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it was all very clean too.There was also a Bureau
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de Change and a large duty-free area with plenty on offer, though the surly checkout attendant obviously felt deeply insulted by having to serve all those nasty passengers. Departure time was near enough spot-on.
After a stroll to the driver's rest area we sat down for breakfast. Service was efficient with a waiter coming to take the order almost inunediately.A full-English was £2.55 including unlimited toast. cereal,tca/coffee and orange juice.All the food that should have been hot was, and it arrived fast too. Suffice to say we were very pleasantly surprised and impressed.
Chatting to drivers, there were few complaints and when the rest room becomes too busy they can go to the other restaurants, ticket in hand, and get a similar meal for the same price about half that charged to 'civilians'.
On the return on the Provence we sampled P&O's buffet service for freight drivers, which will be available throughout its fleet by next March. Pay at the door (i2.90 for a main course; £3.80 for three) and basically help yourself.
The actual crossing was smooth and we arrived at Calais about five minutes behind schedule. Back to the vehicle and under starters orders. Rolling off was handled as efficiently as rolling on and there was plenty of exit space within the complex to make the process feel unhurried as we got our bearings and sought out the correct exit.
Overall a very efficient and well run operation that makes the whole process as painless as possible. letting you relax in preparation for the journey ahead. Norfolk Line's Midnight Merchant slipped away from its Dover Port quay on time, at 8.15am. Dover has the distinction of being the busiest RO-RO port on the planet but it was easy to find the correct lane before boarding the vessel.
Signs directing us to the ship were clear, even on a gloomy, rain-soaked October morning. Norfolk Line's check-in staff were cheerful. courteous, and helpful. It's small pleasantries like these which a driver appreciates at the start of a long Continental run.
Chatting to Captain MichaelAndrew and chief officer Nick Martin we learned that while the Midnight Merchant takes cars, its chief role is to transport HGVs. Andrew says: "The emphasis is on freight, and this means that truck drivers get to know the ship's staff."
The ship has two vehicle decks: one for trucks, the other for cars The 180m 22,000tonner has room for 85 HGVs.A large area is reserved for truck drivers (during our visit a TV in this room was broadcasting an aged American soap opera), within spitting distance of a shop offering confectionery,newspapers and the like.
The nearby dining area is not large, and the choice of food was not extensive, but this vessel's cross-Channel route is a short one. We lost no time tucking into grapefruit and a full English breakfast.
Carnivores will be disappointed to hear that the Midnight Merchant's bacon was tasteless and tough; the food could have been hotter,too.
To make up for this the staff were hospitable and enthusiastic.
Phil Knight and Jerry Blenford drive 44tonne curtainsiders for Sealane Freight; they're regulars on this service. "It can be tight to park the trucks in the ship," says Knight, "but the staff are always friendly." Their crossChannel trips are split 50% Norfolk Line,40% SeaFrance, and 10% Eurotunnel."The food is better here than on Sea France," Blenford told us. "There's a good selection and it's reasonably priced."
There are cabins and showers aboard for drivers, although Knight and Blenford reported that they're not available on this route.This is no hardship on such a short crossing; and the deck above the dining area offers a quiet area where drivers can doze on recliners.
We prepared to disembark. On this southbound trip from Dover to Dunkirk, delays are a rarity, says Blenford. Then came word over the ship's PA system that another ship was berthed at our quay: we docked at 11.35am local time,25 minutes late.
When the vessel came to a halt, vehicles were on their way promptly. Down on the HGV deck efficient marshals directed trucks onto French soil. Knight and Bknford gave Norfolk Line's Midnight Merchant an overall rating of eight out of 10.
HGV drivers are well looked after with wholesome, if uninspiring food, a dedicated rest area, and showers.Tough bacon aside, and a delay which was hardly down to the crew, we rated the Midnight Merchant highly, too. The most complicated part of going to France is the trip through Dover docks to get to the check-in window. At 7arn on a dark, wet and windy morning we were a bit worried about whether we were actually going in the right direction as none of the internal roads from the A20 to check-in seemed to follow on seamlessly.
But we made it by 7.19am and were dealt with promptly, although there was an initial panic as our reference number didn't match anything offered by SeaFrance.This was swiftly sorted out and we were directed to join the specified lane where we were loaded onto the boat by 7.38am— in fact this process was so efficient that we didn't have time to assess the port facilities.
