zuludelta

Some great videos here, from an American perspective, of the Pont Aven experience to Spain. Quite complementary but the guy was disappointed to haul himself up to Deck 10 only to discover there was no bar there! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRJpESKki18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxN-rEmn9_k

Are BF's Spanish routes normally this busy in January / Feb?

I noticed this too. This guy posted up a recent Bilbao to Portsmouth crossing on BDS. Go to 9:50 - that car deck is chock-o-block. Looks like a crossing in early August not late January. Is there some sort of last-trip-to-Europe-before-Brexit trend going on?

Just looking at those pics posted by Tony. That "blue stripe" design is very similar to the one which as used by Pride of Bilbao in her early days. http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=25744

That is really nice cash injection for BF - well deserved me thinks. It's a shame they never got the whole £108m!

I've seen that trend. If Waterstones buys up an independent bookshop. More likely than not, they will keep the existing branding. Likewise, I think this trend has been going on in the UK pub trade for a long time. A pub bought out by a chain won't lose its original name in order to preserve its character. True. When speaking to tourists about France, they will often say how they loved the whole experience of visiting boulangerie or epercerie shops. Rarely, you will find people saying "gosh, I really missed Tesco Express and Greggs". (Incidentally, Carrefour Express seems to becoming the de facto grocery store in a lot of small towns in France). This increasing corporatisation of France certainly removes some of the country's charm as a tourist destination.

It's quite ironic. For years a lot of the big hotel chains relied on this "big corporate" and highly integrated branding as key competitive advantage for them. Now with the millenials coming on stream as customers - this "big corporate" look just looks bland, boring and well...too corporate. As a result a lot of these hotel chains have set up separate brands (Aloft and Moxy come to mind) with more "character" while downplaying the corporate look and feel. BF seem to be going to be going in the opposite direction. And this is a shame because the story behind BF is amazing. (For branding purposes, others companies would cut their arm off to have a story of how a humble farmer had a vision for company and against all odds succeeded.). And, for me, one of the unique things about the company is you never really get that bland corporate vibe that you get on lines like Stena. This is the wrong wrong direction of BF!

I totally agree with this. And I'm sure BF could argue that there needs to be "integrated look" across the fleet. And yes, this is true to a certain extent. But the stripes on Bretagne's front super-structure made her a classy-looking ship and very contemporary even in 2018. Removing those front strips just makes her look her age. Actually removing them makes her look about 20 years older.

The reason I said they are going for the minimalist look is primarily because their ships will no longer have those blue and orange strips down the side. I agree with you that the old BF logo in standalone mode does look cleaner and more minimalist. However, once you apply the new design to their ships, it's a more minimalist look compared to the previous design.

I know where you're coming from Quib...for me those blue and orange stripes were quintessential BF but things move on, alas. This minimalist look is currently en vogue for most corporate rebranding efforts and I guess BF are no different in having to change with the times. But, whatever happens, most of us know underneath BF is still a little bit special.

Super U logo anyone? http://charleneguitter.ultra-book.com/super_u-p102139

What a shame☹️. 5 minute walk from centre of the city to the terminal made Santander port truely unique. Ships docking so near the centre really added to the character of the city.

Yeah that was for the passing cruise ships, container ships and oil tankers. Passengers and crew on these vessels could go to each "Quick note down the website address of that company...we''ll book with them next year". "At-sea" advertising could be the next big thing...before you know it, you might have a DFS sale advertisement on the starboard side of the PA and an advert for SportDirect.com on port side. Actually, joking aside. This does actually happen. http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2502296

I think the thinking behind that might come from here: https://www.irishferries.com/ie-en/special-offers-from-britain-to-ireland/tesco-tokens/

The Brittany Ferries (Mark II) logo is still doing the rounds and not always onboard or in terminals. I was over-nighting at a hotel in deepest Spain in 2017 and came across this gem!