W B Yeats Disappointment

Started by concregg, June 03, 2019, 02:31:59 PM

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IFPete

They could reduce the price of the food to start with. 

I see they are offering good deals to Cherbourg on certain crossings. To access the club lounge you can pay Euro 80 for a party of four people when you book your cabin which is not bad at all.

Oscar Wilde was a unique vessel in many regards and Irish Ferries made it better.  Its a pity she could not of stayed until 777 arrived, however if traffic builds up on Dublin - Cherbourg there may be justification to add a 2nd ship next summer and go back to Rosscoff.

Shipmate

Am aboard WBY at the minute.

They have now opened the freight lounge to public as a street food restaurant. Truckers complaining at reception about how they are been treated poorly, not happy at all.

The kids play area is mental, an accident waiting to happen.

Ways that improve ship??

Firstly it doesn't have the holiday feel, it is not like me the OW or Pont Aven.

The basic cabins are too small, can't change that now.

Kid's entertainment area is not fit for purpose, the main bar areas are too bitty. It lacks a theatre space with a stage..

The lounge is funny,some very disgruntled looking people seemingly surprised that it has loads of noisy kids in high season.

They seem to have presented staff with a poorly thought out vanity project that the onboard staff are trying to make work as they go along.

Shipmate

Also the WiFi, I realise we are at sea, is just awful. And I am using the premium WiFi, and have used the free one too.

IFPete

Forget about WIFI on a laptop on a full ship.

A83

While I can see the point that a WiFi system can be overwhelmed by all the connections in a full ship, I think that if a service is provided it should be capable of meeting that demand. Or is that not technically feasible?

IFPete

Its not technically feasable.

Steven

Quote from: A83 on July 18, 2019, 02:55:36 PM
While I can see the point that a WiFi system can be overwhelmed by all the connections in a full ship, I think that if a service is provided it should be capable of meeting that demand. Or is that not technically feasible?
It might be possible but at huge cost and with a limited number of users.  At the end of the day you are talking about establishing a high bandwidth connection with a moving object that also moves randomly up and down and from side to side, then sharing it across a ship full of big radio wave blocking metal barriers.  You can only move so much data through what at the end of the day is a radio signal, even when using multiple channels. You wired connection at home probably wouldn't cope too well with a full ships worth of passengers all using it at the same time either to be honest.  Neither would a 4g mobile phone if a few hundred people were trying to use its data stream simultaneously (ship, bus, and train wifi systems tend to use either a mobile internet or satellite internet data feed or a combination of both) . Ship WiFi is getting better though but not at a rate that matches our increasing demands on it.
Steve in Belfast (suburbia)

Flickr: www.flickr.com/tarbyonline

alfie79

i recently travelled across on the WB Yeats, as i wouldnt class her as a cruise ferry defo ro pax but i did find her comfortable and i had no issue with cabins found them very comfortable and spacious, the only issues i had was the lack of cruise ferry feel and the general layout of boylans Brasserie she is def design more for the short crossing being more open than overnight crossing and the bar was smaller,they did have live music which was good but the full lights were left on in the bar which kinda killed the relaxing mood.i found the food excellent in boylans and only had breakfast as a treat in the Lady Gregory as its very expensive.
there was a issue with bad vibrations a couple of times and it seemed to be when she was slowing down and one bad vibration about 2 in the morning which woke us up.the staff did not seem to enjoy working there as a smile or personality was a rare commodity. i know she is new and has no character yet even like the simple things charts showing the ships journey up would be nice. The WB Yeats is a fine big ship but i dont think she is a patch on the oscar wilde and its a shame that irish ferries didnt learn or take ideas from her,i love the promade on deck 7 on the OW that ran between the two bars fore and aft and beside the piano bar and restaurant and steakhouse and the bar on top of deck 10.i feel this is what the WB yeats lacks,she does not follow in the feel of previous ferries on the run paddy killian normandy and the oscar wilde

DaveW1946

A lot of the staff on WB Yeats are from the Oscar Wilde and aren't happy with the new ship, including the fact that they now have to share cabins, which they didn't on the Oscar. Some are embarrassed by the prices charged in the Lady Gregory

IFPete

Lets see what happens after Irish Ferries review the summer season,

I am sure they have received enough criticism from the public that they may make some changes.

I have heard that there is a possibility of Swift operating until Christmas which may lead to WB Yeats
operating on both Dublin - Holyhead and Dublin Cherbourg in tandam with Epsilon until Christmas.   

alfie79

what happens when IF new build arrives and links up with the ulysses. does the WB stay on the french route for the full year?

