W B Yeats Disappointment

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

Previous topic - Next topic

Ferry2france

I travelled over in April on the WB Yeats,  it was one of the earlier voyages.  I too was disappointed.  I agree this ship is better suited to a shorter crossing, and for once I never ventured to the outer decks but I believe that area is also smaller than its predecessor.  But was the WB Yeats a replacement for the Oscar Wilde?  Was it not a ship that should be on the Dublin/Holyhead route?  Was there not promise of a bigger, better ship for the French leg?   Aboard the Oscar Wilde a couple of years ago I overheard some staff members discussing what was to be Oscar Wilde's replacement I can tell you none of their superlatives added up to this ship. 

I will travel again next month, and the thought of Dublin Port with the now traffic delays added in and for some reason the ship's reputation for delaying boarding is really not making me excited. 

IFPete

My cousin and Aunt travelled back from Cherbour on WB Yeats last weekend. The one word he used to describe the trip was disapointing. There is something missing from WB Yeats that Oscar Wilde had " Charactor". 

DaveW1946

Am I missing something or is the W B Yeats regularly late arriving in Dublin and Cherbourg, despite calm weather, and not by just a few minutes but at least an hour. Do IF need to amend the timetable for next year?

Steven

Quote from: Ferry2france on August 22, 2019, 02:46:50 PM
I travelled over in April on the WB Yeats,  it was one of the earlier voyages.  I too was disappointed.  I agree this ship is better suited to a shorter crossing, and for once I never ventured to the outer decks but I believe that area is also smaller than its predecessor.  But was the WB Yeats a replacement for the Oscar Wilde?  Was it not a ship that should be on the Dublin/Holyhead route?  Was there not promise of a bigger, better ship for the French leg?   Aboard the Oscar Wilde a couple of years ago I overheard some staff members discussing what was to be Oscar Wilde's replacement I can tell you none of their superlatives added up to this ship. 

I will travel again next month, and the thought of Dublin Port with the now traffic delays added in and for some reason the ship's reputation for delaying boarding is really not making me excited.

She is definitely bigger while better is a subjective term.  From Irish Ferries point of view she should be a much more profitable vessel to operate.  She was a replacement for both EPISLON and OSCAR WILDE, taking the freight carrier by EPSILON and the passengers carried by Oscar.  As for her interior and passenger facilities, the designers can only deliver what ICG asked for.  The onus was on building a vessel that could operate Ireland to France on a year-round basis profitably. 

The timekeeping issue is interesting.  She doesn't seem to struggle with her service speed.  I believe there have been issues at Dublin with traffic over the past week or so due to new health and safety procedures following an unfortunate fatal accident, but that should be only temporary and would affect all vessels.
Steve in Belfast (suburbia)

Flickr: www.flickr.com/tarbyonline

DaveW1946

Reference the comment about year-round W B Yeats to France; this isn't the case, as Epsilon will do the run to the continent in the winter months, the the new vessel doing Dublin-Holyhead. One of the moans this summer is that meals aren't being served in WBY's Club Class Lounge, as advertised on the web. The stewards onboard say this is meant to happen on the Dublin-Holyhead route as the Lady Gregory restaurant will be shut.

alfie79

will WB then service the French run year round when newbuilds starts on dub run?
and WB cover dry docks also
could we see her on rosslare-prmbroke covering inishmore

IFPete

Thats the plan if the new build is ever built.

alfie79

well hopefully they put a bit more love into the WB give it a bit more character

alfie79

receivced phonecall off Irish Ferries today enquiring feedback for WB yeats, i expressed my feedback has disappointing with lack of character,general layout and high prices also the bright lighting in the bar while trying to relax and enjoying the music killed the mood.although i did find the cabins very comfortable but i found the oscar wilde more of a cruiseferry and more enjoyable experience altogether
i asked what were the other feedback they had got were like and she said very similar to what i said and the impression they got was people loved the oscar wilde and sailing out of rosslare

IFPete

A wise owl told me that Rosslare would be back possibly next summer perhaps with an old freind.

WB Yeats needs a little twicking to get things right for the passenger. It was right to build her for her freight volume.

Ulysses has grace and elegance despite her size. Its all about listening to your customers.

alfie79

#40
"A wise owl told me that Rosslare would be back possibly next summer perhaps with an old friend"

was this wise owl possibly reffering to the oscar wilde?
as much as i love to see her bk on french run i think that will never happen im afraid. they have invested in their new ship for the french run and i cant see that much traffic to run two ships

i recently seen a video of her in her GNV colours and they have kept the names of bars restraunt and steakhouse from her IF days.


