BF MV Bretagne

[Llwyncelyn]

Recently went back via Cherbourg and had the worse breakfast imaginable and having been up since 4h.30 was less than amused. It was cold insipid and down right disgusting. I thought to myself where I had had such a disgusting breakfast before and of course it was Portsmouth to St Malo again with Bretagne.

Normally I would like to think of myself as a reserved guy from the Welsh valleys (no quips please) and do not really like complaining.  I do enough of that in my business life.  However this time went to see the Purser who said problem for Brittany was lots of staff not many customers and they had to cook something as against twiddling their fingers.  However no refund.

Came back wrote to Millbay this morning vouchers for £38 to dine again with Brittany!  I am not sure how to take this especially as my complaint was originally directed towards the quality of the food and that someone on this forum had advocated keeping away from the lamb on the vessels (lamb is somewhat high on my eating list)

However back to my reserved nature I am afraid it disappeared somewhat last Saturday when watching a certain game from the heart of Cardiff!

rdgs

 

[alnmike]

Llwyncelyn

Know what you mean - we did the Poole/Cherbourg on the Bretagne a couple of weeks ago, and it all went wrong when we had a tortuous drive up through the bowels of the boat (ship ?) to the food, like you! It was finally topped off by a huge wait to disembark and I think there were about 20 cars on . . . .  can't wait for the good old Barfleur!! [:)]

[Brilec]

[quote user="Llwyncelyn"]

  However this time went to see the Purser who said problem for Brittany was lots of staff not many customers and they had to cook something as against twiddling their fingers.  [/quote]

Perhaps if their fares were more reasonable, this would no longer apply.

[Beryl]

I ate in the restaurant of BF as we received a discount then for being in the holiday home owners club and it was really enjoyable.

The cafeteria was always a disappointment...men standing around wearing big chefs hats does not make them chefs [:-))] especially when they are just shovelling out reheated chips and unidentifiable pieces of chewy meat.[+o(]

[Llwyncelyn]

Beryl I too am a member of the 'club' but equally on the way back I met one of the stewards on the 'old' P and O vessels which plied their trade between Portsmouth and Cherbourg.  I have been travelling the routes for well over fifteen years.  The P and O vessels looked after clients better at least that is my opinion. 

Beryl I understand your views as to the restaurant on Brittany but I have tried all of them and I am sorry but I disagree with you.  You say the self-service is just a re-heating exercise I say that the restaurant also bears the hallmarks of the Roux Brothers who invented the 'boil in the bag' experience.  Something like ci-vide or something near that.

With the numbers being shipped across I would suggest that only certain items are indeed freshly cooked.

 

rdgs

[Will]

I very seldom have the cooked breakfast, preferring croissants and coffee. Which Brittany Ferries does very well as a rule - and LD Lines does rather badly, for more money, in my experience (though those who eat the cooked breakfast on Norman Spirit say that is very good). I don't personally like LD Lines' food or consider it good value, but others do like it.

The catering does vary between ships. The food in the waiter service restaurant on the Normandie is generally superb (including the lamb), and pretty good too on the Pont Aven. I have often found Mont St Michel and Bretagne to be rather indifferent. Barfleur is OK, if a bit more basic due to the fact that it was built as a freight ship rather than what has come to be known as a 'cruise ferry'. The old P&O Portsmouth ships were very good, especially the breakfast buffet, but I found the later Pride of Cherbourg (the freight ship chartered from Irish Ferries) really dire, and the Le Havre ships, which had really top class restaurants in their Olau days - though one (Hollandia I think) was always better than the other - started off well with P&O (at least the carvery was good) but went badly downhill towards the end. Brittany Ferries' self-service food is less variable - much more formulaic - and generally pretty average (perfectly edible but not memorable) though occasionally you can find something, different from the reconstituted cod or chewy overdone steak, which is actually rather good.

Bretagne does have rather individual loading/unloading arrangements to the upper car decks, involving driving round in circles, and I believe there have been problems with the movable ramps this season.

[Llwyncelyn]

Will I thought you would respond.........thanks

[alnmike]

Will - like the summary of the loading arrangements - we honestly thought we'd be driving all the way we just kept on going up!!!