Howdy! For those who don't know/remember me,I'm a pretty average 17year old(how I do sell myself)fro...
Howdy! For those who don't know/remember me,I'm a pretty average 17year old(how I do sell myself)from Newcastle with an uncharacteristic passion for writing and reviewing...that kind of malarkey.I'm on here on/off throughout the ages.
Member since:12.09.2002
Reviews:37
Members who trust:30
UPDATE: 3/11/04. Renewed membership means every review I've ever written is to come under scrutinous inspection....and must-needed updating.
Yep, the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) are famous for ferry travel from Britain to Europe. Although they do offer a variety of other services (N.B. despite keeping the name, P&O Cruises is no longer a P&O subsidiary, it is owned by cruise-giant Carnival) this is a hopefully brief history of P&O Ferries.
P&O offered ferry services from the early seventies to 1985, when the ferries division was sold to Townsend Thoresen. This was all part of a master plan though as in 1986 P&O actually bought Townsend Thoresen out. Things remained as usual on the surface, the ships keeping their Orange and green-funnelled liveries until March 1987, when the Herald of Free Enterprise sunk. After this, the Townsend Thoresen brand name disappeared and vessels were re-painted into a dark blue, P&O livery. In an attempt to eradicate all memories of the Herald, any vessels with ‘Free Enterprise’ in the name were re-named to the ‘Pride of..’ prefix (E.g. Pride of Dover). The company re-braded itself as P&O EuropeanFerries. Until 1992 not much happened, then 4 huge new freighters were introduced to the Dover-Zeebrugge run. Well, 3 were, the fourth became the passenger vessel ‘Pride of Burgundy’ which operates Dover-Calais now. Various new routes (such as Portsmouth-Bilbao) opened, while others – Dover-Boulogne, closed, and others (Dover – Zeebrugge, Felixtowe – Zeebrugge) were relegated to freight – only status. In 1997 P&O bought out North Sea Ferries, and merging the Hull – Rotterdam/Zeebrugge routes with P&O’s Felixtowe routes, P&O North Sea Ferries was born. In 1998 the 5 ships on Dover – Calais and 3 Freighters on Dover- Zeebrugge were submitted to the merger with Stena Line, creating a company, unbelievably, called P&O Stena Line. With not much left of P&O European Ferries, the 3 Portsmouth routes became a separate P&O division, P&O PORTSMOUTH, and the Irish Sea Routes, merged with another company, became P&O Irish Sea.
Then, in 2002, P&O bought out Stena Line’s 40% share in P&O Stena, and, merging the Dover routes with the Portsmouth and North Sea ones, the three companies became P&O FERRIES. The Dover – Zeebrugge run was shut down and two of the 3 ten year old freighters were rebuilt as passenger ferries and re-released in May and June 2003. At the end of 2003, P&O announced a plunge into the red. Downsizing of capaticy on the increasingly less popular Dover-Calais run, and other cost-cutting measures were enforced
- including, bizarrely, the launch of a new fastcraft route to Caen from Portsmouth. In the summer of 2004 P&O announced the Ferries division was slipping further into loss, and announced a "Radical restructuring plqan", which, yep, you guessed it, involved slashing costs by shedding routes and capaticy. All routes were cut from Portsmouth except Portsmouth-Bilbao, a further 2 ships were dropped from the Dover-Calais run, and on the Irish Sea, 2 routes were closed over 2004. Sad, very sad, but we hope P&O shall come out of this mess a more focused company - however our hopes are limited. P&O are likely to sell ferries in the next few years.
My P&O Ferries Experience ---------------------------------------
PORTSMOUTH - LE HAVRE* (Note this route and the vessels go over to Brittany Ferries in early 2005) If you read that last section (which, if you’re like me, you probably didn’t) then you would recall in 1999 the 3 Portsmouth routes becoming P&O PORTSMOUTH. This was always the struggling sector of P&O, with the routes making a tiny profit – the culprits – Brittany Ferries. As giants on the Western Channel, BF have overshadowed P&O since about 1992. While P&O have struggled, BF have gone from strength to strength – or so they would like you to think. In 2004, P&O announced the shocking news that they were cutting all routes from Portsmouth to France. Including this one. Quite.
