Club Arnage

In case anyone isn't aware, I've just had an email from Brittany Ferries saying that 2006 bookings are now available, and at a very tidy price mind.

Eurotunnel are also on sale now at £90 return

Better prices and my bloke is happy. More money for me i think.

We are thinking about changing routes thopugh and driving to Dover.

We really wanted to go Wednesday morning, but they dont sail from portsmouth except by fast craft and the van doesnt fit on that one

Sorry If I have missed something but before booking what date is race weekend?

The ACO won't confirm until November. But expect it to be 17th and 18th June.

Car and 5 people, Portsmouth - Caen going Wednesday night, returning Monday afternoon is actually £20 more than we paid this year!!

what happened to the 10th june idea  :-\

Already got an open £50 Speedferries ticket which I can use.

In fact I have two. One for test weekend and one for the Real Thing!  :) :)

Not sure what I'm going to do with the other spare I have from the BOGOF earlier this year.

Smokie, don't forget the '06 Classic! :)

If you look at the Brittany ferry prices the weeks either side of the 17th and 18th the prices are lower. It would therefore seem very likely that Le Mans will be the 17th and 18th and Brittany are putting the prices up for that week to cash in on the extra demand.
 At £120-£180 for a motorbike and £350-£400 for a car and trailer it's expensive.

Its a monopoly now.  P&O to Le Havre ends in 3 weeks.

Anyone for Sppedferries?

It may not be a monopoly for long, a new service from Portsmouth to Le Havre should be starting soon......

Tell me more........
Is it another bunch of pirates?

We have heard simular stories in the local press, but sources at the port havent seen anything yet that would entertain the idea. Its all realted to Tonnage, and therer isnt suitable stuff available.

Oh and Transmanhe have been linked to the route !!!!!

Its a fairly large european operator, and they have just acquired a ship ready, not sure how public the info is so can't say much at the moment. 

I have just taken the gamble on the date being 17/18  :-\ and booked P&O Dover Calais. Five day return, car with 4 passengers £50, a saving of £48 on this year. Expect the price to double once the ACO announce the dates ::)

39 weeks and counting ;D

I reckon you're on the money there Bob, and I am soon going to book one of my Speedferries vouchers for the same period.

I'll hold off from booking test weekend for a bit as prices aren't usually hijacked quite so much for that.

Here's some news re Portsmouth...

"Two companies have declared their interest in starting ferry services between Le Havre and Portsmouth following the closure of the existing P&O service at the end of September.


Louis Dreyfus Lines, shortsea arm of Paris-based Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, has said that it is currently looking for a ship with a view to launching a one-ship ro-pax service on the route.


And the British group, Aquitaine, which is present in the ferry sector via its online ticketing subsidiary, KMW Travel, has said that it is talking to the port of Le Havre about launching a service under the name Aquitaine Seaways."

Ful story here http://tinyurl.com/boumf


And here is the boat mentioned http://tinyurl.com/c622g

Well found.  Doesn't look like they'll be running till next year, so Dover Calais beckons.  And Bob U is right, once the date is announced prices will double.  Still nothing on ACO.org

The dates for the classic have been confirmed as July 7/8/9 06.

I don't think the prices on dover calais move that much.
also worth keeping an eye on Newhaven Dieppe as well for any sign of a new or expanded service.

For those of you intrested in watching a load of overpaid blokes kicking a pigs bladder around, the 9th of July is the date of the World Cup Final. KO isn't till 8PM though, so there is 4 hours to find a bar or someone on the campsite with satalite TV.

just as a matter of interest I entered the same details as the booking that I made yesterday, lo and behold a tenner increase already. I reckon it is just pot luck the quote you are given.Surely they can't justify a 20% increase in 24 hours when you are booking 9 months in advance. At this rate you will have to take out a mortgage for a late booking.

I expect the web site logs the number of enquires and bookings made on each crossing and price gets amended accordingly.

Your fault then Bob...  :-\

oops  sooorrreee :'(

Doesn't sound very sorry does he? ;D

I'm thinking of copying my mates from this year and trying the hole in the ground as a way of getting to La Belle Patrie for a change.

I always said they'd never get me down in one of those things but just time to visit the loo before getting out in France beats that lumpy trip in the Speedferries bateau this year, 'specially as I am reluctant to believe that they will really open the shop at last.

