We haved travelled to France six times in the last 8 years and each time we have chosen to use Brittany Ferries for our crossing. This is more to do with the fact that they service the crossings we want to use rather than a conscious decision over other operators. We usually travel to the West ... Read review
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Advantages: Clean and reliable Disadvantages: Some cabins are getting "tired"
...we have chosen to use Brittany Ferries for our crossing. This is more to do with the fact that they service the crossings we want to use rather than a conscious decision over other operators. We usually travel to the West side of France and the Calais crossing and the tunnel require longer drives for us on both sides of the Channel.
Brittany ferries operate from Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth and Cork and travel to Caen, St Malo, Cherbourg, ... ...you arrive the booths for Brittany ferries are easily identifiable. You drive up to the booth and hand in your travel voucher and passports. You are issued with a ticket to hang on your rear-view mirror which I presume is to help organise where your car is to go once on the ferry. If you have booked a cabin you will also be given your cabin keys as this point. You are then directed into a numbered lane as vehicles are sorted into sizes. You are supposed ... more
We haved travelled to France six times in the last 8 years and each time we have chosen to use Brittany Ferries for our crossing. This is more to do with the fact that they service the crossings we want to use rather than a conscious decision over other operators. We usually travel to the West side of France and the Calais crossing and the tunnel require longer drives for us on both sides of the Channel.
Brittany ferries operate from Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth and Cork and travel to Caen, St Malo, Cherbourg, Roscoff and Santander.
I have always booked my tickets as part of a package with my campsite accomodation with various tour operators so I am not sure how much each crossing costs but the crossings can also be booked direct from their website: www.brittanyferries.com . I did speak to someone else on a campsite a couple of years ago who had booked her site and travel seperately and had paid a lot more than I had as I think there are discounted tickets for early booking and the tour operators seem to have an alloaction of these.
Arrivals
We have always travelled from Portsmouth for our outward journey. The ferry port is very clearly signposted and when you arrive the booths for Brittany ferries are easily identifiable. You drive up to the booth and hand in your travel voucher and passports. You are issued with a ticket to hang on your rear-view mirror which I presume is to help organise where your car is to go once on the ferry. If you have booked a cabin you will also be given your cabin keys as this point. You are then directed into a numbered lane as vehicles are sorted into sizes. You are supposed to arrive at least one hour before departure but I have seen people turn up much later but I wouldn't want to risk it.
You then sit in these lanes for what seems like hours! There is a small shop selling refreshments and there is a toilet there too. The only problem is you have no idea when your line will be asked to move forward and its sods law that it will be just when you have decided it is safe to go to the toilet! This isn't really a problem as there is no rush but it is embarrasing all the same if a whole row is waiting for you to return!!
Embarkation
Eventually you get called forward in various orders. Occasionally vehicles are called over into the checking area where they are searched more thoroughly. Once you are around the corner you find yourself in another line. Eventually the boat starts to board. This process fascinates me. The decks move up and down to accomodate different size vehicles so loading seems to be like a giant jigsaw! We have travelled in a car, in a car with caravan and in a 4x4 with caravan and bikes on top. The bikes on top put us on the lorry deck and we were almost the very last vehicle to load, I started to panic that we wouldn't get on but obviously it is well organised! Once on the appropriate deck you have to get out of your vehicle quite quickly and the vehicles are very closely packed so be careful. You must lock your car with the key and do not set the alarm or it will be going off all the time because of the motion of the boat. You are directed to the nearest door and are given a note of your cardeck and door number.
Upstairs you come to the public areas of the boat. (You are not allowed back down to the garages). These areas are all brightly lit and are clean and welcoming. There is an information desk and bureau de change in the main foyer. There is also tourist information.
Eating
If you are hungry there are a choice of places to eat. The boats we have travelled on have all had a full-service restaurant which we have never tried, a self-service restaurant which we have used a couple of times but thought was pricey and not very exciting and a tea bar where you can get cakes and rolls etc. The self-service restaurant can get very busy, especially for breakfast on the overnight crossings so it is worth getting there early.
Entertainment
I believe there is a bar with entertainment on the overnight crossing but we tend to go to bed as it is a reasonably early start in the morning with lots of driving to follow so we like to get our rest. On the day crossing I have seen a childrens entertainer who seemed to be doing a great job of keeping the children happy with games and ballooon animals. There is a soft play area for young children and a small area of slotmachines as well for adults. Both of the ferries we were on also had cinemas. The films were reasonably up to date. We travelled in July09 and they were showing Star trek, Night at the Museum 2 and Angels and Demons so they were only a couple of months old. The tickets cost £5.50 which is cheaper than our local cinema. The tickets are on sale at the information desk and are collected when you have taken your seat. My son was a little freaked out as he thought we were locked in when the ticket collecter left. However it is actually other people who are locked out! This is worth remembering because if you leave to go and buy some goodies to munch you need to make sure one of your friends will let you back in! The seats are very comfy and it helps to pass a couple of hours.
