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Subject Topic: Santander or Bilboa to Portsmouth Post Reply Post New Topic
Personpaul.jolley
19/7/2021 at 2:30pm
 Location: Surrey
 Outfit: De Waard V. Zilverme View paul.jolley's Profile View Profile   Reply to paul.jolley Reply   Quote paul.jolley Quote  
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We've been getting the tunnel over to France for the last few years, but we now take a long trailer (8.5M) and the drive down to Bordeaux over two days is gruelling.

This year we're trying the overnight Portsmouth/Caen ferry to try and make the journey easier and I was considering returning via Santander or Bilboa to Portsmouth - passage time looks broadly the same, but Bilboa is closer to our campsite near Bordeaux.

I found an earlier post (2019) which indicated that the Bilboa ships were inferior to the Santander ships - has anyone tried the Bilboa route?


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Personbarry915
19/7/2021 at 3:08pm
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We have done both and actually prefer the Bilbao ship as it’s a bit smaller. The Santander ship was larger and did have more going on.
There is a new ship now and I believe there is a recent post giving a review.
The Bilbao route has several sailings and one of those is for 2 nights on board hence a slightly longer crossing time
I would have a look on the Brittany ferries website as it does have information regarding the ships

-------------
Basa


PersonNetherton
19/7/2021 at 3:20pm
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I can’t help you with the sailings to Spain, but take care when choosing the overnight sailing to Caen. On six days out of seven they play wake up music at 5 a.m. UK time and start announcing Please vacate your cabins soon after that. But Tuesday nights are better. You get an extra hour in bed.


Personchrisandsandra
19/7/2021 at 4:01pm
 Location: Somerset
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Quote: Originally posted by Netherton on 19/7/2021
I can’t help you with the sailings to Spain, but take care when choosing the overnight sailing to Caen. On six days out of seven they play wake up music at 5 a.m. UK time and start announcing Please vacate your cabins soon after that. But Tuesday nights are better. You get an extra hour in bed.


Brittany Ferries always play the 'wake up' call an hour before you are due to disembark, no matter what route.

Their website explains

"When do I have to vacate my cabin?
You must leave your cabin 30 minutes before the ship's arrival in your destination port. An alarm call will be played in your cabin approximately 1 hour before your arrival time.

It is essential that you've left your cabin in order to prevent delays in disembarkation caused by unattended vehicles."


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PersonNetherton
19/7/2021 at 4:08pm
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Even worse than the 5 a.m I mentioned - so the wake up music on six days out of seven is at 4.45 a.m UK time . The day time crossings seem more attractive .


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Personchrisandsandra
19/7/2021 at 4:40pm
 Location: Somerset
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Quote: Originally posted by paul.jolley on 19/7/2021
We've been getting the tunnel over to France for the last few years, but we now take a long trailer (8.5M) and the drive down to Bordeaux over two days is gruelling.

This year we're trying the overnight Portsmouth/Caen ferry to try and make the journey easier and I was considering returning via Santander or Bilboa to Portsmouth - passage time looks broadly the same, but Bilboa is closer to our campsite near Bordeaux.

I found an earlier post (2019) which indicated that the Bilboa ships were inferior to the Santander ships - has anyone tried the Bilboa route?




The Santander route this year is being done by BFs new ship the Galicia. I've not been on it but it was designed for the longer Spain routes and has a lot of facilities.

The Bilbao route is being done by the Cap Finistere which is smaller but still has a good facilities. A perfectly nice ship. One drawback is that sometimes on busy crossings a small number of vehicles are parked on the outside deck on deck 5.

Although prices on both routes look the same check what they are when cabins are booked, if you intend to book them. The Galicia cabins have much better facilities but are, I suspect, more costly, especially as there are no 2 berth cabins so you have to book a four berth. Also note is that the price for Santander crossing includes a breakfast and a dinner for each passenger on the price but you have a choice of whether or not to take take and pay for them on the Bilbao route.

As an aside the distance and driving time between Bordeaux and Santander/Bilbao is not that much less than that between Bordeaux and St Malo but the fare from St Malo is cheaper so that may be another option.


Personbarry915
19/7/2021 at 8:56pm
 Location: london
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Last time we used the cap finistere the MH was on the outside at the stern.
When we arrived in Spain the vehicles were covered in a type of soot from the funnel but the crew hoses all the vehicles down so there was no damage.
At the earliest convenient time we hosed the entire mh down to remove any salt and soot
If you end up on the outside you have no option but to accept it

-------------
Basa


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Personpaul.jolley
20/7/2021 at 6:13pm
 Location: Surrey
 Outfit: De Waard V. Zilverme View paul.jolley's Profile View Profile   Reply to paul.jolley Reply   Quote paul.jolley Quote  
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Thanks guys - Bilbao has increased by £300 since I looked at the weekend, so too expensive now.

Saint-Malo is an interesting alternative to Caen for inbound (timings look more favourable - 8-45AM arrival in France), but I didn't see overnight options on the return to the UK.

I compared the journey times to Bordeaux and Saint-Malo is around 60mins quicker and is not on a route into Paris, which might reduce congestion.


Personchrisandsandra
20/7/2021 at 7:19pm
 Location: Somerset
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The port at St Malo is subject to high tidal ranges so there are very few overnights on the way back as the tide times don't allow it.

The day crossing isn't too bad at all, especially if you get a cabin which are considerably cheaper during the day.

There's an overnight crossing from Caen every night which is about a 6 hour drive from Bordeaux and from Cherbourg, Monday nights only, but quite honestly the drive up that peninsular is a bit of a drag and would take about 7 hours from Bordeaux, The advantage of both though is that you avoid Paris.


If you do decide to use Brittany Ferries give me a shout and I can let you have my Club code that will get you 10% off the crossing only (not any accommodation) which might help soften the blow.


Personpaul.jolley
21/7/2021 at 12:48pm
 Location: Surrey
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Based on the advice above, I've changed the booking so we are now using Portsmouth Saint-Malo outbound and Caen/Portsmouth inbound.

The Saint-Malo times look more civilised and same around 100KM to Bordeaux.


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Personchrisandsandra
21/7/2021 at 2:13pm
 Location: Somerset
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Glad you are sorted Paul. Enjoy your holiday.


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