Hi
In the pursuit of economy, we are considering using DFDS instead of the Tunnel next year. Our dogs don't seem phased by much these days, but I wondered if any have used DFDS with dogs and would share their experiences?
Thanks in advance
Adrian
------------- Adrian
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The dogs stay in the car for two hours. Some dogs are happy with that, some aren't. Some owners are happy with that, some aren't. What else particularly do you want to know?
Thanks Berriow,
Is it possible to visit? Are you loaded later etc. Who checks the car occupants (dogs). We have previously left 2 dogs overnight from Portsmouth to Le Havre. P&O had a regular check and we saw them doing this. Not having used DFDS before, my query related to their dog friendly (?) attitude.
No visits and in our experience you are loaded first with the priority tickets. The dogs are only left for 2 hours or less so I don't think there are any checks. We haven't any problems except on a very hot sunny day they wanted me to park outside on the front, I said no because of the dog so I was able to park undercover in the shade.
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The Dover/Calais crossing takes just over one and a half hours - not too long to leave dogs - but the car deck is locked whilst the ship is at sea and you can't go down to visit. Having said that there were plenty of dogs on the sailing we used on Monday so lots of people must think DFDS is dog-friendly or their prices sufficiently cheap to make it a good option.
As Val says, it's only an hour and a half Dover/Calais. We drive on, make sure our dog has her bed on the back seat and a bowl of water in the footwell (we use a non spill bowl). We have left a bone for her to distract her before, but she never touches it.
She just curls up and has a sleep. We leave all windows open a few inches and that is that. As my vet said "She has longer naps when on her own anyway".
For our crossings this year, it came to £89 including the dog (but no trailer or caravan). It was £30 just for the dog! Eurotunnel was going to be £225 including the dog.
For us, it wasn't worth the difference to save an hour (and hubby likes the rest after a 3 hour drive to the port).