Cap Finistere!!

[South_Wales_Lady]

Just came back from Bilbao on the Cap Finistere. We've been on loads of ferries and normally I like all Brittany Ferries boats but I have to say the Cap Finistere is the poorest design I've ever seen. In our case, going onto the boat was via quite a high ramp leading straight to a narrow steep lane onto a higher deck. Straight down the deck, then turn full circle to go all the way back down the other side - and yes we ended up in the front row exposed to the elements for the duration. Then on disembarking, full circle again (past a car whose driver hadn't quite turned full enough circle and was busy filling in accident forms) to go back down the other side and off what seemed an even steeper ramp - enough for the caravan in front of us to ground out and for us to take the exit on an angle to avoid the same. As if that wasn't bad enough, there's no self-service cafeteria on board, instead there's a bistro-type cafe on deck 10, open air so that it's either too hot or too cold, dependng on the season. Then there's Le Petit Marche, which is really a little food supermarket for quick food, plus of course the expensive a la carte restaurant. The shop is tiny for this size of ship with very poor selection of anything and too cramped even on a quiet November sailing. Finally, if you want to take a stroll on deck and watch the boat going in and coming out, or if the weather's kind and you want to sit outside and get some rays, forget it - the only place you can go outside is in the lung-challenging Smokers Alley. When I book a ferry from BF in future I'll be paying close attention as to what ship is scheduled, the economy crossing is beginning to look much more attractive for more than just cost.

 

[Mikeco]

We always book the Pont Aven, booked it to go back from Spain at the end of March and also for next September from Plymouth to Santander.

 

[Larrynwin]

I agree, we boarded with the RV in my avatar which is wider than eurovans , I had to pull in mirrors and drive up the ramp virtually blind to the rear and when turning at the top I had to shuffle as the RV had a terrible turning circle

 

[Barclaybasher]

Just came back from Bilbao on the Cap Finistere. We've been on loads of ferries and normally I like all Brittany Ferries boats but I have to say the Cap Finistere is the poorest design I've ever seen. In our case, going onto the boat was via quite a high ramp leading straight to a narrow steep lane onto a higher deck. Straight down the deck, then turn full circle to go all the way back down the other side - and yes we ended up in the front row exposed to the elements for the duration. Then on disembarking, full circle again (past a car whose driver hadn't quite turned full enough circle and was busy filling in accident forms) to go back down the other side and off what seemed an even steeper ramp - enough for the caravan in front of us to ground out and for us to take the exit on an angle to avoid the same. As if that wasn't bad enough, there's no self-service cafeteria on board, instead there's a bistro-type cafe on deck 10, open air so that it's either too hot or too cold, dependng on the season. Then there's Le Petit Marche, which is really a little food supermarket for quick food, plus of course the expensive a la carte restaurant. The shop is tiny for this size of ship with very poor selection of anything and too cramped even on a quiet November sailing. Finally, if you want to take a stroll on deck and watch the boat going in and coming out, or if the weather's kind and you want to sit outside and get some rays, forget it - the only place you can go outside is in the lung-challenging Smokers Alley. When I book a ferry from BF in future I'll be paying close attention as to what ship is scheduled, the economy crossing is beginning to look much more attractive for more than just cost.

Been on Cap Finistere more than a few times, no ferry is perfect but the food is OK, no worse than other ferries.

Yes smokers go outside, there is nothing much to see outside much of the time anyway

I book the trip that fits my schedule, not the facilities - better than driving through France just to get to Spain

 

[South_Wales_Lady]

We always book the Pont Aven, booked it to go back from Spain at the end of March and also for next September from Plymouth to Santander.

Pont Aven's definetly a much nicer ship.

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[Chris]

It’s a shit boat that I refuse to use.

 

[South_Wales_Lady]

the food is OK

To be fair, the food is indeed okay - we had pizza and chips from the deck 10 cafe and it was very tasty (we did have to take them down to deck 7 to eat them though because it was too cold upstairs). And the tea was £1.60, which is not a rip-off price. Plus all the staff we had dealings with were very pleasant and friendly.

