I travelled with brittany ferries recently and my mate and i went to our cabin to find that 2 eastern europeans were in the cabin as well,so as i was not very happy and tired and just done an 11 hour shift went to the information desk to sort the problem out with no result,The girl behind the desk was very rude and said i could have another cabin for 40 euros which i thougt was a bit off seeing i had already paid,so i said could we swap cabins and the replie was No!,so the both of us had to sleep on chairs for 9 hours,has any one out there had the same problem as i feel this is not right at all. 
What do you really expect a suite to yourself ?
would you have complained if the other 2 drivers had been Brits ?
Are you an owner operator or a driver may i ask
littleman:
Are you an owner operator or a driver may i ask
neither of the above
why what has that got to do with it ?
If you were an owner operator like my self and paid ex amount of pounds to use this service and had that sort of response at 12.30 at night would you be happy.
Well if you want the cabin for yourself, you will have to pay the excess next
time, it is normal 4 beds then 4 drivers go in the cabin unless they have less drivers on the ship,
If as a transport manager of a company with 100 vehicles I book a crossing and I am that worried about who my drivers might be sharing with then I pay the extra when I book, otherwise you take what the rest of the wordl gets ad that is what is available.
Most crossings if they have the space, cleaning staff then they will if asked nicely and if they are feeling in a good mood make an exception and cater for your requests but they are not obliged to do so.
I do believe that their policy is not to mix nationalitys up in cabins ie english to english not polish to english also would any of you sleep with any strangers for 9 hours i certainly do not.
a policy that is only valid if space is available.
And yes having used most of the ferry crossings throughout Europe and even further afield many times in the past on occasion I have had no choice but to sleep in a cabin with complete strangers.
Part and parcel of doing international work I am afraid
Hello yes , they will try to keep people together, but you should
remember this ,promises are not given or stated, Try going Germany
to Finnland by boat ; WHEN they have a full compliment of Drivers,
and can not pick and choose, you have either 27hrs or 36hrs on the boat
depending from where you sail,
I object to having to share my sleeping space with a stranger. Who else would have to do it?
I always pay for the single occupation cabin and book it to expenses.
Harry Monk:
I always pay for the single occupation cabin and book it to expenses.
and that is the clue
You shouldn’t have to do it though. You shouldn’t say “I’m only a truck driver, it’s perfectly reasonable that I sleep with people I’ve never met”. Who else would do it?
littleman:
I do believe that their policy is not to mix nationalitys up in cabins ie english to english not polish to english also would any of you sleep with any strangers for 9 hours i certainly do not.
My last three crossings have been with Transmanche and over the years I’ve taken the trouble to learn some French, (a fact which has got me out trouble a number of times) and always ask for a cabin to myself (in my very best French) and I’d say at least 50% of the time get what I request. On my last trip I was alone on the way out but shared with an English driver on the return trip which was fine by me.
I can understand the problems with Eastern Europeans who all seem to smoke constantly, despite no smoking signs!!
Ross.
Harry Monk:
You shouldn’t have to do it though. You shouldn’t say “I’m only a truck driver, it’s perfectly reasonable that I sleep with people I’ve never met”. Who else would do it?
this comes from Transport Companies wanting to pay the minimum possible, when they ask the ferry company for prices they do get the option of single, double or shared cabins and the price they pay varies accordingly.
So the blame lies not at the door of the ferry company they are only responding to what their customers (your boss) asks them for.
Vascoingles:
Harry Monk:
You shouldn’t have to do it though. You shouldn’t say “I’m only a truck driver, it’s perfectly reasonable that I sleep with people I’ve never met”. Who else would do it?this comes from Transport Companies wanting to pay the minimum possible, when they ask the ferry company for prices they do get the option of single, double or shared cabins and the price they pay varies accordingly.
So the blame lies not at the door of the ferry company they are only responding to what their customers (your boss) asks them for.
The thing is i do the bookings and i think that the ferry companies should tell you when it is going to be busy and give you the choice and warns you before hand then that reduces the problems like this.
littleman:
Vascoingles:
Harry Monk:
You shouldn’t have to do it though. You shouldn’t say “I’m only a truck driver, it’s perfectly reasonable that I sleep with people I’ve never met”. Who else would do it?this comes from Transport Companies wanting to pay the minimum possible, when they ask the ferry company for prices they do get the option of single, double or shared cabins and the price they pay varies accordingly.
So the blame lies not at the door of the ferry company they are only responding to what their customers (your boss) asks them for.The thing is i do the bookings and i think that the ferry companies should tell you when it is going to be busy and give you the choice and warns you before hand then that reduces the problems like this.
and why don’t you ask them ? or do they have to do the thinking for you ? I don’t know when you did the crossing but if it was in the last couple of weeks then even the worst informed person on this planet will assume that it is going to be busy as it is holiday time, which not only means more tourists on each boat but overbooking as well.
Vascoingles:
littleman:
Vascoingles:
Harry Monk:
You shouldn’t have to do it though. You shouldn’t say “I’m only a truck driver, it’s perfectly reasonable that I sleep with people I’ve never met”. Who else would do it?this comes from Transport Companies wanting to pay the minimum possible, when they ask the ferry company for prices they do get the option of single, double or shared cabins and the price they pay varies accordingly.
So the blame lies not at the door of the ferry company they are only responding to what their customers (your boss) asks them for.The thing is i do the bookings and i think that the ferry companies should tell you when it is going to be busy and give you the choice and warns you before hand then that reduces the problems like this.
For your information i did ask at time of booking and they replied there was plenty of room,and i am inclined to wonder if you have any connection with brittany ferries.
and why don’t you ask them ? or do they have to do the thinking for you ? I don’t know when you did the crossing but if it was in the last couple of weeks then even the worst informed person on this planet will assume that it is going to be busy as it is holiday time, which not only means more tourists on each boat but overbooking as well.
littleman:
i am inclined to wonder if you have any connection with brittany ferries.
none whatsoever I can assure you.
But after 25 years as an international driver and having used most of the ferries that you can expect to use in a life time I am realistic about what I can expect, if I want luxury then I will pay the extra and if you read the small print then it is in there to read.
For your information i did ask at time of booking and they replied that there was space,i am inclined to wonder if you have a connection with brittany ferries.