Accomodation
On the overnight crossing Brittany Ferries like everyone to book cabins or reclining seats if possible. We always book a cabin as I often feel seasick and so like to have my own toilet if the worst comes to the worst! It also means we have somewhere quiet to rest and keep all of our belongings. To be honest the cabins are looking a bit tired as the boats we have been on are quite old but they are always clean. The 4-berth cabins have two single berths and two bunks. There is also a very small shower room. Sheets, towels,toiletries, duvets and the worlds thinnest pillows are provided. We have learnt to take our own pillows on board with us, this is easy as we have the caravan so we just take a couple out of there. There is one plug which has a 2pin socket so you will need to bring an adapter on board if you want to use a hairdryer etc. The beds are reasonably comfortable and I have usually managed to sleep ok once I have got used to the rolling motion. On the overnight crossings there is an alarm call into all cabins an hour before port. They ask for you to leave your cabins 30 minutes before port but we usually hang on as long as possible because there is nothing to do but stand in the stairwell until they open the garages. As I said I have not been very impressed with the restaurants and it all seems a rush in the mornings so we now take cereal, milk,bowls etc in a coolbag and just pop out to pick up a cup of tea and just breakfast in our cabin. If you have not prebooked a cabin they can often be purchased for the day crossings when you arrive on board, I think the night crossings have usually already been sold.
The reclining seats are altogether on the same deck as the teabar. They look quite comfortable but I know that I would not be able to sleep on them very well but they are cheaper than a cabin.
Shopping
There are several shopping opportunities to while away a bit of time. There is a general sweet/newspaper kiosk with British papers and magazines. There is also a perfumery and a duty free store. They cannot sell alcohol and cigarettes in British waters so these bits close 30 minutes before docking. There is a good selection and the prices are very competitive.
Facilities
There are plenty of toilets and there are also some showers in the public areas. There are disabled facilities and lifts and disabled cabins. I presume that disabled vehicles are parked seperately on the cardecks as they seem to be put into a seperate queue but unfortunately I don't know any more about that. There are baby changing rooms around and lots of seats around the windows. It is possible to get out and sit on the deck which is nice on a sunny daytime crossing, not so nice on the windy, choppy crossing last Friday! I believe there are kennels on these boats but I don't know where they are as I only heard them mentioned once in an announcement. Purchases can be made in sterling or euro.
The car decks are emptied in order so you need to wait for your deck to be called before going downstairs. The car decks are incredibly noisy and probably quite scary for young children. Don't delay as it is very annoying if someone at the front is late as everybody gets held up, you disembark very quickly and are soon driving around France or Spain.
The night crossing to St Malo takes about 10 hours (usually on the Bretagne) and the day crossing from Caen takes about 6 hours (usually on the Normandie).
Going Home
On returning to port we have always found it very easy to find the ferry dock and the process is much the same. We have found that the french security like to check our caravan as I have heard of incidences where people have stowed away in caravans that have been broken into whilst waiting to load on the boat, especially at night. Overall we have always been very happy with the efficiency of Brittany Ferries. Once I had a cabin that smelt awful and they immediately changed me to another one. Newer boats would be an advantage but I don't think that will happen soon! The staff are always pleasant and speak excellent English even though it is a French company. We certainly have no complaints and it always offers a stressfree start to our holiday.
Advantages: so much to do, comfortable bit like a floating town! Disadvantages: SEA SICKNESS!
...attend a European Conference in Brittany (France). We needed to take a lot of equipment and display boards so decided that the ferry would be the easiest option. I looked on the internet and found that for a small car, 3 passengers and a cabin with bunk beds we would be looking approximately 520 pounds. We considered this price as being quite expensive; however without having to pay for transport to the airport, pay for excess baggage and then transfer ... ...***BRITTANY FERRIES***
Brittany ferries was originally formed in 1972 to transport fruit and vegetables from Roscoff to Plymouth. Living near to Plymouth I am quite familiar with the close relationship between towns in Devon and Cornwall with the towns and villages in Brittany. After recognising the benefits of tourism in Brittany it was decided that produce being brought into Plymouth would continue but on the return they would transport passengers ...
leofluffy69 12.08.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brittany Ferries
Advantages: Quality service, good start to holiday, convenient for south west Disadvantages: Don't seem to publish their prices
We've been using Brittany ferries for years and rate them really highly. We live in Cornwall and have a house in south west France and have tried all sorts of ways of getting there - trains, planes etc but this is by far the easiest and most pleasant way to travel. Nowadays we always book on line and it is an excellent and easy to use service - everything is done on line - you get the times, make the booking and print your own ticket. As we travel ... ...http://www.brittanyferries.co.uk
Going on the Brittany Ferry is a good start to the holiday. The check in is usually good and sometimes you can get on board early and enjoy a good meal in the restaurant.
