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drivers, the passenger mix seemed to be mostly middle-aged couples,
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but on the return trip many were of that unwholesome breed of young people known as chavs.
Boarding was easy, although it involved a 180 turn to exit at the same end of the vessel we'd entered by.
All the facilities are arranged in a twolevel circular area at the stern. Downstairs is a lounge with the obligatory shop and another Upper Crust sandwich bar the nearest thing we found to a proper breakfast was a microwaved baguette, two of which with decent orange juice and milky coffee came to £12.60.
Access to a small First Class lounge with complimentary refreshments costs £15 per person per crossing, but we resisted. Settling into our leather seats, mostly arranged in fours around tables, we watched the safety video before being warned that due to the weather we could expect some "craft movement" during the journey.
In the event, apart from being a bit wobbly in the harbour and some fairly harmless swaying from side to side en route, it was all very comfortable. A couple of tiny video game arcades were tucked mercifully out of sight, and earshot.
Once under way, Senior Master Martin Small allowed us to join his three-man crew (first officer, navigator and chief engineer) on the bridge.The Seacat looked surprisingly easy to drive: the most remarkable thing was how drama-free it was during docking, with just a small joystick and a rotary knob giving inch-perfect control of the 26,000hp. On the outward voyage we departed on time to the second and were driving on the autoroute 80 minutes later, despite a slightly slower-than-usual cruising speed due to a minor problem on one of the four engines. Checking in for the return trip, however, we were warned at check-in of a 30-minute delay.
P&O Ferries Driving to Dover via the M20 is simplicity itself but once you hit the town concentration levels need to rise or maybe it was just the lack of sleep. If there's a record for OTT signage Dover is definitely a contender. But stay calm and there should be little problem in finding the correct point of entrance.
Once inside, the port's overhead signs clearly direct you to the relevant area.
The check-in point has enough booths to handle a rush but at 7arn (the requested time for freight departures) there was little traffic and the process was quick and efficient — though it must be said that the actual departure was at 830am so we were left with the feeling that we could have had a little more shut-eye.
A lane number was given arid found without fuss, then the engine went off and the newspaper came out. P&O operates up to 35 round trips a day on this route with a sailing every 45 minutes at peak times.
Rolling onto the ferry was a breeze with plenty of brightly coloured jackets directing you. helping to put your nerves at rest — it's definitely not a time to show off your highly regarded space awareness or turning skills.
The Pride of Canterbury carries 120 trucks for a List price of.£180 each way, but negotiated rates are available on a cash or credit basis for committed volume.
Once parked up we ventured upstairs to the passenger area.This seemed a lot more spacious and clean than we remembered from school trips (though to be fair, when our operations editor made his last school trip a lot of space was taken up by the masts and sails).
With plenty of walking space, seating areas and restaurants there were plenty of positives —