I am 47 years old and live with my wife in Truro in the beautiful county of Cornwall.
I enjoy spo...
I am 47 years old and live with my wife in Truro in the beautiful county of Cornwall.
I enjoy sport of all kinds, although sadly these days, as a spectator rather than as a participant. We enjoy cycling and walking when time allows.
Member since:10.11.2004
Reviews:12
Members who trust:3
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 from Plymouth last year on Pont Aven before the problems developed, and have recently returned from a trip to Santander. It is good to report that the problems have now been sorted out and and there are no operational snags to detract from the very pleasurable experience afforded by this ship.
The first thing 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 fronting the atrium running the height of three decks, with glass fronted lifts shuttling between them. The duty free choice is good, but never appears to be particularly cheap compared to other ferries or airports.
I have booked the deluxe cabins on my two trips on this ferry. These are large and well appointed with flat screen TV and DVD player, as well as a fridge stocked with a few complimentry drinks and the nice touch of a small box of chocies laid out on the table. The additional expense of the more expensive cabin is quite justifiable on the Santander route, but probably not worth the bother on the 6 hour Roscoff route.
Where Brittany Ferries have always scored over their competitors that I have used has been the standard of the restaurants. This standard is as high as ever on the new ship. The restaurant is hugh, staffed by extremely attentive waiters and the set meal at around £18 offers superb value. There are other self service restaurants aboard which I did not use, but which also looked good.
There are numerous bars on the ship, four I think from memory. One has a stage and is used as a night club with live bands, which all course try to appeal to all tastes, but the last one wasn't at all bad in a middle of the road folk / rock way.
The crossing time to Santander has been reduced from 24 to 18 hours with the introduction into service of the Pont Aven. The ship is big enough and has enough going on to keep one occupied and comfortable for the crossing. It is a pleasant way to get to Northern Spain and in my opinion worth the cost to avoid driving through France
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great review,some good info,me and my family are traveling on the port aven in sept then driving to portugal.i hope we find it as good as you did.thanks for the info. gemma xx
kittyfluff 25.05.2005 21:52
I have only ever been on a ferry once.I much prefer the roar of a jet engine x
buzzard_cad 25.05.2005 14:22
A good review and I agree that Brittany ferries are one of the better operators. I don't know if I could spend 18 hours on a boat. I did Portsmouth to Caen over four hours and that bored me silly, so I got a cabin and slept on the way back. Martin.
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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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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.
mandi.47 28.08.2006 (28.08.2006)
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Review of Brittany Ferries
May 24th, 2005
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