Has anybody taken the overnight ferry from Patras (Greece) to Bari (Italy).

We intend doing this in late April and want to understand whether we need to book in advance and what sort of cabin we should book.

It is likely to be busy at this time of year? Is there anythign wrong with an an inside cabin?

Blue Star Ferries www.bluestarferries

and

SuperFast ferries www.superfast.com run this route jointly as the "Premium Alliance"

web site should have all info you need.

Hi Wilees, we made this trip many (20) years ago and weren't bright enough to reserve for our May crossing; we walked up and somehow easily got on the (huge) boat -- the ones in the picture look like toys compared to ours! If I were going on the Superfast Ferry today I definitely would book ahead, and if I had loads of money would take a luxury outside. In reality, most of the trip is overnight so no, there is nothing wrong with an inside cabin because you can always get out of it and walk around. We paid seventy five dollars each for our inside and I was so seasick I could not sit up for the duration.

Have fun on your trip!

April is not the peak season for ferries between Italy and Greece, but there will be more people travelling around Easter (the Greek Orthodox Easter is one week after the Western Easter this year).
Since last year, Agoudimos Lines have been running two big ships on the route (www.agoudimos-lines.com), so that should mean services are much less likely to be fully booked.
I don't know which ship Fidel can have used, but the two Blue Star ships on the Bari route, the BLUE HORIZON and BLUE STAR 1, would be much bigger than ships running on the route 20 years ago.
I personally am happy with an inside cabin - it's not only cheaper, but it may be easier to sleep if there's no light from outside. The ships have various lounges and bars, so you don't need to spend any time sitting in your cabin. I think all the cabins have a bathroom with a shower and WC.

I took the Superfast II from Bari to Patras about 5 years ago. We boarded around 6 or 7pm and the ship sailed about 10pm. There was a scheduled stop in the middle of the night and we arrived Patras about 11am.

The Superfast II was like most cruise ships. I had an outside double cabin and my daughter and her friends had an inside quad. The cabins are typical cruise ship cabins - small with bunk-type beds and small baths.

The Superfast II had a movie theater, disco, small casino, pool, lounges, restaurant, etc.

I've gone the opposite direction - Bari to Patras. The overnight ferry was a pleasant surprise, with restaurants and a disco...we had a small cabin with bunk beds, it wasn't an inside cabin, but that wouldn't bother me at all. We were in the disco until the wees before returning to the cabin and sleeping. We did this over labor day, 2001.

Thanks everybody - this is very helpful.

I have diligently reviewed the websites but first hand comments are always more reassuring (and useful).

I am probably going to use bluestar ferries and book shortly online.

Anybody else have their own experiences to share? (or tips on getting a good fare price?)

Blue Star Ferries' web site has a table of fares and an explanation of the different types, supplements and discounts. The web site seems to still have fares for 2005, but 2006 fares are on www.superfast.com (they're effectively the same company, though the Bari route is normally run by two Blue Star ships). The fares don't fluctuate like air fares, and the only advantage to booking in advance is to get the type of cabin you want. April is low season, and the cheapest two-berth cabin seems to be 137 euros per person.

Superfast is a very good company. Re. cabins, there is nothing wrong with an inside cabin, you just don't get a window.
Carolena