THE MUCH LOVED BRITTANY FERRIES " VAL DE LOIRE"

the MV VAL DE LOIRE served BRITTANY FERRIES from 1993 until 2006, the ship was employed mainly on the Plymouth/Santander service and had a strong reputation with passengers, she had a dedicated list of followers, myself included, I have sailed countless times on this ship, experienced many rough seas and of course exquisite buffets, she is now sailing from Northshields to Ijmuiden as the KING SEAWAYS, operated by DFDS, photos here included show the ship in heavy seas and arriving at Santander in 1999, for other images of the VAL DE LOIRE please visit my BRITTANY FERRIES BLOG

STAY AT ILHA DO BALEAL IF YOU VISITING PENICHE OR BERLENGA ISLAND

Further to my previous posts regarding the OESTE region of Portugal, if you are visiting Peniche or the Berlenga island, you can visit and stay at Ilha do Baleal, just 2 miles outside Peniche, the ilha, portuguese word for island is connected by road with the mainland and I can think of few places more pleasant to stay than CASA DAS MARES, this is a B & B at very reasonable prices, very clean rooms all with dramatic sea views, this is a gem of a place, the owners are really nice and friendly, for all information please visit their website, http://www.casadasmares1.com/ 

MODEL LINERS ON BOARD BRITTANY FERRIES VAL DE LOIRE

During one of the many crossings I have done on VAL DE LOIRE I took this photo of the model of French liner LIBERTE, that was on display on board this great ship, apart from this there were other nautical motives that lack on today´s fleet, which is a shame, and as an experienced voyager with BRITTANY FERRIES, I can assure that most of the british passengers mainly on the crossings to Spain do miss these nautical motives as well, on VAL DE LOIRE there was also an observation lounge, today we have no maritime motives to actually remind us that we are at sea on board a ship, the PONT-AVEN is a remarkable cruise ferry, really this is a cruise ship with a big garage, so much could be done to improve the nautical appeal

M S FUNCHAL leaving Lisbon in the late 80´s for another cruise

the M S FUNCHAL is seen here departing Lisbon for another cruise in the late eighties, she has always been a very elegant ship

RMS TITANIC launched 100 years ago

the TITANIC was on the news this week, it´s been 100 years since the ship was launched by HARLAND AND WOLFF, the exact date was the 31st May 1911, next year will of course be the anniversary of the sinking of the ship, so several events will take place and we will of course keep an eye on this

the MV OLAU HOLLANDIA

the MV OLAU HOLLANDIA seen here was built in 1989, from 1994 she became the PO FERRIES PRIDE OF LE HAVRE until 2005 when the route Portsmouth/Le havre was withdrawn by PO CRUISES, she was then sold to SNAV in 2005 and today is still sailing as the SARDEGNA, I have sailed on this ship when she was the OLAU HOLLANDIA once in 1993 and several times as the PRIDE OF LE HAVRE

P & O CRUISES to build their biggest passenger ship ever

Great news this week from P & O, the cruise company is to build their largest ship ever, the new vessel will be built in Italy by FINCANTIERI and at 141.000 GT is to be launched in 2015, the ship remains unnamed. Two photos of the P & O cruises ship OCEANA in Lisbon in 2008

Visit BERLENGA island in Portugal

I recently did a few posts about the OESTE region of Portugal, this one is dedicated to the island of BERLENGA just off Peniche. The BERLENGA island is a Marine Nature Reserve, classifield by the European Council as a "Biosphere Reserve", it´s a unique place due to its transparent sea and underwater treasures, the island is just 7 miles off Peniche, today there are several companies offering boat trips to the island with different activities, like the dolphin watching and the berlengas tour, for me the best way to get  there is with the classic ferry CABO AVELAR PESSOA, takes 45 minutes, it´s a beautiful mini-cruise, you can get a ticket on the day from the Marina at Peniche, for all information please follow
http://www.visitportugal-berlengasislands.com/

http://www.berlengasactividades.com/

How big are today´s ships

This is a photo of the BRITTANY FERRIES NORMANDIE at sea on her way to Ouistreham, we can see two 12 meter long trailers being completely dwarfed by the sheer size of the vessel, the NORMANDIE is by todays´s standards a small ship at 27.000 GT so just imagine for instance how these trailers would look on board QUEEN MARY 2 at 151.000 GT, photo taken in May 2011

PO FERRIES keeps maritime history alive on board their ships

Praise for P & O FERRIES to keep maritime history alive on board their ships, even the brand new SPIRIT OF BRITAIN introduced in January this year, has a special panel dedicated to P & O and there are TV´s all over the vessel focusing on P & O history, very good to see, we won´t be able to understand the present without knowing the past, first photo on board PRIDE OF ROTTERDAM, second SPRIT OF BRITAIN, both early this year