stena europe

[MVW85]

we find ourself in a position now where the freight Is so busy we cant cope, on the the night sailing guest services, met grill, truckers stena plus all remain open. the shop opens at the end of the sailing as most people are asleep, the bar is closed but everything except spirits you can buy in the restaurant, cinema remains operational. we do close areas as its our turn around times are very tight due to the business of the freight, we try our best to get the ship out on time with the man power we have

[marthyrarth]

How are turnarounds tight on the Fishguard route?  There is approximately 2.5 hours per turnaround, which should be enough to clean all areas of the ship.

Deck crew will deal with loading the freight, so I can't see why the Barista bar is not open.  even if there was a huge mess left there, it should be possible to clean it thoroughly in far less than anhour, and cleaning can start before the ship docks anyway.

At least if parts of the ship are not open, Stena should make this clear like light nites Dover - Calais

[RorieLen]

Closing areas of ships off at night is common practice and I've observed it a lot on my travels. On Stena Superfast VII and VIII during the night the barista is closed - they can't close the seating area of the living room off but the actual coffee shop is closed as is the Met Bar which is normally in darkness with a cordon put across the entrances. Again there are no doors to close the area off properly. Also the shop tends to open for short times as they seem to be sorting their stores/deliveries on night sailings. On European Causeway and European Highlander I have observed the shop closed at night and the restaurant may only be open for service for a short time: albeit you can still sit in the area. Stena Adventurer only opens the aft section of deck 8 when it is busy. On Stena Europe the barista area is a large one and the Met Grill/Bar serves the needs of most people when the Barista is closed at night for example. On Isle of Inishmore large areas such as the bar/pub are closed when it is quiet.

I think some people are being unfair to the crews of ships by suggesting they are lazy. Many of them work week on week off or even two weeks on two weeks off in challenging conditions for long shifts in excess of 12 hours. They can be faced with constant periods of bad weather, as was the case this past winter, and they do their best. Why should they open areas of a ship that aren't needed on quiet sailings? Maybe the crew are deep cleaning other areas of the ship?

Perhaps there is a case for informing passengers there will be less facilities open on night sailings but most don't care as they want to sleep throughout the journey. I still don't understand how anyone would expect all outlets and areas to be open during the night though.

I think those of us who don't work on ships should recognise the effort put in by crews to provide a service to the traveller and not criticise them or accuse them of being lazy.

Also, I know people who work for many of the ferry companies and they tell me it is expensive to recruit and train new crew - something coming up to £5000 per person to put them through sea survival, fire fighting training and all the other security and safety stuff they need to do.

[MVW85]

In total agreement often on the ship I work on we deep clean at night simply because it's quieter. It's almoSt impossible on the day sailings. The turn arounds are often used for storing up /prepping locations and also linen deliveries. We have to maintain  the standards of cleanliess. Our cabins are often full with freight and passengers and the bar is closed so other passengers can sleep. The crew work very hard and in winter month s we always work a 13 14 hour day on very little sleep

[lynx1]

drone video of stena europe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJdYT5J1NJk

[ccs]

drone video of stena europe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJdYT5J1NJk

Great video. Europe looks great in it. Thanks for sharing.

[Steven]

In total agreement often on the ship I work on we deep clean at night simply because it's quieter. It's almoSt impossible on the day sailings. The turn arounds are often used for storing up /prepping locations and also linen deliveries. We have to maintain  the standards of cleanliess. Our cabins are often full with freight and passengers and the bar is closed so other passengers can sleep. The crew work very hard and in winter month s we always work a 13 14 hour day on very little sleep

It's much the same story as if you go into a 24hr tesco at night.  The butchers, deli, optical, etc will be closed and people will be cleaning and replenishing in a much larger scale than during the day, but you will still be able to shop in the areas that are open. 

[seaman]

Sailed on Europe this year in June, always a pleasure doing that. :)

Already she has got rust around the windows, but when i sailed on her last year in Nov, i noticed much less rusting around the windows, my thoughts are then that the H&W maybe have done a better quality job comparing to the Falmouth A&P. But noticed some more maintenance and painting going on when it comes to the rails and so on on the decks, makes me happy to see that. Think this is a real quality build, not too much engine noise comparing to some other newer vessels. I wish i would see it on the Gothenburg-Frederikshavn again replacing the Jutlandica.

