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The North Boat (Northlink ferries)


peeriebryan
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Where should the North Boat dock?  

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  1. 1. Where should the North Boat dock?

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Well one option for the boat to dock is here, Preston Docks...how good wood dat be

 

PRESTON? LUXURY!! :lol:

 

We all know that Liverpool is the capitol of North Wales, that is why I try to advoid it. However, North Wales is a magnificent place and my partner has reletives very close to you, well same side of the bridge(s).

 

Preston is brilliant, tis more the surrounding area, The Lakes, Manchester, North Yorks is close, the Ribble Valley, Trough of Bowland, the Fylde coast inc Blackpool. Historic buildings, cities and folk...

 

And dont be so cheeky, you call it Holyhead, and I did not see many, if any holes at all.

 

Send the boat to preston campain will start soon, well we may be sailing up for Tall Ships from Preston docks...but maybe Lytham

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Well one option for the boat to dock is here, Preston Docks...how good wood dat be

 

PRESTON? LUXURY!! :lol:

 

We all know that Liverpool is the capitol of North Wales, that is why I try to advoid it. However, North Wales is a magnificent place and my partner has reletives very close to you, well same side of the bridge(s).

 

Preston is brilliant, tis more the surrounding area, The Lakes, Manchester, North Yorks is close, the Ribble Valley, Trough of Bowland, the Fylde coast inc Blackpool. Historic buildings, cities and folk...

 

And dont be so cheeky, you call it Holyhead, and I did not see many, if any holes at all.

 

Send the boat to preston campain will start soon, well we may be sailing up for Tall Ships from Preston docks...but maybe Lytham

 

That's coz it's pronounced HOLLY head and not HOLY head! Simples!! :lol:

 

You obviously didn't drive on our roads!! :lol: :lol:

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Who is surprised that Northlink (Boats & Company) are anything but totally unfit for the needs of the isles.

 

I was on the rotten ship last weekend, no cabin because it was a last minute thing so unable to book last xmas. Got on early to grab a seat in the forward lounge but had the audacity to need the loo, when I came back my bag was gone & rent-a-crowd camping in my seat. Later found another pitch but needed to get food and had heard the tanoy warning against leaving bags blah blah blah.

 

What is a guy or gal supposed to do? take you bag with you & loose your spot or leave it & get it taken away as a suspect bomb and loose your seat whilst you go & get it back.

 

Northlink are not only totally crap but they are stupid beyond comprehension to follow airport security mentality. A person can enter an airport, deposit a bag and go home to watch Big Brother or Coronation St. so understandable. Most people don't have to wander around an airport all night unless there is a dispute or strike somewhere but in Northlink's case once you are on you are stuck (boo hoo bring back the days when you could chuck your bags on the ferry and nip out to the Quarterdeck)

 

So can someone in the security industry tell me what the difference is especially on a ship, between leaving your bag (with or without a bomb in it) in the lounge or bar whilst you go pee or eat - or taking it with you to wherever you are going? Surely a bomb on a ship has the same effect wherever it goes off?

 

For folk who cannot get or cannot afford a cabin the attitude of the security aspect of the ship is nothing to do with security but more to do with making an already miserable trip even more miserable and stressful.

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thats a tad unfare. they have there rules to follow. as you would not leave a bag at the airport and expect to come back to it with out some very bogged off plod emptying the airport.

 

how about gettting you bag put into storage and just having a small bag for what you need.

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how about gettting you bag put into storage and just having a small bag for what you need.

Given that you need a survival suit or - at the very least - a sleeping bag to survive the temperature overnight, that's not that helpful.

 

I also like to have my laptop on me to quell the intense boredom. Why should I have to drag everything with me when I go to the shop/bathroom/bar?

 

I'd love to know where security put these "high risk" bags. In a secure, steel-lined ordnance disposal unit...? Or do they just heave them in a cupboard somewhere? Total nonsense.

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I can't for the life of me remember folks complaining about P&O the way folks in the Western Isles complained about Calmac. yet who did the scoty's decide was the best candidate.

This is all about anti english bigotry from a bunch of racist scots, never mind that the founder of P&O was a Shetlander.

so yes Derek I'll say it again NEVER TRUST A SCOTY

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how about gettting you bag put into storage and just having a small bag for what you need.

Given that you need a survival suit or - at the very least - a sleeping bag to survive the temperature overnight, that's not that helpful.

 

I also like to have my laptop on me to quell the intense boredom. Why should I have to drag everything with me when I go to the shop/bathroom/bar?

 

I'd love to know where security put these "high risk" bags. In a secure, steel-lined ordnance disposal unit...? Or do they just heave them in a cupboard somewhere? Total nonsense.

