MV Bretagne
Encyclopedia
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
operated by Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries is a French ferry company that runs ships between France, the UK, Ireland and Spain.-1970s and 1980s:Following the provision of the deep-water port at Roscoff, the company commenced in January 1973 at the instigation of Alexis Gourvennec, when existing ferry companies showed...
. She was built at Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique
Chantiers de l'Atlantique is part of the South Korean STX Shipbuilding Group and one of the world's largest shipyards, based in Saint-Nazaire, France...
shipyard in Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire , is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France.The town has a major harbour, on the right bank of the Loire River estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest swamp in France, called "la Brière"...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and has been sailing for Brittany Ferries since 1989. She was Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries
Brittany Ferries is a French ferry company that runs ships between France, the UK, Ireland and Spain.-1970s and 1980s:Following the provision of the deep-water port at Roscoff, the company commenced in January 1973 at the instigation of Alexis Gourvennec, when existing ferry companies showed...
flagship until the arrival of in 1993.
Service history
MV Bretagne ordered by Brittany Ferries in the late 1980's in order to increase capacity on BF's routes, and to set a new standard in on-board facilities. Bretagne was one of the first true cruise-ferriesCruiseferry
A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship with a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while others use the ships as means of...
, offering cruise-type facilities on a ferry route. Built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique,
Bretagne was launched on 4 February 1989 and entered service on 16 July the same year.
Bretagne was used on the Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...
-Cherbourg route between 26 February 2007 and 10 March 2007. She then became the only current passenger vessel in the Brittany Ferries fleet to visit every port served by the company and to have operated on all the current routes. It was originally planned that she would return to Poole in January 2008 to cover for the absence of the Cotentin
MV Cotentin
M/V Cotentin is a freight ferry operated by Brittany Ferries and built by Aker Finnyards in Finland. Cotentin is named after the Cotentin Peninsula of France of which Cherbourg is its largest town. Cotentin was also the name of one of the original Truckline vessels to sail between Poole and...
. In addition to sailing to Cherbourg alongside the Barfleur
MV Barfleur
MV Barfleur is a ferry operated by Brittany Ferries. She was built at Masa Yards in Finland for the Brittany Ferries subsidiary Truckline and entered service in 1992. In 1999 she was repainted in Brittany Ferries standard livery. She sails under the French flag and is registered in Cherbourg...
she would also have sailed between Poole and Santander at the weekend departing Poole on Friday night and arriving back on Monday morning. This plan was dropped shortly after the publication of the 2008 timetable and Bretagne instead covered for the refit on the Mont St Michel
MV Mont St Michel
The MV Mont St Michel is a ferry operated by Brittany Ferries. She was built at Van der Giessen de Noord shipyard in the Netherlands and has been sailing for Brittany Ferries since 2002. The Mont St Michel was to have been called the Deauville or the Honfleur but this was thought to be too similar...
on the Portsmouth-Caen route.
In early 2009 Bretagne underwent a £5million refit. The work included creation of 50 'Club 4' cabins along with refurbishment of the rest of the ships cabins, refurbishment of the self service restaurant, refit of the 'La Gerbe de Locronan Salon de Thé' to create a wi-fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
cafe area and rebuilding of the reclining seat lounges to create new lounge areas for business, reading and watching television.
Regular routes
- PlymouthPlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
-SantanderSantander, CantabriaThe port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...
1989-1993, and 2007-present (winter only) - PlymouthPlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
-RoscoffRoscoffRoscoff is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.The nearby Île de Batz, called Enez Vaz in Breton, is a small island that can be reached by launch from the harbour....
1989-1993 (twice a week), 2004-2005 (full time), and 2007-present (winter only) - RoscoffRoscoffRoscoff is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.The nearby Île de Batz, called Enez Vaz in Breton, is a small island that can be reached by launch from the harbour....
-CorkCork (city)Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
1989-1993, and 2007-present (occasional crossings only) - PortsmouthPortsmouthPortsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
-Cherbourg March-September 2004 - PortsmouthPortsmouthPortsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
-St Malo 1993-2004, late 2005-present
Other routes served
Bretagne has seen use on PortsmouthPortsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
-Caen
Caen
Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
(Ouistreham
Ouistreham
Ouistreham is a commune in the Calvados department' in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.Ouistreham is a small port with fishing boats, leisure craft and a ferry-harbour. It serves as the port of the city of Caen. The town is about the mouth of the Canal de Caen à la...
) as refit cover and also the winter only route of Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
-St Malo. She also sailed between Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
and Santander
Santander, Cantabria
The port city of Santander is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. Located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao, the city has a population of 183,446 .-History:...
during the winter in the mid-nineties.
Though generally found on the Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
-St Malo route Bretagne will also operate on other routes, normally in Winter, such as Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
-Cherbourg and Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
-Roscoff
Roscoff
Roscoff is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.The nearby Île de Batz, called Enez Vaz in Breton, is a small island that can be reached by launch from the harbour....
.
Bars and restaurants
- Les Abers A la Carte Restaurant - Deck 7.
- La Baule Self Service Restaurant - Deck 7. Refurbished in 2009 and enlarged by removal of the separate freight drivers restaurant.
- Le Cafe 'La Gerbe de Locronan'- Deck 8. Rebuilt in 2009.
- Gwenn Ha Du Bar - Deck 8.
- The Yacht Club Piano Bar - Deck 7.
- Le Lido Bar (rarely open). Replaced by 'Games Planet' area in 2007 - Deck 9.
Shops
- La Boutique - Main shop on Deck 7, smaller shop on Deck 6.
- Le Kiosque - Deck 6.
- La Vitrine - Deck 7.
- Photo Shop - Deck 7.
Other facilities
- Cinemas - Deck 5.
- Children's Playroom - Deck 8.
- 376 Cabins - Decks 1, 2, 6 and 8 (Commodore Class, Club4, 2 and 4 berth cabins).
- 454 Reclining Seats - Decks 8 and 9.
- Commodore Lounge (rarely open) - Deck 9.
- During 2006 the Commodore Lounge was used as a storage area for the ships entertainer's costumes and equipment.