We are on the 21.30 to Santander soon , does anyone know how early you can go to the check in area?
Looked on line and it only states 60 minutes before boarding.
Thanks
------------- Basa
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Done Portsmouth to various French ports numerous times, and Bilbao a couple. Generally once the previous sailing (may not be same as your destination, check other sailing times/destinations!) has cleared, then the lanes up to the check in booths are free for you to use, we've certainly been there hours before our sailing time. Just pick the right lanes/booths for your ferry company/destination, there is no one managing/marshalling you at that point, and the booths will be empty, so it's down to you to get it right.
The 60 mins before boarding is to give them time to process all the check ins, you simply queue again in lanes beyond the check in booths after checking in, you will be told which lane to go to, and before you are eventually marshalled into the loading lanes and loaded on the ferry depending on vehicle type and it's allocated place on ferry decks. The final ferry loading happens right up to (and sometimes beyond!) the sailing time! They easily make up any delays on the trip, so not late on arrival.
Always found BF good at responding to emails so maybe just ask?
We use Plymouth and as mentioned once lanes are cleared for previous sailing you should be OK.
We often use BF (tbh, they are our preferred method of crossing the channel, Portsmouth being an half an hour drive away), we've arrived up to two hours before crossing and it hasn't been a problem. If the booths aren't open there is plenty of space to park up and wait before the booths open.
One thing to note is that with BF, just because you're first there, you won't necessarily board first, on one crossing we had a fellow MH owner bellyaching that he'd arrived five hours earlier only to be the 2nd to last boarded (we were last on - we'd arrived an hour before departure). Just be prepared for a wait if you arrive early.
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Topic: Brittany Ferries portsmouth
