Can someone please tell me if ferry boats rock very much?

I remember taking the North Sea ferry from Newcastle to Hamster-jam a few years back Jings when DH had some work in Germany. We decided to take DD with us and make a little mini-break out of it.

Well I will be honest it was horrible. In fact horrible doesn't even begin to cover it.It was the worst 16 hours of my life. We had a little cabin with beds (which was just as well as I spent the entire trip lying down) I can see the same ferry coming in and out of the Tyne from my bedroom window and I still feel seasick just looking at the bloomin' thing.

Having said that, This was the North Sea Ferry and probably very different beast all together?

You never know until you try it !



(green with sea sickness)

As I can be sea sick on a ship before it leaves the quayside....

I'm sure you'll be fine jingl, stock up with Kwells (you can take them even if you feel sick) and SeaBand acupressure wristbands.
Definitely avoid catamarans and hovercraft

Jingls this is a Channel crossing, not the Bay of Biscay!

You'll be fine! If in doubt go via a shorter route - Poole to Cherbourg and drive down the Cherbourg Peninsula. And the Brittany Ferries are fitted with good stabilisers.

We have done many channel crossings to various ports in France in the past (not for a few years though). We've travelled to Caen, St Malo, Cherbourg, Roskoff and have never had a bad crossing. MY DH was ill on the Portsmouth to St Malo crossing but only because he decided it would be fun to sit up drinking all night with his brother-in-law. He was much younger then!

Yes, it will definitely be Brittany Ferries. I am going nowhere near any catamarans!

Looks like I'm gonna have to book it and then forget about it till August. The idea of the restaurant is cheering. I'm always better on a full stomach.

Thanks all.

I've been on a couple of mini cruises from Port of Tyne to Amsterdam. The gentle rocking of the ferry was lovely when we went to bed. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Unlike the time we came across the Channel in a hovercraft. There was a twelve foot swell! It was very bumpy. My sister and I were the only people who were not sick! We sat and giggled as everyone else turned green and ran to the side or the toilets. We had the sense to eat before we boarded. I think that was the answer.

Oh yes! The acupuncture wristbands from Boots chemists nationwide.
They do work and I don't believe it is mind over matter, because I wore them when we went on a cruise. I took them off when I went for a dip in the swimming pool. Lying in the sun afterwards I started to feel queasy (it wasn't the strawberry daquairi) then a friend pointed out that I hadn't put my seabands back on again.
Problem solved.

Don't forget the earplugs!

I will get some wrist bands, but my faith is going entirely in the Stugeron. You can't beat a good drug.

Yes. I will get the earplugs. That is interesting.

Well sometimes you just need them because somebody in the next cabin is watching a video, but I do think they reduce the feeling of motion which you only feel on those boats above a Force 6/7. I use Boots Muffles.

jingl the Stugeron worked for me crossing the Atlantic in a Force 11 gale.
The QM2 was rocking so much we were sliding off the dance floor

Nodern ferries have stabilisers and are much much better than the old ones.

I gave my wristbands to SIL when we were sailing in the Pacific, it wasn't very pacific. He still felt queasy but wasn't actually ill. I felt OK, better up on deck.

Yes they did the last time I went on one. It does depend on the weather.
I have just seen some twirling trees on a stand at Chelsea that was enough for me.

We do a lot of ferry crossings. One thing I always do is know where the exits are.

Exits? D'you mean the lifeboats?

Shite!

Sorry!

I haven't crossed the Channel by ferry but we did sail from Greece to Italy accompanied by a violent thunderstorm and I slept like a baby.

My sea legs were developed on numerous overnight crossings of the Irish Sea though. Now that was rough!

Jingle do NOT worry at all- the stabilisers on those Western routes are very very good. I am not a good sailor but I am fine on those crossings. We always have a cabin and I would suggest you book an outside one and a four berth - this means that you have plenty of space above you as the top bunks are folded up against the wall or in the more modern boats they fold up into the ceiling. The Brittany ferry restaurants are lovely and you will have plenty of time for a nice meal on that route. I only go for the two buffet selections - the starter one which is very substantial and the dessert one- delicious concoctions there!
When you are returning to UK it is only a daytime crossing on that route which I find very long winded. We still book a cabin if we do take it but usually we drive to Caen - Ouistreham is the port - and get the overnight ferry from there. Many of those crossings you cannot get a meal on the boat but we eat at one of the little places at the harbour - park next to the fish market as it is free - the other two car parks are pay and display.
If you fancy it you can always visit Bayeux and see the tapestry on your way to Caen. - it is a pretty little place and the tapestry is very interesting - you can have an English description as you go round it.
I hope you enjoy your trip and the place you like the look of probes to be as beautiful as you hope. Dinard is nice and that is near St Malo.

The last time we went on the Portsmouth to Cherbourg ferry it certainly rocked. Don't worry, that was down to the jazz group that was playing in the bar.

janea are you sure that (sliding off the dance floor) wasn't to do with the Martinis?

I've learned to stay in my seat during rough weather. The last time we did the Newhaven to Dieppe route I set off to the shop to buy a book as I don't suffer from seasickness but needed a distraction from everyone else!! A sudden lurch sent me off at a gallop. Total brake failure meant that if a kind man hadn't grabbed my arm I'd have probably descended a flight of stairs Frank Spencer style.

jingl take your stugeron and wash them down with a couple of glasses of something alcoholic and you won't even know the boat is moving.

The seas don't tend to be rough in the summer - Spring and Autumn tides are the difficult ones.