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AIBU?

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Original poster

To ask of you're stuck at Dover?

179 replies

aholidaynotacarpark · 02/04/2023 08:23

We're travelling tomorrow morning and I'm dreading it! The reports I'm reading mainly mention problems with coaches and we'll be in a car. It sounds seagull for al the school kids stuck there, I really feel for them.
I need to work out how much food and In car entertainment to pack!

OP posts:
SerendipityJane · 02/04/2023 10:47

I really wonder what the leavers are thinking now.

Well I know they won't see the irony that it's now harder to leave the UK for a start.

LiquoriceAllsorts2 · 02/04/2023 10:48

Aposterhasnoname · 02/04/2023 09:37

Since when have passports been stamped going out of the UK?

Show quote history

Brexit!

readbooksdrinktea · 02/04/2023 10:48

bellac11 · 02/04/2023 10:03

I suspect they did

And people that were apathetic and didnt vote at all also bear responsiblity

People really dont like being left with the consequences of their behaviour.

Show quote history

Blue passports though, dontcha know?

I'm amazed how many Brits seem to think there wouldn't actually be any consequences.

Kendodd · 02/04/2023 10:49

Northumberlandlass · 02/04/2023 10:34

Last summer we almost missed a connecting flight at Schipol due to queues to get our passports stamped entering the EU. It was stressful - the guy who stamped our passport said every Brit that came through swore they had voted Remain.

My family were all stuck in massive queues at Schiphol last year as well. We were on the plane and then in the queue with a group of about 30 young men. A few of them were lucky enough to have EU passports, and were showing them off (in good humour) while they swanned past the queues, chanting 'Brexit losers' and saying they'd see them in the hotel bar. I suspect none of those lads were old enough to have voted in the referendum. Our young people should be very, very angry about what we have taken off them.

A (Leave voting) couple I know were complaining recently about how their daughter can't do a ski season now and that 'nobody told them'. I found it very hard to keep my mouth shut. An American friend of mine said ages ago how he'd kill for an EU passport and couldn't believe that we'd voted to take them away from our own children. All for the 'benefit' of shrinking our economy by 4%. Honestly, the longer it goes on the angrier I get with Leave voting idiots.

Babyroobs · 02/04/2023 10:50

My dd left here ( east midlands) yesterday morning at 11.30 for school ski trip. She messaged me at 7.30 to say she was now on the ferry. They have been putting on extra ferries overnight to clear the backlog. DD said they had to wait for hours in a service station until the port called to say they could start queuing so they weren't stuck in a queue all that time( about 16 hours), and did have access to food and drink at the service station. Awful for them though as the journey to Austris is already 24 hours, now extended to 40 hours and they are missing ski time and it cost a bloody fortune.

GMOOH2023 · 02/04/2023 10:50

I’m also fully aware of the necessity to get your passport stamped given that we travel a lot. I was questioning the need to get it stamped exiting the uk

@Aposterhasnoname

French border checks have been done in Dover for several years now.

Post Brexit, UK passport holders need to have their passports stamped which causes additional delays (as demonstrated this weekend). It's not really a "new" thing.

If the checks were done on arrival in France then there would still be delays as vehicles wouldn't be able to just drive off the ferry and turnaround times would be untenable.

As @Ifailed pointed out upthread, the requirements will be getting even more stringent soon so it's not going to get any better.

Babyroobs · 02/04/2023 10:51

Babyroobs · 02/04/2023 10:50

My dd left here ( east midlands) yesterday morning at 11.30 for school ski trip. She messaged me at 7.30 to say she was now on the ferry. They have been putting on extra ferries overnight to clear the backlog. DD said they had to wait for hours in a service station until the port called to say they could start queuing so they weren't stuck in a queue all that time( about 16 hours), and did have access to food and drink at the service station. Awful for them though as the journey to Austris is already 24 hours, now extended to 40 hours and they are missing ski time and it cost a bloody fortune.

Sorry this should say they got on the ferry at 7.30 this morning.

readbooksdrinktea · 02/04/2023 10:52

I shouldn't say Brits, sorry. It was an English referendum.

Greenfairydust · 02/04/2023 10:53

''@bellac11
Whats the hold up?''

''@Aposterhasnoname
Since when have passports been stamped going out of the UK?''

Sigh...

So, you have not heard of Brexit?

Passports have to be stamped because we no longer have freedom of movement.

It goes to show that so many people had no grasp whatsoever of what they were voting for.

Kendodd · 02/04/2023 10:55

SerendipityJane · 02/04/2023 10:47

I really wonder what the leavers are thinking now.

Well I know they won't see the irony that it's now harder to leave the UK for a start.

I don't see much regret. Lots of moaning, all the problems blamed on the EU though, no blame attributed to Brexit or the liars who sold it to them.

woodlandtrees · 02/04/2023 10:57

My son was stuck on coach for 12 hours. Finally got on ferry early hours this morning.

bellac11 · 02/04/2023 10:59

Clymene · 02/04/2023 10:46

The biggest demographic of people who voted leave were over 50 and not graduates. I'm guessing they're not the people sending their kids on school ski trips.

This doesnt make any sense, lots of parents of teens are in their 50s

But thats beside the point anyway, one of the factors in this nightmare mess was that not enough people who apparentlly didnt want to leave, came out to vote, therefore the results were skewed by a low turn out.

Aposterhasnoname · 02/04/2023 10:59

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

itsgettingweird · 02/04/2023 11:01

Yes it's a consequence of Brexit.

But I can't help think that it's also a little bit of point proving by the French border control of reports are true that they had 2 port staff on duty.

I mean - 2 for a whole ferry load of people is too low before you then add in the number of coaches known to be expected this time of year.

Clymene · 02/04/2023 11:02

They might be now. The referendum was in 2016. The overwhelming majority were older than that. Basically a load of old people nearing retirement or already retired ruined the UK's economic future. And I will never stop being angry about it!

Kendodd · 02/04/2023 11:04

bellac11 · 02/04/2023 10:59

This doesnt make any sense, lots of parents of teens are in their 50s

But thats beside the point anyway, one of the factors in this nightmare mess was that not enough people who apparentlly didnt want to leave, came out to vote, therefore the results were skewed by a low turn out.

Show quote history

I actually think its unfair to blame those who didn't vote in the referendum for Brexit (not surprising though). Put the blame where it belongs, with the people who voted for it. They 'knew what they voted for' and can own the whole sorry mess.

Clymene · 02/04/2023 11:05

@Aposterhasnoname you're the one being a dick. French passport control has been at Dover for cross channel ferries since 2004 - long before Brexit.

Forfrigz · 02/04/2023 11:05

If we actually invested more in our education system we wouldn't have brexit because more of the population wouldn't be ignorant fuckwits

Kendodd · 02/04/2023 11:07

Clymene · 02/04/2023 11:02

They might be now. The referendum was in 2016. The overwhelming majority were older than that. Basically a load of old people nearing retirement or already retired ruined the UK's economic future. And I will never stop being angry about it!

I'm furious as well. And I'm over 50 living in a super save Tory/Brexit loving part of the country.

bellac11 · 02/04/2023 11:07

itsgettingweird · 02/04/2023 11:01

Yes it's a consequence of Brexit.

But I can't help think that it's also a little bit of point proving by the French border control of reports are true that they had 2 port staff on duty.

I mean - 2 for a whole ferry load of people is too low before you then add in the number of coaches known to be expected this time of year.

This is total brexit brain though - other countries are not obliged to change their working practices or organisational plans to compensate for our choices.

Why should they need to make changes to keep us happy?

notimagain · 02/04/2023 11:08

itsgettingweird · 02/04/2023 11:01

Yes it's a consequence of Brexit.

But I can't help think that it's also a little bit of point proving by the French border control of reports are true that they had 2 port staff on duty.

I mean - 2 for a whole ferry load of people is too low before you then add in the number of coaches known to be expected this time of year.

I wondered when the French would start getting at least some of the blame.

FWIW French school hols don't start until the end of next week (and that's only for one of the three national zones, the stagger this year means the other zones start after Easter)..any peak in demand for cross channel travel this weekend due to UK arrangements should have been flagged up by the UK port/ferry operators - did that happen?

TheColourofspring · 02/04/2023 11:09

My sons ski trip has just been cancelled after the kids spent 17 hours at dover & they can’t feasibly get the kids to Italy safely- fuck the Tory cunts. He’s so upset after a year of planning

SerendipityJane · 02/04/2023 11:11

GMOOH2023 · 02/04/2023 10:50

I’m also fully aware of the necessity to get your passport stamped given that we travel a lot. I was questioning the need to get it stamped exiting the uk

@Aposterhasnoname

French border checks have been done in Dover for several years now.

Post Brexit, UK passport holders need to have their passports stamped which causes additional delays (as demonstrated this weekend). It's not really a "new" thing.

If the checks were done on arrival in France then there would still be delays as vehicles wouldn't be able to just drive off the ferry and turnaround times would be untenable.

As @Ifailed pointed out upthread, the requirements will be getting even more stringent soon so it's not going to get any better.

The bottom line is the moment the UK voted to leave the EU, 27 countries immediately decided that the pain of that decision was not going to affect them.

The most visible demonstration of this is the arrangement that the UK gets the chaos, not the French. And as strong Leave supporters, it seems Kent has very little to complain about here.

Does anyone serious think the French would put up with this shit in Calais ? Especially when it's entirely the UKs sovereign decision ?

SerendipityJane · 02/04/2023 11:13

Clymene · 02/04/2023 11:05

@Aposterhasnoname you're the one being a dick. French passport control has been at Dover for cross channel ferries since 2004 - long before Brexit.

So what's changed ?

Clymene · 02/04/2023 11:14

TheColourofspring · 02/04/2023 11:09

My sons ski trip has just been cancelled after the kids spent 17 hours at dover & they can’t feasibly get the kids to Italy safely- fuck the Tory cunts. He’s so upset after a year of planning

Oh no! I'm so sorry, that's awful. Sad

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