The North Boat (Northlink ferries)

[piggywiggie]

i think the direction of wind has a lot to do with whether they sail or not

i think thats right, also they take into consideration the likely hood of them being able to dock the following day! if its windy in aberdeen the harbour would be full of boats so nowhere for the ferry to be?

As much as I hate it when boats are cancelled etc we kinda chose to live on an island so we should really just get on with it?

[engineer21]

always space for northlink in aberdeen no other ships use there linkspan, they make the oil related traffic sit off the beach when harbour is full, i know ive sat there wonderful place grrr!

 

do u really think the SIC can run the northlink service? they struggle with the inter-island and tugs

[Kareen&Roddy]

Weel, I have to say I'm absolutely scunnered with the boat. As a student and mother the cash situation is often quite tight. Northlink, however, insist that if I want to book a cabin it has to be exclusive, as you can't share with others if you have a child. They were more than happy for my child and I to sleep in the large bar area though, or when there was no room the play area floor, both of which entailed unconfortable nights within a stone's throw of drunks. Both of those nights there were spaces in shared cabins. Who's the policy for, the safety of the child or the comfort of the other passengers? So, as I'm a horrific sailor the winter weather forced me to go for the exclusive option, which amounted to over £200. I wis da blyde.

hi worked on the hjaltland and the hrossey for nearly 2 years and i must say that as far as i know the policy is for the safety of the child,i would never share a cabin if i had my kids with me,i dnt know why somebody said u could sleep in the play area as that is not allowed but sleeping in the cafe is as long as passengers get up when breakfast is being served,i know bunks are expensive but its the high ups that set the prices im afraid,all the staff i have worked with on the ships agree the cabin prices are doshy but nobody on the ships can do anything about that either but i do know where ur coming from tho!!!

[Ghostrider]

Northlink don't seem to have a very geat PR company in place....

 

I would have thought that after the reaction they've gotten, and are still getting about effectively pulling one boat for 9 weeks due to cumulative annual refits, that sub-chartering another of their fleet for 3.5 weeks to make a bit on the side just as they get back to full capacity again, is just taking the piss.

 

http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/newsbites/3018-freight-boat-to-cover-for-isles-of-man-ferry.html

[manxman]

It's interesting to note the very different philosophies between your ferry company and ours (the Isle of Man Steam Packet). Whereas Northlink appears quite bold with regard to weather conditions, the Steam Packet won't send the boat out if there's even a slight possibility that the crossing might be bad enough to upset passengers (let alone cause injuries). Consequently, despite our main ferry, the Ben-my-Chree, being larger and heavier than either the Hrossey or the Hjaltland, it generally won't sail in anything above a force nine and sometimes not even that.

 

The situation was exacerbated by the ship having a broken bow thruster for several months, which made it difficult for it to manoeuvre in port. With the Steam Packet unwilling to pay for tugs, the boat started to be cancelled in anything above a moderate sea and even slight gales: shops' shelves remained empty and at one point it looked as though Christmas presents would not arrive on time.

 

The bow thruster finally got repaired just before Christmas, when the dry docking was brought forward from April. I suspect a lot of pressure was applied to them behind the scenes, as the Chief Minister was pretty irate about it.

[lastpubrunner]

I'd really like to go to Shetland this Summer; my oldest is 16, so he counts as an adult.

 

Four adults + car + cabin (return journey) costs a massive £740.60 !

 

Add to that, the fuel to get to and from Aberdeen and to be used to travel around Shetland and the total will be close to £900 . Four of us flew to Murcia in Spain last year, for a lot less than that !

 

I've not even allowed for food/meals, accommodation etc., etc.

 

Trouble is, it makes it difficult to 'justify' the cost to the Missus .

 

The big 'problem' with the ferry, is that obviously, it all has to be paid up front, which means a considerable 'hit' to the finances. If I could spread the costs, it'd be easier to pay for. At least, with the accommodation, I pay a deposit and settle the balance on arrival.

 

Mind you, were we to fly to Shetland and then hire a car, it'd cost even more . . . . . . . . and we'd face luggage restrictions.

