Anybody with experience with Ferries from Spain to Italy?
 

My girlfriend and I are taking a 7 week motorcycle trip through Europe, covering numerous countries. We have our route pretty much figured out, the only thing that we're not 100% sure on is the ferries that we'll be taking.

The ones we're considering are:

Valencia, Spain to Palma, Majorca islands, Spain
then back from Majorca to Barcelona, Spain

Then we're considering going all the way to Italy from Barcelona, either to Sardinia and then to the mainland or straight to Civitavecchia, Italy.

From Civitavecchia we'd drive to Rome, then head south all the way to Sicily. From there we'd take a ferry from Palermo to Genoa.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

Another concern we have is the safety of the motorcycle on the ferry, we'd have to leave a few bags on the bike and I've heard horror stories about theft in cars and on motorcycles during the ferry ride...any thoughts?

What about reliability? Are the ferries generally on time? Or delayed a bit? How much time should we allocate if say the ferry is scheduled to leave at 9am? I mean time to "check in" and load the bike etc.?

What about options during the ferry. For example, the Palermo - Genoa ferry is over 20 hours; I see on the websites that there are numerous options for "seat only" or "small cabin", the price jumps significantly...is it worth it? What are the ferry conditions like?

Thanks so much!

I have taken the night ferry from Barcelona to Mallorca - small cabin (2 of us) was comfortable with private bathroom (toilet, sink and shower). "Seat only" were arm-chairs in the lounges. On the way back (daytime) the ferry had a swimming pool with jacuzzi, a cafeteria, several bars etc.
All in all, a very pleasant experience.

Ferries from Barcelona to Italy and Sicily to Genoa will depart late afternoon. They are overnight ferries and you will need to book a cabin. The overnight ferries are more like cruise ships with casinos, theaters, etc.

You should look at each companies website for the ferries on your route. Grimalid, Gnav, TTT, Moby, etc. I would not leave valuables with the bike.

http://www2.gnv.it/en.html

http://www.grimaldi-lines.com/en

Thanks!

Kybourdon: Would you suggest we book in advance on their website or there in person?

I would book the international one sooner than the domestic ones, but if you want a sleeper, then best to get on it if you are traveling weekends or high season.

Zeppole: That article was great, thanks so much. I got some great tips from it!