Normandie
Operated by Brittany Ferries
Normandie
Operated by Brittany Ferries
Operated by Brittany Ferries on the Portsmouth Caen route
Commissioned by Brittany Ferries in 1991, the Normandie is named after the French region of the same name and decorated in traditional Norman style and colours, and features first-rate on-board facilities including excellent dining, shopping and live entertainment.
The Normandie offers passengers a choice of over 200 cabins all of which are en-suite and air conditioned. Soap and shower gel are also provided in case you want to freshen up and you'll also find at least 1 plug socket to use or to charge any electrical appliances that you may have. Reclining seats provide a great value option for overnight crossings and additional comfort to your day sailing. The reserved seating lounges are located towards the front of Normandie on deck 7 and all lounges have large windows offering panoramic views.
There's plenty of choice for eating and drinking onboard including the main restaurant - Le Deauville Restaurant & Bar, a self service restaurant - Riva Bella a Coffee shop - Le Pays d'Auge Café and Le Derby Bar. Purchases made on board may be paid for in Euros or Sterling. Payment can be made in cash, by credit or debit card. Prices are shown in both currencies and you can combine different payment methods.
The boutiques are on decks 7 and 9 and offer a fine range of spirits, wine, tobacco, perfumes & cosmetics, leather goods, confectionery, toys, fashion, decoration, souvenirs, newspapers, games, cameras, sunglasses, jewellery.
Normandie features plenty of deck space so you can stretch your legs and and enjoy a calm spot to relax, while enjoying the sea air and incredible views, particularly when entering or leaving the port. Sun decks are on decks 8 and 9. There's also Wi-Fi internet access (not free), a baggage room to leave your luggage, a Bureau de Change, baby changing facilities, games room, video games room and slot machines, seasonal Caberet (DJ, Magician, Live Band) and 2 cinemas.
Young children can enjoy fun and games in the playroom on deck 9 or during the peak season they can take part in the special entertainments programme and enjoy everything from games to treasure hunts.
The ship is wheelchair friendly with specially adapted wheelchair accessible cabins. Disabled toilets are located on deck 7, 8, and 9 and all decks can be accessed by lift.
Please Note: Whilst we have taken great care in making our Normandie guide as accurate as possible, onboard facilities, services and entertainment may vary depending on the date and time of year that you travel, facilities mentioned may change without notification and ferry companies reserve the right to operate vessels other than those mentioned at time of booking without prior notification.
out of 5
84% of our customers recommended this ship
"Perfect crossing."
Faultless. Enough said!! 👍
"Our trip on the 26th august"
Overall a great trip - however I feel sorry for the young staff on catering as they appeared to be overworked and under resourced resulting in long waiting times for food and drink
"Smooth professional service "
First time I have taken my car abroad for 30 years. The overall experience was superb and the staff all polite and friendly. The kids all seemed to enjoy their organised activities The reclining seats in the quiet lounge were comfortable and and I could sleep easily.
"First crossing with Brittany"
Pleasant trip, definitely worth booking reclining seats, self service restaurant food good and not overpriced
"Mont St Michel - Portsmouth/Caen/Portsmouth"
Lovely boat but catering was abysmal - very disappointing food. Not much better than the Dover/Calais crossing in terms of catering. Restaurant was closed on both journeys and the food served by the self-service cafeteria was pretty awful. Certainly not what I would expect from a French company. Travelled with Brittany Ferries a few years ago and the food was superb. Come on Brittany Ferries. You can do better than this. What happened to your standards? No reflection on your lovely staff. They do their best.
"Night crossing"
On our outgoing journey we were kept awake by car horns going off, but on the return journey we were on a higher deck and were un effected by any noise from the car deck and slept well. Cabins are small but perfectly clean and functional, the staff were efficient. It was good to be able to get a breakfast before our onward journey although the cooked breakfast wasn’t great.
"My first experience with ferry ⛴️ "
Everything was more that I was thinking about my first experience with the ferry ⛴️ was perfect thanks
"Very helpful staff"
We had a good crossing both ways, but what I really appreciated was the helpful helpful staff. My husband broke his foot the week before we traveled and they offered assisted boarding and deboarding on each voyage and were pleasant and helpful. The catering was also really good
"Brittany ferries ⛴ "
My two daughters and I had a nice ,smooth sail over night. The cabins were comfortable, clean and warm.
"Great trip"
All very efficient
"Brittany Ferries improvement."
Having travelled again recently from Portsmouth to Caen, the company seem to be listening to comments from passengers. Though our ferry was 1.5 hours late in departing, we did some advance notice. Brittany Ferries staff were very sympathetic but did not have.much information on what went wrong. Full marks to the crew on board who kept the bar open later than usual. Foot passengers were also disembarked pretty quickly. It's a shame that bus passengers were not informed that the Twisto 12EX bus service had been diverted from its usual bus stop, because of a festival based at Ouistreham Port. The festival was taking place within 800 metres of the terminal. Passengers were told that the delay was a technical issue, combined with bad weather. The crossing itself was almost flat calm. Max Force 4, I believe. Breakfast good, but FAR too little time to enjoy it.So called reclining seats only slightly tilt and are unbelievably uncomfortable, only to be beaten by the world's most uncomfortable terminal seating, which is at the Portsmouth Terminal..
