Cheap Plymouth / Roscoff available

H1UBS
H1UBS Forum Participant Posts: 37

Just been looking at popping over to France now that a no-deal Brexit has been kicked further down the calendar and the Dog's passport looks safe  ...

Can't believe the prices offered by Brittany Ferries (via the Club website) for ... Plymouth to Roscoff in May.

Variable depending on day / crossing but several options at under £300 RETURN with a Caravan.

Obviously plenty of space available due to the extra crossings bought and paid for by the HMG Contingency Fund post 29th March.

Happy tp take up some space at those prices .. cheers !

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Comments

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,829 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2019 #2

    Thanks for the tip.  I just spotted £250 return on that route for car+Caravan+two adults for 8 to 27 May. Day crossings so no expensive overnight cabins needed and no need to buy site vouchers. 

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,829 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2019 #3

    Someone at Club HQ does indeed read my posts on here. The very next day they put that price up from £250 to £280. 

  • Longtimecaravanner
    Longtimecaravanner Forum Participant Posts: 642
    edited April 2019 #4

    Kicking my self that we decided not to go and have paid out for a couple of sites in Scotland for May. Oh, the difference, paying out for sites here when you can just turn up over there.

  • DiverPhil
    DiverPhil Forum Participant Posts: 96
    edited April 2019 #5

    I've just checked this crossing out and got a price of £180 for a single journey car + caravan in September (winter return dates not available yet for return) 2 days ago it was £140 surprised

    Out of curiosity I also checked out what the cost would be for PVC that I'm considering moving to. For exactly the same dates I get a price of £235 yell 

    Has anyone any idea why a 6.5 m MH cost so much more than combined length of car + caravan 11 m, the heights are both under 3m so its not that. 

    Maybe someone would be kind enough to report my post in the hope that a member of staff could explain.

  • DiverPhil
    DiverPhil Forum Participant Posts: 96
    edited April 2019 #6

    Just checked with Brittany Ferries the above crossing. 

    M/H comes in at £275 with a lge 2/4 berth cabin, caravan £280 so the club must be discounting caravans on this route. So much for the club's name change, just a change of name not attitude.frown

  • allanandjean
    allanandjean Forum Participant Posts: 2,401
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    edited April 2019 #7

    There have been numerous posts re the cost saving  available by purchasing an ITX fare. Plymouth to Roscoff appears to be one of the best routes and especially for a car/caravan.

    If you look on the clubs ferry offers page you will see why-Brittany Ferries have some ‘caravan goes free’ crossings so in effect you are only payimg for a, say, 5 m car as opposed to a much longer MH. 

    Also this is a BF decision not the clubs but you do need to check via the club and not BF.

  • harryb
    harryb Forum Participant Posts: 1,536
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    edited April 2019 #8

    You may also want to check the crossing from Poole to Cherbourg. I booked this route outbound for car/caravan + 2 late May, returning from Roscoff early July plus five nights at a Roscoff site. All this qualified for ITX rates at £300.97 so ferry worked out at approx £207.77

    Sadly health reasons have caused me to cancel. 

  • DiverPhil
    DiverPhil Forum Participant Posts: 96
    edited April 2019 #9

    As far as I know ITX fares are only applicable on return crossings. 

    I can't check a return fare for the dates I am interested in as they are not released yet.

    What I don't understand, if its a BF offer that caravans go free on some crossings, then why is the same crossing not discounted on the BF website. 

    I have in the past used this route so have had the ITX fare and know it is a good saving.

    Likewise my crossing in May from Hull to Zeebrugge, I got a very good ITX fare on that crossing by buying 4 vouchers even taking in the cost of the vouchers I still saved. 

    The gripe I have and know other MH owners have is that a MH takes up half the room of a car + caravan so why do they have to pay more. 

     

     

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,829 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2019 #10

    Good point Phil.  The special ferry offers section on here describes what the Club has negotiated with Brittany Ferries - " Caravans go free on selected sailings or 50% discount. Motorhomes get 10% off".  It hardly seems equal treatment, does it? 

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited April 2019 #11

    I've just done a quick sample for latter part of May on P&O Dover Calais. MH 5.99x2.75 £1019 each way. Same dimensions for a 'large car' £47.50 each way. Now that IS discrimination.

    My "real life booking" for May out and June back was £70 each way, so even assuming the figures above are a glitch, there is still a loading for the 'motorhome' category. A not too unreasonable price though.

  • allanandjean
    allanandjean Forum Participant Posts: 2,401
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    edited April 2019 #12

    The gripe I have and know other MH owners have is that a MH takes up half the room of a car + caravan so why do they have to pay more.

    Hi DP, at the risk of perhaps appearing to be labouring the point its because you are only paying for the car and not the car and caravan.

    As to why the deal is available via the club and not direct I would think that its that all ferry companies offer some type of incentive for the club etc to promote their routes and this is one that, luckily for me, is a very good incentive.

    One point I would also make is that you also need to be aware that if you look at prices online and then go back later to recheck you may find a much higher price.

    This week a price of app £350 jumped to £512 until I cleared the cookies and then it was back to £350.