True to its word, the 8am sailing left at 8am prompt and there was certainly plenty of room on board SeaFrance's flagship vessel, the Rodin. Its passenger capacity of 1,900 was nowhere near being challenged, and it certainly didn't have the maximum 120 trucks or 700 cars on board. So there was plenty of choice about where to sit, whether it was in the in one of the three eateries, or Le Pub, or the drivers' RO-RO Restaurant, or even in the best seats in the house, looking out of doubleheight windows at the side of the ship.
Catering ranges from a restaurant with tables bedecked in white linen and served by waiters via a self-service restaurant to a cafe serving coffee and pastries.We took the selfservice route and broke with CM tradition by picking a large fruit salad, fresh croissant and black coffee for £4.55. Most enjoyable.
Freight drivers have an even cheaper option. In their designated area (which also includes showers), breakfast costs £2.50;lunch or dinner is about twice that price. Order whatever you want for breakfast, and while there are main dishes available each day for lunch and dinner, the chefs will always cook to order if there's nothing that takes your fancy on the menu.The price includes unlimited tea, coffee, soft drinks, beer and wine.
Danny Nagle, who drives for wood importer Chanter Timber of Stoke-on-Trent, uses SeaFrance about four times a week. He occasionally uses P&O from Le Havre to Portsmouth and says the facilities for freight drivers are good. He certainly appreciates being able to order a freshly cooked steak for dinner.
Chanter uses SeaFrance because it provides the quickest crossing —70 minutes on the Rodin, 90 minutes fonts other ships -and it's also the cheapest.Nagel told us: "They are good at running to time, and since the service runs every hour I'll just be put on the next boat if I miss one."
Other facilities include a Bureau de Change, which didn't seem to be doing much trade, and a shop with an extensive range of goods from the obligatory alcohol, fags, and perfume, to clothes, handbags and SeaFrance souvenirs. However they must have encountered some determined shoplifters because you'll have to leave any backpacks or bags with security before you enter the shop.
If you have too much change in your pockets there are plenty of games and slot machines to help you dispose of it.
Despite the Rodin s' claims to a 70-minute crossing, we didn't drive onto French soil until 930am, 90 minutes after we'd set sail.A1though we were 20 minutes late into port, we had an enjoyable and smooth crossing.
On the return journey we travelled on the Manet,one of SeaFrance's older ships.Althoug,h the lower deck was full of artics, the rest of its capacity seemed about half used.As a result, apart from a queue for the freight drivers' restaurant,there was plenty of space aboard.
To avoid getting in the way of the real drivers we sampled the food in the public cafeteria.A couple of steaks were accurately cooked to order and came with an extra plate of chips to share and an unordered but very pleasant side serving of pepper sauce. Good tucker, and fairly priced at £6.
The only downside to this trip was that some of the toilets were unseemly, and a severe vibration which rearranged the contents of our table while reversing out of Calais. When you can sell every slot in the freight train from Folkestone to Sangatte you don't need to give one away to a hack in a van. So it was that we joined the tourists in one of the single-deck carriages for high vehicles.
What we saw of the freight entrance was a slip road, a ticket booth, a burger van and an information centre with adjoining toilets, and passport control.It's all in a straight line from the M20.The tourist side of the coin is significantly plusher and well segregated from the freight side.
The passenger service area boasts a marble floor, bags of space to mill around in, boutiques,leather armchairs, a food mall and delightful easy listening music piped through numerous speakers. Maybe few professional drivers want to stock up on perfume or lounge about on sofas, but it seems a mite unfriendly to deny them the same facilities. The freight train has open carriages so truck drivers leave their vehicles and mooch down to the buffet car for the trip. Tourists and the rest of the hoi polloi ride in enclosed carriages with no amusements. Passengers are encouraged to remain in their vehicles.
The one-way system in the terminal is easy to navigate. Boarding the train entails driving down onto the platform and into the rear carriage, then edging down the train till you can go no further.The trip was quiet, effortless, and perhaps a little dull. No radio signals find their way through all that water, sand and rock (it's best not to think about what's overhead) and there are only so many times you can pore over The Daily Comic or even a well thumbed Commercial Motor.
At the opposite end, after grinding to a halt, warning lights announce the opening of the carriage doors. You then edge down the train before exiting behind the engine. Departing is no problem: out the train, up the ramp, turn right,join the motorway and away you go.
In fact it was 37 minutes from the allotted departure time to joining the dual carriageway out of Calais— we were a little late leaving; the run was scheduled to take just 28 minutes — hardly long enough for freight drivers to down more than their coffee. •