Minicruise to Bilbao - P&O Ferries
 Nov 2nd, 2007
Advantages:
Can be a cheap getaway
Disadvantages:
Queues, delays, smoking still allowed in some internal areas
Recommendable:
No
Detailed rating:
Reliability
Comfort
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  seamaster30
About me:
Hi, I am a 42 year old (JUST) mother of 3, now very grown up children. I work full time in the NHS ...
Member since:07.08.2003
Reviews:13
Review rated by 10 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
I have just returned from my latest foray into P&O's world of mini-cruise by ro-ro ferry, this time traveling from Portsmouth to Bilbao in Northern Spain on what turned out to be the Halloween themed Cruise, I wasnt aware of this when I booked. To sum the trip up, I would have to say that it would not be an experience that I would wish to repeat in the near future. To be fair to P&O many of the problems that have resulted in my desicsion not to repeat the experience were not problems that they had much influence over, but I still feel that there should be a better system in place to cope with delays.
I arrived at Portsmouth at 18.30 which was the ticketed boarding time with a departure time of 21.30. On check in I was told that there had been adverse weather conditions in the Bay of Biscay which resulted in the Ferry being late back into port and I would not be able to board until 21.15. Unlike airports, this particular ferry terminal was ill equiped to deal with this number of waiting passengers and as always many families were unable to keep their children under control or sufficiently
occupied to ensure they did not annoy other passengers, there did not appear to be any child play areas in the terminal either.
When boarding began it resembled organised chaos, and although staff asked for travellers who required extra help to board first, I noticed many walking sticks appear - one with a pair of 4 inch stilletoes attached to the owner! Needless to say the same passengers appeared very active and walking stick free for much of the rest of the trip! The ship left dock at 23.00 with no further delays. The captain was apologetic both for the delays and the lack of facilities in the terminal building. My cabin was a double with en-suite facilities, it had been cleaned and the bedding changed as you would expect but I dont think it had seen a duster or a hoover under the beds for some considerable time. I would describe the cabin as tired, one of the beds doubled as a settee type seat but it was so worn that it was not comfortable to sit on, so left it made up as a bed permanently.
The food was of a high standard and plentiful in the buffet restuarant and although the food in the cafeteria restaurant was basically the same, there was something missing and it didnt work out much cheaper - everything was extra in this restaurant, sauces, butter etc. There was also options elsewhere on board for Tapas, pizzas, hotdog or really going to town and having sea bass or rib eye steak. There are at least 3 different bars on board, all selling the same range of drinks. Stella Artois, Becks and Boddingtons on draft. There was also an array of gaming machines and a small casino which was one of the inside areas where smoking was allowed. This meant this part of this ship was in a permanant fog of smoke and not somewhere that I visited more than once, since I had to change all my clothes and get a shower because the smell of stale tobacco smoke was so strong.
There are two cinema screens onboard, located in the front of the ship that showed a variety of different films which were quite new but did cost £5 each to watch. There was also a presentation & film (free) from the onboard crew about the dolpins and whales that can be seen in this part of the ocean. The only dolphins and whales I saw on this trip were in the cinema, the sea appeared to be empty! We were at sea the whole of the next day and prepared to arrive in Bilbao at 7am the following morning. This is where the trip really loses any cruise status and becomes a definate ferry! It didnt matter how late you were up the previous night - everyone had to disembark at 7.30am, find something to do in Bilbao until 10.30am then queue up again in a ferry terminal so we could reboard the ship - out came the walking sticks again!. P&O did organise a number of different excursions from the port to places of interest not too far away, a trip out to the shops at the nearest big town or the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, all at £12 per person. At least I could leave the baggage in the cabin.
Once back on board, the ship left port for its return journey at noon. By now I had found the best places to hide from the hoards of kids and a number of adults dressed as vampires, witches and monsters. The sea picked up a bit on the return journey and was quite intersting in a lumpy sort of way. We were watching Pirates of the Carribean at the time which made the audience feel like they were really 'in' the film as the ship seemed to move in time to what was happening in the film. A bit like being in a simulator at a fairground! Arrival back in Portsmouth was due at 5pm the next day and we were on time and on the berth but not able to leave the ship for another hour and a half. So all the foot passengers were hanging around with all their luggage just waiting for information and to be let off the ship - again due to some other problem out of the ships control although this did involve a man being escorted off the ship in handcuffs.
Once off and past the sniffer dogs and pasport control it was great to be back home and just had to get in the car and drive back up the M1. I have not encountered any of the problems recounted above on any of the P&O trips from Hull to Rotterdam or Bruge and the outfit at Hull appear to be much more organised than in Portsmouth. Also parking at Hull is free, Portsmouth cost £35 to park.
I know that the mini-cruise idea is more a way to fill spare capacity than anything else and that ferries are first and formost for frieght, caravans and motorhomes, that said, if they want to keep the passengers coming back for more, they need to pay more attention to the details.
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03.11.2007 13:00
I don't see the point of these mini cruises for the passeger - though, of ocurse, you said why the ferry compnaies offer them. A couple of years ago i won one from Newcastle to Amsterdam and I paid extra to have a night in Amsterdam rather than 6 hours befoer coming home. On the return trip the weather was horrendous and as a result we were several hours late docking in North Shields and i felt very sorry for the poor Dutch passenges who thought they'd come for a day of Christams shopping. Even when it arrives late, they still have to leave on time aagain. A social club at sea, as far as i'm concerned! Fiona
02.11.2007 21:52
Interesting insight into your trip. I think the Halloween clad passengers marauding around the ship would have sent me into hiding as well! Lexy