With the summer holidays soon to draw to a close, well organised holidaymakers will be keen to look ahead to opportunities for travel next year. With this in mind, P&O Ferries have announced that they are now taking bookings for ferry crossings in 2011. Booking so far in advance gives travellers the chance to seek out some bargain prices to a wide number of fantastic destinations.

In particular, the P&O Ferries Portsmouth-Bilbao crossing will stay open until September 27th, so UK tourists have the opportunity to explore the lesser visited inland Spain via its excellent road networks, or head straight to the beach.

For those wishing to catch the last of the summer weather in August and early September, travellers can still reach Spain via Brittany Ferries, with a scenic crossing from either Portsmouth or Plymouth to the spectacular Spanish port of Santander.

France is also an understandably popular option, being a great starting point to start a life changing road trip around Europe. Early bookings for 2011 can assure a price as low as £30 each way. Travellers who are ready to organise their 2011 adventures would be well advised to book now to get the best possible deals at P&O Ferries.

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New Ferries for the Dover-Calais Route

Ferry travellers will be excited to hear the news of two new ferries in production for the company P & O. The ferries are to be named ‘The Spirit of Britain‘ and ‘The Spirit of France,’ reflecting the regular journeys they will make on the Dover-Calais crossing.

The vessels are expected to be the largest of their kind ever built, weighing up to 49,000 tonnes, spanning 213 metres in length, with an impressive capacity of 1,750 passengers. The Spirit of Britain is due to be the first of the ferries in service; and recently, the exciting news was released that the ferry has already taken to the water, having been moved into its construction dock in Rauma, Finland.

Passengers will not have to wait too long to board these ground-breaking new vessels, with the Spirit of Britain due for service in January 2011. Construction on the Spirit of France is not too far behind, with the giant ship set for sail around September 2011.

Helen Deeble, Chief Executive of P & O Ferries, is understandably optimistic and excited about the new developments, commenting: “The two ships represent a major investment of more than €360 million by P&O Ferries. We’re proud to be associated with what is truly a world class operation.”

P&O have an interesting blog documenting the build and launch of the ferries here.

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P&O Ferries accept pets and levy a simple charge of £15 for each single journey, with the exception of registered hearing and guide dogs, both of which are exempt. When taking your pet on the route from Dover to Calais you must check-in 30 minutes before departure time and all animals are to remain seated inside during crossing. It is also possible for foot passengers to carry their pets in a lockable container, provided that the container is well constructed and capable of withstanding secure shipping procedures and that pets are carried on the lower deck.

For crossing from Hull to Rotterdam or Zeebrugge, passengers are required to check-in 1 hour 30 minutes before departure time and all animals must be placed in an air-conditioned kennel inside the vehicle decks during the crossing. Coach or foot passengers are not allowed to carry pets, except for registered hearing and guide dogs. Pets are not permitted on crossings between Portsmouth and Bilbao because of the length of this journey. Passengers wishing to book a crossing on this route cannot book online and are required to call P&O, the number for which can be found online.

Passengers may also wish to travel with their pet under the special PETS passport initiative. Further details of this and any quarantine obligations can be found on the Defra website. All cats and dogs travelling must have had a vaccination against rabies within 6 months prior to embarking on any crossing. In addition, EU legislation now permits rabbits and other rodents such as mice or guinea pigs to travel on P&O. These animals do not require a PET passport.

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P&O Ferries is one of the largest ferry operators, sailing on a variety of routes from the UK. They operate daily crossings from Hull to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge on luxurious cruise ferries, as well as regular Dover to Calais Channel crossings. They also operate a crossing from Portsmouth to Bilbao on the the luxurious Pride of Bilbao.

Routes Operated by P&O Ferries

• Hull to Rotterdam
• Hull to Zeebrugge
• Dover to Calais

Alternative ferry operators and routes

• Ferries to Holland
• Ferries to Belgium
• Ferries to France

P&O Ferries Fleet

• Pride of Bilbao
• Pride of Rotterdam
• Pride of Hull

P&O Ferry Ports

• Hull Port
• Dover Port
• Bilbao Port
• Zeebrugge Port
• Rotterdam Port (Europoort)

You can use the links above to check fares and book P&O ferry crossings online.

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