P&O Ferries – Dover to Calais

Wir waren eine Stunde zu früh dran. Als wir auf den Schalter zurollten hatte die Dame uns bereits per Nummernschild eingegeben und direkt auf die frühere Fähre eingebucht. Top! Saubere Toiletten im Wartebereich noch dazu!

Relaxing and inexpensive way to get over to England. Time consuming… Like a flight, they ask that you arrive like 90 minutes early, and the trip takes about 90 minutes. Pain in the arse. We did so, parking in a free parking lot and walking onto the ferry. They let us board an earlier ferry.
You could walk out onto the deck, which had a bar. There were multiple food courts with edible but rather expensive food, an amazing gift shop, and even a casino with slot machines. It was like a mini-​cruise, but with a lot less sex, bigger bathrooms, and better food.
Encountered bad weather and seasickness on the way back, as well as a ramp malfunction which led to a nearly 30 minute delay getting off the boat, but this is not the norm.
Once across, there were multiple bus options and plenty of cabs.

The ferry is a great way to travel across the pond! If you get sea sick or motion sickness, I suggest buying the acupressure wrist bands they sell at the shop, they really do work! The ships are always clean, the employees are friendly, and the food is pretty tasty, if not a bit pricey. I would definitely recommend P&O Ferries to anyone traveling across the pond in either direction!

Dreimal waren wir jetzt in England. Nach 2 Fahrten mit der Seafrance und einigen Problemen bei der zweiten Fahrt (wir waren zu spät und es dauerte ewig, bis man uns eingecheckt hatte, obwohl wir eine flexible Umbuchungsmöglichkeit hatten) wollten wir einmal mit P&O fahren.
Die Buchung ging übers Internet sehr schnell.
In Calais angekommen konnte ich gleich an den Schalter vorfahren. Der dortige Mitarbeiter hatte über unser Kennzeichen uns bereits in seinem PC gefunden und wir bekamen sofort die Karten. Nach 2 Minuten standen wir schon auf der Warteposition.
Nach kurzer Wartezeit ging es dann auf die Fähre. Die Fähre war sehr modern eingerichtet mit vielen gemütlichen Aufenthaltsmöglichkeiten. An Bord gibt es gute britische Küche zu bezahlbaren Preisen.
Auf der Überfahrt sind die Wolken über dem Meer und die Sonne immer wieder schön anzusehen. 100 Bilder pro Fahrt landen sicher auf der Digitalkamera.
Das Auschecken in Dover ging ebenso unproblematisch wie das Ein– und Auschecken bei der Rückfahrt. Wir werden sicher bei unserem nächsten Urlaub wieder mit P&O fahren.

Our crossing over to France was on The Pride of Kent. We went on a ‘special deal’ which included 6 bottles of good wine and (a meal offer which we didn’t use) for £23 which was wonderful value. The boat was really modern with nice seating and spotlessly clean. In fact we sat at the front by the big picture windows looking out at sea watching the boats go by. We couldn’t have picked a better day as the sea was like a mirror and the sun was shining. The staff were excellent and they managed very well as the boat was really full. We took the car over and we were off the boat in minutes. It makes a wonderful relaxing day out taking in a bit shopping and a meal in France. Can’t wait to do it again. Watch out for their offers.

P. O Ferries a great company they always have plenty of deals for every one always plenty of restaurants to eat in and good entertainment and polite staff a great company to use all year round.

My wife, daughter and I travelled with them, with a car, Calais to Dover in July. Excellent service, they allowed us to use the ferry before the one we had booked as we arrived early.
Due to a family crises, my wife and daughter returned to Germany before our super saver fare return booking. The staff changed the ticket free and could not have been more understanding. We will certainly use this service again and I recommend it to all!
Meal prices onboard are somewhat overpriced though for only reasonable, rather than good, quality. Portions were not so generous either. We will take our own sandwiches and drinks next time. I am sure the company would make much more money, by attacting many more customers, if it improved on thie quality and pricing of food served.

die überfahrten sind wirklich ein erlebnis und essen, wenn nicht grade starker seegang kann man auch sehr gut… lohnt sich aber nur wenn kein starker seegang, weils dann auch drinnen bleibt… wenn starker seegang sollte man hier besser nicht die toiletten benutzen… ihr könnt euch ja denken warum… aber ich fahre sehr gerne mit der fähre da ich lieber untergehen als von wasser verschüttet werden möchte… und die 90 minuten sind schnell um. im sommer sitzt man auf deck sehr gut und die vielen engländer machen es einem leicht schnell wieder in die englische sprache zu rutschen wenn man sie lange nicht gesprochen hat…

