wed been in june and had enjoyed so much that we booked again.as it was the last but 1 sailing before the final 1,they seemed to have run out of a lot of food and the duty free was practically empty.the staff werent as pleasant as before,but because of the good group of friends i was with ranging from 15 to age 67 we still had a ball.we are however disappointed the cruise has now stopped and are in search of an alternative.

was good fun! can be abit boring if your a teenager, not much to do for my age (17) otherwise, food is great, advised to take travelling tablets.
i would deffinatly go again with different people to get & for a laugh.
best time was when we arrived in Spain, was good to touch land for 4 hour hours, and to shop around. thumbs up! wasnt to bad .. i plan to book again within the next week. so excited! x

Just returned from this trip and we are so sad this is ending at the end of the month. We would love to have done it again...and again!! We are a family of five and although we had a rough few hours on the return trip (can't help the weather)we cannot speak more highly of the ship and staff. We read the reviews before and found it helpful to take extension lead, kettle and snacks although the food wasn't over priced. We ate in the International food court and found it to be of very good quality and the staff excellent. One gentleman in particular (didnt get his name but a small english guy) was so very helpful. The entertainment was excellent. Definitely not worthy of any bad reviews in our opinion! The variety was excellent also - Bingo, Latin Dancing, Shows, Video horse racing..the list was endless!
The only critisms, though these are minor, are it was very lengthy affair getting on and off the ship and there was a shortage of comfortable seating in and outside with the amount of passengers on board. Such a shame these hardworking people are going to be without a job and the Pride of Bilboa will be no more.....

jus got home from a fantastic time on board the pride of bilboa saw whales and dolphins it was truley a wonderfull experiencs they were swimming so close to the ship.the staff were very friendly and helpful its such a shame its all ending next month would love to have gone again. the entertainment was excallent apart from wednesday dont ever sit and watch bizzare it was pathetic and people walked out half way through the show. the comedeons zac and phill were really funny. plenty to do on board for children and adults we had some really hot weather.

I thought the trip was really good. When we arrived at portsmouth we had to wait until 10:30pm to depart this was because of rough sea in the english channel. When we finally got onbaord we were amazed by the size of the rooms we were expecting them to be small but they were bigger. The food onboard was really nice and the staff onboard were very friendly and happy at all times if you needed something they would try there hardest to get what you wanted. The entertainment onboard was really good we went to the showbar every night and the drinks were so "CHEAP". If i was you i would go on it, it is really great you get everything you would get on a normal cruise from swimming pool to casinos. The bay of biscay can be very rough as we found out as we were in a gale force 9 storm!!!!!. Other than that we did get to see whales and dolphins which made us feel better and it was just rough once the rest of the journey was great. When we got to Bilbao it was so nice there even though its all built up. The temperature was 28 degrees and by the end of the day everyone onboard had a tan.

So if i was you i would book it before it finishes as it is great value for money and there is so much to do.

really enjoyed the experience,as it was our first taste of a cruise,was pleasantly suprised.fortunatly the sea was calm and weather really good for 2 of the days.only downside was problem with hot water in cabin we had to the point of after 3 times complaing we was moved to another cabin.a little claustrophobic for 2 people,but did'nt spend much time in there.maybe the length of time the morning spent in bilbao was'nt as advertised because we was told it would be 4 hours when in fact was only about an hr n arf n most places were closed,so made buying anything a task.but on the upside food and drinks entertainment ect very good.the mini cruise that we booked via going places was ok but let down on a couple of points prior to departing,which was a little frustrating at times but got there in the end.overall an excellent time and no major problems ,found all staff polite and very helpful wiil b following,offers to go again

just arrived back and had a great time,myself and my wife enjoyed the great value for money break,shop around when eating on board as in can be quite expensive.we treated ourselves to the four seasons carvery at£18.45 each it was buffet style and you could eat as much as your belly could take so we had several plates lol.shame its ending on 28th sept as we would have loved to go again next year.not many shops open in spain when you arrive and when they do its nearly time to go back onboard.watch out for the whale spotters onboard because if one person thinks they seen somthing they all come running and dont care who gets in the way.apart from that a great break