"Arrived over an hour late on both trips"
Disappointed that all my travel plans were messed up both ways by the delays. I have no idea why we were delayed an hour on the way over from Portsmouth to Caen. We were advised after we had set sail that we would be delayed but not why, The return trip was even worse,. Although they did send a text to say we would be delayed an hour but to still turn up at the usual time to board. Turns out only 3 of the 4 engines were working (think this is why we were delayed on our first trip). We were an hour and a half late - arriving at 10.45 pm instead of 9.15. But then they would not let us off. No reason given, just an announcement. Then they let us off half an hour later (I was a foot passenger) after all the cars had gone. A fellow passenger said it was because the tide was too high for the gangplank or something cos we arrived so late. I will never ever ever travel with this company again. The last train had gone and I had to pay for a last minute hotel or I would have been stranded in Portsmouth.
"Great Trip"
Found our way to the cafe where, early in the morning and having had no breakfast, we found the petit dejeuner which was just what we wanted. As it wasn't too busy, we found ourselves seats where we wanted and had a relaxing voyage before our drive in France.
"Ferry from Caen"
Quiet trip lots of space and good breakfast
"Voyage on 8.10.22"
We had a satisfactory voyage, though the ferry docked 30 minutes late.
"Great! "
Great service . Plenty of staff. Had films showing in a mini cinema . Food choice and quality was really good.
"Paid for non-existent wifi"
Staff was great, cabin was great, food in the restaurant was really good with healthy options and a wide variety which is wonderful. However 2 points of improvement stand out: #1 there is no obvious central point indicating what enterrtaintment is taking place when. Some prior news by email might be useful. And #2 we bought a 12 premium wifi package that did not work, we were unable to log onto the internet AT ALL. So we effectively threw £12 in the water. If the wifi cannot be guaranteed, I think it is not morally right to ask people to pay for it.
"Feedback "
Great journey
"Poor service "
Both trips late. The return trip was rescheduled to an earlier time which we arrived for but it then left later than original time. Ship very tired and not clean. Food appalling and restaurant was closed on the outward journey as ship left late, leaving us with nowhere to eat. Very poor overall
"Excellent crew and ship."
Absolutely fine. Good food and drink. Sailed on schedule.Loading no hassle. Estimate probably only 10% of capacity so no queues for anythin Being out of EC means wait for passport control both ways which could be considerable in main holiday period and could be a test of your patience which is
"Ferries fine, port connections rubbish!"
The ferries were great. Unfortunately getting to and from them as foot passengers was difficult (and expensive!), involving long walks, navigating local bus timetables, and extremely expensive taxi (to Caen). Why no shuttle bus between nearest stations and ferry port, to meet each and every sailing? We were left at the French port having arrived at 9.30pm to phone for a taxi from Caen, which cost £40.
"WiFi "
Unfortunately, no WiFi was available on my trip, in spite of contact with staff and moving around to obtain a better reception, toilets were smelly, from early on, so not cleaned prior to departure, otherwise smooth crossing
"Good crossing"
Reassuringly competent, no dramas, just get on with the job.
"What could be better?"
Nothing!
"good experience"
travelled in comfort. The free wifi was not strong and I was unable to have the zoom meeting I had intended without significant interruptions
"Delayed and slow but pleasant enough "
Boarding and departing was very slow and we ended up being on the ferry for significantly longer than planned. Entertainment was ok but could have done with more games or things to do. Main tv showing the football broke which was frustrating
"It's been better"
very slow getting onboard and late leaving and again on our return trip, late leaving then long delay getting into port and delay on getting foot passengers off, so all vehicles had already departed whilst foot passengers sat waiting for 30 minutes to get information about disembarking... No explination given.
"Best way to Europe in 2022"
We've been to and fro to Europe several times this year with different airlines and ferry companies, and the trip with Brittany Ferries was definitely the best.
"Misinformed, bad communication and uncooperative "
I would not book through direct ferries as they are unwilling to help if you have a problem. My ferry time was changed and I was misinformed about the new checking time leading to my not making the ferry and losing all my money. Had I been correctly informed this would not have happened. I was either ignored after this or told to commit Clare with Brittany when Brittany told me I needed to communicate with direct ferries. I wasted a lot of time just trying to speak to someone. I asked on several occasions that I dented to make a formal complaint and I stlll haven’t received this information.
"Portsmouth to Caen"
Crossing out to France was delayed and very choppy,we had a cabin for the first time which was extremely comfortable for the two of us and very clean Return journey today 22 September was very comfortable and calm
"Cabin "
Just a point ,there was no soap in the dispenser In the shower cubicle But there was some by the sink. Also the sink was dirty
"Great sail "
Really pleased with this crossing. Left on time, smooth crossing & good choice of good & drinks onboard. Cabin was very basic but ideal For a quiet place to have a nap or read. Loved the amount of outdoor seating & viewing areas. Would definitely book with Brittany ferries again.
"Delays and queues "
We had no problems with our ferries but the on shore organisation left much to be desired. Outwards the ferry was over an hour late. We arrived on time, first in line then last on the ship and this last off. Extensive checks at customs. No problems in France outwards or onwards. But over an hour at customs in Portsmouth. Brexit???
"Not great"
They emailed me to say the ferry was leaving 45 mins earlier so I paid to stay in a hotel nearby. Then the ferry boarded loads of people at the original boarding time, left late and arrived late. Plus there was a 45 min delay dlearing passports in Portsmouth - not their fault, but it added to the misery.
"Why can't they tell us?"