# Celtic Link Ferries - Rosslare - Cherbourg



## 96210 (Sep 5, 2005)

Hi all

I am currently planning the first family trip in our MH. I am looking at travelling to the Vendee region of France for 2 - 2.5 weeks with myself the wife & 4 kids. I have been doing some research on ferry crossings from Ireland to France. The best fare I could get with Irish Ferries is aroun €1,800 but then I came across *Celtic Link Ferries *which has a fare of _€1,200_! The crossing takes 8 hours longer but it is a night crossing and they have 5 berth cabins, it all seems too good. Is there something that I am missing, are their boats crap? Has anyone on here used them before?

Thanks in advance

Christy


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## DubPaul (May 10, 2005)

€1800 sounds a bit high! are you sure you have your details right????


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## DubPaul (May 10, 2005)

I'm doing my trip by landbridge via UK and my total Ferry cost is €650 for 2 adults and 2 kids (6 and 2). You don't need to pay for cabins on these trips... just perhaps a campsite one night en route if you don't want to do a mad dash. Or you could even take 2 days somewhere as part of the trip.

You could do Rosslare - Fishguard and it wouldn't be too much of a drive down to Portsmouth etc. Just drive instead of sleeping overnight on the Ferry.


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## 96210 (Sep 5, 2005)

Yeah, I have tried the internet, travel agents and phoning Irish Ferries all came up with around the same amount for going out early July & returning a few weeks later.

Christy


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## 96109 (Aug 23, 2005)

Christy,

IF does appear to be ridiculously expensive this year. For the first 3 weeks of July, I have been quoted €1702 for 2 adults and 1 child aged 4. I won't be paying it. Celtic Link is quoting €1200 for the same crossing but as DubPaul has already said there are significant savings to be had on the Landbridge crossings. Thats the way I'll be going.....

Dec.


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## DubPaul (May 10, 2005)

FYi I am leaving June 30 and coming back July 22 so my €650 is a significant saving of over €1000 for the same time period.


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## 96210 (Sep 5, 2005)

I just got onto Stena Line about the Landbridge option and it would cost around €900. What is the drive like across England from Fishguard to Dover? Then once in Calais how much longer would it be to the Vendee from Calais as opposed to from Cherborg. I suppose I am asking is it worth the €300 saving over Celtic Link Ferries for the extra driving with 4 small Children?

Thanks

Christy


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## DubPaul (May 10, 2005)

you could do Fishguard to Portsmouth/Southampton I guess...?

I priced them seperately. Dublin/Wales return and Dover/Calais return.


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## 96109 (Aug 23, 2005)

Christy,

Stenaline isn't that cheap either. I'm coming in at €1058 with them. Remember that with Celtic Link all meals on board are free so with 4 kids and 2 adults there are savings there as well.

At the moment my best quote is for Irish Ferries to Holyhead and then EuroTunnel to France. That is approx €640 depending on the rate of sterling. I can get cheaper with Norfolkline but Dunkirk doesn't suit as I'm heading to the Loire/Dordogne area.

DubPaul,
What crossings are you using?

Dec.


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## aido (May 17, 2005)

sorry pressed sumit twice aido


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## aido (May 17, 2005)

Christy. I just got a price from Stena 20 june dunlaoghaire holyhead return 13 july €400 it was €375 last year .the ferry from dover was £105.return. you can book the ferry in dover when you arrive there .the booking office is Euroexchange on the left as you head for the ferry,no problems no delay.i got all this information last year from MHF saved me a fortune...aido


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Celtic Link*

Hi

As a sad person who loves boats I advise as follows.

The ship called Diplomat used to belong to P & O and she was called the Pride of Suffolk.

I sailed on her many times from Felixstowe to Zeebrugge. She was basically a mostly freight ship with limited passenger facilities and basic cabins. That was at least ten years ago. She may have had a refit since. From the original build, P & O later added more passenger accommodation but I think this has since been removed. She was built in 1978.

One thing I can remember - she could hold her own in rough seas!

