A boat trip to France can offer you huge savings on your favourite tipple

Travel in the off-season and take advantage of the generous alcohol limits on the return journey

The wine and beer supermarkets of Cherbourg are well-priced. Photo: Getty

Sinead Ryan

Although ferry companies like to dress it up to the nines – describing it as a stylish French getaway and praising the cultural wonders – for most Irish people, it remains the “booze cruise”.

The staple of the shoulder season in the travel market – before peak season fills the ships with families heading to campsites on their holidays – canny operators of the Ireland-France route raise their glasses to a consumer winner.