hello, I don't know if anyone can advise me, but my Wife has had to change jobs, and she loves her new one BUT, big but, she cannot book her holidays until the last minute (well, a few weeks). I have lived my life planning ahead, and ALWAYS booked ferry crossings as early as I can. I am now in a sort of limbo, can't even think of what to do next year-does anyone have experience of last minute ferry booking, or of even just turning up (we normally sail from Dover, but any ideas or experiences or even optimistic vibes would be welcome, regardless of port!). I wonder if the prices crash at literally the last minute, because if I can't book until the last few weeks I know the price will be throught he roof. thanks, JD
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If you book one of the Dover ferries in Jan when its cheap at roughly the times you might want, ie random dates in Jul/Aug, then you can ammend the bookings at a later date for £10 provided you still sail at the same times of day as originally booked.
If you book after about May the price will rise considerably. Don't turn up & pay on the day it will be v expensive & don't book Eurotunnel, if you ammend later you have to pay the fare advertised at the time which can be £40 each way more than at the time you first booked.
i never book early . only booked last week to go to spain in 2 weeks . tell them you want a good price plenty of discount .it works. if you use dover always pay for a middle of the night crossing if you turn up early and there is a crossing available you get it at the cheaper price . be a devil it works sometimes . life can be too short to plan every thing. we set off to go somewhere and often end up somewhere else . have an adventure dont be serious, have fun .cheers alan.
Quote: Originally posted by vwalan on 04/11/2009
I never book early. only booked last week to go to Spain in 2 weeks.
You can book only a couple of days in advance at this time of yr & get a cheap price. I assumed the op was reffering to peak time of yr Jul/Aug crossings which he will get far cheaper if he books Jan/Feb & then ammend at the time as I suggested.
If the op wants to travel any time except May/Jun/Jul/early Sept he can book only a short time in advance & the price should be reasonable, I should have made that clear. I find online booking on the ferry companies' websites cheapest.
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I agree with ArtJackson - book now and amend later if you're going in 'the summer'. It's not surprising that vwalan got a good price for a November crossing, but it's different in the summer if you leave it late. A few weeks ago the Caravan Club (via Norfolk Lines) were offering return ferries for car and caravan for £58.00 (any date, any time). Lots of us booked. Had we had to pay the £10 each way amendment fee it's still only £78.00 return - compared to the much higher prices you'll pay on the day.
I think Camping Cheques have extended their offer, too, of a return for car and caravan for £74.00 if you buy a minimum of 3 Camping Cheques - that's for an outward crossing on a Sunday, and return on a Friday.
i have never had a problem getting a crossing at dover. i used to cross every month when i was buying abroad .never knew when i would be going .just turned up on spec .only once had to wait a few hours for a space. i was in a 7.5 ton truck so needed about the space of a large camper. plymouth is harder as there isnt the crossings now only 1 a week. dover as more ferries than we have buses in cornwall. if i want to go to germany i turn up at dover and say next available ferry please. never failed . try it it works. cheers alan.
The recent Norfolk line offer dosen't have amendment charges which is why I booked that for my next summer crossing rather than use my Tesco vouchers on Eurotunnel, I did that this yr in Jan using £50 worth of Tesco vouchers for a Jul/Aug return then got well stung when I amended the booking in June.
You can turn up any time at Dover & get on the next crossing but you will pay hansomely for the priviledge. You can book online up to 24hrs before crossing & still get a reasonable price.
Commercial vehicle fares are structured completely differently from from tourist fares.
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Quote: Originally posted by ArtJackson on 05/11/2009
The recent Norfolk line offer dosen't have amendment charges which is why I booked that for my next summer crossing rather than use my Tesco vouchers on Eurotunnel, I did that this yr in Jan using £50 worth of Tesco vouchers for a Jul/Aug return then got well stung when I amended the booking in June.
Although Norfolkline don't have amendment charges, do they not also charge the difference between the price you originally paid and the price at the time you re-book? Especially bearing in mind the fact that the recent offer was a special offer including Camping Cheques?
Eurotunnel don't have amendment charges either, I know, because I have changed crossings with them before now, and because the crossings I wanted instead were the same price, it cost me nowt!
Quote: Originally posted by ArtJackson on 05/11/2009
The recent Norfolk line offer dosen't have amendment charges
Is that right? I thought that they weren't amendable at all?
That's great news if you're right because I bought one of the cheap offers but not sure about going on that date - if I can change it (even for £20), I'll be well happy...
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my camper is a 7.5 ton truck. i usually ask for a super special offer . you could save vouchers from the paper etc but turn up and ask you get the same deal with or without all the voucher junk. go to one office then the other play one against the other .its all a game. also depends where you want to go and where you live. my crossing this year is cheaper than the same crossing in 2004. yes its alot at 576 return but as i live in cornwall plymouth to santander .leave one day arrive spain the next. its cheap .350 ml to dover then the drive through france and back .cheaper to use the expensive ferry and save the wear n tear. of course i only get 16mpg work it out yourself. plus dont get hassle from french customs on the way back. you pay your money take your choice. have fun ,cheers alan.
ps, my mini artic gets classed as a car n caravan.
Sorry should have made it clearer, I was referring to the recent Nfk line offer code from the the caravan show that was posted on here. If you booked using that offer code you can apparently amend for nothing. Otherwise Nflk Line started charging £10 for ammendments this yr although previously the did not.
P&O and Seafrance have always charged £10 amendment fee unless you go from an off peak to a peak time in which case you will pay more.
With Eurotunnel it works like this:--
Book in Jan for a July return, £60 each way=£120.
Amend booking in June, keeping same times but changing by a few days at each end.
It is then treated as if you are making a new booking for your amended times. The similar booking made in June for a July return might cost £90 each way=£180 so if you want to amend both days of your return booking you pay an extra £60 for your amendment.
Obviously if you amend your booking within a few weeks of making it you may pay nowt extra.
------------- Every days' a holiday !....
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art . you may be right i come back april. 2 persons and dog . i do struggle to get reductions with brittany. but not worth going anywhere else as i said. if going north germany or holland etc i just turn up at dover then i seem to get a good price . here in plymouth their view is we are the only ones so there. it as gone down this year was 613 last year. in 2004 it wa 541 for 1 adult ,car caravan ,no dog.its 65 for the dog. .i like the drive through france but its now too expensive, shame as it was nice to visit friends there.also its nice to get there so quick. i have a mate from scotland ,he normally uses nfkl but this year he,s coming down here . again with a truck conversion its getting expensive in france now. if you live near doer i know things can be looked at different. anyway drive safely have an adventure. cheers alan.
hi art. just checked your figures you were right (of course).thats 45 quid cheaper than 2004. add another14 quid for extra seats and 65 for dog. comes to my total. nice to know something is cheaper in this day and age. hope the sun is shining down there . cheers alan.
He, He, ya didn't mention the dog, Alan, £65 for the kennel! I would say generally tho that ferries are cheaper now than they have ever been. 10yrs ago you did well to get £120return Dover/Calais. One can only hope it continues!
we used to cross on the sally line out of folkestone that was my favourite. never been on tunnel was always busy when we passed . did used to use a vw camper or t2pickup. was cheaper i thought. best one for usis early in year or late brittany do special 5 daysreturn very cheap to roscoff. 55quid got to do them make along weekend leave wed night come home mon night .only live half hour from plymouth so used to get to work on tuesday at 9 in morning ideal. some did get day returnsto france cheap but they dont like it if you turn up in a camper they arent daft. have heard if you pay with card they alter the amount. only ear say ! well off we go cheers alan.
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Topic: late ferry booking
