Twerto Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 lol sounds like someone has quoted what they heard in the pub.. I personally would say the new boats are far better in rough conditions than the old boats. I have just been down for a long weekend to Manchester and Edinburgh.. and I have to say I had 2 very enjoyable trips on the ferry.. some ear plugs ( since I wasn't rich enough to buy a cabin to myself ) and I was sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostrider Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 ^^^ Seems much may come down to personal preferences, and maybe where on the boat you try to sleep. A relative who was familar with the previous P&O boats, was on one of these current boats soon after they were introduced, and while it maybe wasn't the greatest of nights, it was no more than what might be called "a bit choppy". She's never used them again, as, according to her, between the noise, the vibration and the boat wallowing like a cork, she got no sleep at all, and that was with a cabin. Her main complaint was that where the older P&O boats actually moved like boats, and you could get in to the rhythm of the rising and falling and sleep through it, these ones were laible to take a dive in just about any direction at any moment, there was no real rhythm to get used to. It was more like trying to sleep in a car on a bumpy road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Njugle Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 22 new cabins promoted today on Radio Shetland: Woo hoo! All they need to do now is weld gret muckle wings on da beggar an it'll be worth every penny of the ticket price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostrider Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 ^^^ That would be a sight to see coming in to land at Holmsgarth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moorit Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Does anyone know how many cabins were on P&O boats compared to Northlink boats ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandhopper Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 ... and while it maybe wasn't the greatest of nights, it was no more than what might be called "a bit choppy". Her main complaint was that where the older P&O boats actually moved like boats, and you could get in to the rhythm of the rising and falling and sleep through it, these ones were laible to take a dive in just about any direction at any moment, there was no real rhythm to get used to. It was more like trying to sleep in a car on a bumpy road. That is the exact feeling and speaking of my mum in 2003 (then aged 84) and with the experience of only 3 rides (2 on the Clair, 1 on the Sunniva) before. The happier she was on the outbound run back to Aberdeen on the St Rognvald and although the weather conditions were much poorer than on the inbound run from Kirkwall 2 weeks before. May be that this was probably due to the fact that we were the only 2 of three passengers and that she was comforted to the best especially by the kitchen crew ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassermaet Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 I’ve only been on the new boats once since Northlink took over from P&O but I can’t say I had anything to complain about despite there seeming to be so much more moaning now than there was before – the customer service, quality and range of food and stuff on offer in the shop and the general standard of cleanliness and accommodation seemed to me to be far superior to what we used to get – and I didn’t come off the boat with that unique oily/fishy/fried food eau-de-st-clair stink on my clothes either. As far as the location of the Mainland port goes, I can see both sides of the argument. Ultimately, Aberdeen obviously has to be fit for the purpose in terms of how it functions as a port but the inconvenience caused by bad weather or whatever surely has to be balanced with the convenience of being able to get off the boat slap bang in the middle of a city – an advantage it has over any other port I can think of in the UK. Shops, hotels, pubs, restaurants etc are a walk away making it ideal to maximise your time away particularly for young folk and those travelling without a car. It’s closeness to the train and bus stations for onward travel are a fine example of how public transport should be linked and arriving early in the morning and leaving in the evening means you can have a full first or last day shopping or whatever without having to leave wherever you are in the middle of the day. I don’t think that emotional ties should influence the boat continuing to go to Aberdeen and I’m not necessarily saying that its the best place to go for shopping, nightlife or whatever. I however have to agree that I would rather get off the boat in Aberdeen at 7 in the morning and be able to drive or get the bus or train to either Glasgow or Edinburgh and arrive mid morning than possibly spend more time on the boat getting to Rosyth and having to get from there to Aberdeen/Glasgow/Edinburgh or wherever (on what public transport?). As others have suggested, could there be a compromise here – that the cargo boat goes to Rosyth for example? Or one boat goes to Aberdeen one night, the other to Rosyth the next? Some good points made here. Aberdoom = placetobe.com - not. But right enough, it's really easiest just being able to get off in the centre. Would it be the same in Rosyth? I'm also speaking as a student. I'm presently at Strath Uni and when I tell people that the journey by ferry between the Deen and the Auld Rock takes 12 hours they're shocked. I think if future students came off the boat at Rosyth it would take at least an extra four hours to get there and I agree with the earlier point made about it putting people off coming to Shetland. Do we want that? No. And admittedly the St Clair was