Car Ferry – Bikes on roof: Any issues/experiences

I’m travelling by Stena Line in a couple of weeks.

I selected car under 1.8m for the ticket but I’m now wondering will there be any issues with the bikes on the roof which mean the car’s total height is over 1.8m height.

Any experiences?

Brittany Ferries/P&O – both noticed, I had to pay a surcharge (around £60)

LD Lines, didn’t notice that I had them on (I had paid for the extra height). Tried to park me where it was too low, hit bikes on roof – they had to cough up for damage.

Ask the Ferry Co.. They will need to allocate a space with height clearance, possibly on the commercial decks (with the vans and lorries) and may want more money from you. If you ‘just turn up’ you may not get on…

slightly risky, but how about laying the bikes flat on the roof, couple of blankets in between, just for the ferry trip ?

Slightly different, but when we took our car & caravan across the other year the cars with bikes on the roof were on the same deck as ours. I wouldn’t risk it. I’d take the wheels off & put them in the car, even if it means the passengers walking on, or errm adapting to their new seating arrangements until your on board.

They may well have a height barrier before you drive on…

They may have a height barrier when you drive in, and you may well be stressed, hungry, thirsty, tired, dying for a wee etc and you may not notice it like I didn’t and….. You can guess the rest.
Get em in the car or by a back rack!

I paid extra for mine. I’m off Dover -Calais on Friday.. Think we paid an extra £30 at the time of booking..

Yes – very likely to be an issue. The reason they ask you for the height is so they know which deck they can put you on, as ferries often have car-only decks with low ceilings.

Yonks ago, but we let Condor know early. They had us park in an area near the ramp, with lots of headroom at no extra charge. This was also first off, a distinct advantage.

Just been through this. Length / carrier on back is probably not an issue, extra height usually is due to the restricted headroom in some of the parking decks.
Get it changed, it probably won’t cost much.

Check how much it costs for passengers to take a bike on. If its free get your passenger to push them on and off after. Might save some hassle.

Thank you all.

A quick phone call to Stena and £5 admin fee and all sorted.

Cheers