Steam-Packet New Ferry survey

[Uhtred]

4 hours ago, John Wright said:

Lifts which operate whist vessel at sea

More cabins, two as well as four berth. 

Better satellite broadband as a paid for premium service.

Better passenger and pet accommodation.

Separate cafeteria.

More passenger accommodation with better configuration. Merge the executive club lounge and premium lounge.

Quiet lounge.

Discounts with paid for resident card.

Discounts and extra benefits with Executive Club frequent traveller card
 

 

Yes to all of those plus silver service dinner, starched table linen and waiters with white tunics and gloves.Bring back my childhood at once!

[Uhtred]

3 hours ago, John Wright said:

 Ringaskiddy

Surely that’s a particularly unfortunate toilet experience and not actually a place?!

[woolley]

9 minutes ago, Uhtred said:

Yes to all of those plus silver service dinner, starched table linen and waiters with white tunics and gloves.Bring back my childhood at once!

And get rid of all of that nonsense security so that we can once again run down Victoria Pier, throw on our bags and leap aboard over the rail as she's casting off. Those were the days. Bloody snowflakes!

[Max Power]

4 hours ago, Grounds Keeper Willy said:

Having been in Heysham this week how about a port that doesn’t look like a third world shit-hole? 

It looks like the railhead at Auschwitz and the security bunnies definitely have SS aspirations! 

[Albert Tatlock]

[John Wright]

42 minutes ago, Grounds Keeper Willy said:

It’s simply terrible. It’s no advert for our tourism sector. Concrete gloom next door to a nuclear power station. 

Is it just me that understands that it’s a working harbour and not a cruise liner terminal?

In last 15 months I’ve travelled by car ferry in/out of Douglas, Liverpool Pier Head, Birkenhead, Belfast, Dublin, portsmouth, Cork Ringaskiddy, Bilbao, Santander, Barcelona, Ancona, Genoa, Igoumenitsa, Kavala, Svishtov, Thasos, Zimnicea and  Nab to Mitchell Wyke.

The only one that was pretty was Nab to Mitchell Wyke - but even there there is no terminal building or WC. ( it’s the Windermere ferry ).

Portsmouth,  Igoumenitsa and Birkenhead have great terminal buildings, but once you’re checked in and have gone through to port side, they’re no better than Heysham facility wise. Indeed you can’t get back into the terminal, so no catering and inadequate or non existent WC facilities.

Heysham rates pretty high on the list for ease of road access, and not having to drive through desolate industrial wastelands to get there.

Svishtov is the worst.  But Steam Packet Belfast and Cork Ringaskiddy are not far behind.

[foxdaleliberationfront]

13 minutes ago, John Wright said:

The only one that was pretty was Nab to Mitchell Wyke - but even there there is no terminal building or WC. ( it’s the Windermere ferry ).

I'm amazed there is even a car ferry on Windermere! The fares are interesting - cars at £5 each for a 1.5 mile journey, that must be the most expensive ferry journey per mile in the world! 

[John Wright]

20 minutes ago, foxdaleliberationfront said:

I'm amazed there is even a car ferry on Windermere! The fares are interesting - cars at £5 each for a 1.5 mile journey, that must be the most expensive ferry journey per mile in the world! 

I think, technically, like Sandbanks, it’s classified as a floating toll bridge. There are 8, or so, of these chain operated vehicle ferries/floating bridges crossing rivers and estuaries or lakes, in U.K.. Fares are universally high. There are a dozen or so pedestrian only ones, also.

[Frances]

JW
Re differences between Premium lounge + Exec Club - in terms of facilities probably little - in terms of clientele a lot - all I want is a table space large enough to work on, a seat, a reasonable cup of coffee (the Costa one is ok tho the current machine in the club on the Ben is IMO undrinkable whereas the old one was fine), and generally being left alone + the essential of no screaming kids running around and no background music or video.

[Barrie Stevens]

17 hours ago, craggy_steve said:

If you haven't had the email

https://survey.islandglobalresearch.com/s3/Steam-Packet-Company-Ferry-Survey

 

Do not use real brass fittings and trim around doors, handles, windows and other places. I had the job of cleaning all the brass trim around the ship and which most people would probably not have noticed. It took maybe three hours possibly more going round with rags and Dura Glit/Brasso. Even if it could be done quicker it would be charged at 3 hours a day each end.