 

My main bag goes on the trolly, and my hand luggage is a small rucksack, with a computer and other stuff needed to while a way the night, oh, my camera too...the sleeping bag can be left on the couch, I dont think that the security guys are that dim. So, also, would you want to leave your computer alone?

 

And you have to drag everything cos you have too, y not get a locker bag with wheels..

 

Tis just a bit of thought and a modicom of advanced planning..

 

They throw them over. Would you not doo the same, it does sound that you dont like the boat much...

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The point I was making was that the boat is a diferent senario than an airport and the level of security on the boat hysterical. Bye the way the definition of luggage is anything you carry with you so sleeping bags get lifted as well.

 

As the boats were designed totally inapropriately for what was needed one would have thought that some compassion & thought for all the folk without a bunk whould be useful. Bright lights burning all night, security guards taking you stuff when you go to the loo & loosing your spot hardly makes the long night (especially if you have a long drive or come back on the boat the next evening with the same to look forward to) is hardly good service.

 

The Northlink gestapo even kick you out of the posh restaurant when it closes & that's where the best couches on the boat are. In P&O's days the stewards would even find you a blanket if it was cold & allowed folk to sleep wherever. P&O's battered old ships had couches, bar & lounge area seating designed to sleep on.

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The point I was making was that the boat is a diferent senario than an airport and the level of security on the boat hysterical. Bye the way the definition of luggage is anything you carry with you so sleeping bags get lifted as well.

 

As the boats were designed totally inapropriately for what was needed one would have thought that some compassion & thought for all the folk without a bunk whould be useful. Bright lights burning all night, security guards taking you stuff when you go to the loo & loosing your spot hardly makes the long night (especially if you have a long drive or come back on the boat the next evening with the same to look forward to) is hardly good service.

 

The Northlink gestapo even kick you out of the posh restaurant when it closes & that's where the best couches on the boat are. In P&O's days the stewards would even find you a blanket if it was cold & allowed folk to sleep wherever. P&O's battered old ships had couches, bar & lounge area seating designed to sleep on.

 

If you think the level of security on Northlink is bad, you should see it on Ocean Village. Oh don't, you'll bring back my nightmare of the holiday from hell.

 

Seriously though, me thinks you are being too hard on security staff - and how precisely do they not know you've undergone brainwashing by a religious terrorist group and have semtex stuffed in an empty B&H packet stuffed inside your sleeping bag? Come to think of it, how do they know it wasn't stuffed in the back of any van on the car deck? The simply answer is they don't.

 

What they do probably work on is the fact that even if there weren't explosives stuffed in your sleeping bag, who would have the extra paperwork to do if someone nicked your sleeping bag and you reported it as missing? They would, and not only a form handed to you but no doubt an Incident Report Form and put it on their log sheet. Then there's the scenario with their boss and the chance of facing disciplinary action if they had knowingly allowed you to leave your sleeping bag there. Oops, and trailing through the CCTV if you happened to make a claim on your travel insurance.

 

Don't get me wrong, I agree with some points you have made. There should be more provisions onboard for those who haven't been able to book cabins for whatever reason. Everyone deserves a good night's kip (dogs included - you should see the lack of provisions for mutts).

 

But at the end of the day, sadly, security is a necessity. You make the comparison with an airport. When bombs have gone off at airports, most people survive. The same, however, I doubt could be said if a bomb was placed onboard a seagoing vessel. The chances of MV "Cant sleep at all" going down and thus a greater loss of life are, in my humble opinion, far greater.

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Fair enough but the security situation is completely inconsistent & meaningless, it doesn't check or scan peoples luggage on entering the ship & I have no idea what goes on on the car deck, you could probably bring on a cruise missile down there.

 

The main argument about the boat's security is that if there ever was some misguided nutter on the boat with a bomb and obligingly took their little bag everywhere on the boat until they decide to go bang they would attract no security interest. Whereas a well behaved but tired traveler runs the problem of being harassed if they try to reserve a sleeping place or have to give up their spot for the night if needing the loo or cafe & then have to go look for another spot.

 

Its not about being hard on the security staff as I ken they are doing what they are employed to do, my critisism is leveled at the management but at the end of the day what does the current security regime actually achieve other than annoy people?

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Ah now that's more like it. Its amazin how much H&S rubbish is going about just because some bloke in a tie with a clipboard from an Insurance Co has put the willies up the managing director or board of trustees.

 

We had storm force H&S gale blow through our place recently, sending everyone in a thousand directions & spending loads of money on new safety gear & lots of new rules. Ha after a closer look most of it was uneccessary and a waist of time & money. Beware - tick boxes give very false information as they rarely carry enough boxes / options to get acurate answers.

 

Funny really but a pal working for the SIC recently told me that the SIC job application form was totally (person spec tick boxy) and they felt that it was responsible for lots of people in the da cooncil who were good at person spec tick boxy applications but not actuall the right people for the job?????

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