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

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.

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

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)

When I read the title of the OP in the Active list, my first thought for a response was:
Only at half-term
Sorry, Jingls, I thought it was a spoof!

We have done ferry crossings several times in calm and windy weather. The only time one of us was sick was when they put on a very old boat (now out of service) from Roscoff to Plymouth many years ago. I don't think it can be all in the mind, because one minute DS (age 4) was playing happily with his toy cars, the next minute we were rushing him to the toilets!

Seasickness tablets as recommended by Janea, otherwise just think that the slight motion will lull you off to sleep and you will wake when you get there.
Although I find it better up on deck than down below.
When we went out to the Reef they provided ginger tablets; ginger is supposed to help with nausea.

No-one would get me in that Tunnel, oh no!

The Portsmouth/St Malo overnighter is fine. The fast boats - aka Vomit Comets - are to be avoided.

Honesty, you will be fine.

Just think about all the boat staff who go backwards and forwards twice a day - they would find themselves another job if it was so bad!

Go for it -

Siddown, you're rockin' the boat!
As others say,depends on weather conditions, but we did that run to St Malo as a family years ago, at night and shared a cabin,we were all fine, it was in Summer.

Modern ferries have stabilisers, like little wings in the hull, that are brought into use in bad weather and help to reduce movement.

But the simple answer is 'It all depends on the weather.' We have been going from Portsmouth to west France about 8-10 times a year for the past 25 years and in mill pond conditions you will barely know you are at sea. In a Force 8 gale it is very unpleasant - and the situation moves from one to the other with the wind force. That is really all one can say.

However, I have sea sick tablets in my travel bag and take them at the first sign of bad weather they are effective and have the useful side effect that they send you to sleep, which also helps to deal with the problem.

I totally agree with those that say avoid the fast ferries. I am prone to travel sickness on any form of transport except trains and I can truly say that my worst travel experience ever was on a fast ferry that set sail in weather on the edge of its limits, death became the preferred lifestyle choice when the alternative was to continue travelling in a boat that juddering and jumped on every wave.

It is not "all in the mind" as my DS discovered at the age of 19 months when, clearly, he had no expectations one way or the other.

Ooh.... forgot about the Condor 'cat'. Had a similar experience NotToOld. At least with a conventional ferry, and a cabin you can get away from the 'up-chuckers'! No escape on the 'Cat'. Nothing makes you feel worse than the sound of someone..... well.... 'nuff said!
Please don't let this put you off jings It'll be fine!

!

Brittany Ferries don't do the Dover Calais route Tricia. All the boats are very big. There is a fastcraft on the Cherbourg route but Jing is talking about St Malo and those are big big boats (Pont Aven and Armorique from memory).
Whether it rocks, pitches, tosses or corkscrews depends on wind strength and direction, but you would be very unlucky to get that. We have been on a corkscrewing Force 11 overnight on that route in February and we slept through it without feeling sick.

If you are a poor sailor I wouldn't recommend the Condor catamaran car ferry which goes between Weymouth, Guernsey, Jersey and St Malo. It's great if the sea is like glass but if it's slightly rough it pitches and tosses like anything. I was on it once when all the glasses and bottles were thrown off the bar and the loos were full of people being sick, including me. Be careful with the Stugeron, too, as it can make you quite sleepy, so not good if you are the car driver at the other end. I an a very poor sailor but find I am ok if I can lie down. Unfortunately you can't lie down on the Condor. If the worse comes to the worse, get outside on the deck and you should be ok.

We've crossed with Brittany ferries a few times and it's always been ok but just the short one, Dover to Calais.
Perhaps the "rocking " depends on the size of the boat.
Back in ?1983 we had a trip from Hull to Zeebrugge by ferry. It was the time of the Falklands war and all the big boats had been sent down there as supply ships so we had a little Irish boat.
The sea was rough and boat did bounce a lot during the night (sorry Jings.)
On top of that husband insisted on going ondeck and at the time I had fear of heights + compulsion to jump - had to cling onto him . I think the return trip was better.
So just make sure it's a big heavy boat.

I hop on and off the Brittany Ferries long crossings more frequently than I catch a bus and with stugeron and a cabin you will be fine. I also use wax earplugs which keep noise out and reduce the feeling of motion. The boats are huge and very well stabilised. I have had some very rough crossings over the years (November and March can be dodgy) but have never been sick. It is normally fine this time of year.

Jingl I promise

This is a difficult one. It's really horses for courses. Both OH and I prefered the longer ferry trip to and from France (Brittany Ferries). We both regarded it as part of our holiday, but our approach to a stormy crossing was poles apart. His default position was a good blow-out in the resturant, a couple of stiff brandies and out like a light , waking up bright -eyed and bushy tailed for the ongoing journey. Me.... it was get my head down in the cabin and go with the rock and roll. Hopefully it would lull me off to sleep.
If you're going soon, the crossing should be smooth, so enjoy.
And a stay in Brittany will make it all worth while.
Oh, just remembered, D2 hated ferries so I shoved a few Kalms into her before we embarked. Never was in the running for the "Mummy of the Year" award, but you could try that.

Yes, it probably is Galen. At this rate I'm gonna be a nervous wreck!

Thanks Nina. That is very reassuring.

We have done this crossing lots of times and I have been fine - and, trust me, I am THE most nervous of passengers bar none!

The cabins are great in that route and I usually get a bit of sleep - but, we warned, they wake you up very early! - they are hoping you will spend some money on breakfast before you disembark!

The area around St Malo is lovely.

I would far rather the ferry than fly - no way am I getting into a tin box hurtling through the sky!!

They don't rock as such, you may get a slight jolt if they hit a wave but most of the time it's just a humming beneath your feet. It has to be pretty rough before you notice, as they are fitted with stabilizers. With regards to the cabin, you could always try sleeping pills

It's all in the mind jing

The Stugeron will work won't it ja?

St Malo stupid ipad

You could fly to Jersey and take the ferry to St Malone if they still do it. It was only a short trip when I did it. I've done ferries frOm the uk to Bergen,Amsterdam somewhere in Northern Spain and Dover etc Calais and I'm still here to tell the tale. The worst one was when there were dreadful gales in 1989 and the ferries went in a convoy and even the crew were sick and the French
managed to go on strike but don't let me put you off. My friend always books a particular hotel in Calais in case of delays

Having a cabin certainly helps as you can hide away if you're poorly. People have told me Barley Sugar sweets are helping with travel sickness,although I have never tried it myself.