Just off WBY this morning from Cherbourg to Dublin. I have to say I wasn't looking forward to the journey. After reading so many negative comments and speaking to friends who had traveled, my expectations were not high. The reality was not too bad, but still not brilliant.
A Monday afternoon sailing in September was not the busiest so I have to take some of that into account.
Boarding was quick and efficient. Started at 16:00 and i'd say everyone was on by 16:40 and pushed off on time at 17:00.
Accommodation: We had booked a 2 berth outside cabin. What we got was a 4 berth. Not sure if they actually do true 2 berths or not. But cabin was very comfortable, good air con and spotlessly clean. 2 well positioned poser sockets. good quality tv signal as well.
Food & Drink. This was disappointing. They are advertising the live WOK station which on the Oscar was excellent, but was gruffly told by staff no not available today. I had a chicken curry which was tasteless. My friend had ribs which were also tasteless. Later in the evening we did have pizzas which were excellent. €11.50 or €14 with a pint of Heineken. Beer in the bar was expensive at €5.75 for a pint of Coors. i just had a 'kids' breakfast which was only €6 with coffee. It was good, but draining the scrambled eggs a bit before dumping on the plate would help! :-)
General:
The ship interior has held up really well to the first season. To be fair everything was spotless and still looked new. Out on decks there are already signs of a number of repairs. e.g Cables going into the rail lights are not all a mix of colours as if some have been replaces. A number of metal patchings around and also some pipes with like a wapping around them.
The bar was comfortable, although with the majority of seats bolted down it can be a little uncomfortable. On a busy sailing I can see there being a general issue. People were eating meals and then just staying in the seats as there is limited places to sit.
My biggest disappointment was the staff. I always found the staff on Oscar excellent and friendly. The majority of staff on WBY were gruff and in some cases actually ignorant.
There appeared to be some confusion over arrival times into Dublin. The tickets said 10:15, the sign in reception said 10:45 and the website said 11:00! But it was 11:00 when we docked.
We had traveled over on the Pont Avon. It was great, the only draw back being the 2 bed inside cabin. There wasn't actually room for 2 people to stand up in the room! But good food, friendly staff and reasonable beer prices.