I book the trip that fits my schedule, not the facilities

So do I usually. It takes a lot for me to not do that, and maybe if we haven't got any flexibility in our schedule then we may be forced to brave the Cap Finistere again. But I really didn't like this ship and given that it's sch a long crossing I will certainly do all I can to avoid this particular ship in future, if I possibly can.

 

[2657]

I quite like the Cap Finistere, it's a boat that gets me from A to B in reasonable comfort, if its at all bouncy we spend most of the time lying down in the cabin anyway.

The lack of a self service restaurant is circumvented by us taking our own prepared meals on board, chilli or spag bol etc and using the microwaves provided for the food from the Petit Marché and of course our own kettle.......and wine

Good breakfast in the posh restaurant courtesy of Club Voyage or stock up from the shop.

 

[Barclaybasher]

To be fair, the food is indeed okay - we had pizza and chips from the deck 10 cafe and it was very tasty (we did have to take them down to deck 7 to eat them though because it was too cold upstairs). And the tea was £1.60, which is not a rip-off price. Plus all the staff we had dealings with were very pleasant and friendly.
So do I usually. It takes a lot for me to not do that, and maybe if we haven't got any flexibility in our schedule then we may be forced to brave the Cap Finistere again. But I really didn't like this ship and given that it's sch a long crossing I will certainly do all I can to avoid this particular ship in future, if I possibly can.

Had the beef stew and fish and chips, reasonable prices and friendly crew - always take my 220v kettle and tea bags

If you want a really basic ferry try Barcelona to Mallorca........ and the weather (sea) can be even worse than Biscay

 

[bellabee]

The Pont Aven is much nicer, but Cap Finistere has pet-friendly cabins, so we use it.

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[Barclaybasher]

The Pont Aven is much nicer, but Cap Finistere has pet-friendly cabins, so we use it.

And you can see the dogs being exercised on deck 10 after eating

 

[South_Wales_Lady]

The lack of a self service restaurant is circumvented by us taking our own prepared meals on board, chilli or spag bol etc and using the microwaves provided

Now that's a good idea!

 

[hilldweller]

on a quiet November sailing. .

Try a rough Feb crossing, oh boy can that boat rock and roll.

But it is cheap.

 

[Tea Bag]

Hi.
Daughter to me."I have booked you on the economy sailing as it is going at the right time" Me,not sailor of the year. " What is economic about it ? Her. "You don't get a mat in your cabin thats all"
I have posted this before,it is only HALF a ship/boat..SCOW! It weighs in at a fraction of the Pont Avens weight,so if you carpeted it outside,inside and UNDER WATER it would not get near its big sisters weight. The unit was outside and got a nice Wax... NO! Oiled coat? YES from the funnels exhausts.
To be fair,it BUTTED its way up from Spain,i was quite expecting it to be about 40ft. shorter,and dumped us safely,in a part of the docks well away from proper Sea going vessels. Would i use this form of transport again ?
SANEF TAG !! To Cap Whatever
Tea Bag

 

[Tincataylor]

We treat ferry crossings as part of our tour adventure and look forward the experience. We have been on both Pont Avon and Cap Finisterre and have found both to be fit for purpose. Our biggest complain pertains to both ships: loads of food items are sold on board in plastic containers but the company has zero recycling. When we brought this up to senior staff all we got was a gallic shrug........................

The Tincas

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[BILL 875]

Booked on CF in jan to Spain really looking forward to it now
Bill

 

[Sundowners]

We came back on the Baie de Seine on Tuesday to Portsmouth. It had been delayed a day due to bad weather. OMG couldn’t leave the cabin as it was so rough, only to take the dog to exercise area. Poor dog was sliding accross the room and back again on his bed, he didn’t know what was going on.

Its only for 24 hours, we take whichever has a dog friendly cabin. To us its just a means to get from A to B.

