I have been talking to our area coordinator and will try to set this ferry deal to rest,
first the claddaghtravel deal at the moment this deal cannot be beat but ends 31st Jan.
( car + 2 people return night crossing cabin and two meals £149 + £16 surcharge)
Second the mx5ni deal on our web site ends 28th Feb,
( car + 2 people return night crossing cabin and two meals £200 +£16 surcharge) Obviously we are not to happy about this and will go back to haggle but claddagh may be doing a loss leader with this so our advice is grab it now.
Grabbed! One minor amendment however is that its £149 + 32 surcharge ( it’s 4 x £8) + £4 for a credit card or nothing for a debit card
Decided to do the night crossing since it’s saves on one night at the hotel - which pays for the cabin and meals - and it sounds like the ship isn’t that interesting anyway so we will go straight to the rally from the ship I guess.
Departure both ways at 2230 hrs.
The deal runs until Jan 31st only
Thanks for your help, I warned the lady that she might have a few more MX 5 owners booking up!
The Claddah offer appears, on the surface (excuse the pun) to be an excellent one. I will send the details to Norfolkline on Monday morning to ask for their comments. In the meantime if someone tries to book up I would be keen to hear from them. Hopefully there are no hidden catches, although I can’t see any. You may find that there is a limited number of spaces at this price so get booking ASAP. The other thing I need to clarify is, does our offer include a surcharge of £16 or is it £32. I had assumed it was £8 each way per car, but I will clarify that. As Peter has pointed out our offer is valid until February, if the Claddah one is better then go for it. I don’t know if Norfolkline will match their offer but if they do this would give us an extension of 1 month.
It has been mentioned that this is essentially a truckers ferry but having been on it a few times recently I would disagree with that. I’m not sure when SAZ last used it, but I think it has been updated over the last couple of years and there were two brand new Ferry’s purchased about 4 years ago. Yes there are truckers on it but they have a separate area in the Dining Room and they have their own lounge as well. I have been on a lot worse!
I had no problems booking up whatsoever and have subsequently received a formal confirmation of the booking from Claddah Travel. They are also ABTA accredited so my money should be safe too.
There was no mention of any kind of restriction of available places but time alone will tell. They went through all the restrictions with me i.e. no changes, no refunds and the confirmation states very clearly the check in times and the need for some kind of photo i.d.
When I gave the make of car and then the number plate which starts “MX 54…” she even responded that I obviously take my car quite seriously
Haven’t been to N Ireland for a leisure trip before, and only 1 day on business many years ago, so really looking forward to this!
That is excellent. I think I will put a link to Claddah Travel on the Website. It makes you wonder how they can do this, because they obviously have to get their ‘cut’ out of it as well.
Well spotted and hopefully others will be able to avail themselves of this offer. I will mention to all the AC’s to spread the word.
I have written to Norfolkline to-day and asked for their comments and also if their “Special offer” can be improved. Not sure if they will agree though, but it is worth trying. At the very least I have asked them to extend the end date of the offer. Watch this space to see their reply.
Please see below the reply from Norfolkline. The best were have managed to get from then by way of an improved offer is an extension until the middle of March. So for anybody reading this, please get booked up on the Claddah offer ASAP (It ends 31 January and it seems that availability may be limited) and please pass this info on to as many in the Club as possible and as soon as possible. I have sent a message to all the A/Cs but if you know of any others groups that are intending to come over, please put the word out.
Steven
The offer with Claddah is a one off early booking deal and is subject to space availabilty to co-incide with Holiday Show offers that we run every January<o:p></o:p>
And was supposed to be exclusive for past customers <o:p></o:p>
However If your members want to book with Claddah through January for a better deal go ahead and we will extend our offer until March 15th 2010 <o:p></o:p>
Can you help with a fare price from Stranraer we are coming over Friday till Tuesday .We were discussing this at the Northampton Club last night but have just received an email today from Eric Terry as I am on his mailing list Amelia Robertson
Well Martyn and I have gone with Claddah Travel using Irish Ferries from Holyhead to Dublin using the Swift Ferry just 2 hours for £248 return okay this is slightly more but still better than Norforlk line with an 8 hour crossing not my idea of fun. We are looking forward to the one hour and 45 min run from Dublin to Belfast in the car much more fun and their is a new tunnel built from Dublin port so should be really easy I Hope…!!! We will be staying in a B&B in Holyhead on the 27th May as we have a 6 and half hour drive to Holyhead to start with so we are making a nice long break of it, looking forward to the event, let’s hope for nice weather fingers crossed.
27th May - Drive 6 and half hour to Stay in Holyhead B&B for night
28th May - Catch Swift Ferry 12 noon from Holyhead to Dublin Port arrive 1.49pm drive to Belfast to arrive at Hotel around 4pm
29th May - Spring Rally
30th May - Runs and sightseeing
31st May - Leave Belfast to drive to Dublin to Catch Swift Ferry 2.30pm to Arrive Holyhead at 4.30pm for 6 and half hour drive home should arrive Canterbury around 10.30pm phew!!!
Hi, it’s not just you, I had similar probs…all sorted now.
Follow the NI MX -5 site instructions really easy, I faxed the details over to Northern line and they confirmed the same day. (Didn’t think people used fax machines any more, but it worked).
I’ve got my Tesco vouchers, now to decide which Ferry we are going on so may see you Sarah and Eric on the 28th at Holyhead . We too have a long drive to find a ferry port so I was trying to plan the best option the last time I went on a ferry to Ireland it was a long crossing and a force 10 gale, no fun
Am planning to stay on for a few days after the rally as him outdoors doesn’t readily agree to go away and leave his precious tractors, luckily he enjoys coming to the OC rallies so this will be our main holiday.
Brilliant, hope you join us, we are staying overnight on 27th May at Holyhead at Blackthorn Farm B&B all ready then to catch the ferry on the 28th May from Holyhead to Dublin only 3 hours max on ferry much nicer option then a lovely drive in Ireland, can’t wait
We have finally booked, (5umo and bling-king good), leave thursday 27th may 17.15. Holyhead to Dublin on the swift crossing with irish ferries, stop over in Dublin and then a nice slow drive up to Belfast.
Finally booked, going on the same ferry as you 5umo so see you there. Sorry Sarah but I forgot we had booked the hotel in Belfast for the Thursday night as well so going the day before to avoid all the Bank holiday traffic.
Hi Sarah, Well, I’ve finally pulled my finger out and decided to come along!
Just booked my ferry crossings - out on Thursday 27th @ 17:15 from Hollyhead to Dublin and return Monday 31st @ 14:30. So I’ll see 5UMO and Gold Timer on the way out and you guys on the way back! Couldn’t get on the 12:00 Ferry on Friday 28th as it is fully booked.
Now that leaves the accommodation to sort out…trying the Ramada hotel in first instance, then other hotels, but will camp if needs be!
