Brittany Ferries - a grumble

[PhilandMena]

Sailed on the Mont St Michel Caen-Portsmouth a few weeks back and TBH if a hotel offered a shower room in this condition I would refuse to stay there. Admittedly the cabin was free because we are Club members, but we pay quite a bit more to travel Brittany Ferries than DFDS and starting to wonder if it is worth it.

Quite a lot of members prefer to use ferries, even to Santander or Bilbao in the winter. Expensive IMV and a significant saving can be made by crossing from Dover-Calais. One needs to do the maths if costs are important.
Toll costs for a class 2 Motorhome. Calais – Irun. €149.40). (Fuel €151.62 Based on 1083 K @10K per Ltr. @€1.40 per ltr. 3.5T motor-home). N10 Calais - Irun. Using partial Toll = €11.50). (Fuel €147.84 Based on 1056 K @10K per Ltr. @€1.40 per ltr.) So in essence, a return journey would be around €300.0 where as the ferry would be..........significant.

 

[PhilandMena]

They do sometimes move us but they faff around first getting someone to take a look etc etc. We did get moved quite quickly after the toilet episode, but then I think they got the message I was quite angry...

LOL I think they have it in for you. Perhaps they see you as a serial complainer and are having a bit of fun at your expense. If they repeatedly let you down, ditch them.

 

[WESTY66]

Exactly as we’ve found on this trip. Went out of Harwich, sat here writing this at Europoort waiting to set off for Hull. Stena certainly seems a nicer , if smaller ship. Trouble is hull is far more convenient than Harwich so not sure I’ll do it again.

I’m pretty sure I read that the Stena Britannica is bigger than any of the four ferries out of hull, also I’m closer to hull than you (Doncaster) and I’ll probably do harwich again, especially as the roadworks on the A63 is gonna grind everything to a halt for the next god knows how many years, don’t get me wrong I love sailing out of hull but they’re just getting too expensive!

 

[gus-lopez]

Sailed on the Mont St Michel Caen-Portsmouth a few weeks back and TBH if a hotel offered a shower room in this condition I would refuse to stay there. Admittedly the cabin was free because we are Club members, but we pay quite a bit more to travel Brittany Ferries than DFDS and starting to wonder if it is worth it.

I emailed the photos to Brittany Ferries and said that whilst I recognise they have short turn-round times, surely they could have a rolling programme of more thorough cleaning. Their response:
We would expect the cleaning crew to have cleaned and replenished the cabins prior to passenger embarkation, so I apologise that this was not the case for you on your crossing. I would suggest this was a one off incident and not a regular occurence.
Cabins are periodically given a deep clean for all our ships. We would always advise passengers to report any problems to the staff at the information desk on board, so they have the opportunity to resolve these issues for you at the time. They would have offered to relocate your cabin or sent someone to rectifiy the problem.
I am sorry for the incovenience caused to you, but hope we can welcome you on board again in the future.

Hmm. This was well encrusted grime and the shower hose was in a really sorry state. I'm actually not a complainer normally, but I do end up complaining fairly regularly about the cabins and it doesn't seem to have any effect - eg when the toilet was full of urine and would not flush (not much of a clean done that time!); shower curtain with thick orange mould on the bottom and dark stains splattered over (don't even want to think what they were from); ventilation set on freezing cold.

Does anyone else have a similar experience or am I being picky (if I am, please tell me nicely as I'm a bit of a softie)

Now I notice the shower curtains are much cleaner and it's evident they are changed regularly.

I usually just remove and dispose of anything like that so that no one else has to wallow in filth.

 

[PeteH]

Quite a lot of members prefer to use ferries, even to Santander or Bilbao in the winter. Expensive IMV and a significant saving can be made by crossing from Dover-Calais. One needs to do the maths if costs are important.
Toll costs for a class 2 Motorhome. Calais – Irun. €149.40). (Fuel €151.62 Based on 1083 K @10K per Ltr. @€1.40 per ltr. 3.5T motor-home). N10 Calais - Irun. Using partial Toll = €11.50). (Fuel €147.84 Based on 1056 K @10K per Ltr. @€1.40 per ltr.) So in essence, a return journey would be around €300.0 where as the ferry would be..........significant.

Strangely however NOT at 13mpg on a good day!. I cannot lay my hands on the actual figures. but In 2007/8 I calculated that It was barely any cheaper to Drive all the way through France. As an Ex Merchant Seaman, Ships of any type hold no Strangeness for me, and SWMBO made many voyages with me back in the 60`s and 70`s. We even had the 2 Boys away more than once.

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[PhilandMena]

Strangely however NOT at 13mpg on a good day!. I cannot lay my hands on the actual figures. but In 2007/8 I calculated that It was barely any cheaper to Drive all the way through France. As an Ex Merchant Seaman, Ships of any type hold no Strangeness for me, and SWMBO made many voyages with me back in the 60`s and 70`s. We even had the 2 Boys away more than once.

Agreed, if its a gas guzzling hunk-a-chunk polluter, better to take the ferry. Trust you are both well and you owe me biscuits ! I have not forgotten.