Norfolkline: a well-kept secret (Norfolk Line)

Member Name: tingrid

Product:	Norfolk Line
Date:	26/08/02 (2204 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: cheap, not crowded, fast unloading process

Disadvantages: not much for kids to do

Usually my boyfriend and I take the plane to France, but this time we wanted to leave in the summer, and even so-called 'cheap' companies were much too expensive (about £350 per person instead of the £180 per person we were used to paying) so we decided to have a look and shop around for ferry crossings on the Internet.

I found a very useful site by typing 'cheap ferry crossings to France' in a search engine. It is called cheapest-ferry-crossing.co.uk and it works in the following way: prospective customers enter the dates they wish to leave and come back, and the site looks for the cheapest crossings.

I had personally never heard about the cheapest company: Norfolk Line. For 2 people and a car, it all added up to £160 for a return crossing to Dunkerque (Dunkirk in English). This was cheaper by a very long way, and we chose the very cheapest crossing, if we had chosen to leave on the previous or on the next crossing, on the same day, it would have cost a little bit more, as days are divided into different colour zones for different prices.

I then proceeded to book my tickets online, through Leisure Direction, the company that powers the site, and received a confirmation through the post a week later (I booked the tickets during a bank holiday week end, which may account for this delay). With the confirmation there was a letter, which read that if the information on the confirmation were not right, I should contact them. It also said that I would receive my tickets through the post 7 to 10 days before the departure date, which I did. I would advise printing the reservation form, and keeping the confirmation of course. The tickets themselves were just 2 bits of paper with the necessary information (make of the car, model, registration number, names of people travelling, dates and times of outward and return journeys) printed on them, as is the case with cheap companies.

Now more about Norfolk Line. Though I had booke
d the tickets, I still did not know much about them. Contrary to other, bigger ferry companies, Norfolk Line does not run crossings from Dover to Calais, but from Dover to Dunkirk. Add to this the fact that nobody has ever heard about Norfolk Line, and you will understand why my mum started worrying : 'You know, I had a look at the map, and there are no crossings between Dover and Dunkirk. Are you sure this Norfolk Line exists?' Well, I am happy to say, it does exist, and it is as well it does !

We got some brochures when we checked in for the outward journey, here is a summary of what they said. Norfolk Line has been running a passenger ferry service between Dover and Dunkirk for 2 years only, which account for the fact that not many people know about them. I think they have been around for a while when it comes to freight though. They have 2 ships, both 2 years old, called the Northern Merchant and the Midnight Merchant, probably an allusion to their original and main business: freight. There are now up to 7 return crossings a day between Dover and Dunkirk, which gives people plenty of choice as to when they travel. I read a description of the boats, and I seem to remember that each boat could take up to 100 lorries onboard, as well as up to 85 cars. It will not carry foot passengers or coach groups, as 'this means no long queues [...] and no crowded gangways'. Pets are not allowed either. Then the brochure went on about 'getting going quickly', claiming that 'new loading arrangements mean that you will be able to get on your way quickly'. Check-in procedures were also said to have been upgraded.

The most interesting bit was about Dunkirk, as most people have only ever heard about Calais, 20 minutes away from Dunkirk down the A16. Dunkirk is said to be 'congestion free', and a gateway to not only France, but also Belgium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland etc. There was a chart displaying distances from Dunk
irk to some major cities such as Vienna (581 miles), Brussels (only 104 miles), Munich (531 miles), Amsterdam (only 202 miles), Rome (1,010 miles !), Barcelona (850 miles), Berne (502 miles)... All these cities are at least 24 miles closer from Dunkirk than from Calais, but on such long distances, it does not really matter does it ? Obviously the fact that not a lot of people in England have heard about Dunkirk (apart from those who have heard about the evacuation of allied troops from Dunkirk during World War 2) was seen as a problem by Norfolk Line, so they were trying to highlight the fact that it is ideally situated, well, they should just have said that it is only 20 minutes away from Calais.

There was a word about checking in: no longer than 2 hours and no later than one hour before departure, and then there was a table showing prices. One example: for a car in the summer, it will cost you £210 plus £15 per person. Now I know what you are about to say: this does not add up to £160 does it ? Indeed it doesn?t, because I bought my tickets on offer. There are 2 lines in red at the back of the brochure that read 'Special offers available throughout the year. See national press and website for details'. Standard 5-day return tariffs are cheaper, but week-end sailings are more expensive, and there are fewer crossings.

Right, this is what the brochure said, sounds pretty good, but do they deliver?

We left at the very end of July, and there were not many cars waiting to board the ferry, which arrived alarmingly late. Despite this, everything went fine and very fast, their boarding process must be very efficient indeed, as we left and arrived on time. There must have been around 15 cars onboard, and a lot more lorries. Passengers were mainly families with young kids, retired people and young couples (and lorry drivers).

The boat itself looked much smaller than boats from such major companies as Stena Line or Seafrance, but it
was built on the same pattern as other ferries, that is to say it had a restaurant, a duty free shop that also sold papers and maps (note that alcohol and tobacco are available only while in French waters), a bar, a video lounge? It even had cabins, although I cannot really see the point of these for such a short crossing (2 hours). I cannot see them being booked often either.

