I have friends who have used LD Lines 3 times now.  The boat is an old tub but they seem to sail on time and the trip from Le Harvre to here is quick and easy.

I'm a bit puzzled how all these charges vary too. We only booked in May, and paid £90 return with Seafrance, Dover - Calais

I know what times you travel can make a difference.

Been on my trip with LD Lines now, and was perfectly satisfied.  Boat might be old, and the decor is dated.  However it sailed on time, and is not shabby.  In fact the boat was a lot better than the Sea France one we came back on.

I'd definitely use LD Lines again, and hope they Brittany Ferries a run for their money.

Quote from: Volks Repair Man on July 11, 2006, 03:26:20 PM
I'm a bit puzzled how all these charges vary too. We only booked in May, and paid £90 return with Seafrance, Dover - Calais

I know what times you travel can make a difference.

popularity i guess.. as the number of vacant spaces decreases, the costs increases

I arranged the ferry bookings for the cobra club to attend Le Classic this year and we travelled Newhaven - Dieppe for £40 return, car +2 people.
Spoke to all the various ferry companies and eurotunnel and none of them could beat Transmanche Ferries.
Also Dieppe is only 165 miles to Le mans.

Quote from: neilsie on July 19, 2006, 11:42:30 AM

Quote from: Volks Repair Man on July 11, 2006, 03:26:20 PM
I'm a bit puzzled how all these charges vary too. We only booked in May, and paid £90 return with Seafrance, Dover - Calais

I know what times you travel can make a difference.

popularity i guess.. as the number of vacant spaces decreases, the costs increases

Something like that they have x number of tickets they sell in "bands" like airlines the cheapest tickets get sold first then the second cheapest and so on until all that is left is the expensive tickets, or the longer you wait the more expensive the price is...

I think that the computer makes it more complicated.  They estimate demand and  hence the size of the the cheap band varies from zero tickets to most of them, and I think they do last minute booking discounts too.  Add in the day/5 day/period return factors and its anyone's guess.

Humm, am I the only one who found LD Lines to be a bit... well... rank?

Used them for Le Mans this year and service was very French (3 staff behind the bar, 2 of us at the bar = 10 minutes to get served).

Couple of Scottish guys we got chatting to (driving to Le Mans from Scotland in an MG Midget they bought unseen 3 weeks before on eBay - brave) ordered hot-dogs from the bag.  Sasages looked rank, but were apparently better that the mouldy bread rolls... and we are not talking a few small specks of mould here either.

Did the route last year wehen it was P&O and was much better.

Hi Mjit, and welcome to CA.

Regarding LDlines - I went over with them a week after LM this year, and as has been said above, an old boat but adequate. I found the food (in the sit-down cafeteria) adequate but not expensive: the sailings were punctual.  I did not have the same problems in the bar - excellent service in fact.

For a 'no frills' service at a much lower price than P&O and BF, I voted it a hit, and will use them again.  I need a ferry rather than the fastcraft like Speedferries 'cos I drag a caravan around or, as at LM this year, a small trailer which was just too bloody long for SF.

Del

I went to the Classic on Transmanche from Newhaven to Dieppe. It was a brand new boat, the food was top, the service in the bar was instant and the crossing generally a huge sucess. The advantage of Newhaven is that it's only 25 mins from my house and drops you in France 165 miles from Le Mans, all motorway or dual carriageway notwithstanding Rouen which is a big fuss about nothing. Cost £50 return, the bargain of the century if you take fuel costs into consideration, it's cheaper than Speed Ferries.

Came back on LD for reasons I won't bore you with. Not as impressive as TM, but not bad, it was about on time, the food was fine as was the drink. It was about £70 for a last minute single, which is about half what it would have been when the ship was under the command of P&O.

Generally very satisfied with both operators, so I don't think I'll be using Brittany Fisheries again, their £350+ fares are really getting beyond a joke.

Quote from: Andy Zarse on August 22, 2006, 02:04:29 PM
I went to the Classic on Transmanche from Newhaven to Dieppe. It was a brand new boat, the food was top, the service in the bar was instant and the crossing generally a huge sucess. The advantage of Newhaven is that it's only 25 mins from my house and drops you in France 165 miles from Le Mans, all motorway or dual carriageway notwithstanding Rouen which is a big fuss about nothing. Cost £50 return, the bargain of the century if you take fuel costs into consideration, it's cheaper than Speed Ferries.

Came back on LD for reasons I won't bore you with. Not as impressive as TM, but not bad, it was about on time, the food was fine as was the drink. It was about £70 for a last minute single, which is about half what it would have been when the ship was under the command of P&O.

Generally very satisfied with both operators, so I don't think I'll be using Brittany Fisheries again, their £350+ fares are really getting beyond a joke.

Were trying this idea next year for the LM 24hr bike race and gp as the routes and fares for bikes this year were over £100 return for a bike ????

This is our normal crossing, and with the autoroute nearly all the way it's fairly quick down there. The only problem this year was there inability to unload and load a full ferry quickly. We were on the 11pm crossing which started loading at 11pm. It left so late it meant we hit Rouen in the rush hour ::)

Quote from: Mjit on August 21, 2006, 03:27:59 PM
Humm, am I the only one who found LD Lines to be a bit... well... rank?

Used them for Le Mans this year and service was very French (3 staff behind the bar, 2 of us at the bar = 10 minutes to get served).

Couple of Scottish guys we got chatting to (driving to Le Mans from Scotland in an MG Midget they bought unseen 3 weeks before on eBay - brave) ordered hot-dogs from the bag.  Sasages looked rank, but were apparently better that the mouldy bread rolls... and we are not talking a few small specks of mould here either.

Did the route last year wehen it was P&O and was much better.

didnt have a problem with the ferry.. the bar was busy, but hey thats to be expected with such an event!  am happy for what we paid and would use them again.

Were trying this idea next year for the LM 24hr bike race and gp as the routes and fares for bikes this year were over £100 return for a bike ????

Quote

Robbo if you are contacting Transmanche ask for ORLANE, she is very helpful, and sounds bloody horny, tell her Andy from the cobra club sends his regards. !!!

Well, I live in Plymouth, so Brittany Ferries is the best option for me. Just a ten minute cab ride to the ferry terminal, get on board and I'm in Roscoff in a few hours.

I go on foot as well, so that saves a few quid for beer  and food etc.

I can get a ferry ticket (return) for about  £100 and a  train  from  Morlaix to Le Mans is only a couple of hours.

The handy part is coming home. I get back, hot tired, dirty and hungry and I've only got a ten minute cab ride before I'm in a hot bath with some food in the oven.

Works very nicely for me.