Irish Ferries

Pretty horrific experience. We took the ferry from Cherbourg, France to Rosslare with our dog and we’ll absolutely never do it again. Because of the new law regarding pet transport, we took the ferry out of necessity and not for a holiday.
One out of every 10 staff members are nice, the rest are blatantly rude and clearly tortured by their job and the idea of customer service. The ferry was late departing, and 3 hours late arriving, which meant we missed our connecting train to Dublin. The staff on board basically said «we’re not responsible» and gave us a number for the office in the harbor. Thankfully the staff in the harbor were very helpful and made some calls on our behalf to help us get on the next train with our same tickets. We were very grateful for their help and just wished the staff on board the actual ship had the same standards of customer service.
If you choose the reserved seats be prepared to hold on to your belongings while you sleep or pay 5+ euros for a locker. If you choose a locker be aware that you will have to pay the fee again, in full, any time you need to get into it, so it adds up quickly if you forget something you need. The seats don’t recline more than an airline seat so you won’t actually be getting any sleep, but you get what you pay for.
If you plan on bringing your dog on the overnight ferry, you’re in for a very uncomfortable and somewhat scarring experience. You will only be able to visit your dog during 3 designated times during the crossing, and you’ll be lucky to get 15 minutes during each visit. If the kennels are full, be prepared to wait up to an extra hour while groups of 6 or 7 are escorted at a time. When you do get your chance, you will be rushed by a bored and annoyed member of the staff. I imagined being able to walk our dog on the deck during this time, to stretch his legs and have him do his business (considering the 18+ hour journey), but what you’ll get is a very, very narrow path between lines of cars on the car deck, and a 2 foot patch of sawdust that no dog knows what to do with. You’re told not to walk between the cars but the alternative is walking back and forth on a 20 foot stretch (two feet wide) with half a dozen other dogs and their owners which is literally impossible. Most dogs in the kennel are upset and barking constantly which makes it very stressful for calmer dogs, who will then not eat or even use the bathroom during the whole journey, like ours. Clearly they converted a tiny broom closet to pack full of kennels to get some extra cash, without making any other accommodations to actually cater to dogs on such a long journey. We would not put our dog through that again.
If you’re a foot passenger you’ll be the last one on, and the last one off. You’ll have to wait while everyone else exits the ship and collects their dog. Everyone is forced to take several flights of stairs during disembarking because they try to control the crazy flow of people by closing off the elevators. This meant lots of Seniors and families with babies had to go down the stairs with heavy luggage, a scary and unsafe system.
Very disappointed overall and would not use this service again, with or without a dog.

First time traveling with a car with IF. I used to take britany ferries more often in the past to go to france. Smooth peaceful journey, lovely staff and facilities for ppl using seats as opposed to cabins significantly nicer than with brit ferries: rooms are for 20ppl max. With pillows and blanket supplied, though seats are still useless to sleep in !
Food wise, most places in there are too expensive and poor in quality but with 2 lounges and a bar, and plenty of kid and family entertainment, its a fab way to travel for families, and such a great alternative to stressfull airport experiemce as there are barely any checks on each side of the border!