DFDS (Norfolk line) Ferry Caravan Club prices beat TEF04!!!

[otherclive]

Re the post below with the DFDS TEF 04 discount code I obtained a price for the outfit, VIP lounge and 2 dogs of £234 for an outbound sailing at 0800 on a June 2011 Sunday and return at 1201 on a Saturday some 4 weeks later. This was almost £100 more than I paid in 2010 via the Caravan club. It included fuel surcharge and extra for using a payment card.

So despite the Caravan Club website saying that bookings for Summer 2011 could not be taken until 1 November I used that old fashioned method of communications called a phone. I explained to the first lady that I spoke to that DFDS were already discounting ferry prices via a discount code. She then put me through to a very helful agent called Kerry who got me an identical booking for £142.20. it is a special offer valid until this Friday only.

 

[ValA.]

I'm glad to hear that you can now book through the Caravan Club! I thought they were chancing their arm a bit by taking down the website booking facility at this time of year. The only problem with doing it by phone is that every small amendment in timings, etc, takes ages to process - and we often change our mind mid-booking! I must admit the £234.00 seems rather a lot, and I'd have looked elsewhere too!
However, thanks to the Norfolk Line offer, lots of us are very satisfied with our £58.00 return crossings! It's perhaps worth those members of the Caravan Club getting a quote and then checking with the Caravan Club to see how it can be matched.

 

[nelmo]

How come you got such a high quote initially? Even £142 seems too much - I (and others in that thread you mention) got a quote of £78 return, Sat-Sat in August school hols (and sailing at a more convienient time of 10am) - does the VIP lounge hike the cost up? Can't see why going for 4 weeks would make any difference either...or does it?

 

[otherclive]

My price from the Caravan Club includes the VIP lounge both ways and for two dogs which are always £30 each. Also the mid day ferry is generally a bit more costly than some others but it suits our return arrangemenst for getting the dogs to the vet and for our return home when in UK. I like the 0800 outward sailing as it lets us get to our first site near Orleans before the French and Spanish lorries hit the roads late on Sunday afternoons.

The DFDS quote using TEF 04 came straight off their website for identical sailings but included fuel surcharges, booking fee if using cards, and with a reduced discount for the VIP lounges. That is why I rang the CC.

One reason why the DFDS quote was expensive may be that they use dynamic booking whch is like airlines such that only a set number of places are really cheap and then it goes up as demand increases. At £142 if I deduct the £60 for the dogs and the VIP lounges the basic cost for outfit and two people is less than yours, but it is not school holidays.

Cheers

 

[otherclive]

Nemo,

I have just been on the DFDS website and used the discount voucher and the basic return cost for two and outfit is £124, lounges are £38.4, fuel surcharge £11, booking fee £1.00, pets £60. So you can see that the basic discounted return cost at £124 is quite a lot more than the Cc equivalent. So I guess that dynamic booking is being used, whereas the Cc will have a number of reserved palces on various sailings at a further reduced price until those they are all taken.

 

[ValA.]

Anyone checking on multiple websites for prices, and then going back to check again, should try deleting their 'cookies' prior to trying again. I can't understand, though, why Clive's basic price is £124.00 unless it's for a much longer caravan - when I try for any date in low season/any time (for an outfit under 12 metres) then the basic price is £23.50 each way, plus £11.00 for fuel surcharges - which is exactly what we paid. In high season the crossings are £36.50 each way, plus the £11.00 fuel surcharges - or £84.00 return - so still £40.00 cheaper than Clive's basic quote. I checked the dates 6th August outward at 12.00 noon and 27th August return at 12.00 noon.
It's worth checking, and checking again, though between all operators - which is why I like on-line booking so much -it's so easy to compare exact details on line.