The North Boat (Northlink ferries)

[Kavi Ugl]

Yon poll is flawed, I want the North Boats tae dock in Bergen but I canna vote for dat!.

[stephen]

Yon poll is flawed, I want the North Boats tae dock in Bergen but I canna vote for dat!.

 

I can't see that ever happening as the boats are funded from Edinburgh! Perhaps in the Norwegian government were to pay for a service they might

[JustMe]

Yon poll is flawed, I want the North Boats tae dock in Bergen but I canna vote for dat!.

 

I can't see that ever happening as the boats are funded from Edinburgh! Perhaps in the Norwegian government were to pay for a service they might

And perhaps if the service to Bergen was able to operate without subsidy the Scottish Government might let it happen. That said there is perhaps some logic in a subsidised service to attract tourists to Shetland. And I am sure P & O were subsidised.

[Guest Anonymous]

I would rather NorthLink concentrate on providing a good value service than spend money installing WiFi!

 

We all complain about the cost of [near enough] everything to do with NorthLink, but then expect them to give us free WiFi. I think that they should install WiFi, but charge for its use. Use any profit to help lower its prices.

 

bearing in mind who runs it and from where, diesel could be practically free and need for security void, but nothing will reduce fares and fees.

[mogling]

Personally, I would sign a petition to Stop Northlink providing Wi-fi...

 

I personally feel that our brains and bodies are being bombarded 24/7 by too much electromagnetic / radio / etc signals.

 

I have chosen not to have Wi-Fi, cordless Dect phones, microwave oven, digital TV or anything else similar in my home. I keep the mobile phone in another room, especially when charging.

 

So having to spend 14 hours+ on the boat with even more unnecessary electro-smog... Can folk not have a night off from their iPhones / Blackberries / Facebooks etc ? Maybe try interacting with other living beings face-to-face, just for one night?

 

 

“Wi-Fi / wireless internet transmits at the ultra high frequency 2,45Ghz which disturbs the brain’s own clock frequency.â€

 

http://www.bevolution.dk/pdf/BrainwavemodelBevolutionGB.pdf

[Carlos]

I'd guess the boats radar and generators would be producing some resonably powerful EM fields?

[Guest Anonymous]

rather than more "add ons", could we no have a petition for either humane size cabins or a budget travel scheme, lets face it theres a 2 tier society so gis back 2 tier travel options, seems to be where its going

[TeeAyBee]

rather than more "add ons", could we no have a petition for either humane size cabins or a budget travel scheme, lets face it theres a 2 tier society so gis back 2 tier travel options, seems to be where its going

 

Now that's a far better point to create a petition over.

[Guest Anonymous]

and not sleeping on the seating budget , cos they have bliddy lights shining in your eyes, also a petition to put all snoring folk in cabins together lol plus the fact theres the sharing option which is semi reasonable price but theres always 1 drunk , 1 spewing and 1 snoring, all in the size of a phone box

[Muppet]

I fear we will never make any headway with Northlink and their cabin prices. They know fine well that they can not supply enough cabins to meet demand so they will over price them to the point that they can truthfully say that they are pretty much meeting demand. truth is that if they were affordable, the demand would be higher and they could never meet demand.

 

If their fare structure was closer to that which P&O used to charge, i.e. higher passage fares and lower cabin charges, their funders, the scottish Government, would have to pay more subsidy, as the subsidy is payable on the passage, but not the cabin charges. They are hardy likely to try to change the present fare structure.

 

If I was booking a hotel room for the same cost as a cabin on a Northlink ferry, I would expect to get a large room to myself with tea, coffee, trouser press, telly, phone, free wi-fi, and breakfast thrown in. I remember Northlink saying that TV would be provided in the cabins, then they changed their minds saying that it was not tecnologically possible to provide this. A few years later and lo and behold they can now provide this, but at extra cost in an 'executive' cabin at extra cost.

 

I used to think that sailing out of lerwick was a nice relaxed way to begin a holiday, but I haven't done that for many a year now. maybe one day Northlink will see that if they can't provide value for money they are losing custom, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

I really don't see why having a bed for the night should be seen as a luxury which only some can afford. It's very much a basic requirement. It really is a return to travel by class and without a bunk on the boat, you really are travelling steerage class.

[engineer21]

You will prob find that Northlink already provide Internet onboard there vessels for the crew as nowadays internet in your cabin esp for higher rank officers is the norm and on a lot of vessels ive been on its either wired to indivdual cabins or provided thru WIFI so if they already have it it wont be much more expense if any.

 

if its needed or not well thats up to the indivduals

[man of kent]

I'm sorry if I'm wrong, but the more I read on this topic the more I'm totally convinced that Northlink Ferries are supplying the wrong type of ferry for the North Sea link between Shetland and Scotland.