Just got back from a 3 night break on the pride of Bilbao minicruise and myself and my boyfriend thoroughly enjoyed. Had a 3 hour delay in portsmouth due to the ship being held up in the bay of biscay due to bad weather, only bad point of the trip! Set sail from portsmouth at 1:30am approx, bar in the show time area extended opening hours to 4:00am. We had a 2 berth inside cabin which was very clean, cosy and basic. Only one foreign plug in cabin so be sure to take a travel plug and extension lead. We also took a kettle for tea/coffee and snacking food to keep the cost of eating down, we also took an iron, no need to take any alochol with you as prices in duty free shop are very good: around £11.00 for a slab of 24 cans of lager and around £11.00 for 3 bottles of blossom hill. Prices in the bars are slightly high however no higher than you would expect to pay in a night club or restaurant these days: around £6.40 for 2 pints of lager. Food in the bar quite expensive at around £5.00 each for hot dog or a cornish pastie. Food in the restaurants/cafe very reasonable and in my opinion cater for every budget. In the Olivios cafe you could get snacks and light bites, lovely panninis at around £3.95 each and a meal deal consisting of a baugette, crips and a large drink for £5.95. The food in the international restaurant was fab, plenty of choice and meals very large and well cooked. Meal deal also available here, Meal & desert for £9.95 and kids meal deals consisting of childs meal and desert for around £5.00. Other food options available such as an all you can eat cavery which we didnt try but heard it was excellent for breakfast at around £9.00 each, more expensive for evening meal at around £19.00 each.

No stag or hen parties causing havoc or any loud'booze crusiers'', all types of passengers from young children to oap's and theres something on board to entertain everyone.

Crossing from portsmouth to Bilbao was smooth even though weather wasnt great. Bilbao was a bit of a disappointment, not really worth getting off the boat to see, me and my partner got a coffee each and a sandwhich at the nearest (over-priced) cafe to the dock and fell asleep on a bench until it was time to get back on the ship. When you get back onto the ship, try and get to top deck and grab a sun lounger straight away as the weather is gorgeous and great opportunity to catch a tan! Crossing back from Bilbao to Portsmouth not so smooth - quite rough going through bay of biscay but didnt cause any delays however our cabin was situated at the very back of the boat so we felt the roughness from the sea and the vibrations from the engines - this didnt really bother us but it probably would if your a light sleeper!

Next morning the sailing again was very smooth and the weather was beautiful, informed of a small delay in our time of arrival at portsmouth as there was a medical evacuation during the night which meant the ship had to slow right down to allow a helicopter to land on board.

Entertainment throughout the trip was ok - great for kids at beginning of the night, games of bingo and horse betting throughout the day and evening, and a show at 10:30pm every night, which was good but did get a bit boring as only consisted of singing and outfit changing. Disco starts at 12:00pm. Staff quite strict in show bar about taking your own drinks in however it was still quite easy to do. Cigarettes sold at bar at £2.50 a pack which is 70p cheaper per pack than duty free, Only allowed to buy one pack at a time though.

Few sightings of dolphins & whales whilst on board.

All in all we had a fab few days away, lovely break with more than we expected really. Only downfalls as I said were the delay for leaving portsmouth and also the amount of time taking to disembark foot passengers on arrival at portsmouth - be prepared to queue! Would recommend to anyone, shame the trip is ending in september!.

this was a very good break for me and my partner, so much so i'm looking to book another asap with my kids and family. it is what u make it. the cabin didnt have tea facilites but i brought my own, the only down fall is it had 1 plug socket but i will take extention lead next time. the entainment was good shame the dj wasnt playin that good music but still made the most

I went with a Whale watching group and therefore had an excellent time. We had permission to go on 'Monkey Island' which is based above the Captains deck. We had a 360 deg view and thus managed to sight both Whales & Dolphins.
The Pride of Bilbao is starting to show its age BUT at the same time it will be missed. What a shame they couldn't refurbish it? I didn't really notice any bad behaviour as some others had prehaps we were just lucky, also we went in the middle of the week too. Maybe that helps?
The food was a little pricey and the restaurants seemed to close a little bit early also. So, we ended up eating pasties and pizza from 'Cafe Olivio'.

