VikingVoyager

I like the Zeebrugge pair a lot and i think they compare very favourably to the ships I've sailed on in the current BF fleet (PA and MSM). We sailed out to Zeebrugge last year and returned via Rotterdam. There are a few more facilities on the larger boats but we preferred the old pair. An 11am meeting in Manchester could be a push though, so I would opt for Rotterdam in this case.

I think I must be a weirdo as I really like how Amorique looks. Nothing wrong with Tor Brittania either though!

I guess it's in the eye of the beholder, she's always looked a little short to me. I was comparing her to the likes of Pride of Bruges / York, the Olau twins and most of the Baltic cruise ferries of that era

Out of interest, why is she so dumpy looking? Was there a limitation on her length?

To pick up the one from Bretagne?

You've got to feel for the deck crew though - all those diesel engines chucking out stuff as they shuffle backwards and forwards..

For me, BF have resolved the matter adequately so far (assuming that they have checked the other cabins and put measures in place). I think everyone agrees that the mattress was unacceptable and hardly likely to have been made up -proved, I suggest by BF's admission. No matter how awful she was to the staff, that should have been put right without pontification / protest and it seems that may not have been the case (there's nothing in the BF statement about what degree of prompting was required before an alternative was found and also nothing on the state of the alternative so both of those items are only up for speculation). How people chose to complain is up to them - Social Media can be incredibly effective. It wouldn't be my first port of call but maybe if I'd got nowhere face to face with the company in question I'd give it a go.

Apologies if it was meant as a joke as I clearly missed the funny side.

I don't think I was putting words in people's mouths. Paully seemed to suggest that there could be another side to this, I'm just wondering what that might be. I can only think of the whole incident being a total fabrication or just the descriptive part (i.e. the exchange between the customer and the crew). It seems like a fair question to ask which Paully had in mind.

These phrases spring to mind: "but what do you expect if you want to share your bed with animals" "Probably upset as a blogger that she had to pay for a crossing" Then all of the posts that appear to suggest that if you complain in a certain way then you can expect poor treatment.

Ah, so you think she either faked the pictures or made up the responses of the crew?

I find it pretty surprising how many people seem to be excusing what happened here, even seeking to discredit the reviewer by suggesting she was upset because she had to pay - that's a Trump tactic. Even if she complained in the worst way, there is no excuse for the state of the cabin or how she was treated.

Great report and Seven Sisters certainly looks a lot nicer than Etretat, shame it's not for sale!

It sounds like she isn't having the best of times PR wise, down on the southern ocean: http://www.3news.co.nz/Stena-Alegra-out-of-action-again/tabid/423/articleID/343550/Default.aspx

Re: Future of Bretagne.... And which would that be? Barfleur: 3 years newer, twice as many lanemetres (can that be right?), more adaptable(?), much better looking (!) Bretagne: Excellent passenger ship, bunch of fanatical passengers who will probably take a trip on her once a year even if she transfers to the Baku to Aktau route http://http://caravanistan.com/transport/caspian-sea-ferry/