DFDS vs. P&O North Sea

John Armstrong said:
Just a heads up, at Ijmuiden last year it took an hour from docking to getting out of the port, partly due to the number of immigration personnel there and the number of UK persons having to have their passports stamped. Wasn't too bad for me, but there was a couple of Polish riders who had an 8 hour ride to look forward to. I learnt a few Polish swear words! Coming back, it was about 20 mins from docking to escaping the port, which amazed me.
Also, most of the Netherlands motorway seemed to have a maximum limit of 100kph, during the daylight hours as I rode down towards Maastricht.
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Yes the new border controls means it takes longer for exactly the reason given above
Actually it took an hour and a half going the other way back in 2023 coming into Hull in July. There were so many bikes and we were all kept to last. Shite!

The 100km/h speed limit in NL is mandatory and not just cosmetic as many coming here think. Don’t ask me why, that’s another thread….
My recommendation is set your cruise control or needle to 120 on the motorways as max. NL Police have a bit of leniency towards bikes especially on the open stretches but the city areas and if you see cameras or words “Traject Control” make sure you stick to the limit. Fines are high and they will appear on your doormat a few months later. It dampens a nice holiday trip
 
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Just booked P&O from Hull in September.
£500 for me and the missus for a week away.
😳

My mate is crossing from Newcastle and that’s another £150 on top with DFDS.

The one thing I did notice on the total cost is that the additional ‘Green Tax’ bollocks is a lot higher on P&O.

Neither of us could face the journey down to Folkestone for the tunnel anymore.
It’s just beyond painful to try and make distance and time on UK motorways now. The M1 & M20 I always find especially fecking soul destroying.

It’s also a while since I passed through Holland. 100kph motorways. Oh joy !
Long gone the days of brimming the motor with BP vouchers at Wankum before tearing up the roads flat out in an Astra GTE heading home on leave.
 
We used the Hull-Rotterdam ferry last month. Two of us, cabin, motorhome, evening meals and breakfast was £672 return. It was so much more pleasant than going south. Hopefully the days of having to go south are gone forever.
The group I have an annual trip with want to go to Germany next year. I have informed them that I will be going Hull-Rotterdam. If they want to go via the tunnel I’ll meet them over there.
 
Think P& O may be struggling as even as late as last week I was receiving 30% discount offers for this year
 
Neil W said:
Think P& O may be struggling as even as late as last week I was receiving 30% discount offers for this year
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I registered with them and kept putting the trip in my basket as it were for the last week but bugger all in terms of discount emails.
Oh well, it’s booked now.
 
Neil W said:
Think P& O may be struggling as even as late as last week I was receiving 30% discount offers for this year
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Decent discount that. I always wait for the discounts and do and block booking for the year.
 
Has anyone travelled with Irish Ferries , Dover to Calais? Coming up £200 cheaper than DFDS and P&O, Online reviews not great but has anyone got any real time experiences.
 
JonnyBravo said:
Neither of us could face the journey down to Folkestone for the tunnel anymore.
It’s just beyond painful to try and make distance and time on UK motorways now. The M1 & M20 I always find especially fecking soul destroying.
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It's 668 miles for me door to door!
I've done it one day ( in dry weather) but now take two.
 
Khulu said:
It's 668 miles for me door to door!
I've done it one day ( in dry weather) but now take two.
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Wow that must have been some trip!

getting on the boat at Newcastle or Hull is now the start to the holiday and not have to worry about another long day on depressing English motorways. After the extra fuel / tyres and accommodation costs needed for the slog to the channel, then the ferry starts looking a lot better value, my arse certainly thinks so!
 
JonnyBravo said:
Just booked P&O from Hull in September.
£500 for me and the missus for a week away.
😳

My mate is crossing from Newcastle and that’s another £150 on top with DFDS.

The one thing I did notice on the total cost is that the additional ‘Green Tax’ bollocks is a lot higher on P&O.

Neither of us could face the journey down to Folkestone for the tunnel anymore.
It’s just beyond painful to try and make distance and time on UK motorways now. The M1 & M20 I always find especially fecking soul destroying.

It’s also a while since I passed through Holland. 100kph motorways. Oh joy !
Long gone the days of brimming the motor with BP vouchers at Wankum before tearing up the roads flat out in an Astra GTE heading home on leave.
Click to expand...
Can't help with the M1, but for anyone else, take the A20 from J8 nr Maidstone. Unless there are diversions because the M20 is shut, the A20 is much more enjoyable. Fairly quiet, decent road. Skip back onto the M20 to get round Ashford, then A20 from 10A down to Folkestone. It's not the Nurburgring, it's still Kent, but it's much nicer than the concrete M20 and makes the last hour of the trip a bit more bearable.

There are a few better routes to the Channel Tunnel or Dover on back roads but most people just want to get to the ports.
 
Ectopic said:
Can't help with the M1, but for anyone else, take the A20 from J8 nr Maidstone. Unless there are diversions because the M20 is shut, the A20 is much more enjoyable. Fairly quiet, decent road. Skip back onto the M20 to get round Ashford, then A20 from 10A down to Folkestone. It's not the Nurburgring, it's still Kent, but it's much nicer than the concrete M20 and makes the last hour of the trip a bit more bearable.

There are a few better routes to the Channel Tunnel or Dover on back roads but most people just want to get to the ports.
Click to expand...

Got a route, mate?

 
Just saw this in a Fb group. DFDS are in the Blue Light/services card thing. 15% off the Newcastle ferry plus some other offers

DFDS.jpg
 
Neil W said:
I live less than 30 miles from Newcastle and it is still significantly cheaper to travel to Hull, plus if you are heading through Belgium towards central and Southern Germany it also means a lot less time stuck on the Netherlands road network.
However IMHO P&O are still a bunch of cnuts for the way they treated their UK staff or I should say double cnuts for dropping the Zeebrugge route (which was still profitable) or even triple cnuts for blocking anyone else stepping in and taking over the route (which both Hull and Zeebrugge still want)
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Agree with all you’re points Re hull ferry
 
P&O generally do a discount at some point in the year usually around January time. I try to do a block booking if I know my trip plans for the year.
 
May have been said - DFDS 20% off if 60 or over.
You have to ring up though not online.


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