The crossing itself was very pleasant as the weather was exceptionally nice, but there was one big lounge with reclining seats and big panoramic windows if it was not nice outside. Or, in case there really was nothing to see, you could always watch TV. I noticed some games for kids in the lounge, but I don't thing there were enough of these to keep all the kids amused. There was a video lounge where cartoons and children's films could be shown, but beware, this is not true for all the crossings. A couple of gaming machines and change machines to complete the picture, and that's it, a pretty normal ferry, only smaller.

Note that the restaurant stops serving about one hour into the crossing, so if you would like to grab a bite you'd better take yourselves there right away.

Everything was spotless and in perfect condition, and there even was a theme to the boat: horse racing (don't ask me why please). There were nice colourful paintings (at first, with the boat moving and all that, I thought one of them featured a dragonfly, but after much staring I realised that it was yet another horse racing picture) scattered throughout the boat, the bar was called 'The Jockey club bar', the room with a panoramic view was 'the Grandstand lounge', and the restaurant was called 'the winning post'.

The crossing itself must have lasted around 1h30, but the entry into the port, all the reversing and manoeuvres took at least 30minutes.

There was no risk of us not finding our car when it was time to go, as there was only one de
ck for cars, and it was not exactly huge either. As there were not too many people onboard (and I feel this was just normal) and lorries were parked somewhere else, there was no crowding in the stairs.

As soon as we got inside the car, the staff started unloading the ferry, the whole process, without exaggerating, must have lasted 5 minutes maximum. Once back on the ground there was not a lot to see, as the port was a commercial and industrial one, not a pretty sight, so there was no point in staying there too long. It was not busy at all there, and there were no traffic jams. There were no other passport checks, so we were off right away. The motorway (the A16) was very easy to find, and so Norfolk Line passengers can start driving away from the port right away to wherever they are off. You do not have to go anywhere Dunkirk, and the motorway is a good start to get used to driving on the right.

Norfolk Line might not be suited to these people who go to France and back the same day to buy alcohol and tobacco. There is one Auchan supermarket not too far away from the docks according to the map (which may show that Norfolk Line would like to attract more of these customers), but I think Calais may be more suited for this kind of trip, as there must be much more choice there. And of course, if you want to leave you car in England, you cannot travel with Norfolk Line. For others, tourists, families, Norfolk Line is definitely the right company.

I can confirm that there were no coach groups onboard the ferry, and I must say it was a nice change. There were a lot of kids around, most of them aged less than 8, and I thought it was quite a shame that there were not more things to entertain them as they were getting bored towards the end of the 2-hour crossing, poor things. When you think about it, adults had newspapers, a bar, a shop, amusement games, kids had the video lounge, when something was on there, and a mere table with a few stickle brick
s scattered on it. They were so bored that the machine people can use to change their euros into pounds was one of the main attractions, much to the annoyance of tired parents.

As there were not too may people onboard, and lorry drivers preferred staying in their lorries (most of which were parked on an open deck), it was easy to find a seat in the lounge or even on the deck.

That was the outward crossing, but the return one went fine too. At first I was anxious that we might have problems finding the port, as it is not exactly as busy and well-known as Dover, but the brochure we got when we checked in had got a map of the Dunkirk area, it tells you what junction to go off at, and from there all you have to do is follow the 'car ferry' signs. Again, no queuing to check in, and before that, no problem finding the Norfolk Line terminal, as it was the only one there. The check-in booth was right in front of the customs police headquarters, so be warned, they are present in Dunkirk as well. The other thing I was worried about was the facilities, would there be any in Dunkirk? The answer is yes, and they are quite good as well. They consist of a lounge, some toilets, a restaurant and even a newly-opened shop called 'The Bottle Stop', where people can spend their very last euros on wine and beer (French wines, but also wines from Chile, Australia, Spain...)

This time the boat was already there, and the boarding process started at least 30 minutes in advance. It was busier then, in the middle of August, than it was at the end of July, but still no crowding, which I was quite happy about. Once again there were a lot of families with kids, retired people, British of course, but there also were a lot of German people. The captain explained that we were going to leave early otherwise we would find ourselves in the tail of a big ship, which would slow us down. Be warned: these guys leave on time, they even leave early sometimes, so you
?d better be there at least 1 hour before departure. So we left early, but then had to wait 15 minutes outside Dover, and ended up being late, the reversing and ?parking? process taking ages. Then quick unloading process, through Dover customs check area etc.

So, in conclusion, I am very glad I went for Norfolk Line, even though I knew nothing about them. They are cheap, quick, and, so far, reliable, and finally the arrival in Dunkirk is a big advantage, not an inconvenient. The only thing I would reproach Norfolk Line with is the insufficient number of games and facilities for kids, which I have noticed even though I don't have kids myself. It would be in their interest to try and keep kids amused (otherwise I am afraid more mature customers may flee the company!) as there are a lot of them, in the summer at least. It would have been a good idea to install more games and even maybe some extra TVs showing cartoons, as the video lounge does not function on all crossings. The sea was very still during both the outward and the return crossings, but I wonder how smallish boats such as the ones Norfolk Line uses would behave in rough weather. Finally, I do not want to be over-enthusiastic, as cheap airlines have been known not to be reliable. I can only hope Norfolk Line will not turn into another Ryanair.

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