Guys, just so you are aware. I have written to Transport for Wales requesting an explanation and interpretation of the CIV rules in respect of my ticket. I haven't had a reply yet but when (if) I do, I'll let you know on here. Cheers.
Interesting video Mark. Glad that everything turned out well in the end. I was made aware of CIV tickets back in the days when I could book a through rail ticket (using the EuroStar service) from Edinburgh to Poitiers. It was important then because it protected your journey from any delays on reaching St Pancras International CIV. The CIV was the important part - without it, you were not entitled to take the next Eurostar. Direct train tickets from any mainline station in the UK were withdrawn a few years ago now with no reason given. I think, and I stress I think, that the CIV right was withdrawn around the time of the Brexit decision. In 2015 I was paying £80 (booked in advance) for a single, Edinburgh to Poitiers. Now, it is necessary to book each leg separately and to incorporate sufficient changeover time into each leg. I believe that Rail Europe, however, may still offer a through ticket but they are careful to do the same ..... incorporating plenty of changeover time between connections. On another note, the Premier Inn near The Point in Dublin is a reasonably priced place for Dublin. I did walk into the adjacent offices the first time I used it. The guy at reception was accustomed to many others doing the same !
Great video again Mark. You are right, the approach into Dublin is very impressive with Howth head looming over on the starboard side. Also the sea walls that you pass have their place in history. The great south wall at over 4km was the longest of it's type apparently in the world when built in 18th century . And its counterpart , the North wall (bull wall) was surveyed in 1801 by none other than Captain Bligh, of the Bounty fame. Both prevented the massive build up of silt that plagued Dublin Bay for centuries. Kevin
Cheers Kevin - very interesting. What I also find about the approach is those port/starboard markers (the big ones) have windows in so at some point in time, they must've been manned? Imagine that - must've been a lonely job that!
Section 28.2 of the conditions of travel state "Where disruption prevents you from completing the journey for which your Ticket is valid and is being used, any Train Company will, where it reasonably can, provide you with alternative means of travel to your destination, or if necessary, provide overnight accommodation for you. " That clause has helped me out in a lot of situations because whilst a lot of staff and even TOC websites will state that ticket acceptance has to be agreed in advance, the conditions of travel absolutely don't say that and they don't say what constitutes reasonable either. In your situation there's absolutely no reason whatsoever that the ticket shouldn't have been accepted via Fishguard and it's ridiculous you were told it wouldn't be.
I totally agree, that’s how I interpreted it as well. Unfortunately TfW staff either aren’t trained properly or can’t be bothered to help (or both). And I do get the feeling they just hoped I’d ’go away’. I have written to them and we wait to see their response.
Hi Mark. Excellent video - as always; thank you for posting it ... I have crossed the Irish Sea literally hundreds of times, both as a car passenger for holidays with my grandparents in Ireland (when they were alive) from our homes in Birmingham and elsewhere in England, and as a HGV driver for several Ireland-based hauliers (sometimes up to eight times a week), utilising Pembroke Dock, Holyhead and of course Fishguard. But have never, ever sailed Fishguard to Dublin, so thank you ever so much for your insight into this temporary route - it was fascinating for me, despite having travelled on the Stena Adventurer dozens of times. By the way, the "alleyways" as you call them allow HGV drivers to access their lorries parked in the open space at the far end of the vehicle deck towards the stern without having to walk a significant distance along the vehicle deck itself - it's a safety feature. Goods vehicles are parked in the unenclosed area to allow trailer refridgeration units to continuously operate during the voyage, which they can't do in enclosed areas due to the exhaust fumes; trailers loaded with hazardous materials are also shipped on the open deck for safety reasons. A very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to you - I'm soo looking forward to seeing more your videos again this year.
Rerally interesting comment Eric - especially wrt those 'alleyways' on the ship and it all makes sense to me now! I'll hopefully be doing a few more ferries this year but if there's anything you especially want to see, let me know.
