P&O Ferries Dover-Calais (P&O Ferries)

Member Name: dancingirl

Product:	P&O Ferries
Date:	20/09/09 (158 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, easy, relaxing

Disadvantages: May have a long queue at check in

I have a holiday home in France and use P&O ferries a few times a year traveling from Dover to Calais. The crossing is about an 1 1/4 hours which suits me fine as I tend to get sea sick. I book my tickets on line which is very easy and just takes a few minutes. As it's only a short crossing the tickets are very reasonably priced - I get mine for £60 return however I do tend to travel at night, it will be more expensive for a day time crossing.

Routes

P&O ferries run four different routes to:-
Dover - Calais
Hull - Rotterdam
Hull - Zeebrugge
Portsmouth - Bilbao

It may take longer to travel by ferry but you can take your car and pack as much as you want, unlike airplanes where you are restricted by a weight limit.

Check in

Once you've booked your tickets it will tell you what time you have to arrive at the port. Usually this is half an hour before boarding. Depending on what time of the year you go will determine how much queuing time there is at the port. School holidays are much busier than other times in the year. I went to France in May and had my ferry booked at about 2 in the morning and arrived at the port early, P&O were very good, as there were no queues and because I was early they let me get on the earlier ferry. However, when I went to France in August I traveled at the same time and again left early but got stuck in traffic on the way and when I got to the port I queued for half an hour so I missed my ferry. Again it wasn't really a problem, I wasn't in any rush and P&O put me on the next ferry (which was only an hour later).

On board

Once on board there are a few things to keep you entertained for the crossing including:-
a bar
Costa coffee
restaurant
shop
family lounge
club lounge
foreign exchange
and also you can walk out on deck to get some fresh air and stretch your legs.

These are all available on the Dover to Calais crossing, other crossing may have other forms of entertainment.

Calais Port and Return

Once you've arrived in Calais it will take about 5 minutes to reach one of the main roads which are very clearly signed. The return journey is much the same as the outbound, arrive half an hour before check in and in my experience if your early you can get on the earlier ferry (if there's space) and if you miss your ferry then you'll be put on the next available one with no extra charge.

Overall, I would recommend using P&O ferries, it's an easy, relaxing and cheap way to travel. It may take longer to get there but at least you can move around on the boat unlike most other forms of travel. There's lots to keep you entertained on your crossing over (great for kids). The only downside is not knowing how long you'll need to queue for at the port so may miss the ferry you've booked on. It's probably best to be safe and leave with plenty of time to spare.

P&O Ferries Website: http://www.poferries.com

Summary: A great way to travel