Bowled over to Dunkirk by Norfolk Line Ferries (Norfolk Line)

Member Name: apuskiduski

Product:	Norfolk Line
Date:	17/04/09 (630 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Ease of Booking, Cost, Comfort, Facilities on Board, No School trips, fit you on earlier ferries

Disadvantages: Sail every two hours, none other than that

In January, in what can only be described as a moment of madness, I suggested that we (my three kids, mum, dad and myself) embark on an epic journey to spend two weeks or thereabouts at my parents luxury apartment ...ahem...caravan, in Benidorm, Spain.

This plan was hedonistically passed by the travel committee - said members listed above - and another member, my niece, was formally welcomed onto the trip. Seven go to Spain in a Shogun, was to be the title of the adventure. Big bucks at the cinema no doubt.

However, the title soon changed when three other members of the family jumped on the Bandwaggon. Ten family members go mental in a Mitsubishi wouldn't work as we couldn't fit ten in. We needed two vehicles now and it became "Barnsley to Benidorm - or Bust!"

Please note the absence of my husband in all these arrangements. He was either too chicken for the endurance test to come or he just couldn't possibly envisage sharing a caravan and an awning (26ft though it is) with ten others who can fart and snore for England!

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So, now the return journey has been completed and 3000 miles later I live to tell the tale - which I might tell if there's an 'epic road trip' section on Dooyoo.

The section I want to focus on just now is the ferry journey from Dover to Dunkirk. And particularly our experience of Norfolk line ferries with whom we booked.

My parents have had three successful return trips with Norfolk Line from Dover to Dunkirk, having taken two caravans and a car to Benidorm in the past two years, and cheaply too. So, it was agreed that we would see what the ferry company had to offer for this trip.

~~~~~PRICE~~~~~~

In our hedonistic phase of the arrangements we hastily booked a car and six passengers and this cost a very reasonable £82.80, sailing at 2.00am on the first Saturday of the Easter holidays, returning two weeks - less a day - later. Friday 17th April at 4.00am to be precise. The original price for a car and four passengers was £52.80 return which I thought was ridiculously cheap! The extra two passengers cost £7.50 each, each way.

In the next phase of the booking, my brother booked another car and four passengers for £52.80. That's a total of £135.60 for two cars and ten passengers: what a bargain!

On average, then, each person cost £13.56 return, ignoring the two cars. That's £6.78 each way. Can you tell I'm impressed by the cost?

All the booking was done online from the Norfolk line website. We just had to print out the booking confirmation as it's a ticketless booking system, helping to keep costs down for the savvy traveller.

~~~~CHECKING IN AT DOVER/DUNKIRK~~~

No problems here, we just had to pull up to the toll booth style window and present our documents and passports. We had hoped to sail on the 1200 midnight ferry but the queue was astronomical it being the cheapest sailing at the start of the Easter holidays.

Once we had been given our boarding pass and rear view mirror tag stating what lane we had to queue in, we got in line and waited for boarding. While in the queue there isn't a lot to do to be honest. It was pretty cold at midnight so we stayed in the car and either nodded off or stuffed our faces with chocolate - always a good thing to do towards the end of Lent I feel. (It was Saturday and they don't count in Lent anyway!)

There are some toilets and a shopping area within walking distance as well as a couple of fast food outlets and a cash machine. Nearer to the car was a vending machine for coffee and another set of toilets.

There were some decidedly dodgy people hanging about I have to say - not your typical families going on holiday that is; lots of people in large vans going on the 'fag and booze run' as my dad put it. Well, each to their own and as long as it's for their own personal use, who am I to judge?

The facilities at Dunkirk are somewhat less inspiring only open during the daytime and not every day of the week either. The website gives more details.

At Dunkirk there is a Border control that we didn't encounter at Dover and this was a smooth process with a very polite and efficient Customs official in the booth, commenting on the cool nature of my niece's Sir name (Bond).

~~~~BOARDING~~~~
I was totally amazed by the sheer size of the ferries that we travelled on (Maersk Dover and Maersk Dunkerque) and how quickly the boarding staff turned a standing car park on the dock side into a floating one.

As Norfolk lines are predominately freight handlers there are two decks for lorries, large motor homes and cars with caravans and one deck for cars and other light vehicles ( the lightest we saw was a tandem).

No coaches or foot passengers are accepted on Norfolk line ferries. I shared a journey back from Calais a couple of years ago on a P & O ferry with a gazillion school kids and it was like being on a school trip, so the no coach rule looked like a bonus to me.

~~~~~ONCE ON BOARD~~~~~

As I walked onto the first of the two passenger decks I was astounded by the feel of the ship. I knew that this was one of three new ferries that had been brought into commission in 2005 but I couldn't actually believe I was on a ferry as it had the definite feel of a cruise ship to it. Sleek glass and metal trims everywhere, minimalist lines and a great aesthetic mix of furniture and fittings. It was a pleasure to walk onto.

It was incredibly busy however, and it being the 0200 sailing there were people in sleeping bags everywhere. And I mean everywhere. As there were ten of us we were worried we wouldn't find seats together but we managed it, with enough space for a few of use to stretch out and sleep.

Others amongst us, like the shopaholic women types, wanted to first buy some food and drink, some chocolate, perfume and face cream as well as look at the bargains on wine if there were any.

~~~FOOD~~~
We weren't disappointed. With a restaurant, snack bar, bistro café bar as well as a lounge bar and fast food outlet, there were enough places to choose from and none were snarled up with ridiculous queues. My dad had his trusty snap box though and felt on higher moral ground that he hadn't cost himself a single penny or euro whichever you choose to spend.

There was a vast choice of food in the Panorama café too from cooked breakfasts to steak and ale pie, chicken curry and rice, tuna steak or traditional fish, chips and (garden) peas. You could get a wide range of drinks from tea and coffee to wines and beers too. There was something here for every taste. Even a good range of cheeses and crackers! We enjoyed a breakfast going out and a traditional meal on the return journey. I paid £8 for a substantial individual steak and ale pie, chips, carrots, peas and gravy and it was delicious!

