Experience Ferry Enthusiast. Travel upwards of 30 times a year on various routes and ships, if you ...
Experience Ferry Enthusiast. Travel upwards of 30 times a year on various routes and ships, if you need any help, advice or information drop me an email.
Member since:29.03.2004
Reviews:3
Members who trust:1
Ship: Bretange Route: Portsmouth to St Malo (France) Date: Numerous ----------------------------------------------------------------
There are several ways of getting to the Ferryport at Portsmouth. First of all is drive and leave your car at the secure multi-story car park (about £8 per day) or by train. Taxis from the startion to the ferryport are about £4, or it is a 20minute walk.
Facilities at the port are functional. There is a bar, shop, and cafe. Prices are reasonable and the area is clean.
Foot Passenger Check-in and boarding:
Check-in is very straight forward, and will not cause any trouble. You need to go to the main Brittany Ferries desk to initially check-in, they will give you boarding cards. Boarding is normally via Gate 1 and they re-scan your tickets. Before leaving the terminal you will need to put your bags through a scanner
and then yourself walk through a metal detector. (Advice: I normally shove anything metallic into my coat pocket and then put the coat through the bag machine.)
Car drivers
You check-in and are then directed to the lower section of the car park and await boarding. Cars are searched at random.
The Ship:
A small history of the ship:
The Bretange is roughly 16 years old, and has been operating between Portsmouth and St Malo for the last several years. Its capacity is around the 2000 passenger mark, but the ship is that well laid out that even when full it absorbs people easily. The ship was orignally designed for a crossing time of 24 hours, so it is well suited to its current 10 hour crossings.
Eating areas:
There are several eating areas aboard which offer traditional French food as well as English. The food is to a high standard and you also get to see them cooking.
Shopping:
Unlike companies like P&O who offer one shop, Brittany ferries offer several and generally split them into specialality areas. Prices tend to be slightly higher than P&O in some areas.
Cabins:
These are very comfortable and reasonably priced. All cabins as far as I am aware are above the car deck and are placed towards the front of the ship.
Crew:
The crew are all French and are very freindly and helpfull. There is always a crew member on hand at the entrance to the cabin areas when you board to help you find your cabin.
Crossing Times:
Portsmouth: 07:30 and 20:30 St. Malo: 10:45 and 19:15
The Bretagne also operates the Portsmouth to Cherbourg route on certain days.
Like wise the St. Malo route is also served by a ship called the Val De Loire.
Ship: Mont St Michel Route: Portsmouth to Caen (France) Date: Numerous ----------------------------------------------------------------
Before the ship:
There are several ways of getting to the Ferryport at Portsmouth. First of all is drive and leave your car at the secure multi-story car park (about £8 per day) or by train. Taxis from the startion to the ferryport are about £4, or it is a 20minute walk.
Facilities at the port are functional. There is a bar, shop, and cafe. Prices are reasonable and the area is clean.
Foot Passenger Check-in and boarding:
Check-in is very straight forward, and will not cause any trouble. You need to go to the main Brittany Ferries desk to initially check-in, they will give you boarding cards. Boarding is normally via Gate 1 and they re-scan your tickets. Before leaving the terminal you will need to put your bags through a scanner and then yourself walk through a metal detector. (Advice: I normally shove anything metallic into my coat pocket and then put the coat through the bag machine.)
Car drivers
You check-in and are then directed to the lower section of the car park and await boarding. Cars are searched at random.
The Ship:
A small history of the ship:
The Mont St Michel is roughly 16 months old, and has been operating between Portsmouth and Caen since it was built. Its capacity is around the 2200 passenger mark, but the ship is that well laid out that even when full it absorbs people easily. The ship was designed around the other ship on the Caen route which has a similar feel.
Eating areas:
There are several eating areas aboard which offer traditional French food as well as English. The food is to a high standard and you also get to see them cooking.
Shopping:
Unlike companies like P&O who offer one shop, Brittany ferries offer several and generally split them into specialality areas. Prices tend to be slightly higher than P&O in some areas.
Cabins:
These are very comfortable and reasonably priced. All cabins as far as I am aware are above the car deck and uniquely with the four berth cabins, the upper berths fold into the ceiling to allow extra space.
Crew:
The crew are all French and are very freindly and helpfull. There is always a crew member on hand at the entrance to the cabin areas when you board to help you find your cabin.
The Mont St Michel is one of the finest ships (in my opinion) on the English Channel. With a central staircase made of marble and large lounges. It is well worth travelling on.
good review - i have too sleep as i get VERY sea sick.
Rosassnaps 19.04.2004 01:18
I've been on the Val de Loire many times, and also the Duc de Normandie, from Plymouth to Roscoff. Always quite comfortable trips, apart from one very rough crossing, but we managed to sleep through it, as it was an overnight crossing. Think we might have been a little green else!!!
scampi1 19.04.2004 00:33
If Britney Spears was to marry Bryan Ferry would she be called Britney Ferry ?
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Advantages: Excellent entertainment and facillities on board, especially for children. Disadvantages: The only disadvantage for me is the three hour drive to plymouth.
mandi.47 28.08.2006 (28.08.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Brittany Ferries
Apr 18th, 2004
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