What's the best Ferry service to Spain?
Discussion
I'm not sure if this is the right section or not but it involves boats so I suppose it is, what's the best ferry service to Spain, there only seem to be 2, Brittany Ferries and P&O, given that I'm not the most sea fareing person I'm more inclined to go with the Brittany Ferries one as it's a shorter crossing but it leaves from Plymouth which is a pain in the arse to get to, are they both much the same on the actual boat if anyone knows I would be grateful.
Brittany Ferries are now going to Santander from Portsmouth too I believe 
P&O are stopping their Spain crossing in September as mentioned above although not confirmed as the union are trying to say it's worth keeping despite P&O losing lots of money on it....so basically it's going!
On the Pont Aven, I'd recommend a 4 berth cabin as the 2 berths are extremely small
P&O are stopping their Spain crossing in September as mentioned above although not confirmed as the union are trying to say it's worth keeping despite P&O losing lots of money on it....so basically it's going!
On the Pont Aven, I'd recommend a 4 berth cabin as the 2 berths are extremely small
We used to go to Spain on P&O and always used to book the largest cabin available on the Pride of Bilbao.
There are two of them at the front left and right of the boat and the difference in cost against the normal cabins was about (at that time) £100 each way. The cabins have a large bedroom with on-suite and a lounge with TV and an additional bathroom. It was as if nobody else knew about them and it makes the journey a lot easier with 3 children!
Shame the service stops in September
There are two of them at the front left and right of the boat and the difference in cost against the normal cabins was about (at that time) £100 each way. The cabins have a large bedroom with on-suite and a lounge with TV and an additional bathroom. It was as if nobody else knew about them and it makes the journey a lot easier with 3 children!
Shame the service stops in September
I didnt realise this service was stopping in september, i started my engineering cadetship on the Pride of Bilbao and was hoping to go back to it again this year. Saying that, it did seem like it was basically a booze cruise with the odd wildlife watcher, and the ship itself was getting quite old. I had a good time on it though.
Whichever boat you take, prepare yourself by likening it to being stuck in a motorway service station for 36 hours. That way your expectations won't be too high 
Both routes have to cross the Bay of Biscay, which can vary between being a millpond to being very choppy and uncomfortable - even in mid summer.
Both routes have to cross the Bay of Biscay, which can vary between being a millpond to being very choppy and uncomfortable - even in mid summer.
Stephanie Plum said:
Whichever boat you take, prepare yourself by likening it to being stuck in a motorway service station for 36 hours. That way your expectations won't be too high
Both routes have to cross the Bay of Biscay, which can vary between being a millpond to being very choppy and uncomfortable - even in mid summer.
I'm not looking forward to it much at all!, I went with P&O in the end as thier first sailing is sooner, I've heard loads of people say the same about the Bay Of Biscay though, fingers crossed that it's calm,the only saving grace is it does cut out 1000 odd miles of French motorways.Both routes have to cross the Bay of Biscay, which can vary between being a millpond to being very choppy and uncomfortable - even in mid summer.
On a number of crossings, even though I've got pretty good sea-legs I did think after a while that 'enough is enough'. To hear the front slapping time after time, after time, after time just gets a little bit tedious!
If you can, see if an of the larger front cabins are free (or one of the two I mentioned earlier). It will make your 'Butlins at Sea' experience slightly more enjoyable
If you can, see if an of the larger front cabins are free (or one of the two I mentioned earlier). It will make your 'Butlins at Sea' experience slightly more enjoyable
done the route 6 times on the way to trips to morocco
used the P&O boat twice and will never go again- its is trully truly horrid- like being in a 80s time warp with drunk skanks EVERYWHERE, food that is horrible and overpriced and you spend a fortune on board as you have to cater for at least 4 meals. (part of the porblem are the P&O mini cruises where you take the ferry to spain, look round bilbao for 4 hours and then get back on- the sole reason for these mini ncruises is to get as PISSED as possible). The rooms smell, the bedding is crap, and either the rooms are FAR too hot or FAR too cold (usually too hot).
the brittany ferries ferry on the other hand, is clean, modern, quiet and with normal passengers on board. Eat in the nicer buffet restaurant as its far better value- 2-3 quid more per meal but the food is good (not just for a boat but in general) and you can eat what you lke- obviously making copious smoked salmon snadwiches would be a bad idea- it certainly didn't keep us going for the next 2 days! another benefit is that you can get a seat at the front of that dining room and watch the dolphin pods. The beds are bigger too.
Out of the 12 crossings (all of which have been in May and August) we've had 5 that were absolutely flat calm (like a mirror), 2 that were calm but not flat, 2 that had movement (but only what you would espect), 2 that were bad (ie no going outside) and 1 that was biblical and rather quite scary (just about everybody was sick, nobody ate- most passengers lay down anywhere).
Further benefit of brittany ferries is that you save a whole days holiday by going with them as both crossing are 12hours shorter- the PO ferry basically requires 2 days and 2 nights in both directions (once you work out the times you have to be at the ports!).
