David Williams

I like that idea, last crossing ended up with me getting grease on my trousers as the passenger gap was too small

I don't imagine that Passengers are the target market for this service, it is more likely to be freight and a lot of that will be trailer only freight and that is not that demanding on facilities. It will not be very pleasant for anyone who wants more than a bar, a cafe and a cinema.

There will be a lot of strikes until Macron concedes on his new labour laws.

We are sorry to inform you that due to industrial action by dockers in the port of Le Havre, the following sailings have been affected: Portsmouth to Le Havre 18 April 2018 23:30 - This sailing has been CANCELLED. Le Havre to Portsmouth 19 April 2018 22:00 - This sailing has been CANCELLED. The policy seems to be to let passengers know in advance of making it publicly available.

There is some form of public sector union strike on the 19th - I wouldn't be surprised to see Cherbourg out as well. However generally Ouistreham seems to have it's own pattern of strikes so hopefully won't be affected.

Either that or send a Direct Message on twitter fully explaining the circumstances. The team at Brittany ferries are incredibly helpful and have a far better attitude to solving problems than any other transport provider I know. I notice from recent tweets that in addition to helping a mother and daughter return to the UK having had a passport stolen they also sent some flowers to them.

Interesting escalator from Deck 3 to 5, presumably intended for foot passengers originally.

The Roscoff route does allow foot passengers Route details Outbound Route:Cork to Roscoff Departure:Mon 4 Jun 2018 22:00 Arrival:Tue 5 Jun 2018 15:30 Vessel:CONNEMARA How are you travelling? Outbound On Foot Passenger details

I am not sure if the Stena video has been linked to earlier in the thread, it is a bit glossy ! http://www.stenaroro.com/offering/Pages/Asterion.aspx

Makes sense, I am sure that it is cheaper in Greece than Spain and a few bits of paint can be done whilst in port. Internal signage etc could be completed on the trip to Spain.

Back to salt laden cars which is still off topic. The open deck on the Etretat is reasonably high with a decent side wall so the car is usually ok. I have also been on the open deck of the Amorique and before docking, the crew got the hose out and washed the cars !

To be honest I don't generally get salt on the car and the walk to reception is easy and on the level. The cabins are comfortable and the time in bed is longer than the Ouistreham routes - we just take a kettle for the morning drink.

I used it a few times when it was on the Ouistreham route, it was a useful addition, shame that it is being used less these days

One of the reasons that I like overnight Etretat to Le Havre is that even though the ramp is a bit scary at first, we always get a decent width for the car and generally don't get chucked out of the cabins until arrival (as the next sailing is 8 hours later). I will miss the Etretat if it is replaced by the Normandie. MSM and Normandie can get quite tight when they squeeze too many cars on the upper deck to allow more lorries, all I ask for is a space to allow a door to be safely opened. One of the bad things about the tunnel is the number of migrants hanging around the approach roads, however you now get them at Ouisterham. I intend to try out Eurotunnel again for one of our trips this year. David

For Normandy, one competitor is Eurotunnel. I have a flat which is 30 mins from Ouistreham, 1 hour from Le Havre and 3 hours from the tunnel. Yesterday coming back on the MSM the car was marshaled into a space that was too small (not for the first time) and I ended up with grease on my trousers squeezing out of the car. You are tipped out of the cabins 30 mins before docking to find all of the decent seats are taken and it took 35 mins to even exit the boat ,followed by another 25 mins in the Passport queue. My contrast, in the tunnel you have a fixed width and getting off is very fast. The only hassle is security and passports getting on and if that takes too long you are put on the next train.