I have put a post on the site previously about travelling on Freight Ships to get across the water. There are many freight comapnies who can convey motorhomes. Anyone interested, private message me for details. 
Rapide561


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## DubPaul (May 10, 2005)

My trips are as follows:

June 30 1730 Dublin Holyhead with Irish Ferries Swift
return July 23 1450 €490 for 2+2 plus 2 seats each way (€60 total)

July 1 1800 Dover Calais with Seafrance
return July 22 1415 €105 for 2+2 no seats

motorhome 6.8m long 3.4m high


On the way I am doing a mad dash from Holyhead to Dover in 1 day as I can get up early ( I arrive in Holyhead the previous evening)

On the way home I am doing 3 hours up France, ferry, 3 hours to Birmingham and them camp. Complete the journey and get 1415 ferry home. It's not too much hassle.


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## 88974 (May 11, 2005)

Hi Christy

We have done the landbridge for the past 8 or 9 years as we do not like ferries we try and take the quickest sea crossing as possible. We have tried nearly every route and these are my experiences, I know everyone has a different view on it but you may find this information useful.

First Prices - booking over the internet is the cheapest, avoid travelling at the weekends if possible as there is a supplement for this also traffic through England tends to be heaview. Irish ferries tend to be a little bit cheaper than Stena. I would book the Irish Sea leg separately from the English Channel as you get better deals this way.

Routes

Rosslare - Fishguard, we only did this once as the day we travelled was a dreadful day weather wise, it took us about 8 hours to travel to Portsmoth, as our boat was at 9.30am. we had to leave our house at about 5.30 a.m. to drive to Rosslare, did not get to Portsmouth to about 10 that night - a long day and we were still not in France, decided not to do that route again.


Holyhead- Dunlaoghaire - This I will break down into different time sailiings.


6.30a.m from Dublin Port via Jonathan Swift (unfortunately the H.S.S. does not go at this time now) You should be in Dover by 5.00p.m. that evening including an hour stop on the way. We have done this trip a couple of times the earliest we have arrived in Dover is 3.00pm. By catching the tunnel you would be in France by 7.00p.m. their time. An early start but you can relax in France for a couple of days before heading on your journey.


11.10 H.S.S. from Dunlaoghaire, - this is the least preferred option for me, you tend to hit Birmingham around 4.30 p.m. just as rush hour is begining, the motorways tend to remain heavy until about 7.00p.m. you would be lucky to get to Dover by 10.pm if you take the crossing accross to France that night it is after midnight for you to begin looking for somewhere to park for the night. not too bad if you know precisely where to go.


4.20 p.m. H.S. S. from Dun Laoghaire - this is a good option, if you drive for about 3 hours from Holyhead you should be south of Birmingham, last year we stayed at a C.L. about 2 miles from the Motorway, we reached here at about 9.30 p.m. enought time to have something to eat and a short walk before turning in for the night. Leaving this site in the morning you should be down in Dover by Lunchtime, it is about a 4-5 hour drive depending on traffic. You are in France by early afternoon. 


9.30 p.m H.S.S. from Dun Laogaire, - There are two ways to do this journey 1. Sleep in Holyhead overnight and head off for Dover early in the morning it is roughly 8-9 hours to dover including one hour stop, The earlier you leave the less traffic you should encounter.

2. Continue your journey through England i.e. drive through the night, You will be in Dover before 5.00.am. Did this once but won't do it again as we were knackered for days after it, the children were young so theyslept most of the way and arrived fresh in France whilst we did not have the energy to look after them. I have friends who travel this way all the time, children go to sleep in the beds, (something I don't personally agree with as I think you should be strapped in) But as you say Horses for Courses.



What ever way you choose to travel, only trial and error will determine which is the best way for you to travel, but I am sure you will enjoy it anyway.

Slan

Deirdre.


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## DubPaul (May 10, 2005)

I have Garmin on my PC and Fishguard to Portsmouth is showing as 4h25m and I have reduced the average speeds on all roads to suit a MH.

You could consider stopping in Bath for a day if you felt you needed a break. The ladies love Bath because it reminds them of Mr. Darcy et al.


