P and O Ferries (P&O Ferries)

Member Name: polydeuces

Product:	P&O Ferries
Date:	10/08/08 (101 review reads)
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Usually when I travel to the continent I am going over towards Belgium, Holland or Germany. For our holidays this year (you will be able to tell when I went by the gap in my reviews) we went to the Cote Sauvage (Atlantic Coast) region of France. We booked through the Caravan Clubs excellent members service and sailed through P&O European Ferries from Portsmouth to Le Havre and returned on the same route.

After a pleasant couple of days in Portsmouth we sailed at 14:30 for Le Havre. We arrived at the port at about 1pm and the booking in was uneventful, we boarded on time and as a caravanner we were among the first to board. Boarding was easy and competed speedily and efficiently. We did then go quickly from the car bay to the decks but there turned out to be no need to rush as there was plenty of room in all the public areas. The ship was the 'Pride Of Le Havre' and it was very spacious. The sailing seemed to be fully booked but as there was such a choice it seemed less full.
We had not booked a cabin as for 5 and a half hours sailing time it did not seem worth it. There is a lot to do on board. Firstly there is a wide choice of places to eat from the standard self yourself restaurant to a waiter service restaurant. We ate in the self service area on both crossings and found the food good, reasonable value and monster portions of it! There is a cinema which managed to fit in 2 good recent family films during the crossing and at £4.20 for adults was not too badly priced. There is also a swimming pool on deck 2 that is below the level of the car decks. This was very busy and perhaps explained why the rest of the boat seemed empty! You only need to remember your costumes as there are changing facilities and even towels available.

If you don not fancy a swim or a film or something to eat there was huge selection of arcade games and slot machines and for adults fancying a bit more of a gamble a casino with roulette or black jack. The casino is in part of the bar area which has a good selection of beers though these I found were unnecessarily pricey. There was also a small stage where the cabaret performed. This was a passable group singing popular songs. You have to feel for these people who play their hearts out to a handful of people and complete every song to near silence. It must be soul destroying. There were advertisements for a children's entertainer but I did not see him. There is a children's room for drawing, colouring and the inevitable face painting. I do have to confess I find face painting a baffling phenomenon, I have yet to see any which makes the person or child look better.
If all else fails there are lots of places where you can just sit around. The shop on board has a good range of wines and spirits and other goods and prices were quite good. However overall you are always best to buy in the local stores in France. It can be a good way of getting rid of any spare change as this will be accepted and the subsequent change given in English coins. The exchange rate of about 11 Francs to the pound was not too punitive.

What I particularly liked about the P&O service was that the ship was clean, well laid out and all the staff and crew were friendly and helpful. In a recent review I said the best way to cross the Channel was by Le Shuttle and it probably is, just. The ferries though like P&O know that some people miss the 'ferry experience' and when the crossings are as calm as ours were this year that is a very happy experience.

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