Bari (ex St. Anselm) interior pictures

[Ainos]

For PaddyL and all the other friends of the St. Anselm some recent pictures of a trip with her :)

1) Deck 4 - Sealink signs



2) Deck 5+7 - Deckpland



3) Deck 6 - Starboard cabin corridor



4) Deck 6 - Cabin



5) Deck 7 - Forward lounge looking to the prow



6) Deck 7 - Forward lounge looking astern



7) Deck 7 - Corridor between forward lounge and self service



8) Deck 7 - Casino



9) Deck 7 - Arcade



10) Deck 7 - Self service



11) Deck 7 - Self service seating area



12) Deck 7 - Midship lounge port side



13) Deck 7 - Reception



14) Deck 7 - Former exit port side



15) Deck 7 - Starboard exit to promenade deck



16) Deck 7 - Stairs deck 7 to deck 8



17) Deck 7 - Cabins astern



18) Deck 7 - Promenade



19) Deck 8 - Bridge



20) Deck 8 - Stairs deck 8 to deck 7



21) Deck 8 - Cabins



22) Deck 8 - Looking to the prow



23) Deck 8 - Astern



24) Deck 8 - Deckplan



25) Deck 9 - Looking to the prow



Greetings

[Ainos]

And of course a exterior picture :)

[hhvferry]

Nice pictures. She's in not too shabby condition all things considered, certainly her best since around 2005ish when her previous owners lavished a lot of money on a big refit which left her quite pleasant on board (if she could ever be such a thing).

The deckplan doesn't show it (and you can't quite see from most externals) but they've built a new reclining seat lounge/conservatory on her over the past winter, aft of where the Motorists' Lounge used to be. Given every public space on board other than the forward bar and self service had already been converted to cabins this is a sensible move - she takes plenty of people travelling deck so upgrading them to a seat is easy money and it should pay for itself relatively quickly.

[ferryfan]

Excellent photos thanks for posting as the Cambria she was one of my favourite ships and I think she was the last conventional ferry to sail from Dun Laoghaire. Picture of the bar as built attached.

[Davy Jones]

Not changed much has it? New flooring, replaced the stools with chairs and hang a few pictures! That's it.

Wonder if the beer's the same?

[PaddyL]

Thanks for sharing these photos.

She must be fairly unpleasant if busy and people aren't in their cabins with so few other places to sit.

[Ainos]

Thank you very much for your comments :)

Indeed, her only major problem is the lack of seating capacity. When traveling in August, you must climb over bodies all the way through the corridors.
The new lounge astern on deck 8 has improved the situation but still, she is not a very comfortable ship while sailing at full capacity.

Please notice, that on the deck plan are mentioned reclining seats beside the self service. This is not anymore the case. There is a bar (see picture 12).

Otherwise, Ventouris is extremely happy with her!!! She is the most reliable ship in the fleet and her garage is also very practical. If she had one more (big) lounge, she would be ideal for the Ionian Sea route.

[hhvferry]

Ventouris have spent a little bit of money each year since she has been in their ownership. Initially they converted the forward of the upper lounges to cabins, then a couple of years later they converted the after of the two and also built the new cafe adjacent to the self-service where Balearia had put reclining seats. The crew mess is also in this area, another former reclining seat lounge. Then this year has come the new upper lounge. She's an effective little ship and moderately pleasant on one of her quieter runs or if you have a cabin. I wonder if Ventouris might put one of their larger units on this route next summer.

FWIW the bar is not as built - BR wouldn't have allowed a pub looking like that on one of their ships which were designed to look modern rather than twee. That was installed when the original bar, the Canterbury Bar, was ripped out in the mid-80s by SBF and has remained basically the same ever since.

[Ainos]

After the huge success last year with the Ionian Sea route, the plan was to use this year the Rigel I.
I don't know exactly why this plan was at the end abandoned ...

For sure, the route needs more capacity, especially if the rumors are true that Ventouris wants to extend the period from the beginning of June to mid of September.
Don't forget, that last year we had 2 ferries + 1 Ro-Pax on the route and this year we have 4 ferries!

2015: Bari, Bridge, Red Star I
2016: Bari, Prince, Red Star I, Vastervik

Regards

P.S.: @hhvferry
Congratulations about your great blog :) I really hope you will find the time to continue it on regular intervals.

[PaddyL]

What an interesting thread - thanks for sharing such great information.

I do wonder if the ex Stena Galloway and ex Stena Antrim will see a successful return to service.

[Ainos]

I suppose, the Galloway Princess has a future. Otherwise, why buying and bring her to a yard?

Regarding the St. Christopher, I really don't know ... I thought that Red Star Ferries would be quick replacing the Red Star I with her. But, it's now already for months that she is laid-up in Durres ... There are also rumours, that Grimaldi Lines has now a interest in Red Star Ferries., If true, then maybe Red Star Ferries will ultimately get a cheap Grimaldi vessel.

[Steven]

I suppose, the Galloway Princess has a future. Otherwise, why buying and bring her to a yard?

Regarding the St. Christopher, I really don't know ... I thought that Red Star Ferries would be quick replacing the Red Star I with her. But, it's now already for months that she is laid-up in Durres ... There are also rumours, that Grimaldi Lines has now a interest in Red Star Ferries., If true, then maybe Red Star Ferries will ultimately get a cheap Grimaldi vessel.

Some of us have a fear that the new owners will discover something they don't like during the refurbishment and overhaul - she had been left to rot for some time and was said to have had a major technical failure before hand.  Hopefully though she still has a few years service yet.

Thanks for sharing your pictures as well also! 

[Ainos]

Let's hope that not to be the case, Steve ...

Thank you for your kind words. My pleasure :)

[NathanBrady]

Always nice to see the maggot is still going strong somewhere!