Destination: Brittany Ferries, Portsmouth
For our travel to Spain we were taking the Brittany Ferry from Portsmouth in the UK to Santander in the north of Spain. The ferry crossing would take 2 nights and one full day, and would see us crossing the notorious Bay of Biscay. I have watched many a YouTube video on this subject and it has to be said, I was quite nervous as we reached Portsmouth and entered the port.
As with my previous trip on Brittany Ferries, the check in process was really simple. Everything is handled online and all that you need to do is show your passports and pick up your boarding cards. These need to be kept safe, as they double as the key card for your cabin. At this point, you are also given a loading code, which you need to hang at the front of your windscreen. This will tell the loading personnel which lane you need to be in to get boarded to the right deck.
Once checked in there is a bit of a wait while everyone is boarded. As we waited we were really interested in the huge variety of vehicles being loaded onto the ferry. Aside from the commercial freight, there were passenger vehicles of all shapes and sizes and a considerable number of prestige cars and motorbikes. This went some way to calming my nerves, especially as the crossing seemed to be particularly busy.
We were going to be crossing on the Brittany Ferries Santona, which is a relatively new ship. The boarding took a while as it was so busy, and as is often the case, as a taller vehicle we were among the last loaded.
But once parked up on the car deck, we picked up our bags for the crossing and headed up several flights of stairs to our cabin.
Having previously travelled in an inside cabin, I’d decided to spend a little more and get an outside cabin for this trip. I was especially hopeful that we might get to see whales or dolphins during our sailing, as this was a good time of year for sightings. We were on Deck 10 and it was a bit of a slog carrying all of our stuff up to the cabin, but totally worthwhile. If you are going to spend a couple of nights onboard a ferry, you may as well be comfortable. As well as our toiletries and a change of clothes, I had bought an assortment of snacks and my small travel kettle to use onboard. I can’t possibly go too long without a cuppa! Also as I was preparing for a job interview I’d bought an assortment of tech and had invested in the premium wifi. If you do take your own electronics onboard, be aware that you will need travel adaptors onboard the ferry.
I was really happy with the cabin, clean and modern and the ensuite shower room was a decent size. I will do a little tour in tomorrows update. Having the window was ace, and I can’t seriously see myself having an inside cabin again.
Once we’d settled ourselves in, we went up on deck to wave goodbye to dry land for the next day and a half and the UK for 2 weeks!
Bon voyage!
Even though we were headed to Spain, the first language of many of the crew was French … well they are Brittany Ferries after all.
Heading up onto deck, I was delighted to see the arrival of the ‘Mont St Michel‘ as I had travelled on that ferry during The Italian Job. And even more delighted to hear the cries of ‘bon voyage’ from the passengers and crew on the other ship.
We stayed on deck for a good long while as the captain navigated the Santona out of Portsmouth harbour. It was incredibly peaceful and despite the ferry being full to capacity there were relatively few people left on deck as the ferry glided silently out of port. I was super excited about our trip and I could see Dan was too.
But as we headed off into the darkness of the channel, I couldn’t help thinking about what lie ahead in the unpredictable Bay of Biscay. There was only one thing for it … so we made for the bar!
