i believe some of the Greek ferry companies offer 'camping on board' where people can sleep in their caravan or motorhome during the crossing.
apparently its quite awful, noise and extreme heat. the vehicles cant run so no air conditioning.
not sure if this is any worse that the reclining seat lounge.
i only go on ferries once a year but make sure i book early enough to get a cabin on the overnight crossings. i try to cross overnight both ways which often means going out to st malo and back from caen.
in my childhood i was fortunate enough to go to france on holiday but we always went tin the reclining seat lounge. nobody got any sleep which was ok for me who would explore the ferry all night but wasnt great for my parents who had to drive the next day.
------------- First van bailey ranger 550/6
Now the proud owner of a coachman amara
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We used to catch the midnight ferry from Zeebrugge to Dover when serving in Germany. ( Townsend Thoreson)
There used to be British service people kipping everywhere! Not on car decks though.
Only came home a couple of times. Germany was more fun. Relatives used to come for a holiday!
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
Quote: Originally posted by Baileyjake on 04/3/2024
i believe some of the Greek ferry companies offer 'camping on board' where people can sleep in their caravan or motorhome during the crossing.
They do but it's on an open deck, above the water line obviously. They also offer EHU. I wouldn't call it camping as there is no room for any sort of camping activity, more a tightly packed, noisy, moving motorhome aire.
Also you aren't allowed to run the engine or use any sort of gas on the crossing so cooking/ heating/water heating/running the fridge on gas are all out of the question. They do provide wc/showers and access to all the restaurants etc onboard so you really only use the van for sleeping.
Not sure that sounds like the usual joys of camping, but infinitely better than being imprisoned on a secured internal car deck! I suppose using your own bed is also vastly better than the dreadful couch lounges that you are expected to use if you didn't or couldn't book a cabin! And should disaster strike, you are in with a chance of being taken care of and escaping the grisly fate of the 'stowage class'!
I like sailing on ships, I like the sea breezes and vistas from the open decks, I find the cabins comfortable and convenient, and not too far from reasonable value for money (compared to a hotel room to break the journey), so I do consider myself more than slightly biased when it comes to the horrible notion of being locked up on a internal car deck for the entire voyage, no matter how 'comfy' my own limited space would be!
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Quote: Originally posted by 664DaveS on 04/3/2024
We used to catch the midnight ferry from Zeebrugge to Dover when serving in Germany. ( Townsend Thoreson)
There used to be British service people kipping everywhere! Not on car decks though.
Only came home a couple of times. Germany was more fun. Relatives used to come for a holiday!
Our friends run a light haulage company and travel a lot from France to UK and back, using Newhaven-Dieppe - they wouldn’t dream of booking a cabin due to the cost but have got very good at bunking down wherever they can find a quiet space in a sleeping bag and travel pillow ! Apparently lots of truckers do this and it’s well tolerated by the ferry staff.
We’ve used cabins on Portsmouth- St malo though and found it good value for money.
Quote: Originally posted by 664DaveS on 04/3/2024
We used to catch the midnight ferry from Zeebrugge to Dover when serving in Germany. ( Townsend Thoreson)
There used to be British service people kipping everywhere! Not on car decks though.
Only came home a couple of times. Germany was more fun. Relatives used to come for a holiday!
Our friends run a light haulage company and travel a lot from France to UK and back, using Newhaven-Dieppe - they wouldn’t dream of booking a cabin due to the cost but have got very good at bunking down wherever they can find a quiet space in a sleeping bag and travel pillow ! Apparently lots of truckers do this and it’s well tolerated by the ferry staff.
We’ve used cabins on Portsmouth- St malo though and found it good value for money.
As part of the DFDS refit they are installing 40 sleep 'pods' for truckers on the Newhaven Dieppe route.
Quote:
As part of the DFDS refit they are installing 40 sleep 'pods' for truckers on the Newhaven Dieppe route.
Yes I was on the refitted Seven Sisters a couple of days ago, was wandering around the outside deck and looking in through a window I saw the pods - hadn't read about them so it took me a while to figure out what they were! Most of them seemed to be being used, judging by the closed curtains and the shoes left outside. A lot of sleeping space in a very compact area, potentially a brilliant idea I think.
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Used to do it regular, Newhaven Dieppe, freight ferry. Against the rules back then. Can afford a cabin now, but if no cabins available would sleep on the car deck, much better than then rubbish recliners. Before the keyboard warriors spark up with what would happen if the ship started sinking, I would drown and die.