  • Longtimecaravanner
    Longtimecaravanner Forum Participant Posts: 642
    edited April 2019 #13

    One point I would also make is that you also need to be aware that if you look at prices online and then go back later to recheck you may find a much higher price.

    This week a price of app £350 jumped to £512 until I cleared the cookies and then it was back to £350.

     

    Good point that I think a lot of people don't realise is that via the cookies the ferry company remember your interest so put the price up next time you look.

  • InaD
    InaD Club Member Posts: 1,701 ✭✭
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    edited April 2019 #14

    I'm with you there, DP, I've said the same in previous posts on the subject.  A MH takes up much less space than car+caravan, so simple maths tell me that you can get more MHs on than car+caravan, as most MHs are shorter. 

    Caravan and Motorhome Club, in name only it seems, with discriminatory discounts.

  • DiverPhil
    DiverPhil Forum Participant Posts: 96
    edited April 2019 #15

    So if I'm only paying for the car why is the cost still more?????

    Car + caravan £180  if caravan goes free then the car costs £180 yes!

    So MH should cost £180 if it travels at the price of a car yes!

    But no the MH price is £217 surprised which ever way you look at it MH's are not getting as good a deal as car + caravan yet they take up much less room.

    As ET pointed out, car + caravan, either free caravan or 50% off

    MH goes for price of car (but I've pointed out they don't) or they get 10% off. 

    Again would someone kindly report my post so that a member of staff can comment please.

  • InaD
    InaD Club Member Posts: 1,701 ✭✭
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    edited April 2019 #16

    DiverPhil: Again would someone kindly report my post so that a member of staff can comment please.

    I've reported your post as requested, DP.

  • allanandjean
    allanandjean Forum Participant Posts: 2,401
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    edited April 2019 #17

    Hi DP, The following is from the club website;

    Get the best savings with Brittany Ferries on the following crossings:

    Portsmouth to Caen at 2.45pm and Caen to Portsmouth at 8.30am
    Poole to Cherbourg at 8.30am and Cherbourg to Poole at 6:30pm
    St Malo to Portsmouth at 10.30am Monday to Friday
    Plymouth Roscoff all departures excluding Friday and Saturday, and Roscoff to Plymouth any time (excluding high season)

    Caravans either go free or with 50% discount and 10% off motorhomes on selected French sailings, plus reduced packages.

    Subject to availability.

    So that tells me that Plymouth/Roscoff has best choice of departures at the maximum saving, that if I choose this route my van will likely go free but that if I was to be a MHer then the best I could get would be 10% on selected sailings.

    Cant see why, from the available info, that  you think a MH should be same price as a car? I can clearly see that the deals are not as good for MH but it seems clear why this is and I can understand that you would prefer it to be different.

  • InaD
    InaD Club Member Posts: 1,701 ✭✭
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    edited April 2019 #18

    allanandjean: I can clearly see that the deals are not as good for MH but it seems clear why this is

    I can't see WHY the deals are not as good for MHs at all; I can see the deals available, which are a lot better for caravans than for MHs, as we have already established on more than on 1 occasion.  But I cannot see any explanation as to WHY that is so in a Caravan and Motorhome Club.

  • DiverPhil
    DiverPhil Forum Participant Posts: 96
    edited April 2019 #19

    You’ll find the best ferry and campsite package rates when you book your ferry crossings with us. We work with top ferry operators to bring you some fantastic, great value rates.

    Not only that, you can take your caravan for free on selected ferry crossings or if you’re driving a motorhome, you’ll only pay the rate of a car. Take a look at which ferry operators have this offer available to Caravan and Motorhome Club members.

    allanandjean, the above is the taken from the clubs ferry offers page. 

    Cant see why, from the available info, that you think a MH should be same price as a car? I can clearly see that the deals are not as good for MH but it seems clear why this is and I can understand that you would prefer it to be different.

    I'm sorry but I cannot understand why you are getting so uptight by this.  I do not clearly see why a caravan should go free and a MH is charged more.  

  • DiverPhil
    DiverPhil Forum Participant Posts: 96
    edited April 2019 #20

    InaD, thank you for reporting my post.

     

    Deals for caravans + cars but not MH's when they take up half the space, is just not right in my book. As you pointed out up thread that means that more MH's can be squeezed onto a ferry yet we pay more for the privilege.

    It's about time that the club address this issue or stopped offering deals for caravans as that is discrimination. They promote themselves as a club for both caravans and MH's then treat us equally otherwise the renaming becomes a joke. 

    Just as an aside on the BF site if I try the same booking a MH does come out slightly less than a caravan. 

  • allanandjean
    allanandjean Forum Participant Posts: 2,401
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    edited April 2019 #21

    Line 3 of you post-selected ferry crossings-seems to answer your question as to why Caravans get a better deal.

    As mentioned previously so far as I am aware it is BF who decide the deals not the club so would not appear to be a bias against MH by the club.

    Why you would choose to use the language you have when someone has attempted to answer your questions is sad.

     

  • allanandjean
    allanandjean Forum Participant Posts: 2,401
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    edited April 2019 #22

    Hi, If you look at the ferry deals available with each company it seems that only P&O Hull and Stena Line have offers for a MH at a car fare. I have tried to paste this info into CT but without success.

