Ferry from Portsmouth to Bilbao

[Geecee68]

I took the new Brittany Ferries Ship 'Salamanca' last Thursday down to Bilbao from Portsmouth. All good, loads of bikes on there, mostly big BMW's. We were all down on deck 1, so when we docked they moved the trucks off the main deck, opened the floor and the bikes were the first off and through passport control and customs. No queues!

It doesn't go at lightning speed though. With no stop in Roscoff I thought they might look to get in early, but instead the bot plods along to dock around 6-7am on Saturday morning. Lots of people were asking why, to be politely told 'its commercial shipping speed'. I think its probably more to do with not wanting drunk drivers hitting the roads after a skinful the night before!

I was in Madrid soon after lunch, stayed overnight and was in Marbella for around 3. Brush with the police left me 50 € lighter.

[bikenav]

IMG_20211021_134527.jpg (98.89 KiB) Viewed 2489 times

what time did you get on? I went last year as you may remember (thanks again for the help) down on the Cap Finistre and back on the new to me Galicia, The return on the Galicia ended up being 2 nights on board due to cumulative delays, that was clearly travelling very slowly enquired with the crew and was told that there was no point going any quicker as they would not be allowed to berth anyway. The speed on these boats seems generally slower than in the past, fuel efficiency/engine size/ ? Arrival time of 7am would be perfect, for me anyway. Pic below from last year, cracking area for riding besides the Sadness.

IMG_20211021_134527.jpg (98.89 KiB) Viewed 2489 times

[Onenoodles]

I love doing the ferries down to Spain ,,, but jeeze!!!! the cost now

[Scott_rider]

I've travelled on the Ferry to Spain and back a handful of times and arriving at the port to see a big bunch of bikes ready for their trip is a bit of a 'buzz' .

[Geecee68]

IMG_20211021_134527.jpgwhat time did you get on? I went last year as you may remember (thanks again for the help) down on the Cap Finistre and back on the new to me Galicia, The return on the Galicia ended up being 2 nights on board due to cumulative delays, that was clearly travelling very slowly enquired with the crew and was told that there was no point going any quicker as they would not be allowed to berth anyway. The speed on these boats seems generally slower than in the past, fuel efficiency/engine size/ ? Arrival time of 7am would be perfect, for me anyway. Pic below from last year, cracking area for riding besides the Sadness.
IMG_20211021_134527.jpg

Ah yes I remember! Glad you made it. Oh thats nice to hear from you!

And you made it to Sad Hill cemetery too! Its off the beaten track but exactly as it is in the films.

TBH I didn't mind it berthing in the morning...I definitely didn't want to be on the road with some of the drivers on the ferry who had had a skin full in the bar.

[Brenhden]

Flipping heck that's a big milage day!

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Rising cost of fuel = 'slow steaming'

The new generation of ships, like the new generation of commercial aircraft, are set up to cruise slower than their predecessors to save fuel.
Nothing in the wide-bodied long-haul airliner market now is as fast as the old Boeing 747s were.

[mechanic]

Are there still single overnight crossings available from portsmouth to Santander’s or Bilbao? Or are they all a 2 night cruise?

[johnnyboy]

plymouth to santander is still running on the pont aven,
only about 20 hours sailing,just a drag to get there,
sorry if this was not what what you wanted to hear,

[Scott_rider]

Portsmouth to Santander is still 1 overnight and a 28.5 hour crossing