Issues with booking ferries with Dodecanese Seaways website

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Issues with booking ferries with Dodecanese Seaways website

Postby JeffHaynes » 24 Jul 2017, 15:59

Hi There -
tried to bookmy ferry crossing for September using the Dodecanese Seaways site.

I kept getting rejected from the payment screen. I checked to see all of the required fields were completed correctly (name, postcode, phone number, inside leg measurement, blood type etc.) and they were and tried several times!

I gave up

I went to AFerry.co.uk in thee nd (not ideal) but managed to part with some hard earned cash to get me some sea-going transport to and from Symi (will be my first visit). Got an email from them with a booking reference number so fingers crossed its legit!

Anyone else had issues with Dodecanese Seaways?

Jeff
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Re: Issues with booking ferries with Dodecanese Seaways webs

Postby Robert » 24 Jul 2017, 16:37

Ive been booking with Dodecanese for 10 years now and never had a problem. You do have to book Rhodes Panormitis rather than Symi and then add Symi when you collect your tickets, but normally very straightforward and also their help desk people are very helpful too - sorry you had a problem - enjoy Symi!
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Re: Issues with booking ferries with Dodecanese Seaways webs

Postby JeffHaynes » 24 Jul 2017, 16:45

I am not getting paranoid but Hopefully these look genuine to the cognoscenti of this forum! (details removed for anonymity)

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Re: Issues with booking ferries with Dodecanese Seaways webs

Postby Allan » 24 Jul 2017, 16:59

Hi Jeff

I've never had that experience, the booking system, whilst a bit crude by modern standards, always works for me. I've checked my recent bookings and their booking reference number is a nine digit number beginning with 17.

If the reference number you got from Aferry.co.uk is the right length and starts with 17 then it's likely to be legit.

Dodekanisos Seaways are quite good at responding to emails so to put your mind at rest you could contact them on their 'Contact Us' page, give them your reference number and ask it it is a real booking.

Edit: Just seen your second post (it arrived while I was typing).

The number you showed looks fine. They just seem to have added a leading zero.
My most recent booking was on June 29th and the reference number was 17341xxxx and a booking from sometime in May was 17164xxx so yours fits into this sequence perfectly.
Nothing to worry about but you could contact them to check if are still concerned.
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Re: Issues with booking ferries with Dodecanese Seaways webs

Postby JeffHaynes » 24 Jul 2017, 17:07

I am "breaking the blind" here (as we say in Clinical Research land) but heres my Dodecanese Ferry Booking umber from AFerry.co.uk

Dodekanisos Seaways Reference Number: 0174779xxx

Looks OK! 9 digit number(10 if you include the zero) beginning with 17...
Cheers All!

Jeff
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Re: Issues with booking ferries with Dodecanese Seaways webs

Postby Andy W » 24 Jul 2017, 21:10

You didn't click on the delivery method "Courier" did you? That only works if you have a Greek address for the tickets to be couriered to, and makes the whole booking process fail if you don't.
The option to select is "agency". Then you get a booking confirmation to exchange for a real ticket at the kiosk at Kolonna, the ferry departure point.
That's exactly what you will need to do with your AFerryto reservation when you get to Rhodes.
The Dodekanisos Seaways booking system uses the same software (Forthnet-CRS) as all other Greek ferry companies that offer on-line booking, though some have prettier screens.

And yes, if you're unwise enough (or have no choice because other ferries are full) to book a sailing via Panormitis, you need to book just the Rhodes-Panormitis leg. Availability miraculously opens up. When you get to the ticket kiosk (at Akandia this time) tell them you actually want to go to Yialos and they'll issue you a ticket from Panormitis to Yialos free of charge. Both destinations are the same price from Rhodes. This is a problem in Forthnet-CRS, which is the de-facto national ferry booking system for Greece. No other ferry route anywhere in Greece has sailings where passengers are allowed off at an intermediate point to wander about for an hour and get back on the same ship to complete their journey. By law passengers must be issued with standard design ferry tickets with multiple portions. One portion is kept at the departure port, one is kept on board by the crew, and the third is retained by the passenger. This is designed so that there is an official record of who was actually on board in the event of any need to evacuate the ship, even if the onboard records are lost or destroyed. Because you can get off at Panormitis, you need a second multi part ticket for when you get back on again. Forthnet-CRS can't cope with this in one transaction. They aren't willing to modify the system just to cope with one summer-only route in the far-away Dodecanese.
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Re: Issues with booking ferries with Dodecanese Seaways webs

Postby Jan » 24 Jul 2017, 21:41

I booked tickets direct with Dodekanisos earlier today and my reference number is 1748xxxx

So 1747... looks fine - I guess you must have been online a few hours before me.

As Andy says, you just take your confirmation to the Dodek cabin at Kolonna (right in front of where the Express ties up) and pick up your 'real tickets. Leave enough time to wait in a queue behind various locals who won't have pre-booked and want tickets for various friends and relations...
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Re: Issues with booking ferries with Dodecanese Seaways webs

Postby JeffHaynes » 25 Jul 2017, 08:31

Thanks All! Useful tips and info as usual!
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