Does anyone have any recent experience of going through the ferry ports and dealing with the latest EU EES regulations? Am wondering how Portsmouth and Newhaven are dealing with them and are they better to use than Dover this year?
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The EES will be done when you arrive in France from Portsmouth or Newhaven - not on the UK side.
But although the Dutch ports have EES working very few French ports have managed to get the system of photos and fingerprinting up and running for car passengers. Perhaps they are not trying
. If and when they do get the system working the trick will be to be one of the first off the ferry.
No EES on our arrival in Cherbourg at the end of April this year, not even passports physically stamped. We were out of the port less than 10 minutes after leaving the ferry.
Bofs, warning for next year… Brittany Ferries have announced that the Poole to Cherbourg ferry route is closing permanently in November 2026 and the ship Barfleur is to be sold.
Post last edited on 30/06/2026 17:24:47
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Quote: Originally posted by Netherton on 30/6/2026
Bofs, warning for next year… Brittany Ferries have announced that the Poole to Cherbourg ferry route is closing permanently in November 2026 and the ship Barfleur is to be sold.
Post last edited on 30/06/2026 17:24:47
BU**ER!
Used it a couple of times, and considered it a few more, as an alternative to Portsmouth-Caen. It can make sense to us as one of my pals lives in North Devon, and it's lot easier for him to get to/from Poole! We've also used it when we've fancied turning our return journey into a bit of a sightseeing trip further west along the coast to Caen before boarding a ferry.
Not all bad news perhaps, BF Portsmouth-Cherbourg is an alternative.
Not so good news is BF Portsmouth-Le Havre is also closing from October 2026!
BF are citing a number of unsustainable costs as the underlying cause, AND 'unfair competition' from the eastern end of the channel! Well I for one have no desire to cross on the eastern channel routes, even if cheaper, the UK journey around London is the stuff of nightmares for me! - I want western channel crossings!
Quote: Originally posted by Netherton on 30/6/2026
Bofs, warning for next year… Brittany Ferries have announced that the Poole to Cherbourg ferry route is closing permanently in November 2026 and the ship Barfleur is to be sold.
Post last edited on 30/06/2026 17:24:47
Thank you, I didn't know that.
We haven't used it for a while though, preferring the overnight Portsmouth to Cherbourg crossing these days.
To be honest, Barfleur was never the most luxurious of ferries, but it did the job and suited us at the time.
Like Monty, we much prefer the western crossings so hopefully the rest keep operating.
Sad to see and I think the town of Poole is likely to suffer as a result. So much more freight traffic travels from Ireland, rather than their uk crossings to France in recent timesI believe the unfair competition that they refer to is the very heavily subsidised Newhaven/Dieppe crossing!
Personally, we always use Plymouth/Roscoff these days - a gentle roll down the A38 leads to a very relaxed crossing that just suits us in so many ways.
------------- Mart
(°\=/°)
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A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Port hold ups?
via mobile 29/6/2026 at 9:54pm
