Ferry crossing

Now that is a good ferry connection to take. I was not aware of this ferry connection between Portsmouth and Cherbourg, ie, another viable option, only that connecting Portsmouth and St Malo.

Yes, several times. What ferry are you considering, the fast catamaran or the more sedate ferry?

The catamaran is more susceptible to rough crossings and is more likely to be cancelled when the other ferries are not however it is a fast journey (three hours). I've had an uneventful catamaran journey but you do feel every wave. I've had calm ferry crossings and one very rough one (in winter). May should prove to be relatively calm however you cannot rule out the possibility of a rough crossing and no-one can provide any certainty on the weather conditions in the English channel for the next week let alone in six months.

I say go for it.

I have never taken a ferry out of Portsmouth or Cherbourg, but I've crossed from northern France to England on two trips via the Channel Islands. Or at least I've tried to. Of my five booked ferries, two have been canceled; one was canceled for three days running. My trips were between May and September, not mid-winter. I am told that I have been uncommonly unlucky, but I suggest you do just a bit of research about a back-up plan so you won't be starting from square one if you run into a problem. And definitely monitor your email and the ferry company website in the period leading up to departure so you'll know about any cancelation or delay right away.

If you can manage to book a room at your destination that can be canceled quite late, that would be a prudent step. I found myself having to fly from Jersey to Luton (last-minute ticket price wasn't awful; I was lucky), take a bus to Victoria Coach Station, and then take another bus to Poole--a town I didn't want to go to but was staying in only because it was the ferry landing point. I would have been smarter to write off that too-late-to-cancel hotel room and head to somewhere I wanted to go.