@@LetsMakeaTrip Yes. I think I've been leaving it too long between itineraries that involve ferries too . I'd definitely like to see more Caledonian Macbrayne videos (I've only managed Brodick and Cumbrae so far)
Brilliant video as always Mark!! The ship looks great!! I had the same thing with the stena plus lounge on the Fishguard to Rosslare route when I was doing a sail and rail. Called the phone number to book the lounge and told it was 25 pounds, when I got to the port the next day as I was checking in I was told you should have waited until getting to the port as they were then selling it for 15 pounds. Got onto customer services who didn't want to refund me the difference but they did so a refund of 10 pounds in the end. When I did the sail and rail for the second time and called up to book the stena plus lounge, before she said the price I asked if there were any discounts and straight away was told it's only 15 pounds because it's a quiet crossing. Did not know about the CIV rules to be honest, will have to have a look up on them. With regards to transport for Wales rail, sounds familiar to an incident I had with GWR when I had booked train journey wrong due to travelling from Devon up to Paddington on the night Riviera service, called customer services and told straight away that I would have to buy a new ticket. When I got to Paddington, went to ticket sales desk and told them what has happened, they straight away said no bother, changed something on the ticket, stamped it and said you can travel on any of these trains on your ticket. Apologies for the long winded explanation, hope all is well, take care and happy new year to you too
The sailrail tickets ( and any train or ferry ticket) is provided under contract law. The companies involved are obligated to get you to your stated destination if at all possible. That means that you could have gone to your original port of Holyhead and Stena would have been obligated to provide you with transport to Fishguard. As I have done the sailrail via Holyhead many times the worst issue I have had to deal with is a missed connection at either Crew or Chester necessitating the station manager having to call a taxi to get me to Holyhead
Yes this is what I believe and I think Stena would've done that. Only question is, who is obligated and what would TfW have done if asked the same question? Like I said in the video, Stena were really good but TfW, they just didn't have a clue. I have written to them so watch this space!
It amazed me how close in time the arriving train and departing train were in Crewe when I took this journey a few years ago. You have most people getting off the train and running down the platform to try to get on to the departing train. If the departing train left 10 minutes later it would take a lot of the stress out of it.
It's the ferries that were having the issue due to the closure of Holyhead port. The trains were unaffected so they could successfully argue that they would have successfully upheld their side of the contract by getting you to Holyhead . From there to Dublin the ball would have been in Stena Line's court to get you to Fishguard and thus to Dublin@@LetsMakeaTrip
Nice to see you back onboard a ferry Mark - when I saw the route that you sailed my first thoughts were whether or not you would see Bardsey Island....having been brought up in North Wales where we could see Bardsey Island from where we lived, and lighthouse at night, I'm pleased that you were able to see it in the distance.
That quietness on the ferry reminded me of a trip I made in the late 80s from Dover to Ostend. I traveled out on the Jetfoil which was really strange to travel on but coming back was on this ferry The official passenger count was 11! Trip back was about 4 hours and we were all in the cinema watching When Harry Met Sally for free as there were so few of us
Hi Mark, that was fascinating. My first memory of a ferry is as a child watching the family car being craned on! Since then, ferries have certainly evolved, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience them at least once, often more pretty much every year from the UK to Scandinavia and Europe. I’ve never seen deck space like that on a ferry, but then I’ve never to my shame been to Ireland. I’ve decided I must rectify that this year, almost certainly with the car, out one way and back another. Thank you for the video, I’ll be using Stena for sure.
Mark. Another very interesting and informative video from you. Ferries have certainly improved over the years and that looks a very good one. Looking forward to your next video. Colin.
Great video, as always! I've been travelling UK to Ireland for years by rail+sea, and I've got to say back in the day B&I (now Irish Ferries) often seemed the best, but on recent trips it seems that both in ships and customer service Stena has the edge, as you found. (Don't get me wrong, absolutley fantastic crews on both companies - *so* much better than on the English Channel operators - but when contacting customer services when things go wrong Stena always seem really helpful.)
Stena were really good yes. I haven’t had a bad experience with Stena, ever. I must’ve travelled with B&I at some point, I have some playing cards somewhere. I must dig them out!
I had a similar story several years ago. I'd booked a sail-rail ticket to the Isle of Man via Heysham Port, so I got on the train to Heysham Port. About half way there the guard checked my ticket, did a double take and said "the ferries don't start running again until next week, change at Lancaster for the ferry from Liverpool" The subsequent train guards didn't care that I was a long way from either of the routes I should have been on, and the staff at the ferry terminal were incredibly helpful and issued me with ferry tickets for both the outward and return legs.