Going Off Topic now: have a friend that works onboard the Stena Danica, tells me that he and the freinds(crew) love the vessel but it is starting to feel a bit pain in the a** when it comes to the needed maintenance, some days on the low seasons when not sailing in the morning, it's mostly to maintain it almost all day. It has been drydocked pretty recent in Frederikshavn to replace the propellers(AGAIN) and some more painting, but when i drove past it i noticed that the front of the vessel also has some smaller rust in the bow... Sailed on it in May when i also heard some crew member mutter about things needing fixing very often. But i like it most of all ferries in Gothenburg, when going to Denmark on a day trip for example, i rather go on an old bucket than sailing on the boring Jutlandica that some people call it the "half sister" to the Isle of Inishmore...

My thoughts on this all: sail with the Stena Europe, don't forget while on a visit in Sweden maybe for example to take a trip on the Danica, Spirit and Vision while they are still on route!! Remember that in 2018 ALL Stena's 80's ships will be 30 years and older, which means years, months and days are being counted :(

[Steven]

Sailed on Europe this year in June, always a pleasure doing that. :)

Already she has got rust around the windows, but when i sailed on her last year in Nov, i noticed much less rusting around the windows, my thoughts are then that the H&W maybe have done a better quality job comparing to the Falmouth A&P. But noticed some more maintenance and painting going on when it comes to the rails and so on on the decks, makes me happy to see that. Think this is a real quality build, not too much engine noise comparing to some other newer vessels. I wish i would see it on the Gothenburg-Frederikshavn again replacing the Jutlandica.

Going Off Topic now: have a friend that works onboard the Stena Danica, tells me that he and the freinds(crew) love the vessel but it is starting to feel a bit pain in the a** when it comes to the needed maintenance, some days on the low seasons when not sailing in the morning, it's mostly to maintain it almost all day. It has been drydocked pretty recent in Frederikshavn to replace the propellers(AGAIN) and some more painting, but when i drove past it i noticed that the front of the vessel also has some smaller rust in the bow... Sailed on it in May when i also heard some crew member mutter about things needing fixing very often. But i like it most of all ferries in Gothenburg, when going to Denmark on a day trip for example, i rather go on an old bucket than sailing on the boring Jutlandica that some people call it the "half sister" to the Isle of Inishmore...

My thoughts on this all: sail with the Stena Europe, don't forget while on a visit in Sweden maybe for example to take a trip on the Danica, Spirit and Vision while they are still on route!! Remember that in 2018 ALL Stena's 80's ships will be 30 years and older, which means years, months and days are being counted :(

Worth remembering as well that by the end of the decade Stena will have at least 4 new buildings to put into service and we can expect cascaded tonnage elsewhere no matter where the new builds go. 

Regarding the rust on Europe, it could be that area wasn't addressed (or as intensively) this time round rather than being a reflection on the workmanship at A&P.  I know a lot of the work that was carried out wasn't in the passenger areas.  It could also be that this is an area the crew address as part of her ongoing maintenance and they just haven't got that far yet. 

Danica is said to be in excellent condition for her age, but time must be catching up with her.  She can't go on forever unfortunately, and will be a very hard act to follow.  Spirit and Vision possibly have a while to go yet due to the modernisation they had prior to moving to the Polish route.  Of course they are no new-buildings, but the work undertaken was fairly extensive.

[giftgrub]

Had a great trip on the Stena Europe this morning crossing on the 02.30 from Fishguard back to Rosslare (only arrived in Heathrow Terminal 2 at 13.00 hrs yesterday and was over the Severn Bridge crossing by 17.30 hrs having collected a car for a friend) and have to say it was just lovely.