~~~SHOPPING~~~

The shopping area was light and spacious, had a strict no under 18s without an adult policy and offered some pretty good bargains like 6 bottles of Blossom Hill Wine for £11. My mum told me she could get a litre of decent stuff in a box from Mercadona's supermercado in Benidorm for 33 cents so that put my purse firmly back in the handbag! Molton Brown was on a 3 for 2 offer which I took advantage of for Father's Day coming up. And who can resist those giant Toblerones? Not me! Gone in 60 seconds!

~~~TRAVELLING WITH CHILDREN~~~

If you had children on board there were two areas dedicated to them. A soft play area for kids under six and another area with video type games and 'educational' type activities, but well screened off from the other passengers so they could play in peace under adult supervision of course.

There were two toilets with baby changing areas and there were options for kids' food on board too - our youngest had a kids' breakfast for less than £4 and it was good enough for me so I sent her back for another!

There was an array of TV sets playing the latest - or recent at least- music videos in the area we sat in, with rolling headlines from BBC News 24. These were interspersed with promotions and offers from the shop.

~~~~TRAVELLING WITH MOBILITY DIFFICULTIES~~~~

For those using a wheelchair, there was lift access directly from the car deck - no awkward steps to negotiate, toilets with dedicated facilities and enough space to move a wheelchair around comfortably on board. I didn't see any wheelchair users on board on either of my journeys but Norfolk line advise that given as much notice as possible, staff will locate your car in the most accessible position for the lifts, with greatest space to open your car doors etc.

~~~WANT TO FEEL PAMPERED?~~~
I was tempted, when booking, to pay £10 extra per person to get a seat in the executive lounge. And regretted not doing it when I couldn't sleep properly for the hour that I wanted to.

By paying £8 in advance (the price has dropped since we booked in January) or £12 at the Reception desk on board, you can have access to very comfortable seating, free tea, coffee, soft drinks and biscuits as well as complimentary newspapers. You can have any paid meals you order served to your table, with a complimentary half bottle of wine, and a 'welcome' reception with a free glass of wine. So, plenty of free wine then!

But that's not all. There's priority boarding and discharge off the ferry too, so you're one of the first on the road towards your destination. Perfect for business or the posh types amongst us! No under 8s allowed here though.

As well as this first class lounge there is the chance to visit the chill out zone where you can enjoy a 10 minute miracle massage, which will help you start you journey feeling refreshed. This seemed a bit steep at £10, but then I didn't try it so can't say if it was worth it or not.

~~~FREIGHT DRIVER FACILITIES~~~
My dad was a driver for GIST before he retired and knew people who sailed on Norfolk line, saying their facilities were top notch. And, indeed most of the upper passenger deck seemed to be dedicated to truck drivers. They have their own TV lounge with relaxing seating, a restaurant with one free meal for every four that they purchase. 15% discount on sailings they make with their car, a discount card on the shopping deck and a separate relaxing lounge.

~~~~OTHER FACILITIES ON BOARD~~~~
Bureau de Change
Gambling Machines
Wifi
A Corporate area for business travellers
Sun deck
Smoking area on the outside deck
3 lifts
4 sets of toilets
Facilities for taking your pets, with their passport

I'm trying to think if I've missed anything from my two brilliantly smooth sailings across the Channel. I can't think that I have only to say that the journey, at two hours, seemed to whizz by. My only niggle would be that there ought to be a sailing every hour, but I have a feeling that these ships are so large that they don't actually need them.

When we returned on Thursday evening on the third day of the French fishermen's dispute, we were updated for the 36 hours prior to our sailing, by phone message. I had to phone them obviously so there was a charge, but the messages were short and to the point.

We arrived in Dunkirk at 9.00pm seven hours before our booked sailing was due to depart. They had efficiently caught up with the back log on cars to the extent that they could let us on that ferry, much to our delight.

I can't say the same for freight however, there seemed to be an 'operation stack' in place here and they were making every effort to catch up with the trucks that were standing at the port. Although very congested looking, it was nothing like I'd imagined after almost three days of disruption.

~~~~DISEMBARKATION~~~
This, for us was also smooth, there was a Customs/Border Control to drive through at Dover when we returned although I didn't notice this at Dunkirk - but I could have been asleep - it was 5.45 am after all.

~~~ADVANTAGES OF NORFOLKLINE~~~

I suppose this is more an advantage of travelling to and from Dunkirk with Norfolk line actually, because there's no where near as much traffic as there is in Calais. The roads in the area are less congested and there is only one ferry operator using the port - Norfolk line! Dunkirk is a little known secret I think, but one that more passengers are catching on to - 2 million last year or there abouts.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my journey on the Cross Channel ferry ( more like cruise ship)from Dover to Dunkirk and back. It was an overnight sailing on both occasions, one extremely busy, the other almost empty of cars and therefore family passengers.

I would always use this company now that I realise I can get a lot of luxury at very little cost.
Well done Norfolk line, you deserve your 2008 Best Ferry Company award at the 2008 Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk Travel Awards. You certainly get my vote!

There are other routes that the company operate and these are all available on their website at:

http://www.norfolkline.com/ferry/homepage.aspx?sr c=nav

Summary: A ferry comfortable journey from Dover to Dunkirk.