A more expensive but far more pleasant alternative to the dreary toll roads of France. We checked in early and were able to leave our car alongside the boat while we explored Santander for a couple of hours. We were very lucky to have a super smooth crossing (rough seas can apparently make this trip hellish). Our inside 4-berth cabin was tiny but the beds were comfortable, and we slept well.
Staff were excellent- smart, helpful and looked like they enjoyed their jobs.
On our crossing the meal sitting times were not used, so there was a long queue as soon as the restaurant opened. It’s school dinner style: stand in a queue and choose at the counter. Food was mediocre for us vegetarians. .A weedy soup, a bland pasta and cream-laden desert. We’d already been stung £9 for a pint and a half of beer and a couple of packets of crisps in the bar, so we didn’t order wine with our meal. Consider bringing your own drinks and snacks on board, especially as there’s a long wait after continental breakfast (also pretty poor) until you dock at 8pm.
There’s a brilliant Video on Demand service you can access on your devices; a couple of hundred current moves to choose from (e.g Death on the Nile, A Quiet Place part 2).
There’s a few live entertainment options; quizzes, an evening cabaret, and a whale watching guide. Passengers, even children, were well behaved on our trip, unlike our experience of Dover to Calais clientele. Great ocean views. Take a cushion as there are only hard plastic seats.
It probably ended up costing a couple of hundred pounds more than driving up through France, but was worth it.