There seems to be a lot to do on board most of the ferries but we just book a cabin and go to sleep for most of the journey as we have a long drive when we get to France and are usually worn out by the rush to get to Plymouth in the first place. ...
laveyri 15.01.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brittany Ferries
Advantages: Excellent entertainment and facillities on board, especially for children. Disadvantages: The only disadvantage for me is the three hour drive to plymouth.
...try a camping holiday in Brittany and to travel by ferry. Having never travelled by boat , except to cross the Mersey on a childhood day out, we really didn't know what to expect. I was initially surprised with the ease and efficiency of boarding in the car. We arrived at Plymouth on 11 August 2006 at 7am to set sail at 8am, after a short check in queue for passport control and boarding passes, the 4 of us(hubby and 2 children plus myself) drove ... ...we had parked the car we headed up on deck.
The boat was huge, clean and plush. We set sail on time and settled down in the lounge area for coffee and croissants. We really felt as though our holiday had already begun as we set sail without any delay.
There was a cinema on board which my husband and son took advantage of, watching the Da vinci Code. They enjoyed the film but did comment that it was rather warm in the cinema and not very easy to ...
mandi.47 28.08.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brittany Ferries
Advantages: For me, living in the South West, it is the most convienient option Disadvantages: For me, living in the South West, it is the only convienient option
Brittany Ferries have spent around £100 million pounds on their new flagship, Pont Aven. It entered service between Plymouth, Roscoff and Santander in Spring 2004 and quickly developed engine problems which lead to crossings being cancelled for a couple of weeks. The ship was restricted to running at reduced speed for the remainder of the season, and so the first years operation was by no means trouble free.
I was lucky enough to travel to Roscoff ... ...that a regular traveller with Brittany Ferries will notice is that this ship is big in coparison with Val De Loire which it replaces. It is fitted out to a high specification, and looks every penny like £100m. If I was going to be picky I would like to meet the person who thought that the carpets in the accommodation corridors were a nice choice, but each to thier own.
The duty free shop is very big and spacious and quite spectacular with its entrance ...
cwestern 24.05.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brittany Ferries
Advantages: excellent customer support and booking advice service Disadvantages: not a lot for 'tweenagers' to do on board the ferries
Brittany Ferries is not just a ferry operator, but also a holiday and hotel booking service.
~~ Booking ~~
Somehow, no matter how hard we try to plan things in advance we always do things at the last minute. Last July we decided, rather late in the day, that we’d like a ‘little holiday’ in France. This was to be our third short break in France, having previously travelled to Caen and Cherbourg, both from Portsmouth.
This time we chose St Malo, ... ...there! Brittany Ferries offers what appears to be a great online booking service, trouble is we were too late to use it and I had to use the phone to make the booking, referring to the website to find details of hotels. We wanted bed and breakfast somewhere we could use as a centre for a quiet sightseeing family holiday that we could easily afford, allowing us enough spare cash for two adults and two children (12 and 15) to ‘eat local’ during the ...
mum52 07.04.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brittany Ferries
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Advantages: Easy to Book online, Many discounts Disadvantages: Airport availability
Ryanair have made crossing the Channel a lot more comfortable than their rivals BrittanyFerries. I would certainly see the advantage of a 35 minute flight as opposed to 6 hours on a swirling sea, and when I booked with them, I found this very simple.
I typed into Google "Ryanair.com", and their site was easy to follow and my booking was made with their secure server online. Tickets arrived shortly afterwards, and I would say that their service so far was superb.
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Advantages: BEST HOTEL!!! Next to Casino and beach!!! Disadvantages: little pit too far from city central
I was so exciting foe holiday. Even it was only mini brake it was our (my and my partner's) first ever holiday together. I was working as airhostess and very often flight to this destination. Always love those flights so I wanted to get myself to ground and explore Santander.
I book hotel using spanish hotel's web page called Spain bookings, http://hotels.spain-bookings.com and found this lovely hotel. I never belive that we could have money to this hotel as it look so posh but I got it from excellent price for our 3 day brake. 3 nights where only 75 pound!!! Normal price per night is 65 £ and up. It was off season time, march 2006.
I book flight fom Ryanair web page. Flight from Stansted to Santander was only 1hrs 20min. And my return tickets cost only 35 pounds.Brittanyferrys from Plymouth goes to Santander as well but ...
may just well have a depot near here. Again, check up on it!
Rail: All trains from London down through to Penzance stop here, and the main rail station is actually in thr main city centre.
Air: Only a limited service, just check with your local airport to see what does or doesn't arrive here. The only downfall, is that the airport is on the outskirts of the city.
Sea: Regular BrittanyFerry crossings to Roscoff/ Santander.
Accomodation
This varies from your basic B&B at the Hoe, to your Plymouth's first 5 star hotel just recently opened. The best advice would be to go online, and check out what is available according to your needs. A lot of the middle of the road hotels are based here - such as Novotel; Holiday Inn; Beefeater; Ibis, and the like. Of course, all will vary according to your needs and so therefore ...
