engineer21 Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 that sussie was something i could not fathom out myself either!!! ive absolutly nothing against orkney and dont wish to sound like an island fued they have every right to good links like us. but arent we being hard done by here?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fionajohn Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 is this another government ploy of devide and conquer we need a norwegian co to get in on the act Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFR937 Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Time for a small rant about Northlinks *subsidised* pricing , after the price leaflet that came out in the Shetland times this friday I thought I'd compare other ferry services in europe , I know the Channel is cheap due to huge volumes and heavy competition so thought the Oslo to Copenhagen would be a good comparison . Northlink from Lerwick to Aberdeen with a car in July is £343 for two people in a two berth cabin . Oslo to Copenhagen is £282.50 with the same conditions (and taking you 320 miles not the 200 Northlink do) , remember that this is an unsubsidised ferry company , hate to think what Northlinks full price rate for a tourist would be , makes you wonder where all this apparently subsidy money goes doesn't it , certainly not on quality of service ! To really rub salt into the wound I looked up a Cunard cruise to the Norwegian fjords , for £800 each you can get 8 nights full board in a balcony suite on the Queen Mary in July (http://www.imaginecruising.co.uk/cruise-details/32502/8nts-Norway-Cruise) , now that £100 a day is for a 24hr day with all the luxury food you can manage , that works out at £8.33 an hour for a couple travelling with Cunard , Northlinks rate for the privilege of their service without food for a couple only(no car) travelling with them is £11.35 per hour , ever feel that we are getting humped or is it just me (and once again Cunard are not being subsidised). Rant over but looking forward to comments Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustMe Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 But of course Northlink has to run virtually empty ferries every night all winter as a lifeline service while Cunard heads for warmer climes. Maybe Oslo-Copenhagen has more year round trade. Then again Northlink, or any other company that takes over the route, will charge what the government tells them to. If Edinburgh decreed that passengers would pay a fiver a crossing with an extra fiver for a berth and a maximum of a fiver for a three course meal then that is what would happen. Maybe £2.50 for a cooked breakfast!. Might be nice if the government could tweak the subsidy so that all Shetland residents.......and the Orcadians......could have one super cheap trip to the mainland, one cheap trip and the rest without subsidy. Might also be good if the Air Discount Scheme could give us one free return flight with the rest at a lesser discount but that is another issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances144 Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 I rang up to book my trip south in March. I am on the freight boat! I have to say I am very excited! Woo hoo! Can't wait tbh. Hope it is calm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suuusssiiieee Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Frances144 i hope it is calm for you also! Have heard the current freight ships are awful sea boats so fingers crossed for you. On the plus side the food i believe is plentiful and rather good.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances144 Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 ...and free! You eat with the crew too which should be a larf! (if it is rough, I will just dope myself up and take to my cabin) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RFR937 Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 But of course Northlink has to run virtually empty ferries every night all winter as a lifeline service while Cunard heads for warmer climes. Maybe Oslo-Copenhagen has more year round trade. Then again Northlink, or any other company that takes over the route, will charge what the government tells them to. If Edinburgh decreed that passengers would pay a fiver a crossing with an extra fiver for a berth and a maximum of a fiver for a three course meal then that is what would happen. Maybe £2.50 for a cooked breakfast!. Might be nice if the government could tweak the subsidy so that all Shetland residents.......and the Orcadians......could have one super cheap trip to the mainland, one cheap trip and the rest without subsidy. Might also be good if the Air Discount Scheme could give us one free return flight with the rest at a lesser discount but that is another issue. Agreed there isn't much passengers during winter but Cunard aren't exactly carrying much in the way of freight , our boats are pretty full up with freight all year round . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaflech Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 Time for a small rant about Northlinks *subsidised* pricing , after the price leaflet that came out in the Shetland times this friday I thought I'd compare other ferry services in europe , I know the Channel is cheap due to huge volumes and heavy competition so thought the Oslo to Copenhagen would be a good comparison .I wouldn't say that it gives a particularly like-for-like comparison at all. Oslo to Copenhagen is a service linking a two cities of approximately 1.2 million population, or two countries of around 5 million, and also a shortcut between Scandinavia and continental Europe. Northlink links a city of 210,000 with a town of about 7,500, or a country of 60 million with islands of 22,000 people. Hardly a similar demographic to compare the two routes. Oslo to Copenhagen is £282.50 with the same conditions (and taking you 320 miles not the 200 Northlink do) , remember that this is an unsubsidised ferry company That's the first clue there, if the company is unsubsidised then it does indicate that there is enough demand and competition on the route to make it profitable without outside help. Northlink (or 'insert new company here') doesn't have that luxury. makes you wonder where all this apparently subsidy money goes doesn't it , certainly not on