Galicia Cherbourg-Portsmouth 14/12/20

[rogerpatenall]

We were unable to access any wi-fi in 935, not that it was a priority!

[hf_uk]

51 minutes ago, rogerpatenall said:

We were unable to access any wi-fi in 935, not that it was a priority!

Indeed... just intrigued 😉

[hf_uk]

On 29/12/2020 at 14:48, rogerpatenall said:

An update to my earlier notes - following our return from Cherbourg on December 28th in a Commodore Suite.

Well. Wendy is not a fan of overnight travel - particularly on a ferry. But within minutes of entering suite 935 she bounced on the bed, saying "I want to live here for ever". A pretty good start. The bed and bedding is luxurious, and the space and fittings are great. We both slept well, and could find nothing to dim our enthusiasm. We declined the in-room breakfast as the offering does not suit her wheat and dairy allergy, but the restaurant breakfast was fine.

If you guys out there have been really naughty - say you have just killed her Mother, or even worse, you ate the last Marron Glace - then treating her to a night in the commodore suite will ensure instant forgiveness. Save up and try it.

Great to see such a positive cabin review btw, despite lack of WiFi  If anything it adds to your review of the experience. 

I have never travelled in a Commodore myself, despite hundreds of trips on different ships. Perhaps one day:) 

[LD]

Am I the only one feeling underwhelm by Galicia? It really does feel BF. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of linking the ship to Spain, but the overall experience seems like a downgrade. 

[VikingVoyager]

17 minutes ago, LD said:

Am I the only one feeling underwhelm by Galicia? It really does feel BF. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of linking the ship to Spain, but the overall experience seems like a downgrade. 

I've not travelled on her but I certainly am not blown away by the concept of a big, fairly basic ferry

[Lapper]

Having been on her 3 times, I have to say I'm a bit "meh" about the whole thing really.  The lack of a show lounge detracts from the cruise ferry feel of the BF product.  They also don't have traditional wake up music 🤬.

I have concerns over how she's going to look long term due to the quality of materials used, but that remains to be seen and will depend on how much is spent on her.  I did notice that the safety bars on all berths except the fixed lower berth had been removed (at least in the cabin I was in last in January), which is a good move as they were quite difficult to clamber over for me so god knows what they would be like for older passengers.

 

In this or another thread, there was a question about electric car charging.  On one of my crossings in December I saw a Tesla on charge:

 

This was forward, starboard, deck 5.

 

[IanN]

3 hours ago, VikingVoyager said:

big, fairly basic ferry

You forgot slow!😀

[jonno]

Love all the negative comments about a ship hardly anyone has even seen far less sailed on.

Personally I'll refrain from comment until I've actually sailed on her in order to compare her to the other 100 or so passenger ferries I've sailed on over the past 30 odd years.

 

[IanN]

41 minutes ago, jonno said:

Love all the negative comments about a ship hardly anyone has even seen far less sailed on.

The only negative I've made is about the crossing times and they are a published fact.

[VikingVoyager]

1 hour ago, jonno said:

Love all the negative comments about a ship hardly anyone has even seen far less sailed on.

Personally I'll refrain from comment until I've actually sailed on her in order to compare her to the other 100 or so passenger ferries I've sailed on over the past 30 odd years.

 

Aren't they mainly from those who have sailed on her though?

My comment is about the overall concept. I wouldn't say it's negative, it's just that I'm not overly excite by what I've seen. I think that these kind of discussions are fairly standard on enthusiast discussion forums.

[jonno]

58 minutes ago, IanN said:

The only negative I've made is about the crossing times and they are a published fact.

 

21 minutes ago, VikingVoyager said:

Aren't they mainly from those who have sailed on her though?

My comment is about the overall concept. I wouldn't say it's negative, it's just that I'm not overly excite by what I've seen. I think that these kind of discussions are fairly standard on enthusiast discussion forums.

Fair enough.

Ian we'll have to get used to the crossing times as speed equals more emissions and a larger consumption of fossil fuels... slowing down, 'tis future. Bear in mind too that PA doesn't tend to go faster than 24kts and if the Cap ever gets her hybrid engines she'll lose 5 or 6 knots too.

VV what concept do you mean, a one style suits all as they're certainly not basic? You want basic sail on a Visentini. 

 

[VikingVoyager]

1 hour ago, jonno said:

VV what concept do you mean, a one style suits all as they're certainly not basic? You want basic sail on a Visentini

The E Flexer concept. From the outside it doesn't appear to be that ground breaking.  By basic, I was meaning the lack of entertainment space.

[David Williams]

33 minutes ago, VikingVoyager said:

The E Flexer concept. From the outside it doesn't appear to be that ground breaking.  By basic, I was meaning the lack of entertainment space.

I look forward to sailing on her at some point and the 2 night crossing looks interesting.

However these ships were not built to win prizes, they were designed to be efficient in both fuel and manpower and make a profit !

I suspect that once the concepts on board have been refined we will see them applied to the other ships re service and crewing.

[colin]

I gather the current 2 Commandants are Thierry Lacour and Hervé de Kergariou. I think simply due to seniority. On board crew report good freight loadings generally, but a bit of a sad atmosphere for passengers, with a minimum staff and minimal facilities. Nevertheless generally positive about her and how she will shape up when busy. Lots of little teething problems but no dramas. Some feeling that she may be lacking in power, grunt, particularly in bad Biscay conditions. Seems the next 2 sisters with LNG have some issues to solve with fuel flow / electrical loadings / engine power balance, but the boffins are on the case.

[VikingVoyager]

29 minutes ago, David Williams said:

these ships were not built to win prizes, they were designed to be efficient in both fuel and manpower and make a profit !

I suspect that once the concepts on board have been refined we will see them applied to the other ships re service and crewing.

