ccs147 Posted October 7 Share Posted October 7 Couple of the Val at Cork 30th May 1998 with QE2 at the deep water berth Outward bound passing Roches Point Lighthouse in August 1999 12 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 Thanks for sharing these! Still the finest ship BF ever let go of. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
colinschandler Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 14 minutes ago, Andy said: Thanks for sharing these! Still the finest ship BF ever let go of. Agree with you there Andy. Many pleasant summer Sunday afternoon sailings from Plymouth sitting on deck with a cold beer and the smell of slowly roasting Lamb Gargantua drifting up from the galley 1 Link to post Share on other sites
daves_pad! Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 I Loved the Val De Loire & Quiberon serving Plymouth well with distinction in my childhood, The two vessels were probably the cause of my affection with BF & Sea travel.... That was a vintage period when the BF product and service was top notch! Mind you, in the 80’s till early 00’s, Brittany Ferries actually valued their customers unlike nowadays! 2 Link to post Share on other sites
colin Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 I never understood many of our members' love of VdL. I found her claustrophobic and lacking an individual style and character. To my eye she also looked pretty ugly. Notoriously hard to park in strong crosswinds too ... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
PGTV Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 I vaguely remember sailing on her in late 90s as a kid Didnt she have cabins below the car deck/water line? I’m pretty sure I remember travelling through corridors that were water tight ones. Remember mum saying if the ship would sink, we be locked down there...? Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 37 minutes ago, PGTV said: I vaguely remember sailing on her in late 90s as a kid Didnt she have cabins below the car deck/water line? I’m pretty sure I remember travelling through corridors that were water tight ones. Remember mum saying if the ship would sink, we be locked down there...? Yes she did, on decks 1 & 2, much like the Bretagne still does today. There are plenty of stairwells and lift access though! Link to post Share on other sites
colin Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 Didn't she have a pool in her bowels as well? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
ross brown Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 Yes she did have a pool and Gym Colin remember being down there loads as a kid I think it was deck 1 or 2. Link to post Share on other sites
PGTV Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 13 minutes ago, colin said: Didn't she have a pool in her bowels as well? I think she did. Makes you wonder how they got away with it - surely having cabins below the waterline cannot be legal these days. The pool I think was turned into a cinema with the new owners. Link to post Share on other sites
daves_pad! Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 1 hour ago, colin said: Didn't she have a pool in her bowels as well? Yeah > on Deck 1, next to the cinema.... The pool (or fitness centre?) had a small gym with male/female sauna. The ‘gym’ from memory only Consisted of a rusty exercise bike & a bench press with no weights 😂 oh, the memories 😂 Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan_H Posted October 12 Share Posted October 12 Would I be right in saying that she has actually spent most of her career with DFDS - 14 years now I think? This ship probably truly started my fascination for ferries, as I was lucky enough to sail on her to Spain with my family as a 10-year-old in Summer 1993. I still have a copy of the special anniversary book somewhere which my mum bought for me from the shop (I think it may be in my parents attic!). Seem to recall it was hardback and called 'from the land to the sea' or something like that. I like what she has become with DFDS but I think her original incarnation, and everything BF did with her, was hard to better. Link to post Share on other sites
Le Quiberon Posted October 12 Share Posted October 12 I was absolutely fascinated by her in my youth but sadly never got the chance to sail on her in BF colours, although I have in recent years under the guise of 'King Seaways.' There was a huge media frenzy when she joined the fleet in '93 and she was in the headlines so often as she was involved in so many controversial incidents, from grounding in Plymouth port, the failed ETA bombing (which would have been catastrophic) and numerous MOB's as well as staring on the TV documentary 'Ferry Tales.' Its hard to believe she only weighs in at 31000 GT she looks and feels so much bigger. I always felt she looked her best in that classic BF livery (the previous one to the current was introduced just as she left the fleet) - as I have said many times the 'Brittany Ferries' typeface and logo was absolutely huge and looked so intimidating. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted October 13 Share Posted October 13 On 10/10/2020 at 18:49, daves_pad! said: Yeah > on Deck 1, next to the cinema.... The pool (or fitness centre?) had a small gym with male/female sauna. The ‘gym’ from memory only Consisted of a rusty exercise bike & a bench press with no weights 😂 oh, the memories 😂 First mini-cruise to Spain. Cabin 0205... if you needed to drop something back there was enough time to head down to Deck 2, send the lift to Deck 1, run to the cabin to drop off whatever and get back to hit the button to catch the lift on the way back up. Was always glad when the Val was on the St Malo route as made seizing the opportunity to travel on her much easier. Link to post Share on other sites
VikingVoyager Posted October 13 Share Posted October 13 On 10/10/2020 at 17:21, colin said: Didn't she have a pool in her bowels as well? I used the "pool" on her P&O sister as a 19 year old going on holiday with friends. Odd experience, more of a plunge pool / hot tub Link to post Share on other sites
colinschandler Posted October 13 Share Posted October 13 Took some friends out to our house a few times on Quiberon and Val. On their first trip on the Armorique one asked me "Is there a pool down stairs?" I replied "If you go down and find one, we're in trouble!" 5 Link to post Share on other sites
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