Ferry Time blog

Fastnet Line have announced that popular Short Breaks and Mini Cruise trips to Swansea and Cork are back!

Mini Cruise; Leave the car behind and spend the day in Cork or Swansea, starting from only €49/£42 per person sharing with two nights cabin accommodation. Explore the city or do some shopping and then relax on the MV Julia that same evening.

Short Breaks; Need a few days away? Then a Fastnet Line short break is for you. Spend between three and four days in Ireland or the UK starting from €95/£82 per person sharing with a car, including two nights cabin accommodation.

These special offers are available on selected dates throughout the year. With limited availability on some dates we advise that you book now to ensure you get the very best value on the Irish Sea. Fares are based on two people travelling per booking, and include a two berth inside cabin with ensuite facilities.

Fastnet Line look forward to welcoming you on board to enjoy the bars, restaurants, shopping, casino and cinema.

Kids travel free on all Irish Ferries crossings between 4 July and 31 August when booked by 30 June and 14 days before sailing.

And with a bargain offer of just £59 each-way for a car and driver and £20 for additional adults for midweek travel (Monday to Thursday), a family of four can cross the Irish Sea with their car – in peak season – for as little as £99.

These prices apply on the Pembroke/Rosslare cruise ferry crossing; add £10 for Friday and Sunday travel or £20 on Saturdays. On the Holyhead/Dublin cruise ferry the lead-in is £84 for car and driver or £99 for the fast ferry.

All prices represent savings of up to 30 per cent.

For more information and bookings, please visit http://www.irishferries.co.uk/

Plymouth to Santander by Brittany Ferries

Brittany Ferries have been plying the route from the West of England to Santander in Northern Spain for decades and have recently refurbished with faster bigger ferries. Sailing from either Portsmouth on the south coasts of England or Plymouth in Devon, Brittany Ferries are well equiped for the longer sea crossings, avoiding the need to drive all the way down through France. Portsmouth to Santander is the newest route, with the flagship vessel Pont Aven adding the departure port option to the existing route of Plymouth to Santander since March 2009. This new crossing takes 24 hours, reducing the need for overnight cabins to one night, which is faster than anything previously.

More like a cruise than a ferry crossing, the Pont Aven is equipped with swimming pool and whirlpool, entertainment and children’s soft play and video areas. Two cinemas, bars and restaurants including seafood buffet meals help to pass the cruise time with quality offerings.

So why take a ferry to Santander?

Santander is a rather smart resort in Cantabria, with close associations with Madrid whose citizens tend to prefer to decant to the north and west of spain if possible in summer rather than to the steaming hot and over crowded southern costas. To the East is the Spanish Basque Country, and then France while to the West is Asturias and then Gallicia, so the whole of the North of Spain is available to explore from Santander.