 

We'd like to go to Shetland a lot more; but when we consider the travel costs in relation to other alternatives (holidaying in warmer climes), we find it difficult to justify the cost.

 

I wonder if there are any others in my situation ?

[JohanofNess]

Me and the wife come up once a year on the boat with the car and usually a cabin which came to a total of £552 last year. We tend to know about this time of year when we're going up as we both have to book our holidays for the year within january to make sure we get them so we kind of get a bit of time to save up for it. It is expensive when compared to a foreign holiday but to be honest going on holiday in the UK isn't particularly cheap anyway, hotel accommodation is expensive for what it is, 3 nights in an Edinburgh Premier Inn cost us more than 8 nights for a room in a 4 star hotel in Las Vegas and the Vegas hotel had a much bigger room with better facilities. We actually looked at booking it so I went up on the boat with the car and no cabin and she flew up, it worked out just over £100 cheaper doing it that way.

[JustMe]

I have just made bookings for friends to come up to Shetland this year. At least I hope I have because we do not know who will be running the service in August and although I believe any new operator will have to honour the prices I believe the timetables could change meaning that maybe they would have to change their travel plans to and from the ferry. What a way to run a business.

 

Interesting that on the same day that I made the booking paying a massive £103.30 for a tiny twin berth cabin I also booked myself rooms in hotels in big cities (but not London during the Olympics) at £19 a night. Is it really fair to charge that much for a cabin?,

[Lexander]

We can't really compare the cosst of a bed on the boat compare to a hotel, the capital cost of building the boat in the first place is far greater then a hotel. And the running cost related to operate the boat, dissel etc. Are weary high.

Now i don't know how much the prices are but i think one of the problems why is so high is becouse they are not abel to subsedise the price by having duety free shopping.

[exciseman]

We can't really compare the cosst of a bed on the boat compare to a hotel, the capital cost of building the boat in the first place is far greater then a hotel. And the running cost related to operate the boat, dissel etc. Are weary high.

Now i don't know how much the prices are but i think one of the problems why is so high is becouse they are not abel to subsedise the price by having duety free shopping.

Yes but this 'boat' gets £36 million a year government subsidy which the hotel dosen't.

[suuusssiiieee]

The prices for cabin accommodation are the modern day equivalent of Dick Turpin & the highway robbers.

[shetlandpeat]

Yes but this 'boat' gets £36 million a year government subsidy which the hotel dosen't.

 

Is that EACH boat or all of them.

 

Any one know how much profit Northlink makes?

 

Or

 

How much fares would be without the Grant?

 

It is an excellent price for passage. Far cheaper than P&O. So it suits many folk.

[MuckleJoannie]

From Northlink's accounts for the year to 31 March 2011

 

Fares..................25 Million

Grants.................36 Million

Total income........61 Million

 

Cost of Sales.......58 Million

Admin expenses...1.6 Million

Profit...................1.4 Million

[engineer21]

i aggree with SP the boat is well priced, if you take for instance the west coast ferries i travelled on one 50min crossing and for the car alone it was £45.00 let alone passenger which were extra. if you priced northlink per hour that would be £600 a car each way, just another way to look at things

 

this is not a tourist ferry or a hotel it is a lifeline ferry service to the UK remotest island and if you think it operates in the winter a lot of the time at a loss we are doing well i think.

 

it would be good to see a drop in the freight charges though as i guess thats ultimatly what creates high prices in the island, then again its a daily service and thats most inportant to most islanders.

 

i have always wondered if andrew banks has ever considered the shetland - aberdeen link, as he operates the pentland ferries without subsidy and still does well if you consider hes has competion with northlink he does well to make a profit, even if he ran a summer service in shetland i wonder if it would pay.... mabye i should ask him.

[Infiltrator]

then again its a daily service and thats most important to most islanders.

 

 

Not sure that is the case - it's always the seafood industry that get's mentioned when talking of cancelled sailings.

 

Given the choice of an expensive regular service, or a cheaper, less frequent service (even for the winter months), I think you'd be surprised how flexible islanders would be.