Hi mark Paul from Kent happy new year 🎉excellent video fully agree stena looked very good did the railway company reach out to you after you made the video kindest regards Paul
Hi mark good to see you back great video as normal. Holyhead is back open on the 16 of Jan. I was gonna go to Ireland next when it opens but everytime I try to book with national express to go over it keeps saying there’s no travel route for the date in question. So I spoke to them on the phone and told me to go Birmingham coach station to book
Great video! I wouldnt have the patience to stay for 6,5 hours on a boat, but it was very interesting to watch. I stayed at the same hotel in Dublin late November😀
Hi Mark. As a regular traveller on Stena through Holyhead, this was a very interesting watch. I couldn’t tell for sure from the footage, but did you think the cruising speed was reduced on the crossing? The Adventurer normally does about 22kts, I think, but at that speed the Fishguard-Dublin crossing would probably be quicker than the 6.5 hours it took for you. I wonder whether it’s a cost-saving measure on fuel to account for the longer crossing. Anyway, - a very enjoyable watch as ever - thanks!
I use CIV tickets a lot to reach London from Wales for Eurostar, as you say most ticket offices have never heard of it. I had to amend a ticket recently and in fairness the staff at the ticket office did so without any trouble and waived the usual admin fees. It's a good reason to keep ticket offices as I'm sure the experience online or by phone wouldn't have been so easy.
1. I do love the superstructure of the Stena Adventurer. The deck configuration is unique and fascinating. 2. Dublin Port now has a greenway, which is a much nicer walking route than the one you took. From the ferry terminal building, head along Terminal Road North onto Promenade Road, and the greenway should be visible beside the road (to your right). I think you walked Tolka Quay Road or Alexandra Road, which are far less pleasant. 3. When I was doing this trip with Irish Ferries in the immediate aftermath of the storm, Transport for Wales were wonderful. No one disputed my ticket. And trains weren't running due to storm damage, so they actually put on a taxi for me to Pembroke Dock. (And, as it was just for me, they booked the taxi for a time that suited me, instead of following a rail timetable.)
The first page of filedump.ýes.info/Yule%20Ball%20travel%20(report).pdf is a plan. The remaining pages are what actually happened, when many things went wrong (on both legs of the trip).
I have done a Sail/Rail twice now to Rosslaire, starting at Dorchester West in Dorset, ending up at Fishguard after 3 separate services and a very stressful journey worrying about connections and had the train of been late, the ferry wouldn't have waited. All in all though a super cheap journey.
As a ticket office clerk, I do know about the CIV rules as its the same situation with connecting onto Eurostar services. If you have a London International CIV ticket and you miss the Eurostar connection though the fault of the train operating company, Eurostar will rebook you onto the next available service.
We travelled Fishguard to Dublin with Irish ferries between Christmas and the new year, an unusual route as Irish ferries are not usually seen at Fishguard. Like you we found the ferry almost deserted, probably the smoothest sea conditions we have ever seen.
I do wonder whether most people had given it a miss because of the issue at Holyhead, or whether it is genuinely really quiet at that time of year. Fishguard is a nightmare to get to anyway. Not sure I’ll bother again but glad I made the effort!
@@LetsMakeaTripAny advice from getting from Manchester now that Holyhead is closed? I normally go from Manchester Piccadilly via Chester or Lladnuo, but is there really any point in going down to Cardiff and getting to Fishguard or Pembroke (for Irish Ferries) from there? Or would I be better off going Manchester Victoria, Liverpool, Birkenhead to Belfast or Dublin (perhaps getting the Enterprise train down from Belfast to Dublin)?
@@michaeljohndennis2231 from Manchester to Dublin, I'd likely leave from Liverpool.the night ferry is a bit short for Dublin, so making a detour via Belfast is definitely an option I'd look into. From London, I would probably go to Fishguard, it's a nice route through South Wales.
Another great and informative video. Love Sail/Rail too and will be mindful in future of my CIV rights 👍 Must agree Stena take it for me wrt Irish Sea crossing. That looks like a lovely ship. A stylish refit 👍 Those 7-foot passengers going in the bus with you must have been banging their heads in some parts of the ferry...
I've found that Stena are an exemplary shipping company and you have showcased the best of travel out there on your sailing to Dublin. In stark contrast, Transport for Wales are shocking. Both in terms of fleet availability, reliability but also with their staff. Trains cancelled due to lack of train crew at short notice, and a very poor management strategy all contributes to what turned out to be a horrific journey. I find it amazing that the one place where you would expect them to shine (selling you their tickets) they even fall down in that department, miserably! That CIV restriction is common for Sail Rail fares, of which TfW staff should be competent in understanding because their network involves multiple ports. The lack of understanding and empathy from TfW really highlights how poor the railways are in this Country, both England and Wales! If I were you, I would be starting a complaint with them, with the express intention of taking it to the Rail Ombudsman when they inevitably tell you they did nothing wrong.
