Barcellona to Palma Mallorca with Trasmediterranea
Albeit the ferry is a good way to get over to majorca and is a popular route with locals and tourists alike, the ferry isnt brilliant. You are on there for seven and a half hours, the seating is poor, the facilities, apart from one bar are none existent and there is no outside seating out on deck. If you are going on the overnight ferry then pay the extra and get a cabin, i tried when i got on there and it was fully booked, if you dont get one you end up on an uncomfortable chair all night and its hell'ish. The check in Barcelona is a nightmare, there were loads trying to check in with only two operators on, took me more than an hour, it was that busy and that hot... Same coming back, they are in no rush to check you in so leave plenty of time to do it. The service over is limited at the moment, night time out and day time back, its not the best ferry in the world, it does look it from the outside but not inside, theres nothing, no shop, facilities apart from that one small bar which SHUTS on the nightmare ferry about an hour or so after you have departed.
Barcellona to Palma Mallorca with Trasmediterranea
This is the fourth year we have travelled with Trasmediterranea and unfortunately it was not as good as previous years. The ship this time would appear to have been mainly a freighter ship. The plus side was that the ramps were twice as wide to drive onto but the down side was that we were haphazardly parked amongst lorries. When the time came to return to our cars there was almost a 'fun' element with the staff whereby we were all held back to make way for the the lorry drivers as they went through to their lorries first and then it was almost a free for all with the car drivers. If the lorries were first to leave the ship I could understand the logic but as the cars were parked in front of the lorries and the lorry drivers had to wait for many of the cars to disembark before they could it did seem a bit petty. The ship itself had one small cafeteria and one bar which was of course packed full of people and it would now appear that coffee is served in plastic cups. The cabin going from Barcelona to Palma was adequate but had people running up and down outside in the corridor screaming and laughing until the early hours of the morning and on the return journey the cabin was above some sort of machinery where there were continuous sounds of chains (that's what it sounded like). Also the reception area where the keys had to be dropped off was not as well designed as the other ships we have been on in that when it neared the end of its journey it was almost impossible to get to hand the key back for the cabin and to make your way back through the hoards of foot passengers and suitcases to get to the garage section for our car. As we drive almost 900 miles to get to Barcelona for the ferry and likewise 900 miles from Barcelona to get home we rely on the ferry journey for relaxation and this time it was sadly lacking in that respect. Bearing in mind the high cost of this return journey ferry crossing I am seriously considering going back to flying again. I would like to add though that the check-in both ways was well organised and the staff both at the check-in and on the ferry were polite as usual.
Barcellona to Ibiza with Trasmediterranea
The ferry was ok and facilities the same. There were facilities there that were not in use which was a disappointment. Beds were decent and overall I'd give 3 stars. Next time I may just fly unless there is a faster ferry.
