbled in all directions and depending where you are on the car deck you may have to reverse. The loading and unloading takes somewhat longer as a result. A serious down side to the SeaCat. Marks out of 10 :-
Hoverspeed : 3 P&O Stena Line : 9 Eurotunnel : 9
Comfort On Board
Of course for the Eurotunnel this is a case of How comfortable is your car? As you remain with your car for the whole journey the trip is as comfy as your car lets you be. You can stretch your legs to go to the toilet or stand by your car but that's it. OK for a business trip but as part of the overall ambience of your holiday, perhaps not ideal. The Ferries nowadays are superb and have the quality of facilities which would not have shamed a cruise ship 10 years ago. Plenty of room to walk about, good food,
comfortable seats, the ferry companies have defended themselves against the tunnel with service quality. The on-board shopping always has a great choice with some good bargains in a spacious area.. The Hoverspeed service should also do the same but the crossings I had over Easter were very disappointing. The quality and choice of food was very poor. The number of seats is just about sufficient for the number on the ship. The on-board shopping area was abysmally small and had very little choice or stock. The staff in all areas of the ship were unhelpful and disinterested and have the silliest uniforms imaginable. I am sorry to say the service just invited ridicule and parody. Marks for comfort :-
Hoverspeed : 4 P&O Stena Line : 9 Eurotunnel : 7

Smoothness Of The Crossing
There are a couple of things to consider here. Firstly a lot depends on how rough the seas are for the Ferry and SeaCat and the second is it does matter how rough the seas are for the Eurotunnel as you won't see a wave. On the basis the train will always be smooth then it has to have top marks. I know for some people who wish to cross the Channel this is the only important issue for them, some people just hate sailing. The SeaCat was reasonably smooth and does skim over the water well. You do notice the vessel rock about when forward momentum is slowed near the destination port. The vessel is a lot smaller but a lot faster than the ferry and this has plus points and negative points. Marks for the smoothness :-
Hoverspeed : 6 P&O Stena Line : 6 Eurotunnel : 10
Terminal Facilities
As the newest infrastructure the Eurotunnel terminal is by far the best. It has been spread over quite a wide area and access to it is very easy. There are plenty of eating places like McDonalds and Costa coffee and shops like W H Smith and the usual post-duty free type shops. The P&O ferries seem less well served and it all felt a bit dingy last time we went. Hoverspeed have obviously refurbished their terminal recently but it felt a little empty. However the prices at the Hoverspeed drink shop were the lowest I have seen recently and they do have an order and collect service which worked well. Hoverspeed and the Ferries attract a lot of passengers seeking to avoid duty on drink and tobacco and probably for them the SeaCat would be best for speed. Marks for the terminals ;-
Hoverspeed : 7 P&O Stena Line : 6 Eurotunnel : 9

Overall Value For Money
Quite often nowadays the actual cost of the channel crossing is hidden in the ticket costs as part of a package. There are also a number of offers and deals which can significantly reduce the cost if you are only planning to be away for one day or 5 days. Overall though, the prices, when compared on a like-for-like basis, are all quite similar. It is clear that each service provider monitors the others prices closely and whilst there is competition, it is not exactly cut throat. The extra cross-channel capacity which the Eurotunnel has brought has been filled with a substantial increase in cross-channel demand despite the ending of the duty-free arrangements. Eurotunnel is slightly the higher in price as it does attract the non-sailors among us. The Ferries and SeaCat are cheaper so if you book a break away which includes travel and accommodation it is likely you will be allocated a berth on these services.
If you look beyond the fares and see what else the others provide then I think the Ferries have it for value but not by much.
Hoverspeed : 7 P&O Stena Line : 8 Eurotunnel : 7
The total scores out of 60 then give the following result :-
Eurotunnel 47
P&O Stena Line 46
Hoverspeed 35

On this showing the Hoverspeed SeaCat service will have to try harder. I was disappointed with the overall attitude of the staff and some problems like the lack of ease boarding are hard to overcome/ That being so they must try harder with the service on board which had a feeling of make-do about it. It is hard to think what more the Ferries can do. There is no doubt they are trying very hard and in the end they would have won but for the fact you can sometimes get a bad crossing. That is not their fault but of course it's not the passengers fault either and it is they who pay the fare and make the choice. Overall the convenience of Europtunnel gives it a marginal edge but not to the extent where you would not wish you could guarantee good weather and be on a ferry with some personal service and a holiday feeling.

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