You are intrinsically correct on the CIV meaning. My own interpretation - which may very well be wrong- is that you should have travelled the same day down to Fishguard, and thus one day late on the ferry to Dublin. Another interesting twist is that I think the strict meaning of CIV is that you may have been entitled to travel to Fishguard on the correct ticketed date then use the overnight ferry from Fishguard to Rosslare and Stena then give you a ticket on the early Rosslare to Dublin train.
Cheers Stuart, one of the issues (for me) was I had a hotel in Dublin booked and a flight back the next day. So I needed to be in Dublin that night. Obviously that is outside the scope of the ticket (and this video). I’ve written to TfW anyway and I’m looking forward to hearing their interpretation.
Hi Mark I believe there are civ tickets for travel down to London for travel on Eurostar. These are a fixed price and often cheaper than normal fares but you are protected against delays and cancellations on both parts of the journey. I once had a guard allow me on a TPE service after my ship into Newcastle was delayed 2 hours due to Storm Clara. I asked nicely if I could use my advance ticket, it helped another guy had the same issue, he said yes and it prevented me having to take the coach home as a new walk up ticket was very expensive. The ship ship did look good and like yourself I do like plenty of deck space. The food in the lounge looked like an upgraded train lounge and ok if the ship was busy and if the same price as the normal route then at least you have more hours on board. Well done for making the trip and it looks like it was worth it.
The CIV tickets have more lenient restrictions for flexible tickets, but you are still able to take the next service with a normal advance from London Terminals too as well.
Cheers, it was a really interesting ship, definitely recommend it. WRT the CIV rules, I've written to TfW so we'll see what they say. I would think they apply as they're stated on the ticket. Otherwise, don't print them on the ticket. I also found the TfW staff on the trains much more helpful than the customer service staff who are either reading from a script or simply don't know anything about them (in which case training should be improved).
I'm sorry you had a bad experience with a Welsh company 😱😮. And a mediocre breakfast! Seems Adventurer made up for it though 😁😁. I've sailed on her a few times, usually return journey to Holyhead. Are the drinks and snacks free with the Stena Plus lounge? I'm thinking about upgrading for next week, but at same time I do love the restaurant and breakfast overlooking the bow😁.
Charter of international Voyage. You can take any service on the route and your bags , as long as it’s on same journey and not broken ( hotel stay) Most important traveler on the train. Can take any service. I was turned away at Euston once for wrong time ( I wanted early train) , I stated I’m CIV I can take any service. She left to see supervisor and came back and swiftly opened barrier and apologised.
After using all UK TOC. TfW has to be the worst and most complicated train operator. I was in Bangor (north wales) heading for Swindon. Asked at Bangor what the best route would be. No idea. Ended up at Chester then Birmingham New Street then Swindon. Just as train pulled into Swindon has call to say Swindon meeting was cancelled. If i got this earlier i’d get a direct train bangor to euston. But alas ended up at Swindon ticket office at 9pm buying a ticket to Paddington.
My experience of this trip was that no one on their social media or ticket office had a clue what I was talking about. That's not good and should be addressed by internal upskilling. I doubt that'll happen though. I get the impression that they're proficient at selling basic tickets and answering basic queries but anything unusual and they just either don't know or give you the wrong information. It needs to be addressed.
Cheers, I'm still waiting for a reply off them as I'm really interested to see if their customer relations people have heard of CIV. You would think so but nothing would surprise me with this lot!
@LetsMakeaTrip haha! I've only heard of it because you can buy a ticket to London CIV - but only if you already have a Eurostar ticket. It's cheaper than an Anytime ticket but more than an Advance, but gives flexibility in case of delays on either train.
Hoi, Mark, what a story. Really interesting and well done. Same impression here, as long as you pay and everything goes to plan, you´re a good customer. In other case´s you can search for someone able to solve you´re thing, as long as there is someone!. Stena made it. Greetings, Markus
Very interesting and insightful video diary my friend, as usual, your content is right up my alley mate, I love travelling and have done quite a few mini cruises on board ferries..... I love ships and the sea, maybe I should've joined the Navy instead of the Army 🤔...... with my wife when we were younger, mainly from Harwich but DFDS don't work out of the Essex port anymore.
Cheers mate. I reckon I'd have chosen the Navy out of the forces if I'd been interested back in the day. Travel the world and all that but like yourself, it's the ships that interest me really. Glad you enjoyed the vid!
