Portsmough - Bilbao ferry being withdrawn!

[Slowdown]

P&O Ferries to withdraw from Bilbao service in September

That's a bummer - another ferry route bites the dust.

Apparently, the RMT union is looking for ways to keep the route open. So that's another nail in the coffin, then.

 

[SamD]

Seem to be so many disapearing

I was looking for Ireland crossings the other day and it looks like the fast boat on the Rosslare crossing has gone too

 

[Fanum]

FUCK!

 

[cherokee]

Thats a bummer,guess that means to get to mainland Spain next year we'll have to go down to Plymouth,they dont sail from portsmouth to mainland spain do they?

 

[DavidJames]

Brittany Ferries run a Portsmouth-Santander route

And it is a nicer boat.

 

[strimstrum]

The Brittany Ferries boat , The Pont Aven, zig zags the route as in leaves Plymouth arrives Santander, leaves Santander arrives Portsmouth, leaves Portsmouth arrives Santander, leaves Santander arrives Plymouth and so on..... It started the Portsmouth sailing in 2009 and very handy it is too !

 

[steveone]

Brittnay ferries have just purchased a new ship the Superfast V (to be renamed Cape finisterre) which will operate the Portsmouth Santander route soon. The Pride of Bilbao is a dirty heap of crap any way.

 

[cherokee]

That sounds good,am going portsmouth-Bilbao in july,but i didnt know brittany ferries went to santander,out of interest guys how much further up the coast is it from bilbao?

 

[wessie]

P&O is a dinosaur with highly inflated overheads and slow to respond to changing markets. Being taken over by a bunch of dodgy types from Dubai would not have helped their case. The parent company has had their credit rating downgraded to "junk" so getting finance to renew the charter and lease a new ship to compete with Brittany Ferries would be impossible.

As with their Portsmouth-Le Havre service, don't be surprised to see LDLines move in and start running a decent service at a much reduced price. The French ports of Dieppe, Boulogne & Le Havre have bent over backwards to accommodate LDLines, as ferry passengers are an important part of the local economy. I imagine Bilbao will be much the same.

 

[Buttso]

alternate route

you have all probably seen this link before,


but for those who havent..

I am always trying to find ways to get there or almost all the way there, without using too many boats (being of the seasick club)

http://www.amsmotorcycles.org.uk/id36.html

 

[Glyno]

That sounds good,am going portsmouth-Bilbao in july,but i didnt know brittany ferries went to santander,out of interest guys how much further up the coast is it from bilbao?

About an hour Cherokee

 

[santrix]

Brittnay ferries have just purchased a new ship the Superfast V (to be renamed Cape finisterre) which will operate the Portsmouth Santander route soon. The Pride of Bilbao is a dirty heap of crap any way.

Agree in the Pride of Bilbao..... I wondered why Brittany Ferries had put their prices up alot in the last couple of years.... thats obviously why lol.... new boat? money's gotta come from somewhere.

Pont Aven was great anyway.... Anyone who has seen the Elvis Impersonator in action will im sure agree...

 

[Fanum]

Agree in the Pride of Bilbao..... I wondered why Brittany Ferries had put their prices up alot in the last couple of years.... thats obviously why lol.... new boat? money's gotta come from somewhere.

Pont Aven was great anyway.... Anyone who has seen the Elvis Impersonator in action will im sure agree...

Yup, I cant deny that the Brittany boat is a LOT nicer, plus it's also faster.
Or that the P.O.Bilbao is a nasty old barge- fortunately, they replaced the seats in the Silverstone bar in the middle of last year which got rid of the fleas, but it isn't a nice boat, and you can have too much of watching the zoo that the booze cruise scum who make up the majority of the passengers turn every voyage into

It's not going to affect Moto-Morocco too much, it's just a bit of a PITA with sailing schedules further limited and that extra schlep down to Plymouth with a large heavy trailer. (Though it has been 50/50 on which boat we've taken over the last few years anyway, depending on schedule.)

The route south from Santander is a lot nicer for bikes though, that's for sure.

 

[boxer]

In that case I'm more than a little pleased to have booked with Brittany Ferries yesterday for Octobers Moto Pistons rally.

I had to compromise on little on dates so I'd suggest anyone planning a 24hr pukeathon - sorry, cruise - should try Brittany real quick.

 

[dadster]

Brittany Ferries run a Portsmouth-Santander route

And it is a nicer boat.

+1 and the beers cheaper too

 

[Deleted Member I]

Seem to be so many disapearing

I was looking for Ireland crossings the other day and it looks like the fast boat on the Rosslare crossing has gone too

I saw that .. I thought it was just seasonal as in it only runs in the summer.

You maybe right in that it is gone forever.

 

[Mr K]

RIP "The Love Boat" .....

 

[sven]

Of course, with no competition, Britanny Ferries will be able to up their prices

 

[CaptainSlow]

P&O is a dinosaur with highly inflated overheads and slow to respond to changing markets. Being taken over by a bunch of dodgy types from Dubai would not have helped their case. The parent company has had their credit rating downgraded to "junk" so getting finance to renew the charter and lease a new ship to compete with Brittany Ferries would be impossible.

As with their Portsmouth-Le Havre service, don't be surprised to see LDLines move in and start running a decent service at a much reduced price. The French ports of Dieppe, Boulogne & Le Havre have bent over backwards to accommodate LDLines, as ferry passengers are an important part of the local economy. I imagine Bilbao will be much the same.

The Portsmouth - Le Havre boats were sh1t as well. They were guaranteed to empty the other half's stomach. I mentioned their horrible ride to a friend in the MCA who knows about these things and he told me that the Prides of Le Havre & Portsmouth were not even designed for the Channel - they were designed for the Baltic as sister ships to the Estonia...yep, the one that sunk

 

[BBB61]

The Portsmouth - Le Havre boats were sh1t as well. They were guaranteed to empty the other half's stomach. I mentioned their horrible ride to a friend in the MCA who knows about these things and he told me that the Prides of Le Havre & Portsmouth were not even designed for the Channel - they were designed for the Baltic as sister ships to the Estonia...yep, the one that sunk

Pride of Le Havre and Pride of Portsmouth were originally built for Olau Line for their Sheerness to Vlissengen service and were delivered in 1989 and 1990 as the Olau Hollandia and Olau Britannia. Olau Line was shut down by their parent company in 1994 and P & O chartered the Hollandia and Britannia. They were renamed the Pride of Le Havre and Pride of Portsmouth and both were used up to 2005 when the Portsmouth - Le Havre route was shut down by P & O.

Estonia was delivered in 1980 as the Viking Sally and was used on ferry crossings between Finland and Sweden initially. It was acquired by Estline in 1993 and renamed Estonia.

Pride of Le Havre and Pride of Portsmouth certainly were sister ships, but it appears there is no connection at all with the Estonia, given they were built 10 years later than the Estonia.