Why wouldn't you book a seat on a ferry?

[Tiredofthewhirring]

Just back from France, six hour crossing. Many passengers strewn on floor/lobby chairs acrosss the boat rather than paying £5 each for a reserved reclining seat!

Such a tiny sum for greatly increased comfort, given the overall cost of the ferry is hundreds of pounds.

Tell me, why wouldn't you book a seat????

Honestly whole families tucked in corners guarding their seats outside the duty free shop etc.

Don’t think you can even get to the IOW for that! Liverpool to N Ireland is about £200 each way for the 8 hour trip!

When going with friends, it wouldn't even occur to me to book a seat. We go straight to the cafe for a meal, then crash out on the floor with a rolled up jumper for a pillow. Mind you, we can sleep on a clothes line.

When going with the children, we book overnight crossings, and get a cabin. That saves us money getting a hotel en route.

I recently made this mistake on a ferry. I had only ever been on either Brittany Ferries crossings where I had a cabin/there was loads of seating/restaurants etc and it didn't seem to be a problem at all not to have a booked seat and then on a short dover-calais crossing where again there was loads of seats.

So I had literally no idea there wouldn't be adequate seating for a day crossing. I thought the reclining chairs were pretty much only for if you booked a night crossing but were on your own or whatever so a cabin was ridiculous money.

Spent 6 hours seat hopping but did manage to nab a reclining seat in a lounge for about half of it.

And TBF the crossing was like £35 as a foot passenger so I definitely wasn't adding another £80 for a cabin. Retrospectively should have paid the tenner for a seat but I was imagining I was going to spend my time sitting on deck and in the cafe(s) that it turned out it didn't have.

I do long cross Channel crossings at least 4 times a year and have done for over 30 years. with children from babies to teens and without.
I have never ever booked a seat and have never felt the need. There is always enough seating.
my most recent crossing was a week ago and when we weren’t having no dinner in the restaurant, having a nap in our free day cabin (club voyage members) or browsing the duty free we were sunbathing in comfy deck chairs on the deck. Why would I want to pay for an indoor seat and be stuck there?

I’ve never thought about booking seats on a ferry! We’re always up and wandering around. We did book a cabin for the overnight ferry to Shetland as that was long (and very rough).

Because if our family books those they are no longer quiet calm places and you get dirty looks from truckers who wanted the sleep!

I think you might be thinking or going to the Isle of Wight in the eighties......

perhaps it might have looked as though there were spare seats. The people who’ve booked them won’t be sat there the whole time and don’t need to leave any of their stuff there.

I’ve done a similar crossing and I remember there were no remaining seats available to book, so it seems to me there aren’t enough seats for all passengers in the same way as there aren’t enough cabins.

It’s so long since I was on a ferry I didn’t know you COULD book seats, let alone cabins. Last time on a ferry was I think 1982.

I wouldn't have even known you had to book a seat on a ferry? If I saw an option to book a seat I'd assume it was like book to sit in first class or sit where you please in standard.

Though I've only ever done short crossings and the overnight North Sea Ferries with a cabin.

I was on the Plymouth- Roscoff ferry the other day and there were loads of empty seats, so I wondered why anyone would bother to pay for them!

Most times I've been on a ferry have been as part of a coach trip - and I had no idea you could book seats.

Never done a long crossing though .

Maybe having a 'free day cabin' is the clue here !

We regularly travel on the Portsmouth- Caen route, occasionally one of the other western channel routes.
We always have a cabin- during the day they are set out as two sofas- they sort of pull down to turn into beds. We can dump our stuff, have a quiet snooze, or read. It's nice to have a private loo (and shower).
If the weather is nice then we sit up on deck for a bit, have something to eat. The kids used to like the cinema.

currently reading this from the floor, 4 hours into a 10 hour ferry ride and wishing i had asked myself your question 🙃

😂😂😂😂

No water or loo for six hours 😂😂

You can book a cabin on daytime ferries really cheaply. I always go for a cabin. DS watches TV. DH takes a nap because he will have to drive for 3 1/2 hours later. I find the seats not that comfortable and you never know if a person will be sick next to you.

With children, we always book a cabin, I actually wouldn’t go without one, but without kids, I’d sometimes book the fancy seats and sometimes not bother if it was day crossing as I quite like walking around, popping outside, didn’t particularly care where I sat etc. so I presume it just depends on the stage of life you’re at?!

We always book a cabin for the night ferry and the day ferries. They’re often only £25 on day crossings it’s a no brainier for a snooze and your own toilet. We’ve never had a problem finding a table and chairs when we’re wandering around the boat though. I’m surprised how busy yours sounds

I would have thought that something as basic as a seat would have come as standard. You wouldn't think of paying extra so you could sit down at a cinema or on a plane, so why would you think that you need to on a boat?

Ferries have seats everywhere. Cafes as well. And bars. Who wants to be tied to a specific seat?

We've always booked a cabin. It's much more relaxed to have a base to sit, leave belongings safely, and that sort of thing.

This is what I thought, until I got a StenaLine ferry. It had a canteen with dining chair style seats, no bar, about 5 plastic garden chairs on deck, and one tiny tiny lounge with about 20 chairs round tables in it. There were then maybe 100 bookable reclining seats and no where else to sit on the whole ship.

I was totally baffled, and had failed to book a seat because it was like nothing I had ever come across before.

There is usually plenty of seating on, say Brittany Ferries, the ones you book and pay for are larger, reclining seats in separate lounges which are quiet and seats-only.

However, it depends a lot on when you travel. I will never forget the crossing from hell from Portsmouth to St Malo a few years ago at October half term on a packed boat. I booked stupidly late so no cabins were available.
DH, DS (aged about four) and I found a tiny sofa in one area but if we'd have walked away to go to the loo etc we'd have lost it. As it was a woman and her kid tried to shoehorn herself on one end of it (it was for two people and there were already three on it) and when she couldn't sit down properly, stood near us while the child vomited, copiously, then moved away. Nice.

The weather was really, really rough with alarming bangs and crashes throughout the night. And lots of sick everywhere.
Since then, we have always booked a cabin. You have been warned!

We've never booked and have never had any problem getting a seat. That's UK-Ireland tho' if that makes a difference.