Volcan De Tinamar

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  No

I have never used a cross-Atlantic ferry service before, though I have sailed and cruised extensively. This was an experience I do not want to repeat. Upon arrival at 10:30 (insisted upon by the ferry company, Armas, I presented my boarding pass to the man at the gate who was unable to scan it. Technical problems, it appears. It was then taken from me so I had no way to verify my credentials. I was then waiting in a queue of traffic for over one hour at the port - two lines went into one, with no prior warning and as we inched forward we realised the cars were being stopped and searched by the Guardia Civil and sniffer dogs were going in to the cars. Luckily not mine. Then with hundreds of other cars herded into a massive car park we waited for -who knows what. No information, no advice, no signs, nothing. The clerk at the gate said the wait would be another 45 mins - 1 hour. No toilets. Eventually we were ushered in and drove onto the ship. The staff member shouted at me and angrily (I don't know why) made me park 3 times, minor little manoevers changing nothing. I finished up next to a barrier making it really difficult to get out. No signs to tell you where to go to enter the ship. None. At reception desk I faced another queue of people lining up to get their room keys. Oh no, they couldn't give these to you when you check in at the gate, could they? After a lot of hassle trying to retrieve the number of my cabin which was on the boarding pass they had retained I was given a different cabin anyway. The signing to get to it was broken and badly lit. The numbering was illogical and not sequential. When I found it the air conditioning was on ferociously and I couldn't turn it down. The toilet seat was broken. There was inadequate storage for clothes and no radio or phone to contact reception. The TV was placed above the bed at the pillow end so you couldn't lie on the bed and watch it. Internet connection was provided free but was very intermittent. The bathroom facilities were very basic, though shampoo and shower gel was provided. It took me demanding an upgrade before they fixed the toilet seat. It was horrible. The main areas of the ship were acceptable. There was a self-service cafeteria serving main meals, a snack bar serving drinks, coffee, tea and cakes, that sort of thing and a bar on the sun-bathing deck playing music. That was fine. Plenty of places to sit quietly and not too crowded or noisy. Temperature was fine in the lounges. The staff were polite and helpful. Upon arrival we had to turn the cars around to alight and leave the ship, but I guess that was not their fault. The ship left 1 hour and 45 minutes after the allotted departure time and although some time was made up, not all of it was. This could have been very problematical for those connecting with other travel plans. I was not impressed, no explanation was given. The whole ship needs a thorough re-furb. It has not been re-touched in years and is very tatty and unkempt. I will not be sailing with Armas again and though I have no other cross-Atlantic company to compare with I have heard from others that competition companies provide far better standard of accommodation. This wasn't cheap and the only reason I made the trip was because I wanted to bring my car. I hope this diatribe has been helpful, but I doubt whether they will take my comments on board. No pun!

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  No

Mucked up booking

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  Yes

My third crossing from huelva to lanzarote and this time it was very good particularly because of the weather. Food was acceptable cabin and bed ok, needed better WiFi.

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The buckets of water to mop up after your dogs were never emptied the whole journey.  The mops were only fit for the bin.  The whole pet designated area the smell was disgusting because the buckets of water/disinfectant were never changed, it was disgusting