I travel on the sister ship the Stena Nordica from Fishguard to Rosslare at this time of year it is like a ghost ship very few passengers exactly like the Stena adventurer in the video as for Transporter Wales all I can say is they are a disaster Arriva before them were bad enough, we seem to have buses more than trains with transport for Wales
Hi Mark another great video Fishguard is marginally better than Holydead i agree Stena is better than Irish ferries as for TFW what a shambles they are mate you did well getting to Fishguard safe travels mate
That boat looks awesome if a little quiet. Under CIV they are legally obliged to honour the ticket under contract. Did you get the money for your new journey back?
Yep that’s a temporary route whilst Holyhead is out of action, think it’s due back in action 15th ? jan. It’s all been a bit of a mess prior to Christmas what with the weather as well.
Cheers Dave. It was a really interesting ship, yes. I’m not 100% tbh but admit I did sound better after a couple of glasses of wine! Maybe that’s a thing? 😂
I’ve been on both the Stena Adventurer and the Irish Ferries Ulysses before their refurbishment and after the Ulysses refurbishment, but I’ve not yet been on the Adventurer post-refurbishment - I tend to prefer the Ulysses, especially the Club Class Lounge, but I would like to see what Stena have done
Definitely I would say. And the early sailing time too. Imagine TfW being sensible enough to put a connecting service on from Cardiff lol - no chance that would happen, it's too logical!!
Given the cost of rail travel you might reasonably expect their staff to be both aware and helpful, especially under abnormal circumstances. That they weren’t is simply disgraceful. I recently had to travel to a destination about 100 miles away, a journey involving 3 connections! The first train was late, missing the connection. This reduced the point to point average speed to a little under 14 mph. When I was younger I could have cycled it faster than that and saved the fare, on that day over three times Ryanair’s return fare to Malaga departing at about the same time. I’ve subsequently done the trip by bus. It takes 20% longer and there’s an extra connection but it’s FREE.
@LetsMakeaTrip it's because Holyhead is more near main cities like Manchester and Liverpool. Compare to Fishguard which the next big city would be 4 hours away in Cardiff, and Bristol .
It is cheaper for take a car and a cabin from Roslare to Cherberg , an 18 hour journey. than to take a car from Dublin to Holyhead. A DUOPLY. more compilation required.
I have to admit Stena will most likely remain my favorite Ferry Company... Quite simply because they have an outstanding service and customer service that one can only dream about... Absolutely perfect in all ways. Not only that part is to be loved about Stena, it's also the maintenance that they give the vessels. Most of that wont be seen by normal passengers, because it happens in the engineroom and such. I will say this that maintenance is perfect too, i mean if you can run these engines reliable in all weather and troughout the year for call it 14-16 hours a day and not be faced by wear on the engines that tells all you need to know about the maintenance. Ofcouse it's MAN engines buuut those MAN engines can and will break down if they are not looked after. And the age of this vessel shows the same inspite her age... she's in great shape giving a more modern vibe than the Irish Ferries (which feel abit old and with that i dont mean no disrespect because i do like the Irish Ferries too) The overall experience onboard Stena Line is better tho will admit. Greetz from the Netherlands Bjorn
Cheers Bjorn. I totally agree with your comment. I was just trying to think back and I've probably travelled with Stena approx a dozen times. I have never had a bad experience with them. I would go as far as to say the crew are really well trained in customer service and are, in my experience, the best in the business.
A sterling effort to complete this trip. Aren't our TOCs wonderful................. Now I'm retired I get out and about once or twice a week, usually with EMR and XC but sometimes Northern and TfW and I have to say TfW can be the most problematic with regards to timekeeping but at least the 197s are better than the 150/153s for comfort. Looking forward to your next trip.
Cheers Kevin, I don’t mind the 197’s though I preferred the 175’s really and I’m not quite sure why they got rid of them! I need to do more EMR though, they look quite smart.
@@LetsMakeaTrip I agree the 175s were very comfortable but they were essentially 'non-standard' coming from the Alsthom Coradia stable (I can only think of the 180s from the same manufacturer) and the fires they suffered didn't help. It's ironic they've now found a new life in the far South West, we'll have to ask the esteemed Mr Hoover to check them out.
The reason for the covered area on the outside deck on deck 7, is because the passenger area on deck 8 & 9 go further back then deck 7. Also, before 2022 the shop used to be on deck 8, before the builded the bigger shop on deck 7. Of course sometime before 2009 the shop used to be on Deck 7, along with the Stena Plus lounge. Before they were moved to Deck 8. Since 2022 the Stena Plus Lounge on the Adventure was made bigger. Also, the Family Hub is a new area, just opened this year. It is located where the free cinemas used to be, as well as being the area where Hyggy Lounge was, before it was moved to deck 7 in about 2020/2021.