LongTimeReader

Quote from: IFPete on August 04, 2019, 02:05:16 PM
Lets see what happens after Irish Ferries review the summer season,

I am sure they have received enough criticism from the public that they may make some changes.

I have heard that there is a possibility of Swift operating until Christmas which may lead to WB Yeats
operating on both Dublin - Holyhead and Dublin Cherbourg in tandam with Epsilon until Christmas.   

At the end of the day, they're a profitable business that dont suffer fools gladly.
I only one toook a ferry to France and flew home, I am always astounded by the prices people who go for the premium options on the France route. Its shocking expensive.

At the end of the day you have to assume that ppl will vote with their feet. I don't deny the benefits of the ferry if you've a young family but the price you're looking at towards flying. At the end of it all Flying to France is a painful 6 hour experience.....might contrast from the expensive near 19 hour experience of a boat?

IF have some improvements to do not lose significant business to BF and maybe even Stena(?).

DaveW1946

Apologies but Longtimereader is comparing apples and oranges. Flying involved car-parking at home airport and hire car charges in France. Also ferry passengers are often taking camping gear or towing caravans/trailers, and want to bring wine and other goodies back (impossible on a plane).
Do agree that de luxe cabins are far too expensive and those who pay for these have money to burn. At €900+ for commodore cabins onboard WB Yeats - you can have a four day cruise for that.

A83

Came back on the WBY from Cherbourg to Dublin on Friday night, our  third trip on the ship. This was the first trip in rough[ish] weather. There was a gale blowing up the channel so most people ate early and retired to their cabins. Sea state was 3 metres + going down to Lands End and quite choppy going around the tip of England. The ship handled the sea pretty well, there was an occasional sigh from the bow as it headed into a high wave and a comforting roll but everything was very manageable, I think the ship is designed well from that point of view.

Regarding the on board facilites it is all rather open plan which you either like or don't like. Personally I preferred the Oscar Wilde's separate bars and eateries.

In terms of what we liked: the twin level loading worked well, a lot of motor vans and cars were loaded in an hour flat.The ship is easy to navigate and does not get so crowded  especially during the race for the car decks when embarkation is announced. The Wild Swans eatery is quiet and more intimate than the cafe and the Boylan's Brasserie. The cabins are well appointed and designed and fine for two-I cannot comment on having four in such a confined space.

What we didn't like was the bar- basically an L shaped corridor, the aforementioned open plan design of deck 10 and the grey decor with the carpets that have been commented upon by others.

The ship arrived on time despite the weather and embarcation was straightforward. One further point occurred to me; back in 2007 I recall the Normandy running late on account of the adverse wind and tides in the English channel, the WBY seems to have much more powerful engines so that it can compensate for such things.

All in all a very acceptable if quite expensive  trip.

alfie79

Quote from: A83 on August 18, 2019, 08:56:25 AM
Came back on the WBY from Cherbourg to Dublin on Friday night, our  third trip on the ship. This was the first trip in rough[ish] weather. There was a gale blowing up the channel so most people ate early and retired to their cabins. Sea state was 3 metres + going down to Lands End and quite choppy going around the tip of England. The ship handled the sea pretty well, there was an occasional sigh from the bow as it headed into a high wave and a comforting roll but everything was very manageable, I think the ship is designed well from that point of view.

Regarding the on board facilites it is all rather open plan which you either like or don't like. Personally I preferred the Oscar Wilde's separate bars and eateries.

In terms of what we liked: the twin level loading worked well, a lot of motor vans and cars were loaded in an hour flat.The ship is easy to navigate and does not get so crowded  especially during the race for the car decks when embarkation is announced. The Wild Swans eatery is quiet and more intimate than the cafe and the Boylan's Brasserie. The cabins are well appointed and designed and fine for two-I cannot comment on having four in such a confined space.

What we didn't like was the bar- basically an L shaped corridor, the aforementioned open plan design of deck 10 and the grey decor with the carpets that have been commented upon by others.

The ship arrived on time despite the weather and embarcation was straightforward. One further point occurred to me; back in 2007 I recall the Normandy running late on account of the adverse wind and tides in the English channel, the WBY seems to have much more powerful engines so that it can compensate for such things.

All in all a very acceptable if quite expensive  trip.

good post i would agree with all of it
i really think IF have dropped the ball with internal design of the ship which is a great shame.i have travelled with Irish Ferries all my life but next year i will try the pont avan to roscoff which is a real cruise ferry and a slightly cheaper opition