P & O FERRIES "PRIDE OF BURGUNDY"

"PRIDE OF BURGUNDY" was built in Germany by SCHICHAU UNTERWESER AG in 1993, the ship is owned and operated by P & O FERRIES, she started her maiden voyage on the Dover/Calais route on the 5th April 1993. "PRIDE OF BURGUNDY" has capacity for 1400 passengers, she is propelled by Diesel Engines with a cruising speed of 21 knots and is 28138 GRT. Photos in this post, the ship arriving Calais in April last year, at sea from the "DUNKERQUE SEAWAYS" in June 2011 and ready to start another crossing from Calais, last monday, the 13th February

New Dover-Calais service with DFDS/LD LINES starting today

The new DFDS/LD LINES service between Dover and Calais in finally under way today, the ship to be used is the LD LINES "NORMAN SPIRIT" seen here last year at Le Havre on the 23rd of June. According to recent news, the company is looking for a second ship, "NORMAN SPIRIT" is flying the French Flag

Inside "PRIDE OF BURGUNDY", PART 2

Photos taken on board P & O FERRIES "PRIDE OF BURGUNDY" on the 13th of February during a crossing from Calais to Dover, COSTA, HORIZON LOUNGE BAR, THE CLUB LOUNGE and the SELF SERVICE Restaurant, there is no BRASSERIE on board the ship

Inside "PRIDE OF BURGUNDY"

Few images taken last monday, the 13th of February on board P & O FERRIES "PRIDE OF BURGUNDY", the charming atmosphere, old world ambiance of the room leading to the "CLUB LOUNGE" on board the ship, featuring as well, few portraits of former P & O Liners, all this on the year that P & O celebrates 175 years of Maritime History

The CLUB LOUNGE on board "SPIRIT OF FRANCE"

During your crossing with P & O FERRIES you can treat yourself to extra luxury booking the "CLUB LOUNGE" it costs £12 when pre-booked or £14 if you upgrade on board the ships, the price includes a complimentary glass of champagne, coffee, tea, soft drinks and newspapers, on board the new SPIRIT CLASS there is even an exclusive outdoor space, a must during summer months. Images of the main entrance to the "CLUB LOUNGE" on board SPIRIT OF FRANCE", photos taken last sunday, the 12th February 2012.

"SPIRIT OF FRANCE" at a glance

Inside the new superb "SPIRIT OF FRANCE", photos taken last sunday, the 12th February 2012

"SPIRIT OF FRANCE" is finally here

I thought a couple of times of showing these pictures because they are not of a very good quality, in the end didn't resist, after all they are some of the first photos taken anywhere of the new P&O FERRIES "SPIRIT OF FRANCE". Last year exactly one year ago I was on the very same spot to photograph the new "SPIRIT OF BRITAIN" fresh from the yard, Phillippe Brebant which I didn't know at the time travelled on the same crossing and we eventually met at the same spot to photograph the new ship. It was a cold rainy day, I remember Phillippe telling me " Vitor we really need to like ships to negotiate this weather and photograph ships", well this year the weather was even worse, visibility close to nil, sub zero temperatures and snowing. It didn't matter in the end because the ship was there for everyone to wonder, I had made the crossing from Dover, the fourth day of service of this amazing ferry, a member of the crew at reception told me very proud, "this is our fourth day at sea" with a smile worth mentioning, well going back to the ship's particulars, "SPIRIT OF FRANCE" was built in Finland by STX EUROPE and delivered to P & O in January this year, the ship was originally due to be delivered in September last year but due to vibration problems, the delivery was delayed for a few times, she'e here now and she is superb, P & O huge investment of 360 million euros finally paying off. "SPIRIT OF FRANCE" is 49000 GRT with a cruising speed of 22 knots and capacity for 1059 cars or 180 lorries. Photos taken last sunday at Calais, 12th February 2012

Bad Weather in France

I was in France for a couple of days to witness some of the worse weather this beautiful country has experienced for 28 years, the river LOIRE literally froze around TOURS, although spectacular as it his, there is always the downside of this reality, some species particulary birds were struggling to adapt to this extreme weather bringing snow, down below temperatures, some places registered minus 16 and harsh freezing winds, so the authorities were of course worried, also some 4 million people worried to pay their out of proportion electricity bills, but the good news is, the Country is slowly going back to normal. Photos taken last sunday, a very cold Calais

CALAIS, city of "laid-up" ships

With the recent liquidation of SEAFRANCE, its former Ferries have been laid up at the port for just over a couple of months, the images included show the "SEAFRANCE RODIN", "SEAFRANCE BERLIOZ"and "SEAFRANCE MOLIERE", also the P & O FERRIES "PRIDE OF CALAIS" can be seen on these photos, withdrawn from service just a week ago, the ship was due to be out of service in September last year, but technical problems with the delivery of the new mega "SPIRIT OF FRANCE" delayed the process, the newest P & O ship entered service on the 8th of February. The weather in Northern France has been atrocious so the photos are the best possible and were taken last sunday and yesterday

"CAP FINISTERE" at sea

Seen here at sea picking up speed towards the Bay of Biscay is the BRITTANY FERRIES cruise ferry "CAP FINISTERE", the ship was on her to Portsmouth having departed from Santander, photos taken on the 23rd January 2012