Downsides of brittany ferries- Santander is tiny and a complete nightmare getting out of the small town- the ferry discharges right into the centre of the main throughfare (and i mean right into it- you get off the ship and 20m later you are trying to turn into main traffic jams- they shut the centre of the town when boat discharges!) It is far easier to find the ferry port though compared to Bilbo which is very easy to get lost in as they keep changing the road layouts (especially round the googlyhime).
used the P&O boat twice and will never go again- its is trully truly horrid- like being in a 80s time warp with drunk skanks EVERYWHERE, food that is horrible and overpriced and you spend a fortune on board as you have to cater for at least 4 meals. (part of the porblem are the P&O mini cruises where you take the ferry to spain, look round bilbao for 4 hours and then get back on- the sole reason for these mini ncruises is to get as PISSED as possible). The rooms smell, the bedding is crap, and either the rooms are FAR too hot or FAR too cold (usually too hot).
the brittany ferries ferry on the other hand, is clean, modern, quiet and with normal passengers on board. Eat in the nicer buffet restaurant as its far better value- 2-3 quid more per meal but the food is good (not just for a boat but in general) and you can eat what you lke- obviously making copious smoked salmon snadwiches would be a bad idea- it certainly didn't keep us going for the next 2 days! another benefit is that you can get a seat at the front of that dining room and watch the dolphin pods. The beds are bigger too.
Out of the 12 crossings (all of which have been in May and August) we've had 5 that were absolutely flat calm (like a mirror), 2 that were calm but not flat, 2 that had movement (but only what you would espect), 2 that were bad (ie no going outside) and 1 that was biblical and rather quite scary (just about everybody was sick, nobody ate- most passengers lay down anywhere).
Further benefit of brittany ferries is that you save a whole days holiday by going with them as both crossing are 12hours shorter- the PO ferry basically requires 2 days and 2 nights in both directions (once you work out the times you have to be at the ports!).
Downsides of brittany ferries- Santander is tiny and a complete nightmare getting out of the small town- the ferry discharges right into the centre of the main throughfare (and i mean right into it- you get off the ship and 20m later you are trying to turn into main traffic jams- they shut the centre of the town when boat discharges!) It is far easier to find the ferry port though compared to Bilbo which is very easy to get lost in as they keep changing the road layouts (especially round the googlyhime).
The P&O sailing is HELL !!!!!!
Probably the worst travelling experience I have ever had, awful awful awfull, in fact just sink the ruddy boat it'd do everyone some good.
Funny you mention this thread, as I might have to pop to Spain this week would rather drive down from Calais anyday than take the waterbourne hell hole again.
Probably the worst travelling experience I have ever had, awful awful awfull, in fact just sink the ruddy boat it'd do everyone some good.
Funny you mention this thread, as I might have to pop to Spain this week would rather drive down from Calais anyday than take the waterbourne hell hole again.
pugwash4x4 said:
done the route 6 times on the way to trips to morocco
used the P&O boat twice and will never go again- its is trully truly horrid- like being in a 80s time warp with drunk skanks EVERYWHERE, food that is horrible and overpriced and you spend a fortune on board as you have to cater for at least 4 meals. (part of the porblem are the P&O mini cruises where you take the ferry to spain, look round bilbao for 4 hours and then get back on- the sole reason for these mini ncruises is to get as PISSED as possible). The rooms smell, the bedding is crap, and either the rooms are FAR too hot or FAR too cold (usually too hot).
the brittany ferries ferry on the other hand, is clean, modern, quiet and with normal passengers on board. Eat in the nicer buffet restaurant as its far better value- 2-3 quid more per meal but the food is good (not just for a boat but in general) and you can eat what you lke- obviously making copious smoked salmon snadwiches would be a bad idea- it certainly didn't keep us going for the next 2 days! another benefit is that you can get a seat at the front of that dining room and watch the dolphin pods. The beds are bigger too.
Out of the 12 crossings (all of which have been in May and August) we've had 5 that were absolutely flat calm (like a mirror), 2 that were calm but not flat, 2 that had movement (but only what you would espect), 2 that were bad (ie no going outside) and 1 that was biblical and rather quite scary (just about everybody was sick, nobody ate- most passengers lay down anywhere).
Further benefit of brittany ferries is that you save a whole days holiday by going with them as both crossing are 12hours shorter- the PO ferry basically requires 2 days and 2 nights in both directions (once you work out the times you have to be at the ports!).
Downsides of brittany ferries- Santander is tiny and a complete nightmare getting out of the small town- the ferry discharges right into the centre of the main throughfare (and i mean right into it- you get off the ship and 20m later you are trying to turn into main traffic jams- they shut the centre of the town when boat discharges!) It is far easier to find the ferry port though compared to Bilbo which is very easy to get lost in as they keep changing the road layouts (especially round the googlyhime).