IFPete

#41
Oscar Wilde is still Irish Ferries until the last installment is paid.

WB Yeats was Built to replace Epsilon and provide freight and passenger capacity on both Dublin - Cherbourg and Dublin Holyhead.

It was never intended to operate it out of rosslare unless due to drydock cover or weather.

Its too big for Rosslare - Rosscolf which also has a summer market.

alfie79

Quote from: IFPete on August 29, 2019, 06:18:08 PM
Oscar Wilde is still Irish Ferries until the last installment is paid.

WB Yeats was Built to replace Epsilon and provide freight and passenger capacity on both Dublin - Cherbourg and Dublin Holyhead.

It was never intended to operate it out of rosslare unless due to drydock cover or weather.

Its too big for Rosslare - Rosscolf which also has a summer market.


yes but Irish Ferries are finished with Roscoff now and if they take the OW back she will have to be fitted with scrubbers i would imagine and the when the newbuild eventually arrives there will not be space on dublin-holyhead run with ulysses and new build on the run
so the WB will be on the french run permantly
dont get me wrong would love to see OW bk but it wont be.
and why would GNV give her up if they are paying in installments cant seem all of a sudden stop paying installments

Steven

Quote from: IFPete on August 29, 2019, 06:18:08 PM
Oscar Wilde is still Irish Ferries until the last installment is paid.

WB Yeats was Built to replace Epsilon and provide freight and passenger capacity on both Dublin - Cherbourg and Dublin Holyhead.

It was never intended to operate it out of rosslare unless due to drydock cover or weather.

Its too big for Rosslare - Rosscolf which also has a summer market.
She's on a hire purchase contract.  The only way she is coming back is if MSC/GNV terminate that contract which I imagine will trigger severe financial penalties.  Oscar Wilde was sold for a reason!  From todays presentation

QuoteOscar Wilde sold in April 2019 to buyers MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. for an agreed consideration of €28.9 million, payable in instalments over 6 years, generating a profit on sale of €14.9 million reported as a non-trading item
.  She's sold, gone, and no longer a part of the ICG fleet with the profit added to the accounts.
Steve in Belfast (suburbia)

Flickr: www.flickr.com/tarbyonline

Steven

#44
Quote from: alfie79 on August 29, 2019, 06:33:51 PM
Quote from: IFPete on August 29, 2019, 06:18:08 PM
Oscar Wilde is still Irish Ferries until the last installment is paid.

WB Yeats was Built to replace Epsilon and provide freight and passenger capacity on both Dublin - Cherbourg and Dublin Holyhead.

It was never intended to operate it out of rosslare unless due to drydock cover or weather.

Its too big for Rosslare - Rosscolf which also has a summer market.


yes but Irish Ferries are finished with Roscoff now and if they take the OW back she will have to be fitted with scrubbers i would imagine and the when the newbuild eventually arrives there will not be space on dublin-holyhead run with ulysses and new build on the run
so the WB will be on the french run permantly
dont get me wrong would love to see OW bk but it wont be.
and why would GNV give her up if they are paying in installments cant seem all of a sudden stop paying installments
From a financial perspective its hard to see ICG spending five or six million euro on scrubbers for a vessel with a book value of less than €15m.  Thats even considering a successful and working retrofit is possible!  For example, P&O removed the scrubbers from PRIDE OF KENT because they were more trouble than they were worth - and that's a newer vessel than Oscar!  Brittany Ferries aren't bothering with BRETAGNE either - they are very much thinking of replacing her instead as it makes much more sense to invest the money towards a new vessel to last perhaps 30+ years.

TBH I still don't think some people get that the design and layout of W.B. YEATS was a conscious choice.  She was never meant to be a like for like replacement for OSCAR WILDE.  Rather she's more of a compromise between 'Oscar' and EPSILON - a Ro-Pax with a lot of cabin accommodation and a selection of passenger areas.  Thats what Irish Ferries wanted in order to secure the future of a service that has been hit hard by low cost airlines.  Trailers don't care about onboard entertainment either lets remember.  It's easy to install fancy passenger facilities, but it's much harder to make money out of them (despite some eye watering prices at times).  The main competition is the Stena operation out of Rosslare which uses a Visentini Ro-Pax.  Likewise with many of the Brittany Ferries sailings out of Cork.  Even if there is a drop in passenger traffic its quite possible that this vessel will be more profitable than Oscar, maybe not so much as EPSILON though with her barebones approach to passenger accommodation.  The next ship (if/when it is built) will be more of the same but with more freight capacity.  At the end of the day that's what business is about - making a profit.
Steve in Belfast (suburbia)

Flickr: www.flickr.com/tarbyonline