This was done twice a day in Douglas and in Heysham. So call it 6 six hours a day at £11 an hour 20 years ago let alone now and you think in terms of £66 a day and it can look like £24 K per annum just for that. Best trim with stainless steel which like you see in lifts is usually rubbed down with Johnson's baby oil which works a treat.

It is possible that the brass trim was removed from the Ben during subsequent refits because people like me pointed out the cost of fiddling about with Brasso etc and it is messy, needs cleaning up but Dura Glit is deemed costly by contractors.

Also, can we have deck or quay level entry along a brow and not have to climb a virtual fire escape to get to the passenger level? 

[Barrie Stevens]

10 hours ago, woolley said:

Was a lot better than anything we have now. I take it we are talking about the same King Orry? (1990 Ex Channel Entente.)

I was a cleaner on King Orry and in the passenger areas behind the formica panelling there were walls of crusted salt which in places were bursting out. The engineering department told me the ship was sound but it was crumbling top-sides and the salt from the sea had got in and settled over the years. It was much easier to clean than the Ben save there was a massive shortage of 13 amp plugs for the hoovers. Many a time I had to crawl about to get under the seating and drape extension leads about the place. At least you could walk straight on from the quay and not climb up a fire escape to get anywhere.

[Barrie Stevens]

1 hour ago, John Wright said:

Is it just me that understands that it’s a working harbour and not a cruise liner terminal?

In last 15 months I’ve travelled by car ferry in/out of Douglas, Liverpool Pier Head, Birkenhead, Belfast, Dublin, portsmouth, Cork Ringaskiddy, Bilbao, Santander, Barcelona, Ancona, Genoa, Igoumenitsa, Kavala, Svishtov, Thasos, Zimnicea and  Nab to Mitchell Wyke.

The only one that was pretty was Nab to Mitchell Wyke - but even there there is no terminal building or WC. ( it’s the Windermere ferry ).

Portsmouth,  Igoumenitsa and Birkenhead have great terminal buildings, but once you’re checked in and have gone through to port side, they’re no better than Heysham facility wise. Indeed you can’t get back into the terminal, so no catering and inadequate or non existent WC facilities.

Heysham rates pretty high on the list for ease of road access, and not having to drive through desolate industrial wastelands to get there.

Svishtov is the worst.  But Steam Packet Belfast and Cork Ringaskiddy are not far behind.

https://www.freighterexpeditions.com.au/Freighter-cruise-to-pitcairn-island

How about Pitcairn?

[John Wright]

3 minutes ago, Barrie Stevens said:

https://www.freighterexpeditions.com.au/Freighter-cruise-to-pitcairn-island

How about Pitcairn?

How about because it isn’t a car ferry harbour terminal.

[John Wright]

33 minutes ago, Frances said:

JW
Re differences between Premium lounge + Exec Club - in terms of facilities probably little - in terms of clientele a lot - all I want is a table space large enough to work on, a seat, a reasonable cup of coffee (the Costa one is ok tho the current machine in the club on the Ben is IMO undrinkable whereas the old one was fine), and generally being left alone + the essential of no screaming kids running around and no background music or video.

There aren’t screaming kids in premium. Nor is there music or video. Same age bar as executive lounge. The catering, on Mannanan, is identical, I don’t drink coffee, so can’t comment.  But both are often at 10% occupancy. Luxury that Steam Packet can’t afford. With proper configuration combination should work.

[Derek Flint]

13 hours ago, Chris C said:

You either haven't lived here very long or are a lot younger than your avatar looks if the best Manx ship you can remember is the King Horrible

First started sailing here in the 1990’s so it was that or the Lady Of Mann. The latter was like a converted fishing ketch. I had some horrendous crossings on it. The King Orry design was a lot easier to get comfortable on and ride out big weather. It was trying to put all the eggs in one design basket for freight and pax where things started to go awry.

The Ben isn’t a good sea boat, at least where passengers are involved.The only other of that design was sold to the NZ Navy and it proved unworkable even in a military application. 

Hopefully, today’s computer aided design and performance modelling will result in something fit for the route, and also be able to identify the optimum place to put pax  to ensure their comfort. That front lounge was like a fairground ride when the boat was pitching in a high sea. Almost a zero gravity experience on the drop into the trough!

And the whole thing needs to be much better value. Though how that is going to happen now it is in Govt ownership I don’t know. That £40m being spent with Peel Holdings in Liverpool would have been much better used in getting a better boat, or having a subsidized fare programme to try and generate some traffic.