Brittany Ferries New Ship Galicia - My Opinion - Review

[royandsharont]

I have just looked on the BF website and processed a ferry crossing to work out the cost. There was no option to buy meals, only cabin choices, so I presumed they were included. Are you saying no meals are included now and if so do you just buy them onboard?

 

[EuroTrotters]

I have just looked on the BF website and processed a ferry crossing to work out the cost. There was no option to buy meals, only cabin choices, so I presumed they were included. Are you saying no meals are included now and if so do you just buy them onboard?

the new option is £10 off meals on the vessel

 

[EuroTrotters]

the only thing I can say in favour of Galacia is it cuts through the sea well, if that's the correct term =?.

 

[Dart]

the only thing I can say in favour of Galacia is it cuts through the sea well, if that's the correct term =?.

Favoured terminology would be that she is a good seakeeper.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Favoured terminology would be that she is a good seakeeper.

Thank you

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[Jonno1103]

the only thing I can say in favour of Galacia is it cuts through the sea well, if that's the correct term =?.

Yep her bow is designed to cut waves in a similar way to Bretagne which has a classic 'Atlantic' shape with wave diffusers on her fo'c'sle.
Pont Aven punches waves hence the reason why she hogs & sags, has misaligned bow clam shells which need a good sledge hammering and vibrating prop shafts. Overall an appalling design.

 

[EuroTrotters]

Yep her bow is designed to cut waves in a similar way to Bretagne which has a classic 'Atlantic' shape with wave diffusers on her fo'c'sle.
Pont Aven punches waves hence the reason why she hogs & sags, has misaligned bow clam shells which need a good sledge hammering and vibrating prop shafts. Overall an appalling design.

Interesting, thank you.

 

[G-RMPS]

Interesting, thank you.

Another review, first time on this route.

4 hours sitting in the queue to board. Served us right for arriving early, I suppose. Virtually last on board, around the scheduled departure time. So close to the side of the ship, we couldn’t open the habitation door, and could hardly open the front passenger door either.

Four berth outside club cabin was the best we could get. Extremely small, even for two. Chair, if you can call it that, was dangerous in rough weather.

Crossing was quite rough on the first night. Enough for stuff to slide off tables. Some broken plates etc though cannot blame BF for the weather.

Boat was not overly warm. Wife calls it cold.

Club lounge was excellent. Seldom busy, most times varied food available. Wine often available too, and empty bottles replaced on request. On a future ovcasion I would not take/buy meals. Plenty here for “free”.

We got the inclusive dinner having booked before 20th Dec. Alllocated a time and seat in one of the main dining rooms. No choice about time/place (6:15 too early for us) but the same menu was provided in both restaurants. Food was amongst the best we have had on any ferry.

Boat arrived very early, I think.

 

[Rudski01]

Another review, first time on this route.

4 hours sitting in the queue to board. Served us right for arriving early, I suppose. Virtually last on board, around the scheduled departure time. So close to the side of the ship, we couldn’t open the habitation door, and could hardly open the front passenger door either.

Four berth outside club cabin was the best we could get. Extremely small, even for two. Chair, if you can call it that, was dangerous in rough weather.

Crossing was quite rough on the first night. Enough for stuff to slide off tables. Some broken plates etc though cannot blame BF for the weather.

Boat was not overly warm. Wife calls it cold.

Club lounge was excellent. Seldom busy, most times varied food available. Wine often available too, and empty bottles replaced on request. On a future ovcasion I would not take/buy meals. Plenty here for “free”.

We got the inclusive dinner having booked before 20th Dec. Alllocated a time and seat in one of the main dining rooms. No choice about time/place (6:15 too early for us) but the same menu was provided in both restaurants. Food was amongst the best we have had on any ferry.

Boat arrived very early, I think.

We tried booking the club lounge and it fully booked unfortunately, we didn’t know about it until we were speaking with friends who travel that route regularly so missed the boat (pun intended)

 

[Littlewheels]

We got the inclusive dinner having booked before 20th Dec. Alllocated a time and seat in one of the main dining rooms. No choice about time/place (6:15 too early for us) but the same menu was provided in both restaurants. Food was amongst the best we have had on any ferry.

