So about 6 - 8 weeks ago, there we were searching which port to go to/from to go to the Alps! We eventually chose Dover! Then which company to go with?! Speed Ferries were ruled out straight away as my mum doesn’t like hovercrafts! P&O were the most expensive otherwise. Norfolkline were cheapest however we were hoping to go to Calais so that left Sea France! They were also very cheap! £56 return from the 12th Aug - 24th Aug for 3 passengers and 1 car! My gran couldn’t believe the price difference between that and BF. As much as I like BF there prices this summer are horrendous!

Sunday 12th August
Dover ~ Calais
Sea France
Berlioz

So anyway fairly early start to get to Dover as we weren’t sure about the motorways, however, in the end they were fin and we arrived at Dover at about 13:15, two hours before the boat left! We poked our head inside the terminal, seemed very clean to me! We drove to the check-in booths, and saw there was still a Sea France ship in. We asked if we could catch an earlier ferry to save waiting for a good hour and a half, she said yes you can get on the next one that leaves in 15 minutes for an extra £10! We took this offer and were told to go to lane 119!

As it turned out the ship we were going on now was ‘Berlioz’ instead of ’Cézanne’ which is what we would have had! We were all rather pleased because as I’m sure you know Berlioz is a lot more modern than Cézanne! The ships in at that time were, SF Berlioz, PO Pride of Calais and there was a Norfolkline in, there were others but can’t remember!

We boarded on the time we should have departed, however we were in no hurry! We went up some stairs and ended up in ‘La pub’ where we spent the first part of our crossing having a drink and watching our departure. We left 15 minutes late although when we did depart we shot out of berth so quickly it shocked me! We stayed in Le pub for about half an hour then went to the bureau de change, which according to my dad we got ripped off by the exchange rate! After this we went in to the self service, I had fish and chips, very good indeed! It was amazing how many ships were out in the channel and it was amazing how soon we got to Calais! We arrived about 15:00 so we caught up on time. We didn’t get time to look round the shop go outside much or do anything else really as the time went so quick! But from what I could see it was a good ship and I would travel with Sea France again!


Wednesday 22nd August
Le Havre ~ Portsmouth
Norman Spirit
Ld Lines

So we decided to come home a couple of days earlier as we didn’t want to face the bank holiday traffic coming back. We had a great time in Les Gets in the Alps and would definitely go back there again and in fact we are next March! We came back to Normandy to see my grandparents as was what we were going to do anyway, you can really notice the difference in weather up north of France compared to down south North is just like English weather! Anyway we going to go to Calais however none of us felt like it! So I suggested, do a quote with LD Lines, 3 passengers, 1 car £74 - 107 Euro, said the woman. We quite fancied that because we also rang Sea France who said in total it would cost Euro 40 to change our sailing as we were on a non refundable fare, and we would have needed to put in 60 - 70 Euro petrol anyway so it worked out cheaper. So LD lines said if we wish we can just turn up book and pay our crossing tomorrow (the day we were sailing).

So we got to Le Havre terminal there are two men in front of us who are doing the same thing booking then! To which the lady replies sorry the ship is fully booked today! Disaster! We looked at each other with horror but we gave it a go anyway! We asked if we could have a sailing for the 3 of us, She checked on her computer but looked doubtful, her and her colleague and a natter in French and from what my mum could make out, the colleague said “can’t you do so and so….”
So the woman goes out the back to talk to someone the colleague steps in! “ Umm how come you didn’t pay yesterday?” We replied “Because we were told we could just turn up book and pay now because there was plenty of room available,” “ah yeah, that may have been me you spoke to” she says. The woman comes back with a male colleague who looks at the screen, “umm we can just squeeze you on” he says “it will be 105 Euro!” Which turned out 2 Euros cheaper!

So we joined the quite empty car lanes and were literally boarded straight away! Our car was situated by ‘the green stairs’ which were actually painted blue! From where we boarded just by reception it reminded me very much of Transmanche, however as you explore the boat a bit more it’s 10 times better! We struggled to find our way around at first but then we found the bar and plonked ourselves down! So departure was on time and we had a very professional announcement from the captain welcoming us onboard and wishes us a pleasant crossing. He also told us that the weather conditions weren’t brilliant and at first the ship would move around a bit but as we get in to the English half it would calm down and that they’d try and make the journey as comfortable for us as possible which I though was very well said! And literally as soon as we left the rough journey began. It was probably only a force 6ish or whatever it was on Wednesday but it wasn’t nice and the boat did move around a fair bit especially at the front! So for the first half of the crossings I wasn’t feeling brilliant! But about 3 hours before I got a lot better and walked around a bit. I poked my head in the shop, looked pretty impressive! They sold newspapers in the blue mountain café but by then they had sold out, Little Italy looked OK but the worst part of the ship by far is the horizon lounge! Baby’s screaming, kids playing tag and people sleeping on the floor ready for you to step on them! The Cotton club looked very smart, didn’t have a cabin but I poked my head round the door of the new sleeping recliner thingies they looked alright, various stains on the carpet along the corridors aren’t very nice! Bought a Cornish Pasty for £3!!! Quite a rip off and didn’t taste brilliant either!

So it 20:30 and we couldn’t see land which was odd as we were arriving in an hour. At 21:00 were coming up to the Isle of Wight when the captain announced that we would be running half an hour late and wouldn’t be able to get on berth until about 22:00 due to the weather conditions, he also told us all roads going out of Portsmouth were fine (but he turned out wrong in the end).

So we docked at about 22:00 with Mont following closely behind so he must have been late too!
We went down the green stairs painted blue and got off the ship about 22:20.

SEA FRANCE:
I was very impressed with Sea France and would definitely travel with them again. Although we didn’t look at everything on there, the ship was clean, modern, stylish and Sea France were quite cheap so I’d be more than happy to travel with them again.

LD LINES:
LD lines were fine, although they could learn a thing or two from BF (Not Prices!!!). I think because the sea wasn’t brilliant I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have if it was calm otherwise I would also travel with them again. But what struck me, I know it used to be a P&O ship but, they were very similar it was as if it was P&O just calling themselves LD Lines. I preferred the ex POLH and POP but Norman Spirit did exactly what it said on the tin, get us there from A to B.

So that’s my VR and to sum up, I had a great time!!!

One question, see if you know, what happened to the staff who worked on the POLH and POP my mum thought they might have worked for LD Lines?

I'll add some pics soon!

Good VR, Dom.

Your mum should rethink her opinion of Speed Ferries, as my mum gets seasick at the first feel of even a small wave ( :lol: ) and she really likes Speedferries.

LD Lines sound a little like ryanAir. You pay a low price, and get a relatively low service.

The terminal at Le Havre is really grotty, isn't it? I remember being there in the P&O days, and the woman's coffee machine had broken :D

Try and travel Norfolkline on your next crossing, then you can compare them with the Berlioz.

Julian

Great report - it's a shame you were feeling a little under the weather at first, you probably lost a load of time sitting round going "ooooh" :P

It didn't sound like there was much to 'ooh' at onboard LD Lines though, did it? :unsure:

Oh, onboard Norfolkline they have fresh orange juice, its grrrrrrrreat! :D :lol:

Yeah but that's the only flavoured juice i don't like = Orange!

Haha B) I'm sure they have more <_<