Brittany Ferries rotates a fleet of ships across its Portsmouth routes, so the exact vessel on your sailing isn’t fixed to one route. Here’s what we know about the ships we’ve actually seen and sailed on at Portsmouth, plus what to expect in general.
Ships we’ve sailed on
Normally on Brittany Ferries’ Spain routes, but sails to Cherbourg on some crossings, including the one we took. Sister ship to the Saint-Malo. We had a four-berth outside cabin on deck 8, simple, clean, worked well for a family of four.
One of Brittany Ferries’ new LNG-hybrid ships, brand new for 2025. We sailed Saint-Malo to Portsmouth on her: two vehicle decks, a genuinely nice sundeck, and noticeably new throughout. Sister ship to the Santoña.
Other ships we’ve seen at Portsmouth
We haven’t sailed on these, but we’ve photographed them at the terminal on our own trips, so we know they’re in rotation on the Portsmouth routes.
Guillaume de Normandie
Seen moored at Portsmouth. Another of Brittany Ferries’ newer ships on the Normandy/Brittany routes.
Galicia
Seen departing Portsmouth at sunset. Normally associated with Brittany Ferries’ Spain routes.
What to expect generally
Across the fleet, the newer ships share a similar layout: a car deck (sometimes two) for cars, motorhomes and caravans, a choice of cabins or reclining seats, at least one bar and restaurant, a sundeck, and a kids’ area. Longer routes to Spain carry more onboard facilities than the short Channel crossings, since passengers are aboard for a lot longer. Which ship you get isn’t usually something you can pick when booking, it depends on the sailing.