Anyway, on with my report. We had decided to go to Normandy for a week, feel the fresh air, the beautiful countryside – and drink cider. We chose Brittany Ferries Portsmouth-Caen, but the over night crossing we wanted was fully booked 6 MONTHS IN ADVANCE. So we chose Portsmouth – Le Havre with P&O. I was doing this holiday in May half term. Luckily, I convinced my parents taking me out of school on the last Friday of term was a good idea (“All I’m going to be missing is French – and I’m going to the bloody country”) so, in the afternoon we, set off from Newcastle. Anyone who lives Up North may know what a journey to Portsmouth involves – a long time in a car. On the M25. In traffic jams. Which we did, by the way, experience. We actually got there about 9.00 PM – which was when the fun started. We sat in a queue for Passport inspection for hours. I’ve never known check in to be so bad at a ferry terminal. I’ve been out of Portsmouth a fair few times and it’s usually been fine. But what happened was a bunch of bikers decided to jump in front of us at first opportunity. Now you may think, hey, it’s only a few bikes. Wrong. This was 15 bikes. That really is like letting 15 cars in front – as they all went through separately. So, slightly p***** off, my dad went to ‘have a word’ with Hell’s Grannies – or Hell’s Granddads, as they turned out to be, once they removed those menacing helmets to reveal a set of grizzled-looking heads. They weren’t willing to cooperate – but where were the P&O staff on hand? In total, one woman came along, muttered something to the Biker’s like – Please move to the back of the queue’ and scampered off somewhere safe – this woman was scared of a bunch of withered looking Bikers (OK, so they were probably only about 55, I do make it sound like we’ve got some ancient relics here, sorry). Perhaps understandably we weren’t best pleased. Oh, and the Bikers didn’t budge. Well, one did – he pushed in front of another queue. This was the low point of our P&O service – we would have liked to have seen more staff, who were willing to cooperate, and, well, stand up to bikers.
Following the very brief check-in, we were directed easily to the ferry itself, there were actually plenty of staff on hand. Now, as for the ferries themselves. Tentatively named ‘Pride of Portsmouth’ and ‘Pride of Le Havre’ (much like the ship on the Bilbao route is ‘Pride of Bilbao, the ship on the Cherbourg route is ‘Pride of Cherbourg’, etc. etc….). These ships were built around 1990 for the ill-fated Olau Line – and operated between Sheerness and Vlissingen. That is, until the company went bust, and in 1994, the ferries were chartered to P&O, ut on the Portsmouth to Le Havre run where they have been since. Following the creation of P&O Ferries, during their early 2003 refits, the ships were re-painted in a new, more modern livery (well, it’s got more white on it, and it says POferries.com on the side – does that p*** anyone else off? What IS the point? “ooh, look at us we have a website” *ahem*) and P&O forked out £7m on the ferries Pride of Portsmouth, Pride of Le Havre and Pride of Bilbao – to tarten them up a bit interiors wise. Therefore the Portsmouth ships are now taking after their Dover counterparts – shoved full of branding. Gone are the days when you grabbed a meal in the “restaurant” or the ‘Café’ now, the self-service restaurant is the “International Food Court”, one of the new additions for 2003. There is a severe overload of that whole using bold and normal typeface Arial font – so the International Food Court logo has Food in bold – and its everywhere ‘HOT(in bold) drinks’ ‘QUICK snacks’ you get the idea. It feels like you’re walking into a Habitat outlet in there because of the different orange/green/brown/cream chairs. I suppose it looks cool though. But a bit unoriginal. Though I did hear someone mutter ‘school dinners’ on the way in, I later noticed that person tucking happily into a plate of fish and chips – as the food generally seemed nice. The coffee shop is now the ‘Harbour Coffee Company’ (Harbour Coffee Café on Dover ships – bit of a mouthful) and feels like a Costa. Which I suppose is the idea. Personally I thought the Harbour Coffee area was great – someone was playing a piano in the there, and the atmosphere was just.. Perfect. A high recommendation for the o-overnight crossings. Then there’s the big brand ‘Langan's Brasserie’ – “Found only on Mayfair and P&O Ferries” – which is apparently a lie as there’s supposedly one at Gatwick or somewhere. Langan’s is found on nearly all P&O ferries and is the more expensive version of restaurants.