We also take all our own food and drinks, this time didn’t get much down. Back on it again a week today, hope its a bit smoother.

 

[Northernraider]

Hi.
Daughter to me."I have booked you on the economy sailing as it is going at the right time" Me,not sailor of the year. " What is economic about it ? Her. "You don't get a mat in your cabin thats all"
I have posted this before,it is only HALF a ship/boat..SCOW! It weighs in at a fraction of the Pont Avens weight,so if you carpeted it outside,inside and UNDER WATER it would not get near its big sisters weight. The unit was outside and got a nice Wax... NO! Oiled coat? YES from the funnels exhausts.
To be fair,it BUTTED its way up from Spain,i was quite expecting it to be about 40ft. shorter,and dumped us safely,in a part of the docks well away from proper Sea going vessels. Would i use this form of transport again ?
SANEF TAG !! To Cap Whatever
Tea Bag

Have you been on the sherry ?
I've read that 3 times and I'm still confused

 

[2657]

Booked on CF in jan to Spain really looking forward to it now
Bill

CF is a nice boat, comfortable cabins, lack of a self service restaurant is a negative but we make other arrangements.

I have been on the CF and Pont Aven in rough weather, no noticeable difference as far as I can tell, I am not a good sailor and if it's rough I lie down.

Never had any problems with access up the ramps, a few vehicles are in the open but not many compared to the overall capacity.

 

[zac]

Just came back from Bilbao on the Cap Finistere. We've been on loads of ferries and normally I like all Brittany Ferries boats but I have to say the Cap Finistere is the poorest design I've ever seen. In our case, going onto the boat was via quite a high ramp leading straight to a narrow steep lane onto a higher deck. Straight down the deck, then turn full circle to go all the way back down the other side - and yes we ended up in the front row exposed to the elements for the duration. Then on disembarking, full circle again (past a car whose driver hadn't quite turned full enough circle and was busy filling in accident forms) to go back down the other side and off what seemed an even steeper ramp - enough for the caravan in front of us to ground out and for us to take the exit on an angle to avoid the same. As if that wasn't bad enough, there's no self-service cafeteria on board, instead there's a bistro-type cafe on deck 10, open air so that it's either too hot or too cold, dependng on the season. Then there's Le Petit Marche, which is really a little food supermarket for quick food, plus of course the expensive a la carte restaurant. The shop is tiny for this size of ship with very poor selection of anything and too cramped even on a quiet November sailing. Finally, if you want to take a stroll on deck and watch the boat going in and coming out, or if the weather's kind and you want to sit outside and get some rays, forget it - the only place you can go outside is in the lung-challenging Smokers Alley. When I book a ferry from BF in future I'll be paying close attention as to what ship is scheduled, the economy crossing is beginning to look much more attractive for more than just cost.

Couldn't agree more, we have done this crossing for the last 4 years at Xmas and i dread it. Going again this year as when we book it always comes up with this boat being the shortest time. The food is atrocious so we now normally take our own but the worst part is loading and unloading. There is always somebody that just cannot drive and gets stuck. To be fair it is a difficult loading and unloading process but after being on there for that long all i want to do is get off. I wish i had more time off work as i would definitely just go down through France.

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[2657]

Couldn't agree more, we have done this crossing for the last 4 years at Xmas and i dread it. Going again this year as when we book it always comes up with this boat being the shortest time. The food is atrocious so we now normally take our own but the worst part is loading and unloading. There is always somebody that just cannot drive and gets stuck. To be fair it is a difficult loading and unloading process but after being on there for that long all i want to do is get off. I wish i had more time off work as i would definitely just go down through France.

Seems to me that it is the crossing that you dislike rather than the specific boat, I have been on lots of boats with various outfits, caravan,5'er on various cross channel routes, Biscay, Mediterranean and I can assure you that the CF is well up the list of good experiences.

If the weather is bad the crossing is bad!

 

[gus-lopez]

Have you been on the sherry ?
I've read that 3 times and I'm still confused

He drives now.Sanef tag .toll roads. flat out.