Thanks for an honest write up,looking at both the websites the Brittany Ferries boat does seem alot nicer but they wern't going until mid Feb,it's good to know for future referance that they go from Portsmouth too now though.I feel a bit gutted I'm stuck on the P&O one, I think I will be bringing a couple of books and mostly sticking to the cabin by the sounds of it.used the P&O boat twice and will never go again- its is trully truly horrid- like being in a 80s time warp with drunk skanks EVERYWHERE, food that is horrible and overpriced and you spend a fortune on board as you have to cater for at least 4 meals. (part of the porblem are the P&O mini cruises where you take the ferry to spain, look round bilbao for 4 hours and then get back on- the sole reason for these mini ncruises is to get as PISSED as possible). The rooms smell, the bedding is crap, and either the rooms are FAR too hot or FAR too cold (usually too hot).
the brittany ferries ferry on the other hand, is clean, modern, quiet and with normal passengers on board. Eat in the nicer buffet restaurant as its far better value- 2-3 quid more per meal but the food is good (not just for a boat but in general) and you can eat what you lke- obviously making copious smoked salmon snadwiches would be a bad idea- it certainly didn't keep us going for the next 2 days! another benefit is that you can get a seat at the front of that dining room and watch the dolphin pods. The beds are bigger too.
Out of the 12 crossings (all of which have been in May and August) we've had 5 that were absolutely flat calm (like a mirror), 2 that were calm but not flat, 2 that had movement (but only what you would espect), 2 that were bad (ie no going outside) and 1 that was biblical and rather quite scary (just about everybody was sick, nobody ate- most passengers lay down anywhere).
Further benefit of brittany ferries is that you save a whole days holiday by going with them as both crossing are 12hours shorter- the PO ferry basically requires 2 days and 2 nights in both directions (once you work out the times you have to be at the ports!).
Downsides of brittany ferries- Santander is tiny and a complete nightmare getting out of the small town- the ferry discharges right into the centre of the main throughfare (and i mean right into it- you get off the ship and 20m later you are trying to turn into main traffic jams- they shut the centre of the town when boat discharges!) It is far easier to find the ferry port though compared to Bilbo which is very easy to get lost in as they keep changing the road layouts (especially round the googlyhime).
cptsideways said:
The P&O sailing is HELL !!!!!!
Probably the worst travelling experience I have ever had, awful awful awfull, in fact just sink the ruddy boat it'd do everyone some good.
Funny you mention this thread, as I might have to pop to Spain this week would rather drive down from Calais anyday than take the waterbourne hell hole again.
glad i wasn't the only one. Probably the worst travelling experience I have ever had, awful awful awfull, in fact just sink the ruddy boat it'd do everyone some good.
Funny you mention this thread, as I might have to pop to Spain this week would rather drive down from Calais anyday than take the waterbourne hell hole again.
one of the chaps in our party was a tad upset (and quite seriously) when a group (ie 8 ) of very drunk slags basically put him up against a wall, stripped him and tried to rape him- not nice. Being a gent he didn't feel he could hit any of them!
cptsideways said:
The P&O sailing is HELL !!!!!!
Probably the worst travelling experience I have ever had, awful awful awfull, in fact just sink the ruddy boat it'd do everyone some good.
Funny you mention this thread, as I might have to pop to Spain this week would rather drive down from Calais anyday than take the waterbourne hell hole again.
Thank you, I owe you a drink. Just prior to reading your post I was about to book tickets for travelling yesterday with the wife, she would not have been pleased if the “mini cruise” turned out to be a “waterbourne hell hole”.Probably the worst travelling experience I have ever had, awful awful awfull, in fact just sink the ruddy boat it'd do everyone some good.
Funny you mention this thread, as I might have to pop to Spain this week would rather drive down from Calais anyday than take the waterbourne hell hole again.
Wings said:
cptsideways said:
The P&O sailing is HELL !!!!!!
Probably the worst travelling experience I have ever had, awful awful awfull, in fact just sink the ruddy boat it'd do everyone some good.
Funny you mention this thread, as I might have to pop to Spain this week would rather drive down from Calais anyday than take the waterbourne hell hole again.
Thank you, I owe you a drink. Just prior to reading your post I was about to book tickets for travelling yesterday with the wife, she would not have been pleased if the “mini cruise” turned out to be a “waterbourne hell hole”.Probably the worst travelling experience I have ever had, awful awful awfull, in fact just sink the ruddy boat it'd do everyone some good.
Funny you mention this thread, as I might have to pop to Spain this week would rather drive down from Calais anyday than take the waterbourne hell hole again.
stop off at some cafe's & village boulongeries & make a great trip. Anything is better than that boat!
Monki said:
Brittany Ferries are now going to Santander from Portsmouth too I believe
P&O are stopping their Spain crossing in September as mentioned above although not confirmed as the union are trying to say it's worth keeping despite P&O losing lots of money on it....so basically it's going!
On the Pont Aven, I'd recommend a 4 berth cabin as the 2 berths are extremely small
On the Pont Aven , Id reccommend a commodore cabin , you get a balcony , tv video and theres a swimming pool on the upper deck , P&O are stopping their Spain crossing in September as mentioned above although not confirmed as the union are trying to say it's worth keeping despite P&O losing lots of money on it....so basically it's going!
On the Pont Aven, I'd recommend a 4 berth cabin as the 2 berths are extremely small
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