Guide To Bay Of Biscay & Northern Spain Cruising | Don't Make This Mistake!

[@joanfreestone1707]

I was only a child in the 1960s when my family emigrated to Australia and I remember vividly sailing through the Bay of Biscay and I was so sick. Of course, the ships were very much smaller in those days.

[@SuiteNatured]

we can only imagine what it was like to sail through here in the 60's on a small ship Joan, it can be bad enough on the bigger modern ones.

[@70PaulK]

I had 2 cruises through there last summer with P&O and MSC. The weather was good, but I was sick on the 2nd trip and missed out on the formal dinner. The ports are very nice, with Vigo, La Coruna and Porto as good as any I've seen.

[@SuiteNatured]

We feel you Paul, Mark missed out on the 1st formal night on our trip through the Bay. La Coruna in particular is one of our favourite ports this side of the atlantic.

[@markthompson62]

Getting ready to cross the BOB for the first time in just 2 weeks on Arvia. Wish me luck!

[@SuiteNatured]

We are sure you’ll be fine on Arvia Mark 👍 have a lovely cruise.

[@JasonHill5371]

We are doing this cruise on the Ventura on the 20th April, looking forward to it

[@SuiteNatured]

It's a great cruise Jason and Ventura is such a lovely ship, and the Glass House on there is our favourite on any P&O ship

[@chocoholic832]

We sailed in the ventura last oct & sailed over the Bay of Biscay & had no problems. We are doing a transatlantic cruise to canada in sept & hoping we'll have a calm voyage.

[@cherifurr3935]

Nice video!

[@SuiteNatured]

Thank you Cheri

[@stevehattrick1946]

Hi you two, Linzi sounds like she's crushed about not going to Bordeaux. Thank you for the information. It was very informative. Is there a month that is better to travel through that area, or is it hit or miss? Cheers

[@SuiteNatured]

Hi Steve and thanks. There's not a guaranteed good time to go, but there are times that the probability of bad weather is far higher. Avoid end of November through end of Feb. Generally May to August is generally good. We've not had a bad crossing at that time of year yet.

[@davidmarsden305]

Although the bay can be a challenge at times, most modern day cruise ships can pass through without too much of a wobble, famous last words😂 my second ever cruise 30 odd years ago was on the Thompson Topaz, oh my god, it was in January coming back from the canaries, the ship was running late and captain took the stabilisers off to make up time, we literally bounced back to Southampton, glasses were smashing everywhere, it was proper scary😂 so now if the ship is swaying a bit going through and people are getting excited/ worried about it? We just laugh, because without any exaggeration, we thought the ship wasn't going to make it, if it had been our 1st cruise, it would have been our last one ever😂

[@SuiteNatured]

Whenever anyone asks where they should go for their first cruise, we proactively encourage them to not go through the Bay, as like you said, if it is your first cruise, and first full day you end up seasick it could put you off forever, it probably would have us.

[@SuzieHart]

Hi we are doing a med cruise in may. Do you advise not to book a special dinner on the 2nd night. 3rd is la Corona.thank you

[@SuiteNatured]

Hi Suzie, it night 2 is going across the bay of biscay (which we are assuming it is), then no, we wouldn't recommend it, go with either night 1 or night 3 for a special dinner. Cruising out of La Coruna is lovely. You can always play it by ear though and see how the BOB is behaving (sometimes it can be like sailing on glass) as the speciality dining is normally quieter those days and just do a last minute booking or walk up. Hope this helps, Linzi & Mark

[@SuzieHart]

@@SuiteNatured thanks very much for the advice we won't book until the 3rd day probably do the beach hut or greenhouse . We enjoy your videos thanks again 😊

[@martintravelnjt2721]

We had waves bouncing off the restaurant windows and huge swells but we were not sick -sea sickness tablets work wonders i guess😂

[@SuiteNatured]

Modern sea sickness tablets work so well nowadays and some.gingers chews or fresh ginger always works for Mark too if he has it in good time.

[@BORED-sb5zh]

Travelling to Santander next month with Brittany ferries the kids are scared. Should they be ?

[@SuiteNatured]

Absolutely not. Brittany Ferries make the crossings to Santander constantly (far more than the cruise ships) and whilst it could get a bit bumpy, the captains are very experienced at minimising this. Plus August, in theory, is one of the better months of the year weather wise across the Bay of Biscay.

[@KenGoesCruising]

Hi Guys we have been fortunate enough to cross the BOB 56 times and not been sea sick once.

[@SuiteNatured]

Wow. 56 times and never sea sick. Very impressive. 😂

[@KenGoesCruising]

@@SuiteNatured I shouldn't have said that I guess it's tempting fate

[@johnsmart170]

How long from Southampton to reach the bay of biscay

[@SuiteNatured]

If you are heading straight across from Southampton you normally hit it within 24 hours and are across it within 48hrs from setting off.

[@lizdyson3627]

I want to do France, Spain and Portugal.

[@SuiteNatured]

France, Spain and Portugal are such great cruise itineraries, and so readily available from lots of cruise lines from Southampton Liz too.

[@chrisriordan9610]

It’s a hit or miss on the weather in Bay of Biscay

[@SuiteNatured]

That's right Chris, and it doesn't really matter what time of year you go, it can be smooth or rough, although you edge your bets one way or another if you go in the middle of summer compared to the middle of winter.

[@rocky5755]

If the forecast looks iffy take a travel sickness pill.

[@SuiteNatured]

We might get that on a t-shirt Rocky :) But you are right, if it looks remotely iffy, we take a seasickness pill and some gingers tablets and are absolutely fine.