I think that our trip to Italy is really screwed up.

Someone from P&O Ferries, the company who manages the ferries used to cross from Dover (UK) to Calais (France), called me today and left a cryptic message in the answer machine. I have then called them to see if there was something wrong with my booking and they said that yes, there is a small little problem:

French authorities, by a reason I don’t know, have withdrawn a berth from the Calais port. It means that you have more ships sharing fewer berths and so you have queues. It translates in the practice to 4-5 hours delays in the ferry travel.

The girl advised us to allow at least 5 hours for queuing before boarding the ship and told that they are working in a first arrived first served basis, so my bookings are worthless.

I was planning to leave home at 5:30 AM on the Sunday to be in Dover at about 7:30 AM, allowing me 45 minutes to board for the 8:15 AM ferry. The arrival time in France would be around 10:30 AM and from there to Italy I was expecting more 13 hours of driving, allowing some time for a couple of stops. It would allow me to be in the hotel around 11:00 PM, having a nice night of sleep.

Now I have no idea of how to do that. If I keep the departing time, I will certainly be unable to be in Italy before 3 AM on the Monday. :-

I may leave home at 2 or 3 AM in the Sunday to be in Dover at 4-5 AM and have a chance of getting the programmed boat. I will keep calling tomorrow and Saturday P&O Ferris customer information to get updates on the conditions and see if it gets any better.