mini cruise to spain

[johnizere]

anyone been on one?...portsmouth to bilbao. what can I expect?

[enilorac]

Boredom basically. I have travelled a few times on this route (we live in Spain) and found it very boring. The only things to do are sit in the bar all day, eat expensive food or sit and read etc. When you get to Bilboa there is a shore excursion of about 4 hours probably 2 are spent on a coach. The ship boasts a swimming pool which is about the size of a kids paddling pool and the cinema shows films whose quality is not good.
I would say if there is a big group of people going together then it is ok and you can have a laugh together but otherwise I wouldn't bother.

[mrrobbo15]

i been trying to book on that mini cruise but its always full, so it cant be too bad......

i know friends and family who have been on it a number of times.......its only 4 days, what ave you got to loose....go 4 it

[masma]

Four of us went in March and apart from it being very choppy it was great fun. Try to get an upgrade which includes a bigger cabin and all inclusive meals ( cost was about �90 but well worth it)

[pixie_woo]

I haven't been on the cruise as such but I did the Portsmouth-Bilbao ferry crossing on a school trip (in 1996). I can echo masma; we travelled in March and the Bay of Biscay was incredibly choppy. I was the only student of about 35 that wasn't sea-sick. Trying to eat in the restaurant was fun! One second you could see sky out the window and the next was sea. Its certainly not for the faint hearted or the travel sick.

[johnizere]

thanks for the replies, we're going end of June, so hopefully the weather will be a little kinder than March!. (Bay of Biscay is notorious at any time of year). Just going for the ride anyway.

[netibiza]

It was the only time in my life that I have ever been sea-sick. Good cinema on board though.

[enilorac]

The cruise is the ferry - they sell the cabins to coach companies which are not sold to car travelling passengers.

[netibiza]

Wrong - I was a private car travelling passenger and I had an outside cabin, there was also a couple travelling on bicycles, none of us was with any company.

[enilorac]

Sorry if you read my answer wrongly. The ferry company sells to private individuals ( through their brochure or travel agent etc ) who travel with their car, bike or motorhome etc. They also sell to coach companies who then sell on to their customers and call it a mini-cruise. Where does outside cabins come into anything please?

[netibiza]

I misread your post, that's cleared it up now. Well I would have thought that the cruisers would get the inner cabins, as did the ones I met on the ferry, as we paid a lot for an outside cabin.