Cheap Dover-Calais Ferry Deals discussion

harryhound

Restaurants are likely to be open for Sunday lunch.
Taking Granny and the (well behaved!) kids out to Sunday lunch, is a major French social occasion.
You might need to book.
The good value Ma & Pa type restaurants may well close on Monday to recover from Sunday.

Harry

PS Mothers' Day is not the same in UK & France, so a tip is to take "mother" over to France for a treat.

weenireeni

Hi,

How far are the cheapest wine hypermarkets from the dock in Calais? Going across to get wine for our wedding and not sure how much time to leave before return trip! Any advice muchly appreciated!

harryhound

Have a look at the Majestic Wine Warehouse Calais offers.
You should be able to:
Borrow glasses in UK
Possibly go to a tasting in the UK
Order in advance and get a discount.
At dead times of year like now, there might be further discount coupons floating about.
Find your order ready and waiting - though allow half an hour for possible paperwork delays if you pay by sterling cheque.
(I once had to find two cheques on different accounts for DD's wedding.)
Depending on what you are doing for the rest of the day you may want to load up on the way in or at least check that everything is ready before calling on the way out of France.

Distance depends on your route to France but see my posting above for Calais port (A bit too far to push a sack barrow:D)

Don't forget there can be delays at the border post/ticketing on the way back.

Not the cheapest but probably the most reliable.

Don't forget to check prices on the transport on the way out - our money is so low now that sometimes the ferries can undercut the French prices.

Plushchris

To be honest, last time I went over I was shocked at how expensive everything was, most times you can get it for the same price (or cheaper) over here if you are prepared to shop around and buy stuff when its on offer.

Beer is certainly cheaper in the UK

Wine I found to be a little cheaper in france with a MUCH bigger selection, but again, if you find something you like on offer in the UK its probably just as well to buy it here.

A lot of people forget to factor in all the "trimmings" when looking at prices in france (cost of ferry/tunnel etc. fuel cost, drinks & food on the ferry etc.)

I no longer think of a trip to france as something to do to save money, just as a chance to get something a little different and a day out.

surestart

I hope you dont think this is off-topic. I live in Liverpool and would like to go to France for the day with the wife to do a bit of shopping. Trouble is, the car that I drive only does about 23 mpg. Are there any car companies that hire small diesel cars that also allow you to take the car out of the country, I rang one company who quoted me an extra £60 on top of the car hire.

getmeoutofhere

Plushchris wrote: »

A lot of people forget to factor in all the "trimmings" when looking at prices in france (cost of ferry/tunnel etc. fuel cost, drinks & food on the ferry etc.)

I no longer think of a trip to france as something to do to save money, just as a chance to get something a little different and a day out.

Agree, used to be very cost effective trip, now it's a day out with the slim chance of finding a bargain - especially the free fine from the ferry!

Caracul

Can anyone who has booked this tell me about the wine deal? I have booked, and had the code entered etc, but have nothing on the email confirming it that states either the deal, or the code.

Is it worth ringing up P&O to check, or is it an automatic thing to receive the voucher when you check in?

Cheers

harryhound

The latest catalogue from majesticinfrance.co.uk is guaranteeing at least 2 pound per bottle off the UK price; because following the increase in VAT that is roughly the difference in tax between UK & France.
They are still offering the order-before-you-go and save discounts of 20 quid off 300,
40 quid off 500 and 90 quid off 1000.

That said there is nothing to stop you calling in and buying a modest amount there and then, if for example the car is already loaded with wife kids & grannie..

Nixer

Caracul wrote: »

Can anyone who has booked this tell me about the wine deal? I have booked, and had the code entered etc, but have nothing on the email confirming it that states either the deal, or the code.

Is it worth ringing up P&O to check, or is it an automatic thing to receive the voucher when you check in?

Cheers

I am guessing that since they don't normally send tickets out you will get the wine voucher (and the buy one meal get one free one) when you check in. I don't know for sure though, I'm going March 5th so I'll tell you March 6th.

getmeoutofhere

Nixer wrote: »

I am guessing that since they don't normally send tickets out you will get the wine voucher (and the buy one meal get one free one) when you check in. I don't know for sure though, I'm going March 5th so I'll tell you March 6th.

Yeah, you get the tickets at the check in kiosk. Expect big queues at the food area though, especially if you are one of the later cars to board