quality of service !I guess we could ask them to take the subsidy away for a while and make us pay the actual cost of the route, that would really make your eyes water! To really rub salt into the wound I looked up a Cunard cruise to the Norwegian fjords , for £800 each you can get 8 nights full board in a balcony suite on the Queen Mary in July (http://www.imaginecruising.co.uk/cruise-details/32502/8nts-Norway-Cruise) , now that £100 a day is for a 24hr day with all the luxury food you can manage , that works out at £8.33 an hour for a couple travelling with Cunard , Northlinks rate for the privilege of their service without food for a couple only(no car) travelling with them is £11.35 per hour , ever feel that we are getting humped or is it just me (and once again Cunard are not being subsidised). Again it's hardly the same thing. On a cruise you want to be on it for a long time, be it a week ten days or a fortnight, depending on how much time and money you can give. On a ferry service it is about getting as much cargo and passengers from A to B as quickly and efficiently as possible.You may be able to book a cabin on the Queen Mary for £800, but you probably get a view of the funnel and are positioned above the kitchens. There will be a lot of cabins going for several thousands of pounds, which is where they make their money. Rant over but looking forward to comments I don't know what people expect from a service. With the cost of fuel only going to increase and subsequently the cost of every single manufactured thing, I think that as long as the pricing is fair and not extortionate then it is value for money. We could have a situation like the fuel supplies in Shetland, where one unsubsidised private firm has the monopoly on the whole place and can set whatever price they want because people have no option but to pay it. We don't. We have on the whole a reliable, realistically priced service which does what it's designed to most of the time. I'm baffled by the now prevalent attitude that because we live on an island we have an elevated status to the rest of the population, and should be entitled to free this and free that, getting discounted things that 'mainlanders' have to pay full price for, etc etc. Surely the first thing about living on an island is accepting that you live on an island! If the government decided that everybody on Shetland and Orkney are to get one free return journey to the mainland per year, how long would it be before folk start shouting "This is taking the p*ss, we should be getting three return trips," if you get what I'm saying. And then what would happen? The same people would moan that they are having to pay higher taxes to pay for the freebies. Shetland is a very well off place in comparison to a lot of Britain, but it seems that the better off a place is, the more it expects to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shetlandpeat Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 The quality of service is great, I have never had to use a life raft, my transport has got there safe, my bags have got there the same time as me (unlike baggage on a plane) and the vessel got me to where I wanted to be. Now, who do we complain about the weather and sea state to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyboy Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 ...and free! You eat with the crew too which should be a larf! (if it is rough, I will just dope myself up and take to my cabin) Sorry to dissapoint you but you don't actually eat with the crew. You eat with the drivers but the food is good and plentiful. There is 3 courses with tea and coffee available at all ttimes. The Polish lady that does the cooking is very warm and welcoming. In the mess room there is a big TV and a comfy sofa.The cabins are very basic but clean and comfortable. If it's a rough crossing you get to hoover up because nobody else fancies breakfast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances144 Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Still excited! (I need to get out more!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 The quality of service is great, I have never had to use a life raft, my transport has got there safe, my bags have got there the same time as me (unlike baggage on a plane) and the vessel got me to where I wanted to be. Now, who do we complain about the weather and sea state to? Never had to use a life raft on a plane, true my baggage has arrived before me when flying (funny stories, but someone was wating with it when I arrived both times), I've never arrived in the wrong place by plane, or had to watch as the city I was due to arrive in goes past. When my flights been delayed/canceled I've never had to find my own accomadation or pay extra for my seat (that I'd already paid for) on the flight that does go. Best of all when flights have been delayed beyond public transport times I've had transport laid on taking me to city/town centre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infiltrator Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 Seaflech makes a couple of useful points about the way life in Shetland seems to have drifted since the oil wealth arrived in the mid 70's. Both points are relevant in the transport debate. Surely the first thing about living on an island is accepting that you live on an island! Shetland is a very well off place in comparison to a lot of Britain, but it seems that the better off a place is, the more it expects to get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaflech Posted February 23, 2012 Report Share Posted February 23, 2012 From The Shetland Times website story 'Fresh anger voiced over NorthLink service amid disruption to vessels’ sailings,' a comment from Josie Simpson: "The suggestion by the government that the council in Shetland should put £25,000 towards hiring in the Hebridean Isles to help NorthLink fill the gaps was “a disgusting thing to ask a small community to doâ€, Mr Simpson said." Interestingly that comment was never made in the council chambers in relation to the £7 MILLION spent so far on the Bressay bridge. I don't agree with the government proposal suggested, but better to spend £25k on a ship that does exist than £7million on a bridge that doesn't...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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