Arudur Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Now I may be missing a trick here but it appears on Galicia there is no commodore cabin for families (four people) and what there is has a door that goes directly out onto the deck. The club cabins for four don't look terribly spacious. While the ship looks very nice, it feels a little retrograde in terms of comfort to me? Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 You're pretty much spot on. The new cabin grades on Galicia (and therefore presumably to come on Santona and Salamanca) are 'Commodore Club' and 'Commodore Suite'. Both are two berth options with the latter having direct deck access and the two berths actually being a double bed. From the images available so far, the Suite does seem somewhat larger. Berths aside, a key difference is access to the C-Club lounge included with the cabin. This seems like it'll be a much stronger 'offering' than the Commodore lounges on Bretagne and PA - but again that's just based on information so far rather than experience. I don't think 'comfort' itself is going to be any less, just that the available cabins are a little different from what regular passengers may be used to. I suspect this is largely as a result of this really being a Stena designed and built vessel which has been adapted for BF as opposed to something that's been designed from the ground up. Link to post Share on other sites
Cabin-boy Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 If they really want a retrograde offering they simply need to call the cabins Commodore 64 and be done with it. Ed 5 Link to post Share on other sites
Cabin-boy Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 And the ones of the Spanish routes could be called Amiga which sounds nice and friendly. Ed Link to post Share on other sites
David Williams Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 (edited) and the dog cabins can be called Commodore pet Edited October 27, 2020 by David Williams 2 Link to post Share on other sites
David Williams Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 I look forward to the reviews, I think that the ship is not really geared up to having cabins for daytime use- the bed does not appear to turn into a sofa I think that the idea of 2 berth cabins with both beds at ground level is an excellent idea & if you need 4 beds, the 4 bed club cabins plus a lounge pass seems useful Link to post Share on other sites
Cabin-boy Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 And a Commodore Max for those wanting more space or wheelchair access. David, we need to start charging for our sheer genius. Ed 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jonno Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 We could have the Sinclair Suite... and for our canine lovers, the commodore PET. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jonno Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Arudur said: The club cabins for four don't look terribly spacious. These cabins are the same size as the commodore 2 berth but fitted with upper foldable bunks. I agree that there may be a retrograde feel as they're not flush fitting into the ceiling in a similar way to what can be found on Pont Aven or MSM giving a greater feeling of space but as @Jim says opinion suggests that the comfort level hasn't been compromised and BF have announced that the beds are the biggest they've ever offered on a ship. Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 57 minutes ago, David Williams said: I look forward to the reviews, I think that the ship is not really geared up to having cabins for daytime use- the bed does not appear to turn into a sofa I think that the idea of 2 berth cabins with both beds at ground level is an excellent idea & if you need 4 beds, the 4 bed club cabins plus a lounge pass seems useful I'm intrigued to see how much scope for change there will be between Galicia and the subsequent e-Flexers for BF - and indeed the Stena vessels. It's a relatively rare opportunity for minor changes/improvements to iterations of the same design. Yes, you're not going to materially change the structure of the ship, but deciding to turn a sofa into a bed is entirely feasible. I'd look towards @tarbyonline to understand if there's already anything similar happening in Stena-land. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
ZinedineBiscan Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 1 hour ago, Cabin-boy said: If they really want a retrograde offering they simply need to call the cabins Commodore 64 and be done with it. Ed Might explain the loading times! 4 Link to post Share on other sites
Paully Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Do we have any front runners amongst us booked on the Galicia anytime soon?.. Link to post Share on other sites
jonno Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 6 minutes ago, Jim said: Yes, you're not going to materially change the structure of the ship, but deciding to turn a sofa into a bed is entirely feasible. Indeed, the sofa/berths fitted to Monty are very versatile. If you don't mind sleeping bunk style having the sofa creates a cosy living space. The ships structure has been changed slightly, the BF E-Flexers have had their decks 7 & 8 extended. Similar to how the Superfasts differ, BF's Cap has a lot more structure behind the funnel casing than Stena's VII & VIII. I'm a big fan of the E-flexer and Stena's concept behind it and I'm quite enthused to see the 200m variant when built. As a charter prospect BF may ultimately look at them to replace Cap Finistere and the two remaining Visentini's. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
jonno Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 15 minutes ago, Paully said: Do we have any front runners amongst us booked on the Galicia anytime soon?.. I think @nodwad is booked on her in December, we have to wait until May. Link to post Share on other sites
rogerpatenall Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 We are booked into a Commodore Suite from Cherbourg on Monday 28th December. Going over on the 13th(?) is a standard four berth outside, I think. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 14 minutes ago, rogerpatenall said: We are booked into a Commodore Suite from Cherbourg on Monday 28th December. Going over on the 13th(?) is a standard four berth outside, I think. Were the prices reasonable? I ran a quote for a Spain crossing and thought the cabin prices were eye-watering for the Commodores. Link to post Share on other sites
