My boyfriend and I have travelled on the P & O Ferries 'Pride of Bilbao' 3 times now and each time was thoroughly enjoyable...so much more than I was expecting for a £32 minibreak!

We were able to check out all of the details on the P&O ferries website (www.poferries.co.uk). The website is so easy to navigate and very informative, I found myself getting excited about the trip just looking at the pictures!

The ship was due to leave Portsmouth at 8:00pm, being the cautious people that we are we chose to arrive an hour early and this proved to be a wise decision as we were told we could board after only a 20 minute wait. Boarding was a fairly quick and easy procedure. We were given standard security checks, both our luggage and ourselves were passed through the metal detectors. From there we walked out of the terminal to waiting busses provided to ferry us to the ship. The busses were very cramped with as many people standing as sitting, all carrying their full suitcases. I imagine this could prove to be a problem for elderly or infirm travellers, although it is possible P&O make allowances for this. I myself wasn't very bothered by the jam-packed bus, for the price we paid for this minicruise i was expecting to 'rough it' a lot more than this!

I can't recommend this minicruise for those that are petrified of heights. I do not usually class myself as person with a fear of heights, but queuing up on that gangway in high winds, looking down at the cracks in the joints of the metal floor made me feel altogether giddy! We were around halfway up the side of the ship (it looked so much lower from the ground!) and the passport-checking process at the ships door was causing a slight hold-up. While some more adventurous people used the time to get a better view of the ship and Portsmouth dock, I used the time to gather all of my various travel documents and most importantly, my passport to make the process as smooth as possible. Quite frankly, i could not wait to be off of that gangway!

The corridors to the cabins are, as i was expecting, quite narrow. I'm afraid i can not recommend this minicruise to claustrophobics either! Dragging your suitcase along these small, low-ceilinged corridors can be quite a task, especially when everybody else on board are also trying to locate their cabins.

There is also a bedside table provided, with radio, electrical socket, mirror and clothes hooks. The radio picks up both English, French and Spanish radio stations and can also be used as an alarm. The electrical socket is European so i advise that you take a European-English converter as they are quite expensive from the onboard shop. Other handy things to take would be a travel kettle, mugs, teabags…ect as I found buying drinks from the various onboard cafes can get very expensive.
The en-suite facility is much as you would expect. Very small but with everything you need. A small shower in the corner separated with a curtain, toilet and basin. The only problems we encountered with these facilities was that the flush on our toilet tended to stop working - not what you need in such an enclosed space! This happened 3 times in total and we informed reception, only to find that by the time we got back to the cabin the toilet had been mended. The engineers didn't even need to enter our cabin. Although it was a nuisance, the problem was dealt with in the most efficient way possible.

On wandering further around the ship I came across the cinema. It is a fairly small and cosy cinema which shows a selection of the latest films and older films. When I was onboard they had catered for both adults and children with a wide variety of films. The cinema also doubles as a presentation room for the onboard Biscay Dolphin Research Programme. There are several wildlife officers onboard that conduct scientific research into whale and dolphin behaviour in the bay of Biscay. They also run free dolphin and whale spotting sessions from the top deck (or in bad weather a viewing area below deck).I loved attending the presentations and found them fun and informative. Children would especially love keeping a look out for sea life and there is a large display board on the top deck with pictures of all the species of dolphin and whale you might see.
We were very lucky and saw many dolphins come to play in the ships surf on all 3 of our trips.

There are several other small bars to relax in onboard. We spent some time in the piano bar listening to an excellent pianist playing the theme from 'Titanic' of all things! Again, the staff were polite and efficient. There is also an outside bar on the front deck, although this is only open during pleasant weather.

There are plenty of places to eat onboard, although some tend to be quite expensive. The largest restaurant onboard was situated right at the front of the ship. It served buffet food and an all-you-can-eat cavery for £15 per head which I thought was very reasonably priced. The location of the restaurant provided brilliant views but unfortunately it was the area of the ship that moved the most and so I did start to feel a little queasy , something which spoilt my meal somewhat.

There is also a childs play area and small salon onboard although I never used these.