Our entertainment was watching the Whales and Dolphins but I guess if you're into 'Hi-Di-Hi' style acts then I guess there was lots to keep you going or if you were into Bingo too.

Still, have said that the Pride of Bilbao will be missed.

Apart from having to board late (11.00pm, due to berth rescheduling at Portsmouth, the cruise was very good value for money. My daughter and I spent a lot of time on deck, reading and sunbathing. We slept well on the surprisingly comfortable bunks. The weather and sea were perfect! The dolphin watch commentator was very informative and the Spanish receptionists were most helpful and kind. The Captain and First Officer's daily bulletins also ensured passengers were kept informed of events, both socially and technically. The breakfasts were good value for money, and we decided to eat in Langhams both evenings as the meal was beautifully served and cooked.. Our visit to the fishing village was delightful. Being a Sunday there were no shops open, but we filled 3 hours with a walk to the church on the hill, a look at the harbour and a few cups of coffee in the plentiful cafes along the harbour front. Spain being in the World Cup final added to our enjoyment. TV screens were available to watch the match for the keen footbal fans and the entertainment on board was rescheduled to allow for this. All in all a trip geared to the passenger and not the staff. The only downside was the time it took to offload foot passengers. A pity it is ending in September.

We booked this mini cruise after we saw it advertised on travelzoo. the price was so cheap, we just couldnt let it go. i would definitely recommend it becuase everybody on our trip had such a good time. in our group we a mixture of adults and children and everybody found something to entertain themselves with pretty much all the time. The entertainment at the show bar was brilliant, my 4 year old couldnt get enough of it. they had a good childrens play area which was always kept clean. the cinema was alright. there were numerous sightings of dolphins and whales by everyone else including my family - but sadly i kept missing them. The food was a bit pricey, we chose to eat at mostly the food court and cafe olivios on deck 6 as these two were a bit reasonable. but is did get a bit boring after a while as the same food was served every day and night. they were however very accommodating when it came to my children, providing baby food jars and refilling milk bottles and so on, i would still say take your own jars as they run out of the flavours that my son liked . on the second day we had a chance to visit bilbao through an excursion- which to be honest was a bit of a let down. they only gave us about 2 hours to explore which to be honest you cant really do properly when you you have a baby and a 4 year old with. overall i would still defenitely recommend this trip as apart from the excursion the cruise itself was very enjoyable.
p.s take a mini kettle and your own tea bags as the drinks are expensive

I thought this cruise was real vlue for money. Yes a meal is £12 per head per meal (main) and £5 for kids and breakfast £5 but come on thats still value for money this means a family of four is looking at £30 as day main meals without drinks. We took our own breakfast, water and drinks an extension lead and a travel kettle and the provisions so we saved load of money on food and drink. Drinks in the bar are like £7 for double vodka and coke one coke and a pint of shandy, which is the sam,e as the pubs and £2 roughly for coffee and tea. The trip is what you make of it. Sometimes the sea is choppy the highest gale force was 5 feels like your on a rollercoaster. But the shows are as good as west end. The dolphins and whales were fabulous. for £36each for us two adults and £18 each for the kids this is a bargain. I honestly dont knopw why people are moaning on here about the prices the food the bar etc. TIP: get to the show bar early and guard your seat with your life. Dont expect a smooth ride if you go early in the year when gale force winds your on a boat for goodness sake!!!!

Good for cheap family getaway. you do not need to take your own towells. Take a travel kettle for tea/coffee. Don,t go on the ships tours what they don,t tell is that when you get to Santurtzi ....off Boat turn left and ten mins away is the train station( cost us 6.50 euors for 3 adults return children under 11 do not pay)which will take you straight into bilbao (20)mins away. then you can walk to Guggenheim museum ( about £15 euros each) or walk around bilbao itself. Remember that spain is one hour in front so if you get there for 7/8am it is acually 8/9 and again not mentioned by p&O. When getting of the ship at portsmouth foot passengers ony have 1 exit deck 4 which is very narrow so even though we had docked at 5ish it was a free for all to get thru the exit(abosoultley manic) , so either be very early or wait till the end. Overall would use again but as a bus to get to Spain with car. would not go again as a foot passenger. You do get your ( booze cruisers of all ages who are there just to drink.