No more Dun Laoghaire - Holyhead ferry

[Mark Gleeson]

After 180 years it is no more

Stena line have decided to no longer operate the route. HSS would be 20 years old and no other suitable vessel is available

[James Howard]

I was on a booze cruise on the first day of the HSS commercial operation. I paid for the slow boat but they let us come back on the HSS as the slow boat was delayed coming in to Holyhead due to the HSS being late.

[Traincustomer]

Disappointing news but given the scaling back of what was once the main link to Britain to a seasonal service in recent years and the cancellation of last Christmas’s sailings the announcement is not totally unexpected.

Have several memories of travelling on the route over the years with family and friends – some no longer with us. One morning I was driven to Connolly to catch the 05.55 DART boat train which ran from the earliest days of the HSS Stena Explorer in 1996 till 2003. It was even denoted as a boat train in the timetable (connected with the then 06.40 sailing to Holyhead).

Personally I had hoped Stena Line may have been able to source a more economical vessel and retain the route.

Operating the Isle of Man service from Dún Laoghaire would, in my view, be a neat fit as it would allow maximum flexibility in terms of sailing times and the tourist and foot passenger traffic that tends to constitute the customer base are well catered for by the facilities adjacent to the port.

The Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company is seeking expressions of interest for a replacement ferry service but also says that the ferry terminal is immediately available for the planned Diaspora Centre.

[berneyarms]

Originally Posted by Traincustomer

Disappointing news but given the scaling back of what was once the main link to Britain to a seasonal service in recent years and the cancellation of last Christmas’s sailings the announcement is not totally unexpected.

Have several memories of travelling on the route over the years with family and friends – some no longer with us. One morning I was driven to Connolly to catch the 05.55 DART boat train which ran from the earliest days of the HSS Stena Explorer in 1996 till 2003. It was even denoted as a boat train in the timetable (connected with the then 06.40 sailing to Holyhead).

Personally I had hoped Stena Line may have been able to source a more economical vessel and retain the route.

Operating the Isle of Man service from Dún Laoghaire would, in my view, be a neat fit as it would allow maximum flexibility in terms of sailing times and the tourist and foot passenger traffic that tends to constitute the customer base are well catered for by the facilities adjacent to the port.

The Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company is seeking expressions of interest for a replacement ferry service but also says that the ferry terminal is immediately available for the planned Diaspora Centre.

I think the end was nigh for the HSS once Stena announced the replacement of the Stena Nordica by the larger Stena Superfast X on the Dublin- Holyhead route.

[James Howard]

Its days were probably numbered since the port tunnel was built. Dun Laoghaire port was a right pain to get out of by car. It must be about 8 years since I went through Dun Laoghaire but I can always remember it taking at least half an hour to get out the port.

In the same time from Dublin port, you're turning off your exit on the M50. It must have always been a right pain for tourists due to the confusion of having signage to two different ferry ports in the city.

Still, it's sad to see such a long tradition being left behind.

[Mark Gleeson]

Stena have wanted rid of the Nordica for some time, insufficient passenger capacity. Was to happen last year.

The loss of foot passenger traffic is the real problem, blame duty free, Ryanair whatever

[James Howard]

In reality it is a bit silly to take the ferry on foot these days. I generally take the car to the UK once or twice a year and fly home while my family stays another few days visiting relatives.

But last year, I decided to try the train / ferry route from Oxford and it really didn't work at all. There is pretty much no way of completing the journey to Longford in a single day with any degree of certainty - you have about half an hour to spare before the last train. The journey was long, crowded and generally uncomfortable and ended up more expensive than flying. The ferry in particular was horrific - made Ryanair look like Etihad first class.

I love travelling by train despite Irish Rail's best efforts of curing that over 10 years of commuting but I really could not recommend taking the train and ferry. Taking the car makes a lot of sense if you're taking the family to the UK for more than a week - particularly if you travel at night but the days of the foot passenger as anything other than a lifestyle choice are long long gone.

[Mark Gleeson]

I've managed to travel

HSS Explorer - best by a long shot
Swift - dreadful, noisy, vibration
Stena Adventurer - nice, more modern than Ulysses
Ulysses - quite out of date
Stena Hibernia/St Columba - seriously old school

HSS was the only ferry to offer a proper foot passenger service.

[berneyarms]

Originally Posted by James Howard

In reality it is a bit silly to take the ferry on foot these days. I generally take the car to the UK once or twice a year and fly home while my family stays another few days visiting relatives.

But last year, I decided to try the train / ferry route from Oxford and it really didn't work at all. There is pretty much no way of completing the journey to Longford in a single day with any degree of certainty - you have about half an hour to spare before the last train. The journey was long, crowded and generally uncomfortable and ended up more expensive than flying. The ferry in particular was horrific - made Ryanair look like Etihad first class.

I love travelling by train despite Irish Rail's best efforts of curing that over 10 years of commuting but I really could not recommend taking the train and ferry. Taking the car makes a lot of sense if you're taking the family to the UK for more than a week - particularly if you travel at night but the days of the foot passenger as anything other than a lifestyle choice are long long gone.

While travelling by train and ferry may not be everyone's cup of tea, I think you're doing it a serious injustice.

Your experience of British trains does not sound representative to me - they're certainly not overcrowded most of the time outside of the major conurbations. I've travelled extensively all over Great Britain by rail and found it to be a pleasant experience.

You can upgrade to Stena Plus on the Ferry which offers some peace & quiet.

I'm also struggling with your experience of Oxford - Longford as well, as looking at the timetables, using the classic day ferry to Dublin, you arrive at Dublin Port two hours before the last train to Longford, and you should get the earlier train.

Oxford - Birmingham 08:09 - 09:18
Birmingham-Crewe 09:36 - 10:31
Crewe - Holyhead 10:49 - 12:50

Holyhead - Dublin Port (Stena Line) 13:50 - 17:05

Connolly - Longford 18:05 - 19:50

Sail/Rail isn't always the best option for particular trips, but I think you are being unduly negative. It certainly suits people travelling without children, when a car is probably better.

Some good news is that from May there will once again be a direct Virgin Trains connection out of the morning classic ferries from Dublin, departing Holyhead at 12:43 and arriving into London Euston at 16:39.

[James Howard]

I went with Irish Ferries which in hindsight was a mistake as it is that bit later than the Stena ferry. I collected my bag at 18:05 so if I took the connecting bus which was still waiting when my brother picked me up at 18:15, I would have arrived at Connolly at 18:30 with half an hour to spare

My other option was to get a lift to Birmingham airport which would have taken half an hour. There for the same departure time I could have been on a flight that landed in Dublin at 10 AM. Plenty of time for the 11:00 train that would get me to Longford for 1PM.

I did take roughly the trains you suggested and the first two bits were fine but not really long enough to get settled in. For the long section from Crewe to Holyhead, I got the last seat on a packed Virgin train with a huge fat guy between me and the aisle who yammered away into a mobile phone at top volume for most of the journey. There was luggage everywhere so I couldn't really go to the buffet for a coffee. I paid for the upgrade on Irish Ferries which they cancelled as they were short-staffed. To buy anything on the ferry - even a coffee - required standing in a queue for half an hour.

Finally the journey cost about 15 euro more than the flight would have cost at the time I first made the enquiry. So personally, my journey by Sail Rail was horrible and while everyone else might be travelling in an empty first class carriage, that was not my experience on the one time I tried it. I'll be very slow to do so again and would definitely not do it in the summer again.

But even if it was a lovely comfy journey, the flight option is a lot more convenient except for those who don't like flying. Hence I'd suggest it's more of a lifestyle choice than a practical way of getting from the UK to Ireland.

[berneyarms]

Originally Posted by James Howard

I went with Irish Ferries which in hindsight was a mistake as it is that bit later than the Stena ferry. I collected my bag at 18:05 so if I took the connecting bus which was still waiting when my brother picked me up at 18:15, I would have arrived at Connolly at 18:30 with half an hour to spare

My other option was to get a lift to Birmingham airport which would have taken half an hour. There for the same departure time I could have been on a flight that landed in Dublin at 10 AM. Plenty of time for the 11:00 train that would get me to Longford for 1PM.

I did take roughly the trains you suggested and the first two bits were fine but not really long enough to get settled in. For the long section from Crewe to Holyhead, I got the last seat on a packed Virgin train with a huge fat guy between me and the aisle who yammered away into a mobile phone at top volume for most of the journey. There was luggage everywhere so I couldn't really go to the buffet for a coffee. I paid for the upgrade on Irish Ferries which they cancelled as they were short-staffed. To buy anything on the ferry - even a coffee - required standing in a queue for half an hour.

Finally the journey cost about 15 euro more than the flight would have cost at the time I first made the enquiry. So personally, my journey by Sail Rail was horrible and while everyone else might be travelling in an empty first class carriage, that was not my experience on the one time I tried it. I'll be very slow to do so again and would definitely not do it in the summer again.

But even if it was a lovely comfy journey, the flight option is a lot more convenient except for those who don't like flying. Hence I'd suggest it's more of a lifestyle choice than a practical way of getting from the UK to Ireland.

Well it sounds like you were VERY unlucky in terms of your experience on both the Virgin Trains service and Irish Ferries. That Virgin Trains service is normally a 10 piece double Voyager, but something must have gone wrong with one of the sets if it was that crowded.

But I wouldn't necessarily make a judgement on the basis on one bad experience - things can go wrong (as you well know!!), and frankly it sounds like you were just very unlucky.

I certainly would have said something if someone was shouting into a phone for that long - that's not on.

You're right though - it is down to personal choice, but to suggest it isn't practical I think is still taking it a bit too far - it depends upon where you are going to as well.

[Jamie2k9]

I think the end was nigh for the HSS once Stena announced the replacement of the Stena Nordica by the larger Stena Superfast X on the Dublin- Holyhead route.

Very miss leading name for a ship. Had to check and it's just a normal cruise ferry and nothing superfast about it!

Never travelled on the HSS but the Stena Lynx III while operating out of Rosslare was a fantastic service. Would love to see a return of fast ferry but unlikely.

Both companies have doubled operations out of Dublin Port in the last 12 months so something had to give.

As for getting a replacement I agree unlikely unless P&O wanted to operate.

[Eddie]

Originally Posted by Jamie2k9

Very miss leading name for a ship. Had to check and it's just a normal cruise ferry and nothing superfast about it!

Very true.

I've taken every trip I've taken on the HSS since 2008 as potentially the last due to withdrawal rumours due to high fuel costs etc. Must have managed at least another 10 trips since then including 2 last summer.

I'd be delighted if the IF Swift switched to DL, but probably very unlikely due to the necessity of the staff to sleep on board the Ulyses. Still, there would be fuel savings compared to continuing to Dublin Port, unless they were wiped out by extra port charges.

Any other potential operator would have to have an agreement with Stena / IF to allow them to switch to a conventional ferry from Dublin Port in the event of bad weather.

[berneyarms]

Originally Posted by Jamie2k9

Very miss leading name for a ship. Had to check and it's just a normal cruise ferry and nothing superfast about it!

Never travelled on the HSS but the Stena Lynx III while operating out of Rosslare was a fantastic service. Would love to see a return of fast ferry but unlikely.

Both companies have doubled operations out of Dublin Port in the last 12 months so something had to give.

As for getting a replacement I agree unlikely unless P&O wanted to operate.

It was built for Superfast Ferries in the Baltic Sea - hence the name.

[Kilocharlie]

What really killed the HSS was the fuel:-
From Wikipedia article on the HSS regarding a sister ship of the Explorer:

A report in International Freighting Weekly following the withdrawal stated that Stena Discovery operation on the North Sea route was using more fuel than Stena's seven other conventional ferries on the North Sea put together.