I have been working in Dublin for the past few months. As I do not live near an airport, the most cost effective form of travel to Dublin was by car, on the ferry, (no airport car parking charges, no taxi fares once I arrive in Dublin port, etc).
I have been travelling from Holyhead to Dublin ... Read review
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Record Rent a Car is present in the main spanish airports and has a very wide fleet. We offer: exceptional discounts, free additional drivers,
unlimited mileage... subscribe to our Club Record and take advantage of special offers.
Advantages: HSS service is fast Disadvantages: Slightly more expensive than Irish Ferries
I have been working in Dublin for the past few months. As I do not live near an airport, the most cost effective form of travel to Dublin was by car, on the ferry, (no airport car parking charges, no taxi fares once I arrive in Dublin port, etc).
I have been travelling from Holyhead to Dublin port, or Dun Laoghaire and back. The ferry times, weather and cost were determining factors as to which port I sailed into.
The ... ...Line. I have regulary travelled on both. Each company operates 2 ships, each one sailing twice a day, (on average). 1 of the Stena ships is a "slow" ferry (Stena Adventurer), taking anywhere from 3 to 4 hours to do the crossing. The larger ferries normally dock in Dublin port. The other ferry is a "fast" ferry, the HSS, this takes on average about 1.5 hours and docks in Dun Laoghaire. Just for information, the Irish ferries ship ... more
I have been working in Dublin for the past few months. As I do not live near an airport, the most cost effective form of travel to Dublin was by car, on the ferry, (no airport car parking charges, no taxi fares once I arrive in Dublin port, etc).
I have been travelling from Holyhead to Dublin port, or Dun Laoghaire and back. The ferry times, weather and cost were determining factors as to which port I sailed into.
The 2 operators for this route are Irish ferries and Stena Line. I have regulary travelled on both. Each company operates 2 ships, each one sailing twice a day, (on average). 1 of the Stena ships is a "slow" ferry (Stena Adventurer), taking anywhere from 3 to 4 hours to do the crossing. The larger ferries normally dock in Dublin port. The other ferry is a "fast" ferry, the HSS, this takes on average about 1.5 hours and docks in Dun Laoghaire. Just for information, the Irish ferries ship that docks in Dublin port is the Ulysses and is the biggest passenger ferry in Europe. It is quite impressive ! The other Irish ferries "fast" ship is called the Johnathan Swift and docks at Dun Laoghaire.
Although this is meant to be a review of Stena Line, this is quite hard to do without comparing it to the other operator (Irish Ferries). The fares of the 2 operators are roughly the same (about £100 per crossing, with a car and 1 passenger), Stena Line seems to be a few pounds dearer. Both operators have "loyalty schemes" although even through repeated calls and emails to Stena, I have been unable to set my account up. Stenas loyalty scheme is called "compass points". Irish ferries scheme is a lot easier, they simply give you 20% back after your 5th return trip.
I have found the standard of the Irish ferries ships to be a lot higher than Stena. They seem better maintained, cleaner and more organised. By organised I mean it really is "first on, first off", whereas Stena just seem to park you where ever they can on the ship and when it comes to disembarking there seems to be no pre-defined order.
The facilities on board are adequate, the food served is standard, cafe type affair. The quality is equal on both Irish and Stena. It is quite expensive, but they have a captive market, so you have no choice !
If you like bandits, they have gaming machines on board with jackpots upto £1000. Irish also have lots of bandits but their jackpots are a mere £250.
If you smoke you can purchase 20 cigerettes per person for £3.25 or £3.75 (cant remember which). Stena let you purchase as many as you want, providing you state that x amount of people are travelling with you in your group :-) Irish arent quite as leniant !
Both operators offer a "first class" upgrade for about a tenner. Its well worth it if you need to get off the ship first, as it gives priority boarding / disembarkation. You also get access to a club class lounge with comfortable reclining seats and usually a small buffet and free hot drinks.
If your travelling to Dublin on the ferry from Holyhead, I would recommend going with Irish ferries. Its slightly cheaper and I think you receive a better service. If you opt for the Ulysses you will be entertained by 2 on-board cinemas, quite a large shop, bars and restaurants, a kids area and numerous lounges to relax in.
Advantages: easy to use, quickest Disadvantages: Nothing to do during journey , lacks personal touch
, if you are driving over to France or Belgium from the Dover area which is the best service. I am comparing the le Shuttle service run by Eurotunnel, the SeaCat service run by Hoverspeed, and the Ferry as run by P&OStenaline. I will compare ease of booking in, ease of boarding and getting off, comfort on board during the journey, smoothness of the crossing, terminal facilities and overall value for money.
Booking In
All the services are easy to use and booking in does not take very long. You have to be careful with the Hoverspeed service because it is not in the same place as the rest of the ferries. Once found though it is easy to book in. You also need to be aware that there can unfortunately be some delays with Eurotunnel due to the large numbers using the service and traffic backs up along the M20. If you miss your slot ...
Advantages: half the price of Eurotunnel Disadvantages: Some crossings are not very smooth
As it was time again for a visit to the continent, I was phoning these nice people from Eurotunnel for a quote for a five day return trip. They told me it's costing £215. When I got back up from the floor, I decided to give P&O/StenaLine a ring. Their price was £103 from Dover to Calais, also for a five day return trip. Very pleased with my 50% saving I booked straight away.
When I finally made my journey and arrived in Dover, there was a bit of a problem with the loading of the ferry, but the 15 minutes we have lost because of it, the ferry operators pulled back by reducing the crossing by 15 minutes. So we actually spend 75 minutes at sea. On board there were several restaurants, we decided to go for "First Base", a fast food outlet with reasonable prices. Our "Chicken Feast Meals" came to £4.69 each and included drinks and chips ...
Udo1 25.10.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Stenaline
Advantages: Quicker than the ferry Disadvantages: Poor5 service
I travel regularly to Europe on business as wells as for holidays. Generally this means about 12 channel crossings a year. I tend to prefer the Eurotunnel service for my business trips when time is the most important factor but I have also used the Ferries frequently and over Easter 2001 used the new SeaCat service which has replaced the discontinued Hovercraft service. I thought I would take the opportunity to share my views on the different services.
The premise is this, if you are driving over to France or Belgium from the Dover area which is the best service. I am comparing the SeaCat service run by Hoverspeed, the le Shuttle service run by Eurotunnel and the Ferry as run by P&OStenaline. I will compare ease of booking in, ease of boarding and getting off, comfort on board during the journey, smoothness of the crossing, terminal ...
polydeuces 18.04.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Hoverspeed
