Newsbot Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Sailings between Dublin and the Isle of Man on Sunday are cancelled and transferred to Belfast on Monday. Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/...man/7539609.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monasqueen Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 People reading that may wonder why the replacement sailing is to Belfast - the article seems to ignore the fact that the Belfast sailing on Saturday was already cancelled, and this sailing replaces the two of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 People reading that may wonder why the replacement sailing is to Belfast - the article seems to ignore the fact that the Belfast sailing on Saturday was already cancelled, and this sailing replaces the two of them. Are ferry companies covered under similar rules as airlines when they cancel a sailing? Would the passengers be entitled to accommodation, meals etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cascarino Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 People reading that may wonder why the replacement sailing is to Belfast - the article seems to ignore the fact that the Belfast sailing on Saturday was already cancelled, and this sailing replaces the two of them. Not ideal going to Belfast if you wanted to go to Dublin but only a two hour drive. The frustrating thing is that they have taken a ferry allocated to the Dublin route leaving passengers with no way to get to Ireland ,when they already have the Ben providing at least one service to the UK as an alternative to the Viking. Can the Steam packet rephrase their advise for the Irish routes from "Use it or lose it" to Use it on the occasions we deign to put a ferry on at a reasonable time, subject to changing our minds, or lose it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Not ideal going to Belfast if you wanted to go to Dublin but only a two hour drive. The frustrating thing is that they have taken a ferry allocated to the Dublin route leaving passengers with no way to get to Ireland ,when they already have the Ben providing at least one service to the UK as an alternative to the Viking. Can the Steam packet rephrase their advise for the Irish routes from "Use it or lose it" to Use it on the occasions we deign to put a ferry on at a reasonable time, subject to changing our minds, or lose it. Agree with your second paragraph. Anyway it would appear that the 'use it or lose it' is an idle threat by the IOMSPC as they are obligated to provide the service under their Agreement. Going to Ireland's capital city, Cork, I find it almost as quick to go through Belfast as Dublin because of the traffic problems in the 'second city' - getting along the Quays can waste enormous amounts of time. Maybe we should have a single reliable service to Warrenpoint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cascarino Posted August 7, 2008 Share Posted August 7, 2008 Not ideal going to Belfast if you wanted to go to Dublin but only a two hour drive. The frustrating thing is that they have taken a ferry allocated to the Dublin route leaving passengers with no way to get to Ireland ,when they already have the Ben providing at least one service to the UK as an alternative to the Viking. Can the Steam packet rephrase their advise for the Irish routes from "Use it or lose it" to Use it on the occasions we deign to put a ferry on at a reasonable time, subject to changing our minds, or lose it. Agree with your second paragraph. Anyway it would appear that the 'use it or lose it' is an idle threat by the IOMSPC as they are obligated to provide the service under their Agreement. Going to Ireland's capital city, Cork, I find it almost as quick to go through Belfast as Dublin because of the traffic problems in the 'second city' - getting along the Quays can waste enormous amounts of time. Maybe we should have a single reliable service to Warrenpoint? Warrenpoint would be spot on. It's only used for freight at present. Avoids driving through Belfast or Dublin. Does their agreement state Dublin and Belfast or can they go to any port? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manshimajin Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 Warrenpoint would be spot on. It's only used for freight at present. Avoids driving through Belfast or Dublin. Does their agreement state Dublin and Belfast or can they go to any port? The User Agreement specifies "services to the east coast of Ireland, 63 return sailings per year". So it is not necessary to sail to either Dublin or Belfast. I would think that Warrenpoint would be a shorter crossing than either of the two current ones. It would save the Steam Packet from having to service two Irish ports and maybe allow some improvement in service as a consequence. It is convenient for motor traffic from both the Republic and te North. It has good port facilities that are being extended (though how suitable for the IOMSPC I don't know). It looks rather like the Irish 'Heysham' without nuclear power stations. Warrenpoint Harbour It would also potentially open up a faster route for freight from Ireland to the IOM - subject to having a vessel that could take freight.... The downside of course is that it is not quite as convenient as Belfast or Dublin for foot passengers - but neither of the existing ports is particularly foot passenger friendly. This would need to be addressed. One suspects that the Port Authority might be interested in having a ferry link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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