BBC News - LD Lines cancels Poole to Spain routes

Never did fancy crossing the bay on one if those small boats. Looks like Brittany Ferries will have the monopoly again. They've already said there'll be a significant fare increase next year due to increased costs of running cleaner fuel.
At some point it'll become cheaper to drive all the way.

Happy trails,

Peter

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I've just returned from a round trip on the Etretat, Britanny's 'economie' service from Portsmouth to Santander. It's quite a bit cheaper than the Pont Aven/Cap Finistere (PA/CF) ships, the actual savings obviously depend on dates, and is about the same price as the soon-to-be-departed Louis Dreyfus ship. Although, as a Britanny Ferries Club Voyage member I get 30% off the reduced price which makes it a no-brainer.

First impressions of the Etretat (ET) is of 1970's grey formica. It's not as large as the other BF ships, there's more engine vibrations and noise but not excessive, I didn't need ear plugs to sleep. I suspect the ET might not be so stable in rough weather, but I have nothing to base this on.

There's a cinema, bar, lounge area and self-service restaurant.

ET cabins are considerably wider than PA/CF, and there's more space between the bunks as well as the bunks themselves being wider. However the safety lip on the side of the beds is higher than the mattresses so it digs into your thighs if you sit with your legs over it. The cabin reading lights are poor and you need the main lights on.

The PA/CF have draught Becks and Stella, the ET has only Stella.

The only food served on the ET is at a self-service restaurant but the quality is brilliant, just like the PA. I had the cod in lobster sauce on both the outbound and inbound routes. By comparison the CF is let down here as other than an upmarket restaurant there's only a 'mini mart' or regurgitated chips and pizza on the top deck. All three boats have microwave ovens to warm food, and when travelling out on the CF (rubbish food) I normally take a Sainsbury's microwave fish pie for my first meal.

Would I use this service again? Depends on the saving. My first preference is definitely the PA which is more like a mini cruise liner. If it was between the CF and the ET, the poor food on the CF would push me to the ET just as much as the savings.

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