Kiwitraveller

Does anyone know the luggage allowance on board the ferry?
How is the luggage stored?
..have googled forever to no avail!!!
Would Eurostar be better - we will be travelling Business Class by Air from Amsterdam and hence have a couple of extra bags.
Thanks

fmpden

All the ferries we have been on are just like a cruise ship. Carry on as much stuff as you want. Lot of open seating. Put your luggage anywhere you like. Most people keep their luggage near where they are sitting.

Seamus

Since you ask about Eurostar presume your origin is London and destination is Paris. Yes, Eurostar is far superior, hands down.

flanneruk

Understand that the important phraee here is "Carry on as much stuff as you want."

Youi have to cary it from wherever you arrive in Dover to the ferry terminal. Though there's a bus part of the way from the terminal to the ship, it's still a struggle - and getting luggage up and down the stairs on and to the ship is worse still.

Same thing in reverse at the other end. And then what are you going to do? Calais is a dump, unless you live in Britain (in which case it's a dump with lots of cheap wine). Nothing to detain you - except the lifetime or two it takes to get to one of the railway stations from the ship.

Getting a ferry is a way of seeing the White Cliffs. But their importance is much more symbolic than aesthetic. Getting the ferry with lots of luggage will be great for muscle development - but frankly masochistic.

If for some reason you need to be in Calais, get a train.

tod

Don't take the ferry unless you have a vehicle going on board! It was one of the worst mistakes we made two years ago.
As we had to return a motorhome to Dover we thought taking the ferry across to Calais then picking up the TGV to Paris would be a delightful change from Eurostar. BIG mistake.

This is why:
At Dover ferry terminal a bus picks you up to take you; 1stly, to a customs & excise hall where you have to alight with all your luggage and pass through the X-Ray. Then back on baord the bus which then proceeds to:

A second hall where your passports are checked together with your ferry ticket - here you can leave your luggage on the bus.

3rdly, when you eventually get to the bottom of the gangplank you have to drag your luggage up 3 storeys to enter the main door. From here you can only sit inside a lounge area with your luggage. If you want to go to the restaurant or anywhere for that matter you have to ask some kind person to watch your belongings whilst you're away. Ask total strangers to look after your stuff? My husband and I had to take it in turns when going to the loo or anywhere on board.

4thly, when disembarking you have to order a taxi to take you into Calais or walk the 30 minutes or so along the road. We had to get to the station of Calais-Frethun which was a 40euro taxi ride away. Pretty darn far.

So, all the money we thought we saved by not going Eurostar was exceeded by by taxi's and buying food on board.

What a nightmare! Don't do it.

Tulips

Are you trying to get to Amsterdam, to take a flight from Schiphol? I don't know where you are coming from in the UK, but taking the ferry to Calais without a car, to get to Amsterdam would not make sense.
Take the train or fly; check the airline for luggage allowance. And they can probably label your luggage onto your final destination. And even if they charge extra for a bag, if you get a cheap flight, it may still be cheaper than the train.

hetismij

I agree with tulips. If you are heading for Amsterdam you do not want a ferry to Calais. Either fly, get the Eurostar/Thalys to Amsterdam or get the train/ferry/train via Harwich.

Man_in_seat_61

Dover-Calais is the ferry crossing for London-Paris, not London-Amsterdam!

There's an excellent value overnight train&ferry service called the 'Dutch Flyer', where you leave London after 8pm by train, sleep on the overnight Harwich-Hoek Stena Line superferry in a private en suite cabin, then take train onwards next morning to Amsterdam arriving 10am.

Fares from £35 one-way London to Amsterdam covering both trains and ferry, plus cabin cost (from £22 for a single-bed cabin).

See www.seat61.com/Netherlands.htm, which also explains the London-Amsterdam Eurostar options.

Man_in_seat_61

Oh yes, the £35 train & ferry fare is CENTRAL London to CENTRAL Amsterdam (or any other Dutch station, in fact, even Arnhem or Groningen, for example).

Remember that flights from 'London' are actually from Luton or Stansted airports, both airports are a £13 40-minute train ride from London, and flight to 'Amsterdam' actually go to a place called Schiphol, a £7 train ride from Amsterdam.

hetismij

Sorry Man in seat 61 but you are wrong. It is perfectly possible to fly from Heathrow, London's main airport to Schiphol (which is a heck of a lot closer to Amsterdam than Heathrow is to London).
And the train journey from Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal costs €3.80.
I know the Euro has been falling lately but it hasn't fallen to the extent that €3.80 = 7GBP.
However the OP implies they are catching a flight from Schiphol, so it makes most sense just to fly there. ANd since they are flying business class I am sure they can afford the KLM/BA fare.

kerouac

Take the Eurostar.

Christina

I've taken that ferry several times in the old days, I didn't have all these problems others did (ie, having to get a taxi, etc.). It just took a long time, that's all, but the ticket included all the transit necessary during the connections. I can't imagine why anyone would choose to do that nowadays with other choices. I think it took about 8 hrs. Also, it can make you seasick, if it is rough. Then I took the hovercraft once which at least saved time, although I don't think they still operate.

I went to Boulogne, as I recall, not Calais, although I don't remember why, and took the train from there into Paris.