Preparing for your trip

Foot passengers must be able to carry their own luggage and are responsible for getting it from the terminal building to the ship and vice versa.

Vehicle passengers cannot access the car deck during the voyage, so please bring anything you may need during the voyage with you when leaving your car.

If you have any special luggage requirements, please let us know before booking to avoid disappointment.

All personal belongings found on our ships or in the ports are sent to our shore based lost property offices for collection. Passengers who have put their names or telephone numbers on their belonging will be contacted.

Property recovered on board is held for 3 months before being donated to charity.

If you have lost or misplaced personal items while travelling please contact us:

• Dover - Dunkirk/Calais: lostp.dover@dfds.com
• Newcastle - Amsterdam: lostuk@dfds.com
• Newhaven - Dieppe: newhaven-dieppe@dfds.com
• Copenhagen - Oslo: varemodtagelsen@dfds.dk

Smaller valuables can be stored in our onboard safe for the duration of the voyage. Please note that DFDS cannot be held responsible for any lost or stolen property. All valuables should be securely locked in your vehicle or kept on your person at all times. Please do not leave bags unattended.

While close to land, your mobile phone will connect to your normal network if available. While in open sea, mobile communication is possible by using satellite technology by international roaming. The availability of this service is dependent on your mobile network and tariff plan.

Neither DFDS nor its satellite supplier sets the tariffs for use of this service. The final charge applied to your mobile account will be determined by your own mobile operator. It is important you contact your mobile network supplier to confirm relevant international roaming tariffs prior to use.

From 1 January 2021 EU rules governing data and roaming charges will no longer apply. Some mobile phone providers have said they will continue free data roaming benefits for their customers, so please check with your provider before travelling to the EU.

Note that a new law means that you will now be protected from incurring mobile data charges above £45 without you knowing.

British traveller’s passports must meet 2 requirements:

• Less than 10 years old on the day you enter the EU. Please check the date of issue on the passport.
• Valid for at least 3 months after the day you depart the EU. Bearing in mind the above the passport should not be more than 9 years 9 months by the time you depart EU. This may differ for travel to and from countries that are in the EU but not in the Schengen area. Find out more here.

If you are unsure whether or not your passport is valid, you can use a tool from the UK Government to check its validity here.

You must comply with all ID, passport, visa, immigration and health formalities, which apply to your carriage or during the period of any other service rendered to you by us. Passengers with invalid or inadequate travelling documentation will be turned away at check-in. We assume no responsibility for the consequences and you will not be eligible for a refund.

It is your responsibility to check and fully comply with all the necessary rules for entry to the different countries. For more information please refer to the homepage of the following UK Government web page.

The relevant port check-in times for your departure can be found on your confirmation email in local time. When travelling to the port, please allow adequate time in order to complete the check-in process.

We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our literature and website. However, changes can occur despite our best endeavours. All departure and arrival times and the identity of ships shown in our literature, our website and on any confirmation advice or voucher are estimates only and cannot be guaranteed. All our ships are subject to weather conditions and force majeure events.

When making your booking please provide us with a contact number (ideally your mobile phone number) and we will endeavour to contact you in the event of any major disruption.

All tickets are sold on a reservation basis and you must travel at your specified time and date. If you missed your sailing, you have no claim for refund or credits of the amount paid for the trip.

On our English Channel services, if you miss your ferry crossing for any reason, you can transfer free of charge (subject to availability) to the sailing directly after your original booked crossing time. If you have purchased a Flexi ticket this transfer window is extended to 72 hours.

Newcastle - Amsterdam All prices onboard are in Euro. We accept both Euro and Sterling but currency exchange rates apply for payment by Sterling.

__Dover – Dunkirk/Calais __ All prices onboard are in Sterling. We accept both Euro and Sterling but currency exchange rates apply for payment by Euro.

Newhaven - Dieppe All prices onboard are in Sterling. We accept both Euro and Sterling but currency exchange rates apply for payment by Euro.

Bureau de Change facilities are available on most DFDS vessels. Please note there is no Bureau de Change facility on the Dieppe Newhaven ships.

All DFDS vessels are equipped with medical facilities and have a first aid team of designated personnel. There are no doctors onboard DFDS vessels.

All DFDS ships conform to the highest safety standards and regulations, including the international SOLAS requirements. You are welcome to ask for more information from our experienced staff onboard all of our vessels. Safety regulations are announced over loudspeakers at every departure.

Routine security checks of passengers, luggage and vehicles are carried out in all ports due to a safety code that was introduced in 2004.

All passengers must carry valid picture-ID (Passport or International Identity Card EU), when they board the ship which should be shown upon check in. Scandinavian citizens travelling on the Copenhagen-Oslo route may also use bank ID with picture.

Our crew is fully trained in emergency procedures and at the unlikely event of an emergency they will be ready to guide you through safety measures.

To see our Covid-19 safety measures, click here.

Smoking, which includes e-cigarettes, is not permitted in passenger cabins and public areas, including corridors, halls, staircases and arcades. Smoking onboard the ship is permitted in designated areas only, which are appropriately marked including the relevant signs. An additional €200 minimum surcharge shall be applied for smoking in areas other than those specifically designated (which corresponds to the value of the cleaning services to be ordered by us).

There's more to driving in Europe than just remembering to keep to the right. From giving priority to cyclists in Holland to fitting snow tyres in Norway, our driving tips will help to keep you safe on your journey.

For more information, read our Driving Guides here.

Please note, from 1 January 2021, you may need an international driving permit to drive abroad. Find out more here.

Priority boarding and disembarkation is available for cars only (less than 2.2m in height) on our Dover to France ferry crossings.

You’ll check in as usual, no less than 1 hour prior to departure, and will be allocated to a priority boarding lane, first arrivals will be the first to board.

If you require use of the lift, you will be offered a choice of parking where you will receive either priority disembarkation or a parking space near a lift.

As you may have heard in the media, several changes are coming to how the European Union and United Kingdom control their borders.

EES

The EU is introducing the European Entry Exit System (EES), an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals travelling for a short stay, each time they cross the external borders of European countries. The date of commencement is to be confirmed. More details can be found on the official Entry/Exit System website.

ETIAS

In the future, most non-EU citizens will be required to have a travel authorisation (ETIAS) to enter most European countries. The date of commencement is yet to be confirmed. More details can be found on the official ETIAS website.

UK ETA

The UK Electronic Travel Authorisation is a new requirement for people who do not need a visa to come to the UK. It gives you permission to travel to the UK, and it is electronically linked to your passport. It is currently due to come into force in November 2023. However, it is being introduced on a rolling basis, with EU citizens not currently expected to be affected until later in 2024. Full details can be found at the UK ETA website.

Please note that the new controls only affect our non-Schengen routes (i.e. UK routes and Rosslare – Dunkerque).

DFDS is fully preparing for the arrival of these new measures, cooperating with the relevant authorities to ensure that we continue to carry our passengers on their journeys without major disruption.

We will inform you of the travel requirements that will be applicable to you where those are known at the time of booking.  We will contact you with details of any updated information after booking. However, please note that it is the responsibility of passengers to ensure that they are in permission of the correct documentation and completed relevant formalities.