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## 96210 (Sep 5, 2005)

Many thanks for all the replies especially your extremely detailed and useful one Ladybird.

What we have decide on is to use Irish Ferries Rosslare to Cherbourg this time. The wife wasn't too keen on the trip through the UK with 3 small kids on our very first holiday in the MH, maybe next year. We got a 'reasonable' fare of just over €1,200. I worked out that the UK option would have meant doing around 1,500km extra in total, which I reckon would have cost us around €250 in fuel never mind the amount in sanity listening to the kids.

We all can't wait for our trip, but first we will have to collect out MH from the dealer, which will hopefully be some stage later this month.

Thanks again for all the advice, no doubt I will be back on soon looking for details of campsites in France which have good facilities for kids.


Thanks again

Christy


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## DubPaul (May 10, 2005)

You might consider driving when the 3 sprogs are seasick!

Good luck!


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## 96210 (Sep 5, 2005)

_You might consider driving when the 3 sprogs are seasick!

Good luck! _

Always a risk, but in this case it will be easier than listening to herself for 24 hours saying 'I told you we should have gone direct' when we are sitting in traffic on the M25 :roll: . It might make the case easier to argue for next year to go via the Uk though!

Christy


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## 88974 (May 11, 2005)

Not a boat person myself the overnight ferry to Cherbourg does not appeal to me but as they say different courses etc. There are some great sites on the west coast of france but I would reccommend you go further than Brittany as the weather can tend to be a bit like wexford here great if good but rains quite a bit. If you have young children I would reccommend a site near Orleans wonder pools for children of all ages. Stayed on a few on the west coast, tends to get very busy during second half of July so I would reccommend somewhere where you can walk to beach,


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## 97978 (Mar 5, 2006)

I have just booked Rosslare --> Cherbourg on the 4th July with 2 adults and 3 children for €450 plus €100 for a 4 berth cabin. Motorhome is 7.5m long and 3.0m high.

All in that is £378 - the same price as a car?

Going back home using landbridge probably as the return trip looks around €675 + €100 if it is even available.


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## thesnail (May 1, 2005)

*Ireland to France*

personally I'd go with *[email protected] *to Fishguard £155.00 return, motor down to Dover and cross with Norfolk line for about £35.00 each way. But then I've got more time than money, and no kids to worry about. You can sleep on Marine Drive in Dover for FREE between 6pm and 8am 
Seems like a lot of Euros for the crossing from Rosslaire to France.

Hope you get the best value anyway Christy, good luck, you'll love The Vendee it's beautiful.

Rosemary


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## 88757 (May 9, 2005)

Hi Christie,

Good luck and have a great holiday!
We're booked with Celtic Ferries going early June, returning early July, as there's a significant saving over Irish Ferries with whom we've always travelled in the past. Couldn't tell you anything about Celtic, as it's our first time with them. We have heard from some people who've used them and were quite happy and say the free food is very good. I'm not a great sailor, so I'm not chuffed about the extra time on board, in our case an extra 2 hours, but there you go.
Don't forget to avail of the free crossing to Britain with Irish Ferries, so keep your booking reference, as paying for the MH crossing to Britain is quite expensive.
Mary


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## JohnDough (Mar 3, 2006)

Metromary said:


> Hi Christie,
> 
> Good luck and have a great holiday!
> We're booked with Celtic Ferries going early June, returning early July, as there's a significant saving over Irish Ferries with whom we've always travelled in the past. Couldn't tell you anything about Celtic, as it's our first time with them. We have heard from some people who've used them and were quite happy and say the free food is very good. I'm not a great sailor, so I'm not chuffed about the extra time on board, in our case an extra 2 hours, but there you go.
> ...


Trying to get the FREE trip to the U.K. from Irish ferries in 2005 was a nighmare!! it took about 3 weeks with constant 'phone calls and emails but I was not going to let them deter me so finally got it out of them.

After the fiasco with staff and their disgraceful behaviour not to mention the state of the Normandy and the excessive prices they charge for everything I will not go with them again,Celtic link is a much better trip and as I am not a great sailor there vessel is much more stable.


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