 :(

Shop was open on Speed 1 when we crossed in August.

Speedferries have also just put their prices up, now £58 return, but it's £102 if you have a high vehicle, or a top box fitted.

Wotcher Barry,
Has the race been put back a month or are you planning a long stay on the camp site?
Not that there's anything wrong with that, or a Premature Burial for that matter, there's one going for a song on the net now!
H

it may be better to wait until May or so, Brittany Ferries discounted their tickets this year.  I got a fast craft return to Cherbourg for £220.

Hi H,
June for the main event, but going to the Classic as well  8) :) 8) :)
Unfortunatley have to return home to face the kids in between ;)

Taken same risk, £60 for 6 day return, including topbox and bikes on top 8) 8), it doesn't seem to matter how many passengers you have up to capacity of car.

For anybody booking family holidays, just paid £60 for a return ferry ticket for a two week holiday next August, again with bikes and topbox.
Much as I admire what Speedferries have done, they wanted £102. :(

Just had an email from friends in France saying Le Mans schools (who work Saturdays)have announced they will be closed on the 17th June for race weekend.  That will do for me!

Speedferries have announced (quietly, to existing customers only) the release of a further 10,000 open tickets for £50 each, to be used by 5 Sept 2006. You book a ticket for 25 Dec (when there are no sailings) then call the call centre when you know your dates.

I have 2 - I thought about getting more but then...what of they go bust?

My word of warning is - make your booking early, as by the time I decided on Nurburgring, I couldn't get back when I wanted (or even within a day of it!) - although it was towards the end of the school hols...

Anyway, here's the link. http://www.speedferries.com/speed_25hj587k.html

Isnt the ticket buying process just the worst, must fall close to the ACO ::)

booked the WANCs on today.A bit cheaper than last year.Ports-Caen £432 for 10m x 3m high motorhome,4 people and a 4 berth cabin both ways
Cracking value!!
PM

LD Lines start sailing at the beginning of October  - Portsmouth to Le Havre

See http://www.ldlines.co.uk/

I wonder if their prices will follow Brittany or Speedferries.  Obvious really

Looks like they'll be using the Pride of Pompey. I love the way they've airbrushed out the P&O insignia and cut and pasted in the LD Lines logo. Badly!

You mean the Olau Brittania. (sorry anorak moment, it used to run from Kent to Vlissingen in Holland)

I was expecting the Pride of Estonia

Ah that brings back some memories - I did the Sheerness - Vlissingen disco ferry with a crowd from my local (at the time) pub, about 20 set out and by the time we got there everyone was either skint (thanks to the roulette) or seasick (thanks to the bar/weather).  All the miserable sods caught the boat right back again to Sheerness and I headed off to Amsterdam on my own!!! I didnt get back till the following weekend which is good going for a 24 hour ticket - well you cant rush round the Van Gogh museum can you!  ;) - got a right b****cking when i got back home/work tho ......

You should have claimed you were abducted by aliens (or DFH) or done a "Piano man"  This was the chap who was found wandering around Sheernes in damp clothes, not knowing who he was/not saying anything.  But they're all like that in Sheerness.

LD lines have now posted their prices for 2006 on the Portsmouth -Le Havre route. They make Brittany Ferries seem cheap!

Pity they aren't run by a British company- Can't inspect their returns.

Booked my crossing for the Main Event today - out on Sunday., back on Sunday. With not having to lug the caravan back, I might even get to see something of the last hour of the race this time :)

Now why would you wnat to do that. Someone will start to think that you actually go for the racing!!  ;)

I don't care if they are a Mongolian run company if the newsletter they sent me is true. Return crossings start from £10! They seem to be running it on lowcost "Ryanair" lines where prices start off low, but increase  with demand. Regrettably their website, on which you are encouraged to book, does not yet feature the route. Doh!

Andy had this this sent through in the last few days from LD, it may be of some use, it would seem they are running a ryanair/stelios type operation.

Many thanks for registering your interest in the new LD Lines Portsmouth to Le Havre ferry service which will commence operations on October 3 2005.

Initially the service will be based on a daily sailing in each direction departing Le Havre at 1700 arriving Portsmouth at 2130 and departing Portsmouth at 2300 arriving Le Havre at 0730 the following morning.