Too early for us also l told reception on being told no option that l had never eaten that early in my life and was told turn up when you like,this l did and no one blinked got seated immediately.

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[ericonabike]

Fido says:
"I went on the Galicia last year. In a kennel, as no Fido cabins available. Really didn't like it. Only outdoor area was a narrow corridor that was dark and wasn't even supposed to have any seats on it. Had been on Pont Aven before, and that was great, with a really big outdoor space where the humans could sit in the sun. My humans didn't like it either, saying the Pont Aven had been like a short cruise, whereas the Galicia was like a long ferry trip. They managed to swap to the Pont Aven for the return trip."

 

[Augusta08]

We came back on the Galicia on Sunday......What a nightmare 4 hours to load at Santander sailed an hour late, the queues to get into the resturant were horrible. The food excellent, Service great, but a 40 minute queue to pay for the wine? Then 90 minutes wait from docking to passport control? Never again, Tunnel and drive down thru France next time.

 

[Eddieb]

Sailed on the Galicia last year - no probs - check in ok - off the ship in 10 minutes - Food excellent and did not mind us bringing our wine to the table - on time

 

[Hagstrom]

Same for us returning last March and out again last December. No delays, no queueing.

 

[Bluemooner]

We did the same ship 2 weeks ago to Spain all went well even enjoyed it

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[Augusta08]

I must have been unlucky, I got a SMS text from BF apologising for the delays. It says "Technical problems with the Border Force Systems"

 

[EuroTrotters]

We are booked on the other two Chinese sisters this year, But I’m thinking if delaying it.

 

[sciac2001]

On her now en route to Portsmouth. Rough passage but ship coping well.

Cabin smells of fumes.
Food choice awful
Price is typically monopolistic

(Why a French ferry company serves a uk/Spain route is disappointing. First Announcements are made in French for the …. Zero frenchies aboard.)

 

[Jonno1103]

On her now en route to Portsmouth. Rough passage but ship coping well.

Cabin smells of fumes.
Food choice awful
Price is typically monopolistic

(Why a French ferry company serves a uk/Spain route is disappointing. First Announcements are made in French for the …. Zero frenchies aboard.)

That's because the likes of Balearia know there's not really that much money to be made after they'd need to invest multi millions on tonnage capable of dealing with Atlantic swells with a 1000 pax capacity and 3000 lane metres capable of carrying 5m high freight vehicles over a 10-20 year period.

Plus there are no British owned ferry operators.

 

[sciac2001]

Thats why i say its disappointing. I fully understand why!

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[RobertJary]

On her now en route to Portsmouth. Rough passage but ship coping well.

Cabin smells of fumes.
Food choice awful
Price is typically monopolistic

(Why a French ferry company serves a uk/Spain route is disappointing. First Announcements are made in French for the …. Zero frenchies aboard.)

Have a look at our previous post #38. We suffered from diesel fumes so badly that we had to leave our cabin on the second day. We were not alone, a number of other passengers had to leave their cabins as well. We were all on deck 8 on the port side. That was in December 21 - I subsequently found complaints going back to March 21, just a few months after the Galicia started sailing with BF. We filled out a complaint form; that got lost - there was no record of it. Weve been told that the problem has been fixed. From your experience it hasn’t. Aparantly the diesel fumes come from an auxiliary generator and are dependent upon wind direction. We eventually got a voucher for a free cabin on our next crossing which we used on the Pont Aven. We’re not sailing on the Galicia again.

Food on the Galicia was awful. How they can serve such cr*p amazes me.

 

[Jonno1103]

Sadly it's something that the ferry travelling public will need to get used to as most of the fleet will be E-Flexers before 2030. Pont Aven, which again as a hull form is ill suited to her Spanish crossings and always has been, hasn't got long left sailing the Atlantic, she's done 19 years and BF don't have the money to spend over €200m to replace like for like. The consensus is that her onboard food offer is becoming just as crap.

Mind you for me the food has been rubbish for a decade... and I was heavily involved with the Brittany Ferries Enthusiast Forum. We shut the forum down for a reason.