Pictures of P&O Ferries
P&o Ferries Pride of Kent - Works the Dover-Calais run.
On the Le Havre run, the restaurant is split into three areas: the Bar, the Grill and the Brasserie itself. The bar speaks for itself, serving the usual. The Grill is apparently soon to become a ‘Theatre Grill’ separate brand (during next refit), but already you can order exactly how you want your food prepared. Food served there is stuff like steaks and Chicken Brochettes. The Brasserie uses a waiter service, serving ‘gourmet foods’ etc. You know the stuff. Like Steak with potatoes becomes ‘A succulent steak hand roasted garnished with a light pepper sauce and special New England potatoes carefully cooked to perfection’. It’s the same everywhere these days. Even Asda do it on ready cooked meals. There is also a breakfast service available on Pride of Portsmouth and Pride of Le Havre. The Langan’s Brasserie is done to have a warm, modern feel with creams and golds and dark reds. Perhaps unsurprisingly for an overnight crossing, I didn’t sample every eatery onboard, including this one – but the food looked good. The main bar onboard the ferries is ‘Silverstones’, done up with a racing feel, i.e. checkered carpets, but also stainless steel tables. By day, this is just your average bar, with kids entertainment to boot. By night, its full of scantily clad smokers, live entertainment (it depends, sometimes its just a disco but it can involve Cabaret Entertainment). Asides from all this, there are 2 cinemas, Arcades, a Casino, plenty of simple seating areas with TVs (maybe its just been my crossings, but these are always flickering terribly…). Pride of Portsmouth and Pride of Le Havre have been blessed with a sauna and ‘swimming pool’ complex – meaning a small room with an even smaller hollow in the floor filled with a water-like substance. There’s also Travel:Traders – a fairly large shop area filled with cheap goods. But it had mirrors on the walls to make it look bigger – something that puts me off a place right away. And it was pretty hot and stuffy in there. I spent as little time in there as possible. Seemed reasonably well-stocked though. If it’s outdoor deck space you’re after, you’re in for a treat with these ferries. Since they were designed in the late eighties, they don’t suffer from the problems of some nineties ferries – lack of deck space. In the nineties they tried to keep you inside you would spend as much as possible – so there would be hardly any deck space, and it would be hard to get to. Pride of Portsmouth/Le Havre do suffer from the latter – I remember the first time I ever travelled on them we had to ask for the way outside – but once you get out there there’s a whole area to stretch you’re legs on. Almost right down the length of the ship, plus large areas at the back, going up to the particularly large funnel. But there’s no outdoor seating – and some lighting would have been nice, particularly around the top, where quite possibly the worlds most grim-looking children’s play area resides.
Accommodation --------------------- Accommodation comprises of the inevitable reclining seats – but there is the option of upgrading to the Club Class lounge, which is a bit (well, a lot) nicer and well worth the slightly larger sum involved. Though we had booked way in advance, by the crossing all the cabins were fully booked. But it was half term. And despite all the people onboard, the ship seemed to swallow them up so they never felt packed.