I had the dubious pleasure of visiting P&O ferries’ Pride of Burgundy Food Court the other day.
What my Mum and I needed before an epic day-​long drive through frozen France to the Alps was a slap-​up, hearty breakfast. What we got? As if in league with the weather, a correspondingly cool (though not in a good way), greasy, undercooked excuse for a heart attack.
We, the captive audience in this canteen, watched, trays primed as a cheerful girl coaxed an anaemic, halfcooked egg onto my plate. And then shovelled some flaccid bacon beside it. Nearby, a graveyard of toast tombstones stood sentry in a rack. They were mostly burnt, with a polystyrene quality.
But as we surveyed our rapidly cooling fuel mournfully while en route to the till, we realised we were the lucky ones. We had been at the front of the interminable queue for roadworthy sustenance. By the time the other poor souls behind us, had collected their food and queued to pay, they would face a truly arctic fry-​up, suffering from severe hypothermia.
You’d think the humble fry-​up a simple meal to get right. Didn’t we Brits invent it? Add oil to pan, lob in food and fry. Keep hot. Simple. Or not it seems for the ferry folk who make is it thousands or perhaps millions of fry-​ups a year.
Just goes to show, worse things really do happen at sea.

Von Calais nach Dover und zurück
von Dover nach Calais fahren die Fähren:
der französischen Seafrance
oder die der englischen P&O Ferries.
Mit bis zu 25 Abfahrten pro Tag ist die Fähre zwischen Calais und Dover mit Sicherheit die flexibelste Art, den Ärmelkanal zu überqueren.
Eine Fahrt dauert 90 Minuten und ist für sich genommen schon ein Erlebnis.
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Die Pötte haben schon ein paar Jahre und ein paar Schichten Farbe auf dem «Buckel.
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Wer weiss, wozu dieses «Teil» an der Decke der Lounge gut ist?
(Das ist kein Quiz! Ich habe keine Ahnung!)
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Es war sehr schön per Fähre in Dover anzukommen.
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I travelled with an elderly man with mobility issues (and a blue badge to prove it).
they let us board first, in a place where we could open the doors wide and next to the lift.
the ship was modern and with lifts everywhere easy to get around.

We travelled from Dover to Calais (and back!) in September and the service was excellent. Check in (with our car) was very easy, and there was minimal waiting around. On board the ferry we found plenty of seating, decent shops and the food wasn’t bad either. Staff were helpful and friendly and the crossing ran perfectly to time.
We wouldn’t hesitate to use P & O again, they were excellent.

I have used the ferry for years. it has always made the trip over to france such an adventure. I have never liked the tunnel, and in comparison the ferry is a much nicer way to travel. I love to stand and see the cliffs of dover disappear and then go to the shops and restaurant, and within half hour you can see france! I prefer this way to cross the channel, makes it feel like a mini holiday!

I’ve been using these ferries for motorcycle trips abroad for over a decade, and still find them best overall for value, service and convenience.
The secret to good value is to book ahead: if you have a group booking, (often the case with motorcycles) this is best done over the phone as the website doesn’t allow multiple bookings. Booked in January, a return crossing in July cost me just £46 per bike + passengers. (This is only £10 more than the price as a foot passenger!) Booking ahead applies to cars, too.
The staff are helpful and usually quick at loading bikes: they go on first, and deck-​hands help secure them down. Newer ships (of both Seafrance and P&O) sometimes have special cradles for holding bikes, but when it’s busy there aren’t enough to go around, and so a traditional webbing brace is used, secured to floor anchors. I’ve never had a problem with this, even in very rough weather (but remember to put your alarm onto ‘ferry’ or ‘service’ modes, unless you want to irritate other passengers and flatten your battery). The only problem I’ve encountered is that the decks do get slippery in wet weather, but that affects all ferries, and I’ve not dropped the bike yet…
The timetable varies, but in high summer sailings leave roughly hourly, or better. The crossing takes about 90 minutes overall, but with the shops, bars and cafes, there’s plenty to keep you occupied. For teenagers there’s also a video-​games room. But I prefer to be on deck: the Channel is the world’s busiest shipping lane, so there’s always something to see, if only the odd passing seagull! Note: the UK smoking ban means that smoking is now only allowed in designated outdoor deck areas.
Note also that passport control is undertaken at the port of departure — so UK passport control is at Calais. Allow at least 30 extra minutes for this when leaving France for the UK, as the UK checks are stringent, and therefore can be very slow in high season. Checks leaving the UK for France are rather quicker. Overall, I’d advise arriving 45 minutes ahead, just in case.
Also worth knowing is that, if you arrive earlier than your booked ferry, and there’s room, they will let you travel on an earlier crossing at no extra cost. We returned recently over an hour earlier, and were waved straight onto the boat.
You could, of course, take a deep breath and pay to go via the Chunnel, which takes about 40 minutes (plus queuing time). But apart from losing the view, and the adventure, you’ll pay at least double for an equivalent crossing.
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NB: address and map are for the HQ office. The ferry port is clearly signposted at both Calais and Dover.