facilities on Santander ferry (1 Viewer)

Welsh girl

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What do we need to take for our 26hr ferry please?
I'm taking phone charger and Terrys e cig charger with continental adaptor.
Does the outside cabin have tea making facilities, shower etc?
Can you take your own snacks etc?
Never done it before do were asking all you seasoned travellers for advice please.
:)
 

lorger

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Never done this one before but we always take stuff to eat on board as the prices can be extremely high, we will be getting the ferry home from Denmark to Harwich tomorrow and a meal on board is £34 per person. We will take the kettle and plug adapter so we can have tea and a pot noodle, will also take cereal on for brekkie.
 
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Welsh girl

Welsh girl

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Phew thats expensive. More than the crossing to Calais! !! Might take a few sarnies then and breakfast!!

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Which ferry operator, LD Lines or BF. Facilities on BF 'Pont Aven' are good with self service at reasonable prices. Cap Finistere not as good, coffee making facilities only in premium cabins but continental sockets in all cabins so take a kettle etc.
LD lines and BF Economie boats are more basic.
 

DBK

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Assuming you mean the BF ferry Pont Aven cabins have showers and loo, towels and soap but probably best to take some shampoo as the little sachets may not be enough. Electric sockets are two pin so you need an adapter for every electrical item you need to plug in at the same time. From memory there are two sockets. Never seen tea making facilities in any ferry or for that matter overseas hotel or B&B either.

You can certainly take your own snacks but you are going to be on there for 24 hours and there is no 'fridge in the cabin - or at least not in any I've been in. There are some premium cabins but they seem permanently booked up in my experience.

There is a waiter service restaurant which serves good food but it is not cheap but if you want to pretend you are on a luxury cruise why not give yourselves a treat? People form a long queue to book a table but unless you want to eat as soon as it opens (which some people do) you can wander in at 7:30 or 8:00 and there will be room without booking.

The self-service café serves good meals as well and I don't think the prices are outlandish. You can pay a lot more on the mainland for a meal.
 
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Welsh girl

Welsh girl

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It's Brittany ferries, don't know which boat yet but it's not the economie one.

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DBK

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Never done this one before but we always take stuff to eat on board as the prices can be extremely high, we will be getting the ferry home from Denmark to Harwich tomorrow and a meal on board is £34 per person. We will take the kettle and plug adapter so we can have tea and a pot noodle, will also take cereal on for brekkie.

Did you eat pot noodles in Norway! :D:D
 
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Welsh girl

Welsh girl

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Good idea. Might take the pot cereal breakfast and a kettle, without taking fresh milk if there's no fridge. Terry will have to have dried milk in his million cups of tea he drinks a day.:LOL:
 
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Welsh girl

Welsh girl

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:D By the way what does each smiley mean?
I can't see an explanation of a smiley on my 6 inch Android phone.so I don't know what v I'm saying except the first one which Is a smile. I think! !!
Don't use anything else ie a pc.

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Oct 30, 2008
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I have booked on the Santander ferry from Portsmouth sailing 22nd of this month on Cap Finistere. I used the same ferry last year. Facilities basic with wi-fi hit and miss, in fact poor most of the time! Take a good book and relax.
For drinks we took our own tea bags and just asked for hot water. It is costing us £550 for a one way crossing with a 6 meter van and an outside cabin for 2 people. More than I have ever payed before!
I had an e-mail last week from The Camping and Caravan Club to say they are giving 7% discount on sailings from September 1st! I am glad I have only booked one way.
 
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What do we need to take for our 26hr ferry please?
I'm taking phone charger and Terrys e cig charger with continental adaptor.
Does the outside cabin have tea making facilities, shower etc?
Can you take your own snacks etc?
Never done it before do were asking all you seasoned travellers for advice please.
:)
You will have to check if it is ok to use the ecigarette charger as they have now been banned in many institutions like NHS through being high risk fire hazard. A ferry is not a good place to have a fire hazard.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...shot-socket-charging-set-fire-bed-sheets.html
 

DBK

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:D By the way what does each smiley mean?
I wouldn't worry, just choose a face which you think suits the occasion. There is a way, by inserting the smiley then switch to the BB Code view (the button with a spanner) and you will get a hint of what it is supposed to be, but life is too short for this I think!

The internet on the ferry is free, the code to log on will be on your cabin "key" and it is OK for looking at e-mails, but struggles a bit beyond that.

Don't forget the whale and dolphin watching. They normally hold a free talk in the morning of your second day which is well worth going to. They are having specific whale watching events on these ferries, but there is whale watching guide on the ferry every trip outside of winter and early spring. Take warm coat and ideally binos if you want to try this. Whales are not common but dolphins are very possible.
  • 8th-10th and 15th-17th July
  • 12th-14th and 19th- 21st August
  • 9th-11th, 16th-18th and 23rd-25th September
If you go on the 16 - 18 September one you will have the delights of meeting Chris Packam who is coming as a guest speaker. :eek: or :)

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Last edited:
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Welsh girl

Welsh girl

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30th of September we've booked so will miss that boo hoo.
I would have like to see the whales and dolphins.
Thanks for the info on smileys. I won't let them give me sleepless nights lol.
 