That cross deck space and other weird semi enclosed spaces looked like smoking areas, they tend not to advertise them but the absence of no smoking/vaping signs give them away. Nice to see a ferry flying the 'Red Duster' rather than a flag of convenience which would be the reason for the good service as staff paid the UK living wage and care for people. P&O and Irish Ferries take note. They could at least use the comparable Irish or other EU port registration. Many UK companies tend to appear not to know of former EU legislation that was signed into UK law on Brexit to make it enforceable. They think that they can just ignore it.
Yes it makes a change to not sea the flag of Cyprus on the Irish Sea! As always, all Stena staff I encountered were brilliant! Really impressed with them again! Cheers Tony.
Seems to me that transport for Wales are mucky mouse and not too be trusted, ferry looks good and I don't think I would bother with the Stena lounge , thanks for the video
Nice tub that, a bit like the mary celeste with just you as billy no mates wandering around,. I would have thought it would have been rammed with trucks seeing as holyhead is out of commission, aparenly holyhead is due to partially reopen next week, looking forward to part two the return trip,.That roofed open sided deck looked like a ships stores unloading area judging by the stack of pallets there, on a side note regarding your mega bus birmingham brunel st to london heathrow video, that service has been scrapped,.I'm planning a trip to thailand soon from oswestry and looking at a train from gobowen 09.58am to shrewsbury, but it says (limited availability) ? arrives at shrewsbury 10.16am £5.20,.Then catch the national express at shrewsbury 10.50am to get me to LHR at 17.00pm £45.80 (thats doubled in price since 2022).my LHR/BKK flight departure is 21.35pm,.Does that sound like plan to you ?,. At least the NX goes direct to LHR albeit around the houses, digbeth (change coaches) and BHX at least it cuts out the tedious run into victoria coach station and change coaches to come back to LHR,.cheers ,.
Cheers Mike, I flew back tbh - this was the main reason I had to get to Dublin on 29th. Your trip to LHR - personally I would do exactly the same and would be on the 10:50 NX from Shrews. I'm booked on that in a week's time - £17.40 I think it cost. If you've got the time, I would go straight through to Victoria and then back out to LHR just because it would be cheaper this way. Enjoy Thailand mate, I really miss it!!
@@LetsMakeaTrip Last trip i did NX from telford to digbeth, marble arch, victoria,(change) to LHR,. I'm not a fan of practically driving past lhr on the a40 into london to vcs changing coaches and driving back out of london to lhr, last time it was torturously slow with rush hour traffic to get to lhr just after 6pm,. Not alot of room for errors, breakdowns, accidents, I hope that you do a video on your next NX trip,.
@@cabovermike Oxford Tube (or whatever it is this week, used to be the 390? variant of the X90 london service - though you can get off the Oxford Tube I think at Hillingdon for a windswept local bus to Heathrow.
Transport for Wales are useless, I booked a return ticket in advance some time ago and when I went to catch the train it had been cancelled and even though the station master had marked my ticket to be valid on later trains the first train I got was ok but on the return journey I had to pay again or be escorted off the train even though I was a disabled person! 😠
I'd suggest at least buying the "standby" version of the SailRail ticket, it doesn't give flexibility on the ferry but does on the train. Don't buy separate tickets for the train and the ferry! The SailRail fares make the GB rail fare almost negligible on top of a straight foot fare. I wouldn't risk a "SailRail Advance", pay the extra for "SailRail Standby", especially for coming back (otherwise you could be stuck hanging around unnecessarily if your ferry is on time, or stuck if the ferry is late). Also, I think the issue was that there doesn't seem to be a listed fare for Dublin via Fishguard (only Rosslare via Fishguard or Dublin via Holyhead). Conductors on the spot are more likely to be flexible than customer service offices.
Civ means any train. The times mean nothing. Thats just a modern problem. CIV means they can’t stop you or hold you up, must guarantee onward travel. I took a civ Newcastle to Dublin after Ryanair failed to come over. I booked it on the run to the last train, the kiosk wouldn’t sell my one till 7am. Not great machines for flexibility. Even though on Irish side your have a hand written paper ticket. No advance or time BS. I’m running form 8 pm train. Guard didn’t care I had no printed ticket. I had a receipt of a sail rail on my phone, it’s late now so no printing in Liverpool as I’m running for connect to Chester. Got last train on underground platorm. No checks. Make the last train to Holyhead. Lots of drunks sleeping past their stations. I’m sober lol 😝. Got to check in showed my reference number on Trainline.com. And I stated my name. She printed me a boarding card. As I stepped out into street at T1 Dublin was 06:45. I cancelled the 7am train ticket and had to pay an admin fee £12 So Newcastle to Dublin free. The power of CIV
Any news from Transport for Wales? Also, is Holyhead port / station etc open yet? They don't seem to want to talk about it on any of the websites (which seems a little strange).
