flyboyprowler Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 A little winge really! I recently tried to book an economy crossing from Bilbao to Portsmouth, only to find that after doing all the booking, we were rejected and told to contact customer services. The resulting call finds that motorhomes with pets are not allowed to travel on the new ship (the Baie de Seine), as there is no lift to take passengers with pet up to the cabins. This only applies to the new economy vessel, the first one,(the Etretrat) is apparently still all right! Bit miffed as our pooch only weighs in at 8 kgs, and I would have been pleased to carry him up! So it cost an extra 100+ squids to take the normal cruise. Thumbs down for Brittany! >:-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Excellent rant, take note Brittany >:-( >:-( >:-( Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 When we went on the etretat in January the lift wasn't working anyway. So we were taken up the stairs to our dog friendly cabins. I think we'll drive down next year as it's not worth the hassle and not inconsiderable expense with Brittany Ferries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikerBarry Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 We used the Etratat in January and it was terrible. The beds were knackered, several vehicles suffered damage whilst unloading, the ship is tatty, and on the trip back the thing broke down when an engine failed. The crossing was very rough too. Afterwards we said 'never again' as far as the Eratat is concerned, but that route does get you there quickly. If not so quick coming back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 flyboyprowler - 2015-05-19 5:56 PM A little winge really! I recently tried to book an economy crossing from Bilbao to Portsmouth, only to find that after doing all the booking, we were rejected and told to contact customer services. The resulting call finds that motorhomes with pets are not allowed to travel on the new ship (the Baie de Seine), as there is no lift to take passengers with pet up to the cabins. This only applies to the new economy vessel, the first one,(the Etretrat) is apparently still all right! Bit miffed as our pooch only weighs in at 8 kgs, and I would have been pleased to carry him up! So it cost an extra 100+ squids to take the normal cruise. Thumbs down for Brittany! >:-( That seems a bit stupid when they are selling 'Pet friendly cabins' on the booking pages *-) *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeddykay Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Two comments which may be generally helpful in making choices: we took outbound from Portsmouth to Bilbao it seemed all camper vans and motorhomes were being checked for length. Used " cruise ferry" and found the whole experience very good indeed. Money well spent to avoid the drive through France! Used economie back from Santander due to date being convenient. Saving was relatively minor, but the ship Etretat was seriously inferior. Although Brittany Ferries try to make clear that it is a no frills experience in their publicity, it is a very poor way to end a holiday and it is still pretty expensive and it is a very basic vessel. Additionally, Green Spain and the Picos mountains are stunning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyboyprowler Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 So, just returned from Spain on the "cruise" and had a good calm crossing. Made better as friends were also travelling back, so enjoyed a good dinner in their company. We needed to change the sailing date to a few days later, but could only get a kennel for Harvey, (he gets MEGA stressed in a kennel!) Kept looking, and was able to upgrade to a dog friendly cabin a week before the sailing, but paid full fare as I didn't have the old booking details at the time. We were charged a £35.00 cancellation fee, which I queried with Brittany, and the upshot being that this was refunded, along with the full kennel fare. So certainly in this instance I am happy with Brittany at the moment!! Returning to Spain again on the 17th June and again looking to change to a later date. We will see how that goes!! (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tea Cup Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Having just returned from a very windy and turbulent crossing from Le Havre on the Baie de Seine, it's a reasonable ship, there seems to be very many cabins so perhaps they could drop the cost for these. But it is not great in those conditions. The savings are not great, and since you cannot choose the weather when you book, it's a bit of a gamble.But I'm always looking for the cheapest deal so chances are I'll be going back on it later in the year. But I don't think I'd choose it for going to Spain. Bay of Biscay, etc .... No way. And there are lifts toward the bow, they seem OK, don't see that the dogs would object. And there's a dog walking area on one of the decks. Why have a dog walking area but not allow dogs in the lift? It's a bit strange, that rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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