Newcastle-Amsterdam Ferry with Dog
We live up north and work full time so getting to Europe with our dog is something we have not done yet. I feel the most stress free way for the dog would be Eurostar but because of the long journey down and back I feel we'd be knackered by the time we get there and when we get home. It says you can take dogs on the Newcastle-Amsterdam Ferry but it is a 15hour journey. There are various options - dog in car; dog in kennel (although I am unclear where the kennel is) and there are apparantly dog friendly cabins.
I wondered if people have experienced either of these options and if so if they would be williing to give more detail re what the entail. I'm worried about my dog being stressed/frightened (he is quite a nervous dog) but also, how do they get to go to the toilet?
Also, can this route be booked through CC and if so, does this generally come out cheaper?
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Forget dog in car for that journey - choose an on board kennel or a pet friendly cabin. If you choose a kennel you can visit the dog to give food and water on the journey. Or the dog can sleep in a pet friendly cabin with you. As you wish. In both cases there will be a designated area of deck where the dog can be taken to urinate.
You can get prices on line from DFDS and from this Club - or by phone right now today if you prefer. Compare them.
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Ah, you got my hopes up there, Tracey - DFDS must have only recently introduced pet friendly cabins.
But then I saw this on their website:
Your pet must remain inside your cabin at all times during the voyage.
Sorry, but 16+ hours in the cabin is not on as far as I'm concerned. There would need to be an exercise area (a la Brittany Ferries) before I'd subject my dogs (and us!) to that crossing.
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Thanks for your comments folks. Sorry for getting your hopes up Brian...we are probably not far from you, just 5 miles south of Durham City. I honestly don't know how he'd cope in kennels...he stays with my mum if we currently go on holiday abroad. Whilst I think he would be more relaxed in the car the pollution and noise on the car decks would worry me even if the crossing was shorter. The cabin would have been my choice...maybe, dependent on price, we might phone up and see if there is an area they can get fresh air during the trip. There is no way we would/could keep him in one place for 15 hours. You never know, someone else may come on who has done the trip and give further insight.
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We've had our two in the car if just a short crossing (an hour or so) and TBH the air pollution is minimal but the car decks are noisy - a lot depends on your dog.
We always go via the Chunnel - costs a little bit more but more flexible and infinitely better for dogs.
If you find out anything further re DFDS I'd be interested to know.
(We're just between Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle, so I guess not too far
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You could always consider the Hull Crossings which, while still overnight are several hours shorter (particularly to Rotterdam). We've never travelled overseas with a dog so can't say what the on board kennels are like.
Our daughter used the Rotterdam crossing with 2 dogs when removing to Holland and the Newcastle crossing when she came over for Christmas before last, both without problems.
Travelling with a caravan we tend to find the Hull Routes cheaper - especially if you travel at a weekend.
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I live in the north and have experience of the Hull/ Zeebrugge/Rotterdam ferries, and also Dover Calais/ Dunkirk. (We travel in a camping car – motor home.) I have never done Eurotunnel so can’t shed any light on how that works.
On the Hull route your dog(s) must be housed in their kennels, there is no option to keep them in your vehicle. The kennels are in a rather groovy converted ‘container’ and have a stack of metal cages, which are (in my experience) kept v clean, are lined with absorbent sheets, nearby are taps to fill up water bowls etc. There is a small designated area nearby where you can take your dog to relieve itself. (Our dogs have never been relaxed enough to make this useful!) Our routine was to get to Hull in good time, evening sailings made this relatively easy, stop around the Humber Bridge, have a walk / Frisbee throw/ let dog do whatever they need to do. Then arrive as late as allowed, so the dogs have as little car deck clanking noisy stress as possible. Settle the dogs into their kennel. You can put their home bedding in their cage. I chose to feed mine in their cage, and leave chew toys for them. Then leave. Go listen to the music in the piano bar, eat dinner, enjoy the entertainment , etc, then sleep. I don’t think it helps the dogs – (or you) to visit them during the crossing. They might be pleased to see you – but then you leave them again. Just be ready to disembark and take them for a frolic. The Rotterdam route is quicker than Zeebrugge, but I found both manageable, even with a highly strung hound who barked the kennel down.
Dover –Calais /Dunkirk is a different prospect. Travelling from the north you can never be sure how long your journey will take. Usually you can get on an earlier ferry if things run smoothly, but if you are on your minutes it can be stressful trying to fit in a dog-toilet break before boarding. So allow plenty of time. On the crossing, the dog (s) stay in your vehicle. In our case, crated within a motorhome. I draw the blinds and curtains, and remember to turn off the alarm, and leave chew toys. It’s usually less than 3 hours from boarding to disembarking so manageable. I always hate leaving them but despite the noisy car deck, our dogs are usually quite chilled when we return to them. Pleased to see us, but not traumatised.
For us, travelling with dogs from the north, no crossing is a hands down winner, it’s swings and roundabouts.
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I have never used a kennel on the many and various crossings I have used. Dogs are happy in the car - or better still in the caravan. I shouldn't say this but one long crossing there was no cabin for me so I "stowed away" in the caravan and was perfectly fine. Yes I know it was a risk but I had carbon monoxide alarm etc and if the ship went down I doubt my chances would have been much better if I had been upstairs! Once all vehicles are on board there is peace and quiet on the car deck so I am happy for my dogs to be in their familiar place.
I think for a crossing of 16 hours I would go for a kennel or cabin though.
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Pippah you rebel, your post made me laugh. Thank you for all your experiences. I'm still undecided. By the sounds of it I think the Ferry is going to be too stressful for Pablo. He would probably struggle with boarding and then kennels stacked as described would be way too much for him (he is reactive to other dogs if restrained/cornered and extremely nervous of anything/one strange). Euro tunnel/Dover is just too far for only two weeks. I won't rule out the cabin option but realistically I think if we go foreign we will probably continue to leave him with his gran
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This may be a bit late sorry. We used this crossing with our Springer a few years ago ( no pet friendly cabins at the time) Never again the kennels were totally unsuitable 3 did not lock and the dogs were roaming around the area. This being rather small and very noisy. I was totally stressed out as was my pet. There was a box with sand in a corner for the dogs to relieve themselves. We returned to collect our dog as soon as possible next morning. When the staff member opened the door a dog who had been loose ran out and up the corridor. We had booked a return trip but came back via Dover. I would never used them again. We did write and complain and received a reply stating that most passengers were happy with the service provided.
As we live in Newcastle area this was in theory the best option for us .... never again.
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