As I am sure you will appreciate it has taken a huge effort to put the operation together in a very short timescale to provide a continuity of service between the 2 ports.

One of the biggest challenges was to find a suitable ship and although the Norman Spirit is perfectly suited to provide a reliable year round service, it will not be possible to have all the onboard facilities available for the first few weeks of sailing.   

The service is positioned as a low cost no frills operation with a simple pricing structure based on a one way crossing i.e. a return is twice the single price. 

Pricing is seasonally banded and will also be demand driven to provide customers with travel options and allow us to provide competitive prices.

Onboard accommodation will focus mainly on good quality economy and club class reclining seats with a limited number of 1 and 4 berth cabins.

As the Norman Spirit has most recently been operating on the short sea ferry route, cabin and seating accommodation was very limited when we acquired the vessel.

There will not therefore be any reclining seats for the first week or so of sailings whilst we wait for the new ones to be manufactured and installed. We hope you will bear with us during this start up phase as the refurbishment takes place. 

We will regularly monitor accommodation usage to see if additional cabins are required.

Reservations can be made by visiting www.ldlines.co.uk

 

£10 is probably a foot passenger...

I failed to sign up for the newsletter and it looks like I missed the opportunity...

Whilst ld lines don't have any details, it seems you can get them, and book, at www.aferry.to (http://www.aferry.to)

Hmmm...not too shabby. Car + 2 for Le Mans week (out 11 June, back 18 June) is £192. Doesn't seem to be compulsory accomodation to push the price up like there used to be.

I paid about that this year for car/caravan + 2 Dover - Dunkerque.

Still, £50 Speedferries is booked...  :)

A lovely update to this post after a lovely holiday.

Just to wait a few weeks for the booking spages

I think you can already book at the page mentioned above...

They seem to have changed it today.  Yesterday, ldlines.co.uk gave you a booking screen, but today it transfers you to ldlines.com.

I know several people on an ex-pat (in France) forum I go to have emailed the boss of LDLines complaining about the fares - perhaps he (they) are having a re-think, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

It doesn't concern me for LM, but I will still need to use the ferries to come back to the UK for my Marmite and a decent pint every now and again.

Del

They want £420 for car & caravan, no cabin, and Brittany were £470 with cabin.  The boat sound like a rusty old bucket with no cabins at present, so I'm going to Calais.

They'll learn

I have just bit their arm off for the fare for my Motorbike as it was quoted.
I have just saved 52 quid over Brittany turpin ferries.
Any bikers that go it will cost you £101 from tues to mon.
Now just a little packing to do and I am revved up raring to go for 2006.

who did you book with.

I'm just doing my DAS course at the mo, so may want to take the bike ( that i may get )

Fidget
I just booked up with LD Lines. As i was the first biker they were happy to see me book a bike and made ammendments free. get the booking right first ime cos they charge 25 quid flat fee for making changes
Good luck
www.ldlines.co.uk

Got the car and trailer on this route for a lot loess. Car and 2  are just over £200 which is ace.

Much better than the fuel, dover routes and more driving.

http://www.selfpreservationsociety.net/bookings.html

by the way Robbo, I likes your website. Issagoodun!


Did I say nice to have you back? :)

Today the last P&O service set sail from Pompey. It's sad in a way, I remember we went on P&O to Cherbourg on my first LM trip in 88. The boat was the Pride of Winchester, it had only recently been changed over from Townsend Thorensen, a marketing exercise following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster. There was orange paint poking out from under the shiny new blue gloss and even the cutlery in the Captain's Table restaurant still had TT etched into it.

Many a good night's kip was had in Captain Kats Comfy Cabin (the kiddies soft play area) on the way home. It was tough in them days!

The chef was working on Friday and he told me lots of the staff threw their toys out of the pram with each other, a shame really.

The ferries are in Portsmouth at the moment de-kitting. Rich is still employed for 3 more weeks as he is assisting the de-kitting exercise and then its pay off time.

He will be working up your way - Redhill as a controller for the new highways police !!!

Just added another 2 cars onto our group[ booking .

The price changed from £212 to £ 237 in 2 weeks. So get them booked quick if you are using Western channel routes.

My Portsmouth Caen overnight on the Tuesday went from 326 to 432, so they offered me the 15:15 on the Wednesday at 296...