We had a visit to Dol-de-Bretagne Brittany, planned with our family of six so we decided to drive to Portsmouth and take the ferry across to Caen. The reason we chose this route was a great recommendation from friends as well as the short journey to our final destination.
MV Normandie
Also knowing that Britanny Ferries operated this route and they were the best when it came to Ferry journeys made the choice easy.
Anyway – we drove down from the North of England leaving at 03:00pm and arrived somewhat tired at the Ferry Terminal around 10:00pm, a reasonable journey although we were delayed by roadworks. We decided to stay in Portsmouth over night and take the early sailing the following day.
The following morning we arrived pretty early around 06:15 and when we booked in at the terminal, we were told sailing would be at 08:15pm and boarding would start as soon as the ship was ready, approximately 07:00. We drove to the loading point to wait, but in what I thought was a helpful gesture the loading guys waved for us to start loading meaning 30 minutes after arrival we had boarded, that’s great service in my book.
As we were on the early sailing we had reserved a three berth cabin, that way we could spend time checking our route across in France to ensure we had everything accounted for, or generally chill out en route.
We were directed to our cabin by the most helpful of staff who couldn’t do enough for you, the cabin was spacious airy with comfortable and roomy beds. The showers are great, better than many I have come across in the UK, lots of hot water and plenty of elbow room.
In our cabin we settled down chilled out and sorted out the next part of our journey.
The ship catered for all, with a comprehensive duty free shopping area, bars, and restaurant, entertainment for young and not so young, and a cinema, showing the latest releases.
The kids decided they would go to the cinema and then meet up with us after to have lunch.
After sorting our route out we decided to look around the ship and spoil ourselves in the duty free before joining the kids for lunch,
Food - So lets head to the restaurant for a meal. The onboard restaurant was located at the bow end of the ship giving the most fabulous views out over the sea. There was a superb choice with a menu that catered for all including vegetarian choices. These included a choice of starters, beautifully prepared mains, and great desserts to finish off your meal, the drinks choice was comprehensive. I decided to have the fish. The service was some of the best we have had – again recommended without a doubt.
The ferry address system announced that we would be docking in Caern giving us enough time to finish our lunch and grab any last minute buys from the onboard shops.
Unloading - time to clear the room and get ready to offload, this took no time at all, well organised procedure and we were off within fifteen minutes of loading our car – Amazing Brittany Ferries and the Captain and crew of the Normandie, Job Well Done.
We just want to thank everyone on board for their hospitality it was amazing, the cabins where so spacious and comfortable, the food was exceptional, the entertainment was brilliant, and best of all the crew were so nice. We all would definitely recommend – an easy Five Star Rating from us.
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