Agreed, which is why I'm not particularly excited!

[IanN]

11 hours ago, jonno said:

 

Fair enough.

Ian we'll have to get used to the crossing times as speed equals more emissions and a larger consumption of fossil fuels... slowing down, 'tis future. Bear in mind too that PA doesn't tend to go faster than 24kts and if the Cap ever gets her hybrid engines she'll lose 5 or 6 knots too.

VV what concept do you mean, a one style suits all as they're certainly not basic? You want basic sail on a Visentini. 

 

I know but I do think sub 24 hours is a stake in the ground that BF established. I don't think BF is slowing down for environmental reasons but as a cost saving. 

I will decided my future options when there is no PA or CF doing sub 24 hour crossings. The extra hotel costs in the UK to me due to the sailing times to accommodate the longer crossings times can be spent in hotels in France on the way down especially if the holiday starts in North East Spain.

Edited February 27 by IanN
deletion

[jonno]

4 hours ago, IanN said:

I know but I do think sub 24 hours is a stake in the ground that BF established. I don't think BF is slowing down for environmental reasons but as a cost saving. 

I will decided my future options when there is no PA or CF doing sub 24 hour crossings. The extra hotel costs in the UK to me due to the sailing times to accommodate the longer crossings times can be spent in hotels in France on the way down especially if the holiday starts in North East Spain.

Come on Ian, it's not all bad news but I agree probably for most the 24 hour barrier was a huge advantage for BF when PoB was sailing.

Me, I'm a more slow boat to China bloke, I prefer the longer crossings and I suppose always felt that more time aboard equalled more value for money in terms of crossing cost... two nights for the price of one if you like?

It's been said to me more than once that Santona will be Brittany controlled, she'll do a 24 hour crossing from Plymouth and may even be a hint toward a future plan to revisit a Rosslare-Roscoff link.

I quite like the Tuesday 0900 departure, to Santander on Galicia, this what we had booked in May, I'll just leave home at 0330 and the 2215 departure on a Thursday is mini cruise territory... three nights aboard and a day in the city. 

I must admit to being attracted to Cap Fin's 1200 Saturday Portsmouth - Bilbao departure but even so, with an E-flexer you'll still get in to Zierbena at 1715.

[Cabin-boy]

21 minutes ago, jonno said:

Me, I'm a more slow boat to China bloke

Well these are slow boats from China. 

Ed

[Gareth]

I’m afraid I agree with Ian - not as a personal preference issue, but as BF compromising the USP on which their success to Spain was built.  Others tried and failed in the same arena, and all of the others had one thing in common that differentiated them from the successful BF product - they all failed to match BF’s 24 hour product.

[IanN]

38 minutes ago, Gareth said:

I’m afraid I agree with Ian

Don't be afraid I won't bite. 

I have no problem with the E Flexers apart from the crossing duration and the extra hotel costs this incurs. The boss is different the shorter the time the better She doesn't want to be on the boat period. So when it increases, the pain of driving down becomes less and the added costs make it an option.

If I was working the extra time off work or reduced time at the destination would also be a big factor 

Edited February 27 by IanN
addition

[Gareth]

1 minute ago, IanN said:

Don't be afraid I won't bite. 

No, but Jonno does! 🤣

[jonno]

1 hour ago, Gareth said:

No, but Jonno does! 🤣

Only a gentle nibble around the ankles....... honest!

[jonno]

I agree that having the shorter crossing times was an excellent advantage for BF and was possibly a main contributor to their success on the Spanish voyages, maybe this was proven even more so with Cap Finistere as whilst not offering the same onboard facilities as Pont Aven speeds up and down the channel too.

Me, I like slower ships, I want the time onboard as the ship is the bigger attraction. For some it's fast cars or steam trains, for me it's ferries.

... but I have a feeling that poor quality service and shabby tonnage will turn travellers away far quicker than a 5 knot drop in speed. BDS proved that, a very popular and comfortable ship on BF's Spanish sailings.

 

[penguin]

 

On 27/02/2021 at 06:36, IanN said:

I know but I do think sub 24 hours is a stake in the ground that BF established. I don't think BF is slowing down for environmental reasons but as a cost saving. 

I will decided my future options when there is no PA or CF doing sub 24 hour crossings. The extra hotel costs in the UK to me due to the sailing times to accommodate the longer crossings times can be spent in hotels in France on the way down especially if the holiday starts in North East Spain.

Clever timetabling from BF has always made just as much of an impact as the raw speed. The early afternoon Plymouth - Santander departure reduced a 19 hour crossing into a leisurely afternoon/evening, with most of the duration whilst you sleep. Whilst the new E-Flexer timetables require a whole day at sea, the late evening sailing means you are only a day out of pocket, no different to an inconveniently timed 24hr crossing. The 9am departure looks a little less appetising and the return schedules are tricky for anybody not in the immediate Portsmouth area.

 

I've always had a soft spot for PA, but I'm certainly excited to try out Galicia, I think the tapas bar sounds like a great idea. Equally I share the reservations about the lack of a dedicated entertainment area - it's the standout feature of PAs design and on a good day the entertainment is a valuable addition.

[IanN]

1 hour ago, penguin said:

Clever timetabling from BF has always made just as much of an impact as the raw speed. The early afternoon Plymouth - Santander departure reduced a 19 hour crossing into a leisurely afternoon/evening

Our favorite crossing by a mile. Leave home 8:30 - 9:00am. Lunch in Plymouth about 1:00pm. Drive to the Port no rush. Once on board a couple of drinks then a light meal (Sainos Sarnies). A glass of wine then to bed. Up in the morning then breakfast by which time Spain is coming into view. Off the boat two or three hours driving. What's not to like no hotel costs and a good portion of the crossing asleep.