David Williams

I believe it gets done prior to disembarking in Spain

Today’s update includes the following Turning our attention to next year’s schedules, I’m pleased to confirm that our new sailings will be live by the end of the month. It will be a staggered launch, with Spanish timetables taking a little longer to confirm. We’ll have new additions to our fleet, including a new style of travel, and attractive schedules that aim to make the most of our fabulous destinations whilst also taking account of how the world is changing.

It will be renamed St Helier Express soon

& Back to insurance, I have just looked at the changes on the Nationwide flexplus site. They have removed book before March constraint and said that the trip must be booked when no FCO warnings for the Country exists and started when no warnings exist. Therefore next week is a good time to book France and Spain for next year, however a trip to Portugal for next year would not be covered.

That is why I mentioned flexi fares - they can be changed up to 4 hours before sailing at no cost, however we each make our own decisions. There is an issue about booking next year if most insurance companies are still not paying up for covid illnesses. I am not worried about cancellations with flexible tickets and refundable hotels it is just being ill when abroad that is a concern - at least this year we are covered by the E111 in Europe.

Was that a response to a question you asked or some newsletter ? The deliberate vagueness in the UK is probably to protect their website and phone lines (not a hope !)

Expanding this a bit, if you know when you are likely to sail and it is in peak season, it is a good idea to book as early as possible. Not only do Dog and Commodore cabins to Spain sell out early but you get the cheapest price for the crossing due to the way that BF set the prices. Last year I booked a Commodore Cabin to Spain for this July (sadly now cancelled by me !), I booked it at 6am and by the afternoon all Commodore Cabins had gone on the crossing and the basic cost had gone up. The Flexi fare is excellent value and does give a great amount of flexibility and when I swapped the expensive Spanish sailing for a cheap French one all cash paid was refunded and the vouchers that I had added to the crossing paid for the French trip (with a small voucher as change !)

They have always been after opening for bookings and it is important to get in early for either dogs or Summer Spanish Commodore. By the time the emails come out it is too late.

Thank you for that reminder - sadly there was no English version to copy from as just like last year the UK site had a vague date and the French site gave a precise date which was accurate, if I had tried to translate it I am sure that a professional translator would comment on the words / tenses used. For those who have problems with the article, I can confirm that le 22 juillet is the 22nd July. David

It is in the update, however it could be out of date https://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/information/coronavirus/faqs#tab-7

Dear leader also said ‘We're excited to be able to open for 2021 with new additions to our fleet and great expectations for a successful and exciting 2021 season.’ which implies more than one new ship, maybe the Cotentin will return ?

Best Guess is:- https://www.brittany-ferries.fr/informations/situation-sanitaire-coronavirus/nous-repondons-a-vos-questions#tab-6 Question : « Pourquoi ne puis-je pas effectuer une réservation pour un départ en 2021 et utiliser l’avoir reçu par vos services ? » Réponse : L’ouverture des ventes des départs après le 01/11/2020 jusqu’au 01/11/2021 est programmée le 22 juillet. Dès lors que les traversées 2021 seront ouvertes à la vente vous pourrez effectuer votre réservation en utilisant votre avoir.

Thanks Ed, that is helpful. We gave up on the idea of a Spanish trip this year and are just going to the flat, however it sounds like we will be tripping over loads of Parisians.

Are there any specific rules in French supermarkets now re masks or limiting number of household members ?

Is there a description somewhere of the cabins & whether there will be a balcony in some cabins etc.. There won't be much time to make decisions when the annual dog race starts in 11 days time.