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Welsh girl

Welsh girl

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You will have to check if it is ok to use the ecigarette charger as they have now been banned in many institutions like NHS through being high risk fire hazard. A ferry is not a good place to have a fire hazard.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...shot-socket-charging-set-fire-bed-sheets.html
Thanks for that info. Frightened me enough, have to get Terry to take heed.
I don't like the smell of them anyway. He and others say they are vapour but the 'vapour' still gets in my throat.
Will be an excuse to nag him about them.lol :blush:
 

DBK

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Terry will need to take warm clothing as he will only be allowed to smoke e-fags on deck. I guess you might get away with it in your cabin but they could come down on you like the proverbial if they found out. France is apparently moving to ban e-fags from all public places but I don't think it has happened yet. http://www.brittany-ferries.co.uk/faq/ships-and-ports/can-i-smoke-onboard

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Welsh girl

Welsh girl

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:LOL::giggle::mad:

Just hover your pointer over the smilies and the meaning will appear. (y)(y)

Thanks for the info. That does happen when i used to use my pc.Does not happen on my Android phone. When I hover with my finger it just asks me if I want to save the image. :)
 
Aug 18, 2011
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Treat yourself to breakfast on board....nice start to your holiday...BUSBY(y)

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mikebeaches

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The 'posh' French restaurant on board is popular for dinner, but quieter at lunch time. I think we had 2 courses for about £18 each, which isn't cheap - but it was very good quality and therefore felt it was reasonable value, especially as we had a window seat. We crossed Plymouth / Santander return on the Pont Aven April / May this year. Had a spacious cabin with large glazed patio doors and a private balcony - breakfast included and served in the room. Fridge with free soft drinks provided. Also a kettle and tea & coffee etc. The Commodore accommodation also has a private lounge, with more free tea and coffee. We were able to get wi-fi in our cabin, but probably more by luck (and the booster we use). Yes, it was all a tad expensive, but helped make for a really great start and end to the holiday. Also made the journey to southern Spain and Portugal easy and convenient.
 

moonman

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in answer to your question our inside cabin didn't have tea/coffee making facilities. We took a small travel kettle with conti plug and tea bags etc. There are numerous good self service cafes and bars on board but we also like to have a cuppa in our cabin. We treated ourselves on the outward trip to dinner in the French restaurant and were very disappointed both in quality and cost.
We sailed return on the Pont Aven earlier in the year for the second time in 10 years and I've decided I'm no sailor. Although the sea was calm on both legs I thought for a big ship she rolled about alot and I felt every pitch. I'll think I'll stick to driving.
 

Chris

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The 'posh' French restaurant on board is popular for dinner, but quieter at lunch time. I think we had 2 courses for about £18 each, which isn't cheap - but it was very good quality and therefore felt it was reasonable value, especially as we had a window seat. We crossed Plymouth / Santander return on the Pont Aven April / May this year. Had a spacious cabin with large glazed patio doors and a private balcony - breakfast included and served in the room. Fridge with free soft drinks provided. Also a kettle and tea & coffee etc. The Commodore accommodation also has a private lounge, with more free tea and coffee. We were able to get wi-fi in our cabin, but probably more by luck (and the booster we use). Yes, it was all a tad expensive, but helped make for a really great start and end to the holiday. Also made the journey to southern Spain and Portugal easy and convenient.

Where is the tea and coffee in the Commodore lounge?

I have spent many an hour in there in the early hours alone and busting for a coffee.

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mikebeaches

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The coffee machine was set up with cups, milk and sugar at the back of the lounge (ie opposite side of the room to all the observation windows looking over the stern of the ship).

Wonder if they clear it off during the middle of the night? I've only been there during the daytime. And the lounge is where our wi-fi was coming from, even though we could get it in the cabin.

Mike
 

Teasy2007

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We went last December and were disappointed with the facilities on board. This year we are going to take a travel kettle, snacks and the laptop with dvd's. Apart from walking Charlie we found it very boring and we have opted for the 'no frills' crossing this year so there will be even less facilities.

Ginny
 
Aug 18, 2011
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We went last December and were disappointed with the facilities on board. This year we are going to take a travel kettle, snacks and the laptop with dvd's. Apart from walking Charlie we found it very boring and we have opted for the 'no frills' crossing this year so there will be even less facilities.

Ginny

Swimming pool, bar , restaurant , whale watching.. cinema .cant think of any thing else i would need..BUSBY

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Aug 18, 2011
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We use Pont Aven and have a 4 berth cabin so we both have a lower bunk.We use the 'posh' restaurant for dinner and breakfast and spoil ourselves. (y)

Mike

The only way to do it....its nice to spoil yourselves...BUSBY...
 
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Welsh girl

Welsh girl

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It is Pont Avon and we've booked a 4 berth outside cabin. Should enjoy it hopefully. Thanks for all the input people! !!

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Chris

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I think breakfast on the Pont Aven is crap.

I hate those little French sausages.
 
Nov 13, 2013
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A few questions for anyone who has been on the economique crossing from Portsmouth to Santander .
Any advice on what should be taken on board to make the crossing bearable and enjoyable even, apart from the obvious couple of bottles and corkscrew (got those packed already) and a travel kettle and t-bags ?
We are booked on the Saturday 8th November BF economique sailing, any other funsters aboard that day ?
 

durhamahoy

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Hi,
Was thinking (hard work) about using this crossing next year. We are going to take our 2 dogs and was wondering can we? and do they stay in the van?
Many thanks for any help. It may be better to do the tunnel into France (quicker and easier on the doggies)

Steve

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