Sorry to be off topic, but ... I am considering being a foot passenger from Fishguard to Rosslare. Rosslare looks a little bit cut off the train map. If I could manage to get to Waterford then Limerick Junction then either Mallow or Limerick, I would be `Game On` to hit Cork or Tralee or Galway (et.al.) Am I being too ambitious? Any idea of a reliable coach from Rosslare to Waterford, to get started?
Interestingly, I am quoted: a) rail costs from S.Manchester - to - Fishguard and back at 120 GBP, b) the same journey plus ferry to Rosslare - and back, for the grand total of 100 GBP (ie saving 20 GBP for a lot more action). c) For very carefully chosen dates in March, I can fly S.Manchester to S.Spain, return, for 95 GBP.
@@alanmon2690 correct, my Belgian ID card is enough in Ireland, but not for the UK since Brexit. Something about British people needing a passport, so Europeans need one for the UK as well, even if they accepted ID before...
@@barvdw I take my passport, driver's licence and bus pass going to Ireland just in case. I first went to Belgium in about 1984. I did not have a full passport so I walked to the nearest Post Office and got a simple pink card passport. The officer at Antwerp Airport (my favourite airport) had never seen one before and had to check. It got me in! (I did not like Kreik Bier...)
@@alanmon2690 did you have an 'old' kriek, sour and fruity, or a more modern one, more sugary? The latter is an excellent lemonade, but I agree, it's not beer
Stena Adventurer finally doing another route other than the Holyhead -Dublin route she’s been doing for years , she can probably just about be called an Adventurer now right? Nice ship been on it loads of times , great video mate and I like the reflective music you play when showing the sea and outside , hope you had a great time ? Looked like you had the whole ship to yourself ? Feels weird don’t it but I like it , I usually do ferry trips in the uk this time of year but currently in Tenerife to escape the cold and darkness and it’s hot 🥵.. cheers mark another great vid 👍🏼😁
These tickets confusions are not anything pleasant but at least you were able to get to your destination. Great video and definitely the rail and sail is on my to do list I and two friends were affected last October by the consequences of the Talerdigg crash that suspended services between Shrewsbury and Machynlleth. Not bad as since we had a two hours wait for our train to Birmingham I was able to revisit and show Shrewsbury to my friends and they liked it. And on top of that Transport for Wales were very helpful and for that week they were flexible and waived their tickets restrictions as a result How easy is it to book the rail and sail? Somehow the infos on train operators are misleading
I did get to where I was going but to do that I went against the advice of TfW customer service agents and ticket office staff. I shouldn'tr need to 'take that risk'. But like you say, fortunately, there are some sensible, pragmatic staff on the trains that can actually help.
@@LetsMakeaTrip Its an ancester write up from the Belfast Packet , a newspaper of about 1797 (I forget the date I have a PDF somewhere). (maybe it was 1767) , one of the Greatest storms to the date (and I think only 3 worse since then) in the Irish Sea. generally taking bookings from Donaghadee for a mix of ferry to Portpatrick ( both challenging beach landings for people and cattle catching the tide just right) and some trade down to Waterford/Cork or Bristol or South Wales mainly livestock or timber / cloth trades ) He (William) had a mix of fleet - and a cousin- Samuel Did the Atlantic trade with a couple of Briggs and a Schooner - but thats another tale) . I am sure William had a girl in every port as there seems more family than ancestors can provide , but Irish records are scant , confusing and probably have a smattering of untruths or errors in them - but I digress. The storm caught him, his ship, and his crew just outside Dublin and was washed onto the shore on the south side of the Liffey. The welcoming good people of Dublin immediately came to the stricken ship and prompty made off with every item of cargo, ships loose timbers and provisions and the clothing off him and his crew leaving them to their own fate. Quite how he managed to tell the tale I dont know likewise return to Belfast and later it is presumed went to the US. He probably had an agent in Dublin ,as well as relatives in Waterford/ friend one of whom a solitictor in Dungarvan (who prosectucted some of the Irish Rebellion persons ) so maybe some messaging to the or cadged a lift back on anothers ship to Belfast/Donaghdee.
