It would seem that Dover/Calais crossing operators have fallen out of love with car & caravans users. After being quote £450.24 Eurostar and £418.20 cheapest ferry price for my car 4.7 mts. & caravan 7.4 mts. total 12.1 mts..I checked out the price of a motorhome.
The prices for a motorhome only go up to 10 mts. on the Caravan Club booking forms and price for the same dates and times was £206.08 for Eurostar and £224.10 for the ferry. So for my car and caravan which is an extra 2.1 mts. in length I was quoted an extra £244.16 on Eurostar and £194.10 on ferry. That seemed to me to be a bit of a rip off.
I wrote to the Caravan and Motorhome Club querying this and their reply was that all their prices and discounts are taken from the systems of the operators so they don't have an input into the actual pricing, which is fair enough. It seems that the companies have each invested in a new booking system with the aim of maximising their revenue. The common theme seems to be that there is a base price for each vehicle type and an added price for each towed item according to its length and height.
So instead of being charged by the length of connected car and caravan we seem to be charged as a car, the caravan is then charged separately at the same price as a motorhome according to its length. So the price is not based on the space taken!
I hope that you understand my explanation, I would attach the letter I received from the C.& M.C. but I don't seem able to.
Do you think this is fair?
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Well yes however they are calculate it the prices are scandalous. I recall in 2019 I got an early hours weekday car/caravan crossing for around £70 each way. Even in Oct 2020 I booked a P&O crossing back from France a few days before travel & the price was about £100 I recall.
DFDS used to be cheaper than P&O but are now dearer. Irish Ferries have started a Dov/Cal service & they seem little cheaper although their website does not offer bookings later than Feb at the moment. Previously with 3 Dover operators prices were much more competitive.
For me though living near Harwich a day crossing Harwich Hook is looking a better bet. My actual road mileage using that route is little different going to south west France than via Dover & car/caravan is around £150 each way. Prices on this route are little changed for several years.
I have no intention of booking anything until much nearer our June departure but Harwich is looking good for me unless Dover prices drop considerably. I have used the Harwich day crossing plenty of times & it is a nice ferry for a 7hr crossing.
Post last edited on 12/01/2022 18:05:51
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“For me though living near Harwich a day crossing Harwich Hook is looking a better bet. My actual road mileage using that route is little different going to south west France than via Dover & car/caravan is around £150 each way. Prices on this route are little changed for several years.”
We live in Cornwall and for many years have used Brittany Ferries having got fed up of the “drag to Dover”.
Way back it was slightly more expensive but has for a long while now been cheaper, with a booking via the CaravannClub saving almost 50% on booking direct.
However, my quote for 2022 is £300 more than my last crossing 2019 for ver similar dates so, as we are heading for Italy we will be using Harwich for a grand total of £183 return, out June back July.
Is there any advantage of buying a package from the CMC including sites? Sometimes it works out cheaper if you don't use the site vouchers. I am sure that Eurotunnel and the ferries are trying to make up for the millions they have lost over the past two years but it will no doubt start to settle down. If you are not going immediately I wonder if it would be worth waiting a bit as the prices are bound to put people off so there may be some late booking bargains?
I find it a bit of a bugger trying to get car/caravan on Eurostar, so much prefer to use my Tesco vouchers on Eurotunnel.
This helps a lot.
------------- XVI yes?
As well is two words!
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Yes David buying a package of 4 overnight vouchers from CMC and travelling with P.& 0. would save me £70.00, that is without using the vouchers. The vouchers wouldn't be any good to me but it is still a saving.
The CMC did give me an example of using my dates for Harwich to Hook of Holland and the return fare was £181.45! This would not be much use to me as I live in Berkshire and would be travelling to Spain but what a difference in price to the Dover crossings.
We are not looking to go till August so I am going wait till nearer the time. I think that they have mothballed some of the ferries and cut down on the number of crossings.
How things have changed, we all used to wait till the Caravan Show in October for the code for cheap deals.
Quote: Originally posted by David Klyne on 12/1/2022
Is there any advantage of buying a package from the CMC including sites? Sometimes it works out cheaper if you don't use the site vouchers. I am sure that Eurotunnel and the ferries are trying to make up for the millions they have lost over the past two years but it will no doubt start to settle down. If you are not going immediately I wonder if it would be worth waiting a bit as the prices are bound to put people off so there may be some late booking bargains?
David
Hi David, Have to say that the foreign travel booking site is quite good as it now tells you if adding sites/vouchers would reduce the cost.
I am trying to view my situation positively and be grateful for all the savings we have made over the years via the caravan club but it’s quite hard at times!
Good result & thanks to those who pointed me in the right direction. I have booked a Harwich Hook return car/caravan crossing with CCC for £181. That included a £20 non member fee. To book same crossing for same price with CMC would have required joining club for £56. That would still have been £100 cheaper than booking on Stena website but it occurred to me to check CCC website & they turned out to be cheapest of all. I have never been interested in joining either club. So reasonably priced crossing for our 90day trip June-Sept. Well pleased.
Didn't think to look at CCC as i believed they no longer had a foreign travel service so just to reinforce the advice to always check, check and check again my proposed trip is £181.45 woth CMC, I am a member, and £194.26 with CCC including the £20 non member fee.
Also looked at a BF crossing and that was, on a price of over £600, £7 cheaper with CCC but £13 more when non member fee added.
------------- Allan
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Quote: Originally posted by David Klyne on 12/1/2022
Is there any advantage of buying a package from the CMC including sites? Sometimes it works out cheaper if you don't use the site vouchers. I am sure that Eurotunnel and the ferries are trying to make up for the millions they have lost over the past two years but it will no doubt start to settle down. If you are not going immediately I wonder if it would be worth waiting a bit as the prices are bound to put people off so there may be some late booking bargains?
David
If you book both together you get the ABTA cover so financial protection if your holiday gets cancelled eg covid
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: Dover/Calais pricing rip off. for caravan
via mobile 12/1/2022 at 5:58pm
