From Poti, Gorgia to Varna, Bulgaria - September, 2014

It was $210 per person plus $205 per motorbike. The agency issues an invoice that you must take to the bank down the road and pay. They issue a receipt for which the agency give you the ticket. (An Aussi kid that went by bicycle was told he could pay on the ferry, and he did.) Some others booked and paid in advance at an agency in Sofia. I imagine it was a similar process.

The ferry mainly transports trains, but it has a few cabins on deck. So they take a few cars, lorries, motorbikes, bicycles, passengers as a sort of side business.

Departure times are not necessaily as initially advertised, so be prepared to keep calling them. If you booked in advance, keep double checking the departure date and time as it changes hourly (due to delays loading trains, etc.). If you buy the tickets at the office, you may be told to wait a few hours or even days for departure, so be prepared to hang around. And also leave several hours to buy the ticket in the first place as the dated admin and organisation systems take time.

Don't let all of that put you off though! People are super friendly and there is a restaurant/put a few doors down where you can hang around and wait. And once the ferry is getting ready to go, they are good at sorting you and your vehicle out and you are free to get comfy in your cabin. The border police and officials are all very used to dealing with passengers and do so in a relaxed, efficient manner.

Oh, and our ferry was one that stopped off in the Ukraine first. You just stay on the boat while it's docked in the harbour and trains are unloaded and re-loaded....