After arriving in Fishguard at 21.00 and logging onto the wifi, able to watch the Iplayer and other streaming services to pass a few hours while waiting for the check in to commence, we treated to the fully illuminated elder statesman of the Irish Sea arriving into view at around 00.15 ish and there did appear to be plenty of traffic coming off the ship with a good mix of Uk, Irish and European cars. Loading commenced after a short wait around 01.25 and with a Premium booking was on board asap and got the cabin key from Guest Services and some refreshments from the Barrista Coffee House all by 1.45 and was in the cabin on deck eight and relaxing in a few minutes. (Have been on plenty of day crossings on this route and ship but this was my first night time crossing in over thirty years.

Settling in for some much needed sleep before departure at 02.30 as they started the engines, it was barely noticeable, then what I assume were the bow thrusters, what a noise, they sounded incredible, normally either out on deck or in Stena Plus Lounge when leaving harbour and as there are no passenger facilities forward never heard this sound. A most comfortable crossing followed with plenty of sleep and had my alarm set for 5.30 as wanted to make use of the shower etc and woke to see us approaching Tuskar light and had plenty of time to get ready (Stena did an alarm call about 20 minutes later which would have been plenty of time) and wanted a quick look around the ship.

Have to say the time spent in Falmouth is not hard to notice, you can spot the replaced carpets in some public areas, all the same patterns but look newer and all the passenger areas just look that little bit better, a true credit to the crew and company for the maintenance carried out.

Anyway ship docked on time and we were off the ship into Rosslare at just after 06.30 and without stopping I was in Cork and through the Jack Lynch tunnel by 08.50 which when I arrived in work before 9 and before some of the team who live about two miles away was good going.

Keep up the good work and look after this classic ferry.

[20knots]

An interesting account there.

When I was onboard last month I noticed that out on deck far forward on the starboard side of Deck 9 undercoat was applied (that area where there are deck windows instead of railings).

The ATM has been replaced by a newer version and there's a payable mobile phone charging station beside it (think it charges other devices too).

Been a long time since I've been over the Severn Bridge as am always in a train barrelling along in the tunnel under it but I understand the original bridge is 50 years old and there was a cavalcade of vintage buses to celebrate with, I think, a similar event to follow.

When I last tried the wifi at the port I found I couldn't use it as it required a UK postcode.

That wake up call seems to have a set noise - like whatever the crew member knocks against the door with is applied in a set way.

Indeed it's great to see the vessel looking so good and the "can do" spirit flourishing.

[giftgrub]

No bother at all, was against the clock so paid close attention to the times, the second Severn Bridge is an engineering masterpiece, love travelling over it, never had the train experience. Have vivid memories of the first crossing in the seventies as a child looking at the towers wondering how they managed to stay standing, fifty years is amazing.

Spotted the phone charging station had no idea how to work it !

Will be back onboard again in a few weeks for two day light crossings so will check out deck 9 and have a good look around.

The wifi in Fishguard is provided by The Cloud, cannot remember how I signed up a few years ago,they are a part of Sky but if a postcode was needed, just use SA64 0BU which is the Fishguard postcode, you can sign up online, well worth it to pass the time.

Europe also performed very well last weekend and was able to sail on Saturday while Inishmore remained in port due to the bad weather.

[A83]

On the subject of the first Severn bridge, I recall going to see the final section of road being lifted up off a barge to complete the bridge. We used to view it from the departure point of the old Aust ferry. Oddly enough there is a famous photo of Bob Dylan at the Aust ferry taken, I think, during his 1966 tour when he played in Bristol. Alas the ferry went out of business when the bridge opened.

[PaddyL]

Frequently there seem to be posts on social media like this

https://www.facebook.com/StenaLineUKIE/posts/1394656690564259

I wonder how long Stena can keep the Stena Europe running?

[ferryfan]

Frequently there seem to be posts on social media like this

https://www.facebook.com/StenaLineUKIE/posts/1394656690564259

I wonder how long Stena can keep the Stena Europe running?

It's not just the Europe.
I was on Superfast X last week and have to say that things mentioned in that post could also apply to the general poor condition of this ship. Toilets were dirty and only one gents open for the journey and dirt was noticeable around table bottoms, walls etc. It wasn't that long ago that Stena were the market leaders for passenger services on the Irish Sea but for some reason service levels have gone to hell in the recent past.