hf_uk Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 I don't really get why the Commodores are called such on Gal, - they look junky. The Commodore Suites look like a Commodore, but the ones below should be called Club and remove the Commodore part imho... Link to post Share on other sites
jonno Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 19 minutes ago, hf_uk said: I don't really get why the Commodores are called such on Gal, - they look junky. The Commodore Suites look like a Commodore, but the ones below should be called Club and remove the Commodore part imho... Unfortunately it's the new modular furniture world we live in. P&O's refitted suites aboard the Rotterdam Prides are similar so too are the newer cabins on the Baltic ferries, very minimalist. The window blinds on Galicia look very similar to Hillary's and appear to match the ones we have in our kitchen... I'm not saying they're cheap, I'm saying that they're easy to remove and easy to clean. I wouldn't be surprised to see ferries move away from carpet entirely inside the cabins. They're not particularly healthy due to the footfall they see. Link to post Share on other sites
RickOShea Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 4 minutes ago, jonno said: I wouldn't be surprised to see ferries move away from carpet entirely inside the cabins. They're not particularly healthy due to the footfall they see. Very good point. Carpet is even declining in use in many hotels. Modern finishes can provide great alternatives to carpet. Link to post Share on other sites
nodwad Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 2 hours ago, jonno said: I think @nodwad is booked on her in December, we have to wait until May. Sorry it is January ,I just love them big waves and spending a lot of time looking at the insides of the bog.stay safe 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Jim Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 32 minutes ago, RickOShea said: Very good point. Carpet is even declining in use in many hotels. Modern finishes can provide great alternatives to carpet. I have a feeling, given Covid, that customers are going to be more aware of cleanliness in places/on transport etc etc. I took a short train journey yesterday during which they were at pains to announce details of the cleaning regime in use. It just makes me ask what they were doing before! I think I've mentioned it before - but British Airways have been trumpeting how clean their planes are etc... same company who before the pandemic were doing a trial of not cleaning their planes as often to save money... 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Cabin-boy Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 3 hours ago, ZinedineBiscan said: Might explain the loading times! And the crashes! Oups! Ed Link to post Share on other sites
tarbyonline Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 4 hours ago, Jim said: I'm intrigued to see how much scope for change there will be between Galicia and the subsequent e-Flexers for BF - and indeed the Stena vessels. It's a relatively rare opportunity for minor changes/improvements to iterations of the same design. Yes, you're not going to materially change the structure of the ship, but deciding to turn a sofa into a bed is entirely feasible. I'd look towards @tarbyonline to understand if there's already anything similar happening in Stena-land. There has already been some iteration, though much of it is in areas not seen by passengers and to do with the build process itself. Possibly the most notable change with GALICIA apart from the decor is that the large windows have been split forward, no doubt as a result of the problems on Estrid/Edda. The first two ships were built as a pair and are direct sisters. Embla comes with the modified windows and a few other tweaks. How different SALAMANCA and SANTOÑA are will depend on what Brittany Ferries requests, but I imagine feedback from GALICIA could feed into SANTOÑA in particular given her delivery date. CÔTE D'OPALE wont just have a different profile but also a different internal layout (and no passenger cabins of course). 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites
georgem7 Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 10 minutes ago, tarbyonline said: There has already been some iteration, though much of it is in areas not seen by passengers and to do with the build process itself. Possibly the most notable change with GALICIA apart from the decor is that the large windows have been split forward, no doubt as a result of the problems on Estrid/Edda. The first two ships were built as a pair and are direct sisters. Embla comes with the modified windows and a few other tweaks. How different SALAMANCA and SANTOÑA are will depend on what Brittany Ferries requests, but I imagine feedback from GALICIA could feed into SANTOÑA in particular given her delivery date. CÔTE D'OPALE wont just have a different profile but also a different internal layout (and no passenger cabins of course). I had noticed the different windows on Galicia but just assumed it was a BF thing so didn't bring it up! I was left wondering what would be different about Stena Embla given that you described her in your articles as 'slightly modified'. I was trying to dig through the archives to find out so thanks for clarifying that. Link to post Share on other sites
tarbyonline Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 4 minutes ago, georgem7 said: I had noticed the different windows on Galicia but just assumed it was a BF thing so didn't bring it up! I was left wondering what would be different about Stena Embla given that you described her in your articles as 'slightly modified'. I was trying to dig through the archives to find out so thanks for clarifying that. The windows thing is a modification made across the series (they may even retrofit Estrid/Edda) to the core design. Being a high stress area, it seems they were a tad ambitious with the amount of uninterrupted glazing! I believe there are some other changes as well. Embla is supposed to be getting built to Ice Class 1A to allow for future charter for example. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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