I have never used them, but I did consider using them once, only to see that they had extremely limited cabins available and priced so high it was almost cheaper to charter a plane.

 

I intend using the damn thing in January for coming up for Up Helly Aa, and dreding the experience based on the stories on this web page.

 

Why doesnt your MP and SMP and who ever else is an interested body complain, get the contract put out to tender based on the ferry being incorrect for public demand? Bring back P&O, they did the route successfully for trillions of years whether they wre called P&O or NOSOSSC.

 

Or have I picked up the wrong end of the stick?

[filskadacat]

Bring back P&O, they did the route successfully for trillions of years whether they wre called P&O or NOSOSSC.

 

You may well get lengthy accounts of all the carry-on there was when the route went out to tender - or people may want just to leave it, as it was one big mess and generated huge amounts of argument at the time.

 

Bottom line seems to have been that P&O did not actually want the tender, as their existing boats didn't conform to European regulations brought in as a result of the Herald of Free Enterprise and another tragedy in Estonia I think, and they did not feel in a position to order brand new vessels. So the contract was awarded in and designed from Edinburgh - despite strenuous efforts made in Shetland to point out that this was the North Sea, half the year in winter, and therefore 'floating hotel / mini cruise' ships were inappropriate. The pronouncement was that stupid little islanders couldn't possibly know the best vessels for their route and they would have these decisions made for them by clever people in the south. There were lots of stories about the first voyages, which, despite it still being summer, saw fridges sliding around the kitchen, glasses smashing their way off shelves etc etc as the maritime conditions had simply been discounted.

 

And as you say, the fares are horrendous. When I tell colleagues that the last time we went we were almost £700 for husband, self, two children and car, they are disinclined to believe me. We have said we are definitely going next summer for the Tall Ships - have just checked, and even without the boys who are up and gone, we shall still be getting on for £600 for the two of us and the car. And yes, I've tried leaving the car in Aberdeen at a friend's and hiring, which turned out to be a joke; it cost just about the same as the ferry fare to hire a nasty little car - which didn't even have a radio! - instead of our own vehicle in which we could have carried wellies, fishing rods etc. So we never did that again.

 

Sorry about rant! - but just you asking a perfectly reasonable and sane question brought back all the anger and frustration. And you may get different versions of what people think happened about the Northlink tender!

[Fifi]

Re wifi & Northlink: There's a Facebook group 'Internet on Northlink!' trying to get people to sign the petition. I added that it was already mentioned (back in May) that Northlink were apparently going to provide wifi -

http://www.shetlandmarine.com/2010/08%20Shipping/NorthLink%20go%20for%20growth.htm

 

""..the ferry operator has re-launched its popular Family & Friends promotion, will run a special cabin promotion and is improving the on-board service by introducing free wi-fi access for passengers and tea and coffee trays in all cabins."

 

This is what Northlink told the creator of the FB group:

"What we hope to offer is free WiFi access from the main public areas (Deck 6) on Hjaltland & Hrossey. The usual blocks on ‘inappropriate’ websites will apply. In addition... we will have to block any streaming web-sites as the bandwidth available is limited. However, for most normal browsing, e-mails, etc we believe the speed of download available will be acceptable."

 

(Creator of FB group: The reason they haven't done it before now is because it would previously be too expensive, but there is new found technology now making it possible. They're testing and trying it now.)

 

"Hopefully before too long the WiFi access you seek will be operational and we will issue a press release and put notices on the vessels at that time."

 

Spotted this, not sure if it's just when the ships are in port: http://www.smallbusiness.co.uk/channels/technology-in-business/guides-and-tips/20756/guide-to-mobile-working.thtml

 

....All operational areas, including the ships, are part of a WiFi local area network (LAN). Having secure, stable network connections means that NorthLink can quickly transfer data from different areas, ensuring a more efficient financial and management information system. Logistics and operations information has also been streamlined. Passenger lists are also automatically produced. Altogether, this has saved roughly £30,000 a year.

[Guest Anonymous]

I used to think that sailing out of lerwick was a nice relaxed way to begin a holiday, but I haven't done that for many a year now. maybe one day Northlink will see that if they can't provide value for money they are losing custom, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

I really don't see why having a bed for the night should be seen as a luxury which only some can afford. It's very much a basic requirement. It really is a return to travel by class and without a bunk on the boat, you really are travelling steerage class.

 

 

meself ,i use them grudgedly n sparingly . Personoally i would use it a lot more if it was more relaxed and human policies , its very capitalist and dictatorial set up , but its what to expect i suppose