Very poor from TFW, especially when you consider they are supposedly the lead train operating company for sail & rail. When I went from the north east to the Isle of Man and bought a sail & rail from Middlesbrough station, the staff there couldn’t have been more helpful. My main question was how flexible the ticket is in case of disruption or whatever, and they said yes the whole point of these tickets is you can use any train, any time or reasonable route to get you to the port. The price of the tickets are done by area rather than individual stations anyway. Ok, your port changed from Holyhead to Fishguard but the same applies - the way you get to the ship for Dublin is via Fishguard, so that’s where you’re entitled to go to get you to Dublin. Part of the problem maybe is the S&R tickets aren’t well known enough, or more widely advertised, which is a shame.
Agree, they're not that well advertised and the internal knowledge (in the case of TfW anyway) is pretty-much non-existent. It's almost as if they don't want to sell them!?! Fortunately, I received a lot of help and advice on this from people who know the industry inside out. So I know my rights and it'll be interesting to see what TfW say next. Shouldn't need to be this way though.
Guys, just so you are aware. I have written to Transport for Wales requesting an explanation and interpretation of the CIV rules in respect of my ticket. I haven't had a reply yet but when (if) I do, I'll let you know on here. Cheers.
Well done.
Maybe these are circumstances that the staff haven't come across before & are unable to deal with it themselves?
Keep us posted please.
[9:21] Yes, the sunshine draws you out. [9:27] Interesting inside/outside deck configuration. Thanks Mark. Helpful as ever.
Interesting video Mark. Glad that everything turned out well in the end. I was made aware of CIV tickets back in the days when I could book a through rail ticket (using the EuroStar service) from Edinburgh to Poitiers. It was important then because it protected your journey from any delays on reaching St Pancras International CIV. The CIV was the important part - without it, you were not entitled to take the next Eurostar. Direct train tickets from any mainline station in the UK were withdrawn a few years ago now with no reason given. I think, and I stress I think, that the CIV right was withdrawn around the time of the Brexit decision. In 2015 I was paying £80 (booked in advance) for a single, Edinburgh to Poitiers. Now, it is necessary to book each leg separately and to incorporate sufficient changeover time into each leg. I believe that Rail Europe, however, may still offer a through ticket but they are careful to do the same ..... incorporating plenty of changeover time between connections. On another note, the Premier Inn near The Point in Dublin is a reasonably priced place for Dublin. I did walk into the adjacent offices the first time I used it. The guy at reception was accustomed to many others doing the same !
Great video again Mark. You are right, the approach into Dublin is very impressive with Howth head looming over on the starboard side. Also the sea walls that you pass have their place in history. The great south wall at over 4km was the longest of it's type apparently in the world when built in 18th century . And its counterpart , the North wall (bull wall) was surveyed in 1801 by none other than Captain Bligh, of the Bounty fame. Both prevented the massive build up of silt that plagued Dublin Bay for centuries. Kevin
Cheers Kevin - very interesting. What I also find about the approach is those port/starboard markers (the big ones) have windows in so at some point in time, they must've been manned? Imagine that - must've been a lonely job that!
Section 28.2 of the conditions of travel state "Where disruption prevents you from completing the journey for which your Ticket is valid and is being used, any Train Company will, where it reasonably can, provide you with alternative means of travel to your destination, or if necessary, provide overnight accommodation for you. "
That clause has helped me out in a lot of situations because whilst a lot of staff and even TOC websites will state that ticket acceptance has to be agreed in advance, the conditions of travel absolutely don't say that and they don't say what constitutes reasonable either.
In your situation there's absolutely no reason whatsoever that the ticket shouldn't have been accepted via Fishguard and it's ridiculous you were told it wouldn't be.
I totally agree, that’s how I interpreted it as well. Unfortunately TfW staff either aren’t trained properly or can’t be bothered to help (or both). And I do get the feeling they just hoped I’d ’go away’. I have written to them and we wait to see their response.
@@LetsMakeaTrip they are joke as well as the welsh government. Honestly wales should have never received an own political body.
Thanks Mark, an enjoyable watch and the journey has gone on the list 👍
Cheers mate and good luck!!
Hi Mark.
Excellent video - as always;
thank you for posting it ...
I have crossed the Irish Sea literally hundreds of times,
both as a car passenger for holidays with my grandparents in Ireland
(when they were alive)
from our homes in Birmingham and elsewhere in England,
and as a HGV driver for several Ireland-based hauliers
(sometimes up to eight times a week),
utilising Pembroke Dock, Holyhead and of course Fishguard.
But have never, ever sