The W B Yeats is ‘ok’. We travelled out on 16th April. On arriving at Dublin port, the access was very busy with last calls for the Holyhead boat. We were early. The 2 hours that they recommend. Directed into the holding compound which was already well filled. For the next hour or so vehicles were backed up through the Irish Ferry gates onto the approach road. This on an off season crossing. I assume they will address what looks to be a problem with parking. I asked for electric and was told it now had to be prebooked. I did not see any evidence of hookups on the section of deck we were on. We were amongst the last type of vehicle (as far as I could see) loaded. Up a steep ramp to a higher deck, so take your time and wait or else you will have lots of hill starts with undue use of clutch.
When loading we drove from the stern loading point? All the way along the car deck with a U turn at the far end and half way back along the opposite side before being parked. I got the impression that the lanes were a tiny bit wider but could be wishful thinking.
The boat.
Cabins are pretty much the same as the Oscar, just fresher with the joy of a TV with about 6 channels of poor entertainment. I did not attempt to tune it.
We don’t do bars, so will have to pass on them. The fancy restaurant seems to offer the usual choices but no experience of it either. The common people’s eating area is in my view poor. Same cafeteria style with self service etc. You then carry your tray into the general seating area where there are tables, so not the feel of an eating area as all and sundry can be sitting there or walking past aimlessly and I reckon the table clearing will be an issue. The shop seems smaller with a poor streamlining of customers. Less space in the aisles and not proper system of regulating the queue at the till.
Deck access seems more limited with seating on one side only.
All in all a fairly mediocre boat. Perhaps they will improve aspects of their service, but I won’t hold my breath.
We will continue to use them probably because we tend to watch our departure and arrival on deck. Visit the shop for discounted cosmetics and retire to our cabin with picnic meal and breakfast. It continues to be a cheaper option for us than Stena, and I am not a fan of those small boats with semi open vehicle decks. I didn’t notice any WiFi in the cabins which in 2019 is pretty poor. On the deck where it can be accessed it is still pretty abysmal.
So there ya go. The discussion is now open for all those Irish Ferry haters and those who live south of Dublin. Having said that I enjoyed the drive down from Co Down to Rosslare watching the road gradually improve and I will miss Roscoff which I preferred over Cherbourg.
Davy