a bit smelly but those boats were definitely better than what we have now. It's also the cost. In November 2005, myself and two friends went to Franz Ferdinand's gig at the AECC. Our original plan when coming down on the boat (I believe it was supposed to be cheaper than the plane at that time) was that we'd book two-berth cabin and one of us could sleep on the floor. But when we were booking the boat it was discovered that it was cheaper to book a four-berth cabin for exclusive use than it was to book a two-berth. Which is silly really. So what would it be like if we had to go to Rosyth instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 The biggest balls up in peoples minds is that Rosyth is "Edinburgh" ..... NO NO no NO noo..... Rosyth is Rosyth .... a Long long loooOOnnng way away from Edinburgh! A good hour and more in rush hour traffic should you be unfortunate enough to try and cross the bridge at that time of morning when you would be rumbling off the boat in Aberdeen! Yes.... Edinburgh rush hour starts around 7! - especially from that end of town! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassermaet Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 I reckon the Northlink boats should do as the old boats did and leave way earlier on in the day, especailly for Orkney trips. They use almost double the fuel they use on a Shetland - Orkeny - Aberdeen than they do on Shetland - Aberdeen, as they have to go flat out to keep to the times when they go to orkney, think of all the expense on fuel! I Think it was around £2 million they could save if they left earlier when on a passage via orkney. Also agree with this. It worked well enough for P&O when the boat left at midday, stopped off in Orkney during the evening then left again and got to Aberdeen in the morning. Also back then we could get off the boat at Orkney and go for a wander around Kirkwall. You can't do that with Northlink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassermaet Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Does anyone know how many cabins were on P&O boats compared to Northlink boats ? Certainly more than on the Northlink boats. At present the Northlink ferries can hold 600 people but they only have 100 cabins, which means there are beds for just over half of the passengers. In addition there is also the possibility that someone has been selfish enough to book themselves into a four-berth cabin on their tod for exclusive use, meaning that four beds are gone. You could usually get a bed on the St Clair/Sunniva, but if you couldn't get a bathroom, or if you had a reclining seat, at least there were, indeed, public toilets/showers etc if you needed them. Since Northlink was supposed to be designed to the standards of a cruise ship they have nothing like that, and it's daft. We don't need a cruise ship! We just need something that can get us comfortably from A to B. When they put those ferries in for their re-fit they should put public showers in there too. Far more sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moorit Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Does anyone know how many cabins were on P&O boats compared to Northlink boats ? Certainly more than on the Northlink boats. At present the Northlink ferries can hold 600 people but they only have 100 cabins, which means there are beds for just over half of the passengers. You sounded so convincing, but you obviously hadn't done any research. I found this with a bit of googling. http://www.shetlandmarine.com/2007/05%20Oil%20&%20Shipping/open_day_for_new_de_luxe_cabins.htm That is a bit of a problem with these forums, people can spout off things that are not right, and it comes across as if they really know what they are talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustMe Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 http://www.shetlandmarine.com/2006/05%20Oil%20&%20Shipping/north_boats_unfit_for_purpose.htm Unfit for purpose......what has changed since then?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trout Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 That is a bit of a problem with these forums, people can spout off things that are not right, and it comes across as if they really know what they are talking about. Welcome to the Internet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustMe Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 http://www.shipsofcalmac.co.uk/northlink.aspLimited details of the Northlink ships and the last of the P&O vessels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassermaet Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 Does anyone know how many cabins were on P&O boats compared to Northlink boats ? Certainly more than on the Northlink boats. At present the Northlink ferries can hold 600 people but they only have 100 cabins, which means there are beds for just over half of the passengers. You sounded so convincing, but you obviously hadn't done any research. I found this with a bit of googling. http://www.shetlandmarine.com/2007/05%20Oil%20&%20Shipping/open_day_for_new_de_luxe_cabins.htm That is a bit of a problem with these forums, people can spout off things that are not right, and it comes across as if they really know what they are talking about. Gosh, you're right. Now that I think about it, I did find that little nugget in the Shetland Post back in its day (anyone else mind it?). So you're probably right enough. But thank god for the re-fit. Now, along with that, any chance that someone travelling alone can be prevented from booking a four-berther for exclusive use, so that all the beds in those cabins can still be used by those who need them? Also, maybe try making it cheaper to book a two-berth cabin than it is to book a four-berth one? I believe this is still very much the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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