We plan a trek through Spain in September (2024), as soon as August is over.  There are two good reasons we like September in Spain, first the heat of July and August is past, and second the school holidays are over, so we’re no longer needed for grandparent duties.

Our preferred way to reach Spain is by Ferry from Portsmouth to Santander or Bilbao, however, Brittany Ferries has jumped on the green bandwagon and is now using what it describes as GREENER SHIPS. There are now several of these greener ships, but despite being capable of very similar speeds to the former ferries, they take more than one and half times as long for the crossing. How can this be?

The car ferry Galicia has a service speed of 22 knots and the older ferry Pont Aven has a service speed of 23 knots. So why does Pont Aven take 20.5 hours to travel Plymouth to Santander, while Galicia takes 33.5 hours to travel Portsmouth to Santander, there is almost no difference in the distance.

An extra 13 hours on the ferry, for what? Although the ferry is capable of 22 knots it is being held back which means that as a passenger you have to spend two nights on the ferry instead of one. There are other irritations, but if you are travelling with children or pets that extra time is very important.

We sailed on Galicia last year and were bored stiff even though we purchased the lounge pass which gave us access to snacks and coffee etc most of the time. Two nights is simply too long. This year we planned to use the older Pont Aven ferry, no problem booking our return journey at the end of September from Santander to Plymouth, but the outward sailings were completely booked from the day I looked until our return date with just two exceptions and on those sailings there were no cabins, only reserved seats. I’m of an age now where I want a cabin, not a seat.

The message is clear, people want the faster crossings, so Brittany Ferries why are you holding back your ships?