I stayed in an outdoor, en-suite cabin. It was just perfect for the trip – the club class cabins have TV etc. but mine had comfortable beds, was well lit, and had a bathroom – even if on Pride of Portsmouth one of the tiles stuck to my foot. Oh, and the doors really do need a big person to push the handles down. They’re a bit tricky. On the Pride of Portsmouth, we were right at the front of the ship, meaning that in the morning, we had a view out onto the bow, and going into Le Havre. On Pride of Le Havre, on the way back, we had a window cabin, except we were on Deck 10, so it looked out onto the deck instead. Which was nice.
The outward crossing was a little bit rocky, and despite the occasional swell, Pride of Portsmouth held it very well, the ship is an excellent sea keeper. The inward journey was extremely smooth and despite the walls vibrating a little and the distant throb of the engine, you wouldn’t know you were on a ship.
I strongly advise anyone heading in or out of Portsmouth by ferry to go out on deck while you’re heading out or in. Passing the Isle of Wight, and all the ferries, Navy vessels, (we saw the Ark Royal, just back from the Gulf) and more is a splendid sight. And Portsmouth itself s a changed world – around the outer harbour anyway – and did actually look nice. Next time I shall take a wander. Less can be said for Le Havre, however. But I shan’t go in to that now.
P&O customer service was, as always perfect, with the exception of the some of the staff at the Portsmouth terminal as mentioned. On board, they were happy to help, pleasant, and had a real fondness for their ship. By the way, And I always feel the same, it is a common point by people that Pride of Le Havre is somehow nicer than the Pride of Portsmouth, even though they are near identical.
Timetabling ------------------------ There are 3 conventional sailings each way, each day, all year round. That includes the overnight crossings. Sailings from Portsmouth depart in the morning, afternoon and evening.. Sailings take 5 hours during the day, or 8 hours from the UK or 9 hours from France on a night sailing. Pride of Portsmouth and Pride of Le Havre operate most conventional sailings, with Pride of Bilbao covering for the regular vessels during their annual refits, which is around January/February time.
DOVER - CALAIS (Coming Soon)
HULL-ROTTERDAM (Coming Soon)
Conclusion ------------------------ Please forgive me for this op dragging on a bit. I haven’t written in ages. I only added that bit at the start for your own personal amusement. so, sorry.
P&O are a rapidly dissapearing company. At best, their service is nothing short of excellent. Unfortunately, often it seems their service falls short of this. Give them a try, see if you likey.
Official Website www.POferries.com - To put it simply, not a very good website.
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Great review, shame about p&o pulling their services to france out of portsmouth, and as for brittany ferries getting the Pride of Portsmouth and Pride of Leharve they are taking over the charters, it is a crying shame that our goverment wont fund companies unlike the french who fund Brittany Ferries. At least the Pride of Bilbao is staying so P&O wont be fully gone from portsmouth just yet!
torr 04.11.2004 19:40
Makes me glad I hardly ever go via Portsmouth these days, and least at Dover the loading is pretty slick. Generally, if you get an uncrowded ferry on a calm day it's a great experience. A busy day with rough weather - take the tunnel, in my opinion! Cheers, Duncan
Jimmi5bellies 30.04.2004 16:00
I am fortunate enough to have done the Dover to Calais quite a few times on P&O Ferries. I enjoy every sail. Hopefully this year we are going to be trying the Hull route just for the experience of doing an overnight cruise.
Thanks for the review ...Christine
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Advantages: Relaxing travel, good price, If you want a cruising taster a good option Disadvantages: Expensive onboard food, innacurate cabin, transfer bus confusion.
likka75 22.08.2008 (22.08.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of P&O Ferries
Advantages: Inexpensive, wide variety of things to do. Fun for the whole family Disadvantages: Not much time in Bilbao, not for those prone to motion sickness, small cabins
Gladallover 30.12.2007 (30.12.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of P&O Ferries
Advantages: relaxing and inexpensive way to visit the continent for a short break. comfortable cabins excellent food Disadvantages: crossing can be rough in winter months and lack of security is a bit worrying in the present climate
Jul 6th, 2003
(Nov 4th, 2004)
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