Our ferry home was at 14:00 on Sunday 12th September from Santander. Latest check-in is 45 minutes earlier but Mr. Cautious always likes to be two hours early, which gets us to 12:00. Santander is about a 2-hr drive from Haro but again, Mr. Cautious wants to allow an hour more for contingency. So, we departed Haro at 09:00.
We suffered no glitches on our journey, other than Sally Satnav being unfamiliar with some of the roads around Bilbao which we had to pass on the way. I loath driving around Bilbao. We were checking in at Santander shortly after 11:00.
Eventually, boarding went smoothly. We found our cabin and then went to find the C-Club Lounge (Commodore Lounge) which we had splashed out on for the first time. Being one of the earlier vehicles to embark, once admitted we had a great choice of seats.
The day was sunny and very calm; the Bay of Biscay was about as close to a millpond as you can get. Brilliant. It meant we could enjoy the hospitality of the C-Club Lounge without worry. During lunch, which is a buffet featuring both cold and hot food, wine of all three colours is free on tap. Tea and coffee are permanently available throughout. Sweet treats like macaroons are provided in the afternoon before a dinner service, which is once again a mixture of hot and cold accompanied by the good ol’ on-tap wine.
Now, the à la carte restaurant undoubtedly provides higher quality food but at a price (you would, of course, buy a bottle of vino to wash it down). We felt that the C-Club Lounge easily paid for itself and it does isolate you from unwanted entertainers in the bar and regular lounge areas.
After a decent night’s sleep we awoke in the English Channel which was ever so slightly choppier than Biscay but nothing this poor sailor found uncomfortable. Once again we passed our time comfortably in the C-Club Lounge. It’s something we’d definitely invest in again.
Docking in Portsmouth at 17:30 on Monday 13th after 28 hours-ish on board, we lucked out and were amongst the earliest of vehicles to disembark being fourth or fifth in line for one of the immigration gates. Modern formalities are such that checking each motorhome and caravan for stowaways takes 4 or 5 minutes. Even as fourth or fifth in line we took 20 minutes to clear. You really don’t want to be at the back of the lines but eventually it’ll happen.
I made some comment about it being a shame they weren’t this fastidious at Dover but the border force agent didn’t get it. “We do this everywhere”, she said. I was referring to the blasted rubber boats rather than the port.
The road journey home from Portsmouth was about as good as a dreadfully constructed southern section of the M25 would allow. We parked Frodo at home at around 20:00.
Now to plan the next bit of fun.
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