    I am lucky that my nearest port currently offers the routes with the best discounts. In the past we have crossed from all ports between Plymouth and Harwich, sometimes for convenience and sometimes for cost reasons, and it seems that MH will need to seek out the best deal for them.

    Our MH friends have used Newhaven for their last two trips and have said that one reason is that they no longer wish to travel via Calais not just for price reasons.

     

  • DiverPhil
    DiverPhil Forum Participant Posts: 96
    edited April 2019 #23

    Line 3 of you post-selected ferry crossings-seems to answer your question as to why Caravans get a better deal.

    I'm sorry but I still don't see it, WHY do caravans get a better deal????

    Shopping around for the best deals is something that is done all the time having used the ferries for the last 50 years we are well used to it.

    I'm trying to point out that the club is discriminating against MH's. Why should a caravan + car pay less than a MH half its size. Why are they more deserving of a discount.

     

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited April 2019 #24

    Phil, our crossing Poole-Cherbourg booked for 8th Jan was £144 simgle.

    we are 6.4m.

    we returned return for 23rd March (booked abput 10th March) and the price was......£144.

    when I booked the outbound leg, i didn't check what a rwturn would have been as we didn't know exactly when we were coming back.

    ggenerally, ive found Poole to be the second cheapest crossing after Newhaven-Dieppe, but NH is a mighty long way for us to go...and drive home from.

    ypure right in that there never seems to be 'deals' for MH although the prices I paid were acceptable. 

    good luck.

  • DiverPhil
    DiverPhil Forum Participant Posts: 96
    edited April 2019 #25

    Hi BB, given where we live any port is a long way from home for us laughing

    Trying to get the best deal and a port which puts us where we want to be once we cross, is always going to be a challenge.

    We have used Plymouth before in September and it works for us as its where we want to be. A night crossing is also preferable after a long drive. 

    As said on previous posts its the discrepancy between the 2 types of vehicles prices that really gets my goat. 

    All I want is a member of staff to explain WHY a caravan and car can travel cheaper than a MH half its length.

    Why do the club think its acceptable to favour 1 mode of leisure vehicle over another.

    If its because the crossing in question isn't a popular one then surely the discount should be applied across the board not favouring one vehicle over the other.

    For our May crossing we did indeed get a fair deal on the Hull to Zeebrugge crossing by purchasing 4 vouchers along with the ferry, however this has to be done as a return ferry crossing to get the deal so not always available if you don't know when you are coming back.

    Likewise with the Plymouth crossing, though the 'winter' timetable is not yet available so I cannot select a crossing date to find out what/if a deal would be available. I know I could phone the booking line but I do like to get a 'feel' for what is possible before hand.

     

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,142 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2019 #26

    I may well be wrong here but I understood the club acted as agents for the ferry companies, in the same manner as other travel agents, but passed on their bulk booking discounts (or part of) to us. 

    If that is the case, I think the pricing arrangements with discounts for caravans or MHs would be in the hands of the ferry operators and not the club itself - the club being an intermediary and not the instigator of the pricing policies.

  • Metheven
    Metheven Club Member Posts: 3,987 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2019 #27

    Discrimination, discriminatory, oh dear frown Should I seek out my MEP to complain that operators of 'Aires' discriminate against caravanners.

    It will be the ferry operators that are calling the odds on this one, Email them with the 'unfair' pricing.

  • allanandjean
    allanandjean Forum Participant Posts: 2,401
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    edited April 2019 #28

    I have often wondered how some threads grow and grow but I am now thinking that it is because people want a certain answer and despite others offering information and advice just keep repeating the same question when they don’t get that answer.

    As said previously, and now restated by others, so far as we are aware it is not the club that decide the discounts offered but the ferry companies.

    How you can see this as the club discriminating against you I an not sure but that is not how it looks to me, or it would appear, others.

    Deals are available for MH but, as you have pointed out, they may not be as good as for Caravans.

  • DiverPhil
    DiverPhil Forum Participant Posts: 96
    edited April 2019 #29

    I apologise if you think I'm stuck in a grove, is it to much to ask that the club respond.

    I am aware that it is the ferries that make offers to agents but it is also the club as an agent to negotiate the best deals for ALL its members surely.

    I am not alone in pointing out that deals for MH's are not as favourable as for caravans.

    What has not been noticed is that I am in fact a caravanner as my avatar suggests. I used to own (and may do so again) a MH so am aware of the differences between the deals that are on offer, some may not be.

    I will not post again unless a member of staff responds.

    Thanks to all who have contributed. Apologies to the OP for taking this off thread.

  • Qashqai66
    Qashqai66 Forum Participant Posts: 551
    edited April 2019 #30

    Can anyone please tell me the meaning of ITX?  It would be helpful to understand when I come to arranging our next crossing.

  • eurortraveller
    eurortraveller Club Member Posts: 6,829 ✭✭✭
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    edited April 2019 #31

    Independent Tour Excursion - a package price of ferry plus accommodation  (or vouchers for accommodation) which the Club sells