We're taking the ferry from Poole to Cherbourg in October. There is a range of accommodations offered for the trip: no reserved seats, reserved lounge seats, and an assortment of cabins. It's a 4 hour trip. Any suggestions on what level to reserve?

Thanks in advance!

If October I'd go for the "no seats" options and just grab what is available when you get to the seating deck. No need for cabins. Reserved seating only needed during kid's holidays.

The formal dining option is worth look at rather than the self service especially if on the evening trip, you get a good view and some very good food in the formal area

Thanks. Apparently the ferry we'll be on has only the self service option.

Scooterr - has it got a cinema? IME one of the best ways of using up the time, apart from a decent dinner which doesn't look like an option. Some of them have swimming pools but probably not in October.

otherwise, what bilbo says.

No cinema. It's apparently the least luxe of the ferry fleet: self-service dining and shopping for entertainment. I shall download videos to the kindles in anticipation.

Shame. but by the time you've consumed the all-day breakfast or fish n chips, read your kindles, and done [or not] a bit of retail therapy, those 4 hours will have flown by.

have a smooth trip!

Thanks, annhig. Another question: it says you have to be there an hour before sailing. We're foot passengers. Do we really have to turn up at 7:30 am?

yes

Drat. Means a very early morning. Thanks for the info.

Drat. Means a very early morning. Thanks for the info.>>

lol, scooter, it was going to be an early morning anyway, even if you got there only 5 mins before it left! What time WERE you thinking of getting there?

Seriously, they have really tightened up on security and passport control on UK ferries. On our more or less annual trip to France on the Plymouth-Roscoff run last year, for the first time ever we were asked about what we had in the car, our passports were properly checked and consequently boarding took a lot longer.

I was planning on maybe 8:15 or so We'll be coming from Bridport, probably by hired car, so I'm not sure how long it will take.

Thanks for the head's up.

Bridport to Poole?

Google maps says that on the main road it's an hour and 5 mins, so to get there for 7.30 am I would leave at 6.15, which will of course get you there far TOO early, but if you leave it any later, you'll get snarled up in the early rush hour traffic and be late. you can always kip on the ferry.

Plus you have to return your hire car or at least park it, presumably?

My English is too American again. We'll be using a car service / taxi unless I can come up with a better alternative.

well, you COULD actually hire a car but I'm not sure where you'd return it to in Poole at that time of the morning that would be convenient for the port.

probably a car service of some sort is the best, though expensive option.

The alternative would be to use some sort of public transport [good luck with that] to get yourselves to Poole the day before and spend the night in a B&B in Poole. There are likely to be ones near to the port that are used to early rising travellers. of course I don't know how that would fit in with the rest of your itinerary.