France Ferry & Campsite info (use Search function) mod warning post 1

Newonhere

I came back on W B Yates on 1st June, the cabins are an improvement on Oscar Wilde, particularly the beds, pillows and shower curtains. The public areas were fine, being spacious and comfortable, the catering was to be honest DIRE I struggled to find anything acceptable, so much so that where I would normally eat in the Berneval restaurant on the Oscar Wilde I went to book a table in the Lady Gregory but after reading the menu and looking at the price, which is much more expensive than the Berneval I decided that it simply wasn’t worth it. Instead I went to the self service restaurant but the selection available was very poor indeed (I had read on the website that there was a wok station but I couldn’t see one and when I asked the staff I was told that they didn’t have it anymore, so that certainly didn’t last long). I just had ribs with wedges and veg, I picked up a small bottle of wine but I couldn’t find any wine glasses so I replaced the wine with a soft drink in a paper cup, as a result my on board spend was much lower than it would have been previously. IF really do need to address the catering issues. Breakfast was OK but nothing special particularly as it was very cold even though I was into the restaurant only15 minutes after opening time.

No Bills

Newonhere wrote: »

I came back on W B Yates on 1st June... I picked up a small bottle of wine but I couldn’t find any wine glasses so I replaced the wine with a soft drink in a paper cup...

They keep the wine glasses at the tills. They open the bottle (if it has a cork) and hand out glasses when you are paying.

jay0109

The bar area where the shows, magicians etc are on- is it bigger than the OW? And are all the seats gone before the ship have even sailed as was often the case on the OW?

The lack of seating used to make it very hard to keep an eye on the kids while they were watching the enterainment

No Bills

flangemeistro wrote: »

Ya I'm thinking the same and that's not even taking into account sea trials to test out the repair work that's taken place.

Worried.

Pont-Aven is still moored at Brest according to Marine Traffic website:https://www.marinetraffic.com

Macy0161

Newonhere wrote: »

(I had read on the website that there was a wok station but I couldn’t see one and when I asked the staff I was told that they didn’t have it anymore, so that certainly didn’t last long).

Actually I forgot about the missing wok station. We had that both ways last year on the Oscar Wilde. Our food was fine, but going out we hit the serving area at just the right time and got fish and chips that were straight out of the fryer, and very nice. Coming back what we had was "grand" nothing more.

vienne86

Newonhere wrote: »

I came back on W B Yates on 1st June, the cabins are an improvement on Oscar Wilde, particularly the beds, pillows and shower curtains. The public areas were fine, being spacious and comfortable, the catering was to be honest DIRE I struggled to find anything acceptable, so much so that where I would normally eat in the Berneval restaurant on the Oscar Wilde I went to book a table in the Lady Gregory but after reading the menu and looking at the price, which is much more expensive than the Berneval I decided that it simply wasn’t worth it. Instead I went to the self service restaurant but the selection available was very poor indeed (I had read on the website that there was a wok station but I couldn’t see one and when I asked the staff I was told that they didn’t have it anymore, so that certainly didn’t last long). I just had ribs with wedges and veg, I picked up a small bottle of wine but I couldn’t find any wine glasses so I replaced the wine with a soft drink in a paper cup, as a result my on board spend was much lower than it would have been previously. IF really do need to address the catering issues. Breakfast was OK but nothing special particularly as it was very cold even though I was into the restaurant only15 minutes after opening time.

Very similar to my thoughts. We thought the food in the self-service was dreadful, and the Lady Gregory with a 3 course dinner for €60, and no other option, was just ridiculous. We did have breakfast there for €20 which was excellent, but expensive. Cabins seemed smaller that the 3 star on the OW, bed setee was uncomfortable to sit on, and you could not watch TV while sitting on that setee......TV was slightly behind you! Bathroom was nice though. Nice lounges and seating areas. Bar was OK, but they ran out of draught beer!!!!!! Decor is nice, colours are restful. Wifi was non-existent for us. Apart from the poetry quotes around the place, you would not know you were on an Irish ship - all foreign crew, including the captain (whose announcements were hard to understant), which is fine, but no Irish station on the TV.

We were on the WBY because we werre diverted by Brittany Ferries. Leaving from Dublin was convenient enough for us, but I would far prefer to leave from Rosslare or Cork.....Dublin port is bleak. My main gripe is the lack of crossings to Roscoff.

It was great to get the opportunity to check out the WBY - I still have a voucher following last year's disruption, but I doubt I'll use it.

Peckham

jay0109 wrote: »

The bar area where the shows, magicians etc are on- is it bigger than the OW? And are all the seats gone before the ship have even sailed as was often the case on the OW?

The lack of seating used to make it very hard to keep an eye on the kids while they were watching the enterainment

From what I've read they've taken the kids entertainment out of the bar and into the kids area. Is this true? Hopefully so!

Dave445354

I have always used BF from Cork but had to use IF last week. I thought the food in self service was dreadful. I had lasagne and it tasted more like a cheese sandwich!! The breakfast was ok. I am looking forward to going back with BF on the 21st

First Up

Is that the price for 3 courses? They used have a 2 course option in the Berneval and we usually just had starter and main. I can't remember what it cost but I'm pretty sure it was a good bit less than €60.

Its not really aimed at families and in fairness its about what you would expect to pay in a good restaurant so choice and quality come into it.

jay0109

Peckham wrote: »

From what I've read they've taken the kids entertainment out of the bar and into the kids area. Is this true? Hopefully so!

I hope not
Don't think there could be a kids area big enough for them all and the parents also who need to keep an eye on the younger ones

vienne86

First Up wrote: »

Is that the price for 3 courses? They used have a 2 course option in the Berneval and we usually just had starter and main. I can't remember what it cost but I'm pretty sure it was a good bit less than €60.

Its not really aimed at families and in fairness its about what you would expect to pay in a good restaurant so choice and quality come into it.

Three courses, €60, take it or leave it. Lovely looking menu, and classy restaurant.....though a bit pretentious for a ferry IMO.

First Up

vienne86 wrote:

Three courses, €60, take it or leave it. Lovely looking menu, and classy restaurant.....though a bit pretentious for a ferry IMO.

No two course option?

Another boo boo.

Baybay

vienne86 wrote: »

Lovely looking menu, and classy restaurant......

One of the high points of the trip for us!

We feel our holiday begins with dinner & a nice bottle of wine on board. And yes, it is pricy. The Lady Gregory was a step up from The Bernaval though, in our opinion one of the few things that had improved on the OW offering.
The room itself is more luxuriously appointed & feels so much less like a goldfish bowl than The Bernaval. The food was of good quality & the staff, most of whom were on the OW were attentive without being obtrusive. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

First Up

Baybay wrote:

We feel our holiday begins with dinner & a nice bottle of wine on board. And yes, it is pricy. The Lady Gregory was a step up from The Bernaval though, in our opinion one of the few things that had improved on the OW offering. The room itself is more luxuriously appointed & feels so much less like a goldfish bowl than The Bernaval. The food was of good quality & the staff, most of whom were on the OW were attentive without being obtrusive. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

It would need to be a step up for those prices (I've also seen reports that the wine list is significantly more expensive.)

But its not just the money. Some of us like to chose how much as well as what we eat. Forcing customers to eat more than they want - and pay for it even if they don't - is the height of arrogance.

I was a happy customer of the OW but the more I hear about the Yeats, the closer I'm looking at alternatives.

Baybay

First Up wrote: »

I was a happy customer of the OW but the more I hear about the Yeats, the closer I'm looking at alternatives.

Couldn’t agree more. As I said, the restaurant was the high point. There were many things that were either wrong, in our opinion or just worse than the OW.

average_runner

Baybay wrote: »

One of the high points of the trip for us!

We feel our holiday begins with dinner & a nice bottle of wine on board. And yes, it is pricy. The Lady Gregory was a step up from The Bernaval though, in our opinion one of the few things that had improved on the OW offering.
The room itself is more luxuriously appointed & feels so much less like a goldfish bowl than The Bernaval. The food was of good quality & the staff, most of whom were on the OW were attentive without being obtrusive. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Used to love going to the Bernaval for dinner and breakfast with the kids. The food in the main cafe was rubbish and poor quality and the steak house was not great.

No one is forcing anyone to use it, there are other places to eat on the boat.

First Up

Baybay wrote:

Couldn’t agree more. As I said, the restaurant was the high point. There were many things that were either wrong, in our opinion or just worse than the OW.

So far the only attraction is Dublin port. They seem to have gone out of their way to identify what people liked about the OW - and remove as much of it as possible.

First Up

average_runner wrote:

Used to love going to the Bernaval for dinner and breakfast with the kids. The food in the main cafe was rubbish and poor quality and the steak house was not great.


No one is forcing anyone to use it, there are other places to eat on the boat.

Well I want a nice comfortable table service dinner. The Berneval was a highlight for us too but I'm not going to be forced to eat or pay for 3 courses if I don't want to.

A 2 course option - or a la carte - should be on offer. Who is calling the shots here - the paying customers or the chef?

Peckham

Any feedback on the breakfast?

We would always go to the Berneval for breakfast on way out to France. Hit the road with a full belly.

Quality was always good, and they were very reasonable in terms of charging for kids. Last year for the 5 of us (2 adults and 3 kids aged 7, 4 and 1) we only paid for the two adults and one child as they reckoned the 3 kids ate 1 breakfast between them!

Baybay

First Up wrote: »

A 2 course option - or a la carte - should be on offer.

In fairness, either of these could be available. I genuinely don’t remember. But I’m sure someone else who does will comment.

We had had a bit of an upset after boarding & also hadn’t eaten all day so as the three course menu appealed, that was a far as I read.

average_runner

First Up wrote: »

Well I want a nice comfortable table service dinner. The Berneval was a highlight for us too but I'm not going to be forced to eat or pay for 3 courses if I don't want to.

A 2 course option - or a la carte - should be on offer. Who is calling the shots here - the paying customers or the chef?

Overall it will be the customer who calls the shots. So if they have this wrong, you will see your two course dinner next year, but it not, then the customers have spoken on what they prefer.

We stopped using the ferry now, fly to Toulouse, rent a car and a higher percentage of better weather.

First Up

Baybay wrote:

In fairness, either of these could be available. I genuinely don’t remember. But I’m sure someone else who does will comment.

The menu on the website shows only the 3 course option (and price).

First Up

average_runner wrote:

Overall it will be the customer who calls the shots. So if they have this wrong, you will see your two course dinner next year, but it not, then the customers have spoken on what they prefer.


We stopped using the ferry now, fly to Toulouse, rent a car and a higher percentage of better weather.

I'm planning to take the car to France in September or October but while I was really looking forward to leaving from Dublin, I'm now seriously thinking about Stena or BF.

average_runner

First Up wrote: »

I'm planning to take the car to France in September or October but while I was really looking forward to leaving from Dublin, I'm now seriously thinking about Stena or BF.

But does the ferry not take longer to get from Dublin to Rosslare than driving?

If the other ones are cheaper and matches your requirements, you be mad to pay over the odds.

First Up

average_runner wrote:

But does the ferry not take longer to get from Dublin to Rosslare than driving?

I'd prefer spending the time relaxing on the ferry to the drive. Total journey time is not very different - or important.

First Up

average_runner wrote:

If the other ones are cheaper and matches your requirements, you be mad to pay over the odds.

The quality of the journey is more important to me than the time or cost, neither of which is likely to be wildely different.

I'm just irritated by how wrong IF seem to be getting this on a number of levels.

vienne86

First Up wrote: »

The menu on the website shows only the 3 course option (and price).

That was definitely the case when we were on it. We even asked. We would never eat three courses, and the alternative was the self service, where the food was dire IMO.

vienne86

Peckham wrote: »

Any feedback on the breakfast?

We would always go to the Berneval for breakfast on way out to France. Hit the road with a full belly.

Quality was always good, and they were very reasonable in terms of charging for kids. Last year for the 5 of us (2 adults and 3 kids aged 7, 4 and 1) we only paid for the two adults and one child as they reckoned the 3 kids ate 1 breakfast between them!

We had the €20 breakfast in the Lady Gregory and it was excellent. They made a bit of a fuss about availability - it seems the kitchen can't really cope with big numbers at any one time.

vienne86

average_runner wrote: »

Used to love going to the Bernaval for dinner and breakfast with the kids. The food in the main cafe was rubbish and poor quality and the steak house was not great.

No one is forcing anyone to use it, there are other places to eat on the boat.

True, but the problem is that the 'other places' are not good.

Pretzill

I travelled on the WB in April I was disappointed (but like many I preferred the Oscar Wilde but was expecting something better) on the cafe style restaurant I didn't find the food as bad as the reviews say. I got the fish and chips and had to wait for them to be cooked so they were nice and hot and crispy - not truly worth the price but it certainly filled the gap. Other people were tucking into delicious looking burgers too.

Overall though the experience is budget at a price! I will be travelling again in September and bringing my own picnic