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I will be
writing a full report on Irish Ferries’ French operations for
FERRYcompass magazine. However, in the interim here is a brief
overview of my experiences.
The Rosslare
- Cherbourg/Roscoff routes have a great schedule departing Rosslare
at 16:00 in the afternoon and arriving in France at 11:30 the
following morning. Sailings ex France are at 18:00 ex Cherbourg and
19:00 ex Roscoff. The result is the civilised pattern of events
I’ll outline below.
Following
boarding at Rosslare we found our cabin (an upper deck (8) inside
ensuite 2-berth cabin), we had an almost identical cabin on the way
back. As with many ships built in the early 1980s the cabins are
not particularly large but both of ours were clean and comfortable.
Throughout
the ship were staff to assist passengers on boarding. At this point
I must pay tribute to the NORMANDY’s crew. Without exception the
crew are polite and friendly, they remember your previous round at
the bar, they greet you when you pass them, they wish you a pleasant
meal or thank you for your custom. Most of the crew come from the
Baltic States such as Latvia or Lithuania but not just their English
is perfect but so is their French and some could also be heard
speaking Spanish, Italian and German to travellers from those
countries. The appearance of the crew is also perfect – every one
of them in a perfect uniform.
They are a
real credit to the ship and it is obvious the senior officers on the
ship (mainly British) are running an effective operation.
There are two
main passenger decks - 7 and 8. On both decks are cabins forward,
there are also cabins along the sides of the upper vehicle deck
areas on decks 5 and 6 and on deck 2 and a reserved reclining seat
lounge on deck 5.
Deck 8 port
amidships is the waiter service Renoir restaurant and aft the large
Boylan’s Brasserie self-service restaurant.
Deck 7
amidships has the Café Lafayette to port offering snacks and
beverages – as far as I can make out it is open for virtually the
whole crossing. Also in this area is a childrens' play area and
amusement arcade. To port is the shop run by the Nuance group, a
hair and beauty salon and also some arcade type seating. Aft of
this is the reception area followed by the huge Molly Malone’s
showbar with the famous tiered seating arrangement. This lounge
impressed me as much as when I first saw it in a Sealink brochure
when the ship was the ST NICHOLAS. There is a full scale stage at
the aft uppermost level – on each side of the stage are quiet
lounges seated by a glass wall and heavy curtains – to port is the
Beckitt Reading Room and to starboard the Monet lounge. Despite
their proximity to the bar they are an adult only oasis of calm with
superb aft views. Port on Deck 6 is a “Teen zone” featuring some
arcade games and also a cinema.
There are
extensive outdoor areas on decks 9 and 10 (Tuskar Promenade) which
prove very popular in better weather.
Throughout
the ship was spotlessly clean and in the restaurants and bars tables
were cleared quickly. For a ship of 24 years the outdoor areas were
also very respectably kept with evidence of fresh painting. It is
fair to say, however, that some areas of the ship could benefit from
some refurbishment but few ferries couldn’t unless they are brand
new of have had significant refurbishments in the last few years.
Enjoying a
drink as Captain Paul Sellers took the ship out of Rosslare we
prepared to relax and enjoy our crossing.
We had dinner
in the Renoir Restaurant where a superb meal is served for €29.75.
For starter we both had Terrine of Wild Boar whilst for mains I had
Oven Baked Salmon and my travel companion Grilled Sirloin. For
dessert I had Chocolate Corruption and my travel companion Black
Forrest Gateaux. This was followed by coffee (included in price).
The meal was easily up to the standard of any decent city centre
restaurant but at that price much less expensive – faultless with
excellent service and attention to detail (bread, proper napkins
etc).
We spent most
of the rest of the evening enjoying a traditional Irish two-piece
act play in the bar and having a few drinks to get our holiday off
to a great start. Weather conditions were good and a reasonable
night’s sleep was possible.
We had
breakfast in the Renoir Restaurant which was excellent value at
€13.85 – included in this price is fruit juice, a selction of
breads, a choice of cereals and a main course (either traditional
Irish, a healthy option (fruit etc), grilled kippers or a cold meats
selection) and tea or coffee.
We were
kindly able to pay a visit to the bridge to meet Captain Paul
Sellers and get some insight into the operation of the ship. The
morning part of the sailing to France in good visibility is a treat
with the Channel Islands visible.
We spent the
next week in Normandy seeing places such as Bayeux, Caen, Coutances,
St Lo, Arromanches and even venturing as far as Paris. We rented a
fantastic old countryhouse
www.caperdu.com.
Holiday over
it was back aboard the NORMANDY for our return crossing and once
again the ship and crew were of similar description.
We again had
dinner in Renoirs – this time I had the Thai Fishcakes for starter
and the Butter Chicken Fillet whilst my companion had the same
choices as the outward trip. For dessert we had Black Forest
Gateaux and Hot Apple Crumble. Again the food was excellent but
with a very busy restaurant service was a bit slower, though I guess
nobody was in a hurry.
As the
evening progressed weather conditions worsened due to the tail-end
of Hurricane Gordon and it got fairly lively at times. Indeed by
the time I left the bar at around 23:00 the ship (with around 500
onboard) was virtually deserted. The motion of the ship was lively
enough but I’ve experienced worse and I did manage to get some
sleep. With quite a swell remaining we didn’t fancy too heavy a
breakfast and settled for filled baguette from Boylan’s Brasserie
which was perfectly adequate.
Thanks to
Chief Engineer Bob Ives I was able to have an engine room visit –
despite the age of the ship she is being very well maintained by her
crew and they are very proud of their work.
Arrival at
Rosslare was an hour behind schedule at 12:30 due to the severe
weather the previous night.
The NORMANDY
is well worth travelling on. She possibly isn’t the most luxurious
of vessels by contemporary standards but the food onboard is
excellent, as is her crew and the overall product very enjoyable.
At some stage
in the not too distant future it seems reasonable to assume that
Irish Ferries will replace the ship with something a little newer.
Given that the route already offers an excellent product I think
with a few more frills possible by more modern tonnage it really
will be a product that others will find hard to match.
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