 

[EuroTrotters]

I think you may have been boarding the Cap we disembarked on Wednesday ?. Did you sail Bilbao - Plymouth ?. Cap Finistere was heading to Plymouth for essential Maintenance.

I like Cap Finistere.

Yes, Pont Aven is nice. The Balcony Cabins are the best, but I wont pay £325 for one night in higher seasons. It is rarely on the routes or dates we require. I also do like the Le Flora Restaurant. But, I do think Pont Aven is over rated. I don't like a lot about it. It has also been unreliable on a couple of our trips. With BF compensating us quite generously for delays.

Cap Finistere is okay. The Restaurant du Port is good quality food. We sailed on her last week. Eating Croque Monsier for lunch. Crab Starter and Salmon for dinner. The lifts to the car decks are a pain in the 4rse. They tell you on the outside of some lift it goes to deck 5 blue, you get in and it does not go there!. I like the planets bar at the stern.

Baie De Sein is okay. We book a Comodore cabin at the back of the ship and self cater.

I refuse to sail on Etretat. That really is sh1te. If you read the reliability of the ship and go into the depths of its maintenance issues. You can see why a few times its been anchored up.

The Spanish routes are crying out for those two new Chinese Vessels. I just hope they get it right. Some months, I make the crossings four times. This coming winter, we are making alternative travel arrangements as Cap Finistere and Pont Aven are out. Leaving Just the Economie Ferry Service.

 

[rangi]

Our first trip over was on the Duc de Normandie. The voyage took 8 1/2 hours instead of the 6 1/2 it was supposed to do.

It punched through every wave, and as the sea was running to the Port 1/4 she had this corkscrew motion about her, sort of arse up bow down, then a wriggle to starboard finishing with a super slide the other way as the bow rose up and the arse went down.

 

[zac]

Seems to me that it is the crossing that you dislike rather than the specific boat, I have been on lots of boats with various outfits, caravan,5'er on various cross channel routes, Biscay, Mediterranean and I can assure you that the CF is well up the list of good experiences.

If the weather is bad the crossing is bad!

Partially correct, i hate the crossing as well but lesser of two evils i am afraid as if not for limited time off i wouldn't go anywhere near this boat/crossing. Roll on retirement if i make it

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[Barclaybasher]

Drive down to Portsmouth or Plymouth on a Sunday afternoon, check in, relax, get to Northern Spain Tuesday morning fresh - can't beat it

 

[ymfb]

Personally I like the Cap Finistere, I’ve been on it at least six times, there are as far as I recall two self service restaurants, one for truck drivers and another on deck ten.

However the food in the two restaurants is excellent and we have not bothered with the self service, in part to soak up as much time as possible.

Two improvements I would suggest are update some of the furniture in the public areas which is a tad tired. Second is the sandwiches are not great in the snack shop.

 

[ymfb]

The best ferry restaurant I’ve been on is Caen to Portsmouth Route, fairly sure its the Mont St Michel where they have one of the best buffets.

 

[Northernraider]

I thought the cap finestre was ok to be honest. I nearly ended up on the open deck which isn't ideal but I escaped it mostly.

The food i found ok but as I was sick as a dog I didn't eat much of it.
My biggest gripe was trying to find a toilet between decks 10 and 7 and as a result I threw up all down the stairs and along the corridor.

Staff were very helpful and gave me another room while they cleaned up the mess I'd made in the first one.

Sea legs aren't very good sadly.

 

[MikeD]

We travel on either the CP or PA four times a year.

For us CP likes to rock and roll a bit so on our March and November crossing we always try to get on the PA.

Do not go for the posh cabins in the CF as they are at the front of the boat and bob up and down even on quite gentle seas.

Restaurants on both are ok but in my opinion a bit expensive with regard to the quality of the food.

On the CF our PVC was white with salt on the March crossing this year (we were about 20ft inside from the open deck area). But the huge snow storm and driving rain as we drove across Spain sorted that out.

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