Ferry Newcastle/Hull to Holland with a 2 year old

[Bluepenguin2]

Hello

Has anyone taken the overnight ferry from either Hull or Newcastle to Holland with a 2 year old? I'm fancying a stay at a Landal and considering this option as:

• I think it would be more fun for my 2 year old
• It would remove the need to hire a car abroad
• It's slightly cheaper than flying
• Easier to chuck everything in the car than pack bags for flights

I'm leaning towards Newcastle as the ferry times are better although it's a longer drive...

However, part of me is wondering if it's a terrible idea and she'll just be seasick and none of us will get any sleep? Should we just fly?

Has anyone done this, or a similar overnight ferry crossing, with a young toddler - and if so, what were your experiences?

Thanks

Other than watching them like a hawk, it was great. Very exciting. All our kids went on ferries from very young

Oh, except for the one who gets seasick. The trip we learned about that was not much fun.

Weve used the Hull-Rottadam service many times, although the youngest was 4yo.

Sometimes its been extremely choppy, other times just a gentle rocking.

My biggest concern would be the toddle falling out the bunk- not sure if they have cots?

The buffet restaurant is quite nice. Very wide ranging.

We’ve just done Newcastle/Amsterdam to go skiing (no kids). Much cheaper than Hull/Rotterdam. No reason to think they would be seasick unless it’s particularly rough - these are big ships with good stabilisers.

Downside is driving in Netherlands is tricky because of the way the bicycle routes work and even with satnav it was hard to find our way to get from and to the port (although once you’re near enough it is actually signposted “Newcastle” .
I would say do it.

I did this a few times with young children, but day crossings. I hired a cabin - cheaper during the day -so you have your own space, bathroom and bed if a nap is needed. Much preferable to boarding late, rising early and trying to fit in sleep.

They only seem to do night crossings on that route. The Hull ferry departs at 8/9pm whereas the Newcastle one is around 5, hence my preference for Newcastle.

She has been out of her cot for a while, she has a toddler bed at home. On a recent weekend away she slept in a single bed, I stuffed a couple of spare pillows under the edge of the bed sheet to form a buffer and she was fine. Although it's cheaper to have her in a cot in a 2 berth cabin so could possibly do that.

@BeaAndBen , any suggestions for things to take in case of seasickness?

@Kissedbyfire1 interesting point about the driving, I'll have to look into what it's like driving over there. I've driven abroad plenty but always hired a car so on the 'right' side of the road so to speak - taking our car could be an added complication.

Hull ferry is great fun, we've not had anything too choppy (but it can be awful) and had a few of the mini-cruises as foot passengers. One think I found with older kids was that the food on board is EXPENSIVE. We packed a picnic tea and pastries for breakfast then had a proper meal once we got to the town. On the way back was harder to pick up food for tea and breakfast so we ate on board.

Bear in mind it'll be a loooong night with an early start, and you'll still have a significant drive each end. How does this compare to the time/cost of flying and car hire? That would be my question if taking the car.

No reason to think they would be seasick unless it’s particularly rough - these are big ships with good stabilisers.

Yeah, we thought that too, until…
<shudders at memory>

@Bluepenguin2 Kwells for Kids, Piriton (knocked him out), boiled sweets to suck on, water bottle for endless little sips. Travel bands were useless and annoyed him. Sleep was the best thing.

Spare clothes to hand, just in case!

It’s not that so much tbh, it’s that cars, bikes and trams are coming at you from all directions at once! It’s fine when you get out of town, if that’s what you’re planning to do.

@Fuuuuuckit @BeaAndBen

Thank you, really helpful. I definitely need to weigh up the travel time and logistics either end and compare it to flying. And consider if I'm brave enough to risk seasickness!

I follow this lady on Facebook, who writes from experience. Days out, trips etc

Loads of useful information.
She may also have holiday park info too.
This is the one about the ferry.

www.northeastfamilyfun.co.uk/2015/04/DFDS-mini-cruise-Amsterdam.html

Sorry to jump on but what are you referring to with ‘watching them like a hawk?’? We’re doing this trip soon

We did an overnight ferry once about 15 years ago, before children thank fuck.

In other news, for the last 15 years I've been blissful in the knowledge that open sea ferries are not an option under any circumstances whatsoever so we don't even need to discuss it.

That said, they can be convenient and plenty of people do it and they are fine op. Good luck and have a great time whatever you decide.

We’ve done Hull-Rotterdam several times with three or four kids, ranging from 7 months - 11 years old. We love it, and it’s definitely our preferred way to get on holiday to Northern Europe because it’s so easy. Granted, none of ours have ever been seasick, perhaps that’s because we’ve always gone in the summer so the crossing has been incredibly smooth, just a gentle rocking. We’ve tended to pack a picnic tea and then get up and have a big breakfast on board before the day ahead. Whilst the departure is later than Newcastle, you can board a bit earlier and check in straight away, so we’ve never found it too late - in fact, the kids have been so excited we’ve tended to stay up a bit to have a drink/watch the family show and then go to bed - I’m not sure they’d have slept if we’d put them down at their normal time. We are complete converts and I can’t recommend highly enough!

It’s actually quite difficult for them to get outside. As long as they didn’t wander off it would be fine.

You can board the Hull one early much earlier than 8pm.

I don’t think you’d get a cot in a standard cabin. They’re teeny. Maybe in a four berth if you put the bottom bunk up?

I think we usually arrive about 17.00 to board, after an afternoon in Hull or Newcastle.

My DC’s and I love watching the wagons load!

Thank you. I get very anxious about holidays and different places and we’ve never been on a ferry before with our very inquisitive 4 year old and older two. We’ve booked two cabins

Two of mine were over-keen explorers as soon as they could walk. One got stuck inside a toilet because the door was too heavy to open and he’d tail-gated a kid he was talking into it; the other couldn’t see a staircase without trying to dash off and climb it. Herding cats.

There was no danger of going overboard or anything. But every danger of the super exciting new environment to run off and explore while I was distracted by helping the seasick one.

@Bluepenguin2 - most children aren’t seasick on the big ferries in normal weather. But until you’ve found out whether you have one of the rare seasick ones, it’s smart to pack for it just in case.

I would still recommend overnight ferries.

Done it several times , , just got back from a half term break in the Netherlands

it’s very easy much better than flying . Get on the boat between 5pm and 7:30pm there’s bars , entertainment, a cinema and a small kids play area .

we tend to get on as late as possible have snacks in the cabin and go to sleep . You can ask for bed guards or a travel cot at reception. No sea sickness . The hull ferry in summer is very very expensive so we are going from Dover to Calais in the summer

driving in the Netherlands is a piece of piss just remember to give way to cyclists

Thank you all so much, loving your replies, sounds like you've had some fantastic trips. I didn't realise you could board so early so that's great to know.

We're looking at going in June/July so it's not significantly cheaper than flying, but does remove car hire costs, and I just think it will be more fun for my toddler than stuck in an airport. Feeling very positive about it now so will have a chat to husband and see about booking

We do the crossing a couple of times a year, both the Hull - Rotterdam and Newcastle - Amsterdam have pros and cons so we just do the cheapest.

I've done this since my kids were tiny, the bunk beds have bars so are pretty safe and generally the crossings are smooth but there are always exceptions!

My tips are:

Newcastle boat - book the dinner buffet to pass some time, there is also time for breakfast on this boat as it takes much longer to get on and off, there aren't many places directly off the boat to eat. Alternatively pack a load of food but there are signs all over asking you to only eat food bought on boat, not seen anyone challenge though. There are only the buffet or formal restaurants for food or a starbucks but there is entertainment and I found the kids were always quite happy having a dance on the dancefloor when they were little, now we play cards.

Hull boat - eat before you go on, it leaves later so you have time. There is a snack cafe place with pizzas if you need more later. You are off the boat quickly when you get there so breakfast would be rushed I find. Same story with entertainment.

I find driving off the Rotterdam boat a bit less stressful than Amsterdam but both are fine if you just are aware that bikes take priority pretty much all the time!

Have a great trip. My kids have always enjoyed the whole experience and it is so helpful to chuck everything in the car and go!

We've used Newcastle - Amsterdam for holidays in Belgium albeit with older children. Newcastle is quite a bit closer to us than Hull so we've never tried that one. For us, the biggest plus point is being able to take your own stuff. If we're going to Spain we prefer to go by ferry too, unless we're going to the far South. The youngest child we've ever taken on a long ferry crossing was DD when she was 15 or 16 months( Plymouth to Santander. )
For us it's about bikes. It's much easier and cheaper to be able to take your own than to have to hire, especially for me as I'm short and it can be hard to get a decent hire bike, and flying with bikes is a bit of a nightmare. But the same would apply with anything bulky, like pushchairs, carseats travel cots and so on. Of course you can hire most things in most places but if you want the familiarity and security of taking your own stuff, then travelling by ferry is the best way to do it in my opinion.
Our kids always enjoyed ferry crossings and whilst they're longer, there's plenty of space and stuff to do so I always found it easier than trying to keep them happy in the confined space of a plane. It's a bit of an adventure and makes the travel days a proper part of the holiday.
I've only been sick once in recent years and that was on an older ferry from Liverpool to Dublin. It was primarily used by trucks and only had a few car passengers so not really a "holiday" ferry and it was a bit basic compared to the other ones we've been on. The bigger ones that carry a lot of car passengers seem to be a lot better stabilised and I've always been fine. Our kids were never sick even on the Dublin crossing though I always take tablets with me just in case.
You've got me making plans now OP...it's about time we visited Belgium and the Netherlands again. 😁

I live in newcastle and have got the ferry quite often since the kids were toddlers. It's OK, but wouldn't actually consider it fun for a toddler. There's a very small soft play, but usually very busy, and a walk on deck passes a bit of time but isn't that interesting once your out of sight of land.

Usually we just end up watching a movie back in the cabin, then putting the kids to bed. It's fine and we do it because it's the easiest and cheapest option from where we are, but if it's going to mean a long drive I wouldn't do it just for the experience.

I used to do Hull/Rotterdam all the time, with my DCs from about age 1. It's brilliant - there is a lot to do, and the cabins are ok. You'd probably need to put them on the bottom bunk (not sure if there are family rooms, we always did the cheapest)
Back then i used to take a load of DVDs and put stuff on the laptop for them to watch when we were in the cabin. There is/was a ball pool by the café and a kid's room with a TV showing cartoons. They always loved it.

ETA: I no longer do the Rotterdam/Hull crossing because I'm boycotting P&O after they fired everyone by zoom. I now do a far longer drive, but for me it's worth it. Is it worth considering the shorter Harwich/Hoek van Holland crossing? they do daytime, and you can get a cabin for an extra cost. (i don't rate the night crossing because it's too short to get a good sleep.)

Stabilisers are good for the side to side rolling but have no effect on the fore and aft pitching, so it depends on the wind direction and sea swell when you’re travelling.