More About Brittany Ferries
Routes
In 1978, the ferry company started services to Santander in Northern Spain, and entered the Irish market with the Cork-Roscoff ferry route. Today, Britanny Ferries covers Portsmouth to St-Malo, Plymouth to Roscoff, Portsmouth or Poole to Cherbourg, Portsmouth to Caen or Ouistrehem, and Plymouth to Santander. The ferry company offers a good spread of departure ports along England’s south coast, with the option to depart from Plymouth, Poole or Portsmouth.
Another big advantage is that all Brittany Ferries arrival ports offer easy access to the major road networks in France and Spain, facilitating driving on the continent. Most of the ferry ports themselves are also well worth a visit.
Facilities
The ferries are built for comfort, rigorously inspected for safety, and expertly crewed. They offer a wide range of entertainment for all ages, including live entertainment, cinemas, video games rooms, casino machines and children’s playrooms. You’re unlikely to starve either, with a selection of restaurants on the ferry including full waiter service and self-service offering limitless supplies of the varied French cuisine, and a wide range of on-board shopping.
For non-French speakers on the ferry there is an English-speaking helpline that operates all day. The flagship of the ferry fleet, the Pont Aven, is a luxury vessel, with facilities such as an onboard swimming pool, cabaret and children’s entertainments, cinemas and promenade decks.
There is a good selection of quality restaurants and other dining choices on the Pont Aven ferry, and a team of top French chefs. The actual accommodation varies from ferry to ferry, but across the fleet there is a choice of 2- or 4-berth, inside or outside cabins, couchettes or reclining seats. 4-berth, fully air-conditioned cabins are available on all the Brittany Ferries vessels, and on longer crossings there is a choice to upgrade to Commodore or Deluxe Class cabins. These are more spacious, and come with continental breakfast, morning coffee and afternoon tea. There is also a private salon for Commodore and Deluxe cabin ticket holders on the ferry.
There are a number of specially adapted cabins for ferry passengers with mobility problems or other special needs, but due to limited availability the ferry company should be contacted in advance to discuss requirements.
On payment of a registration fee and membership subscription, regular passengers can save up to 30% on travel fares, up to 10% on meals and wines ordered in the on-board restaurants, and obtain a breakfast allowance on overnight crossings. There are also discounts on any promotional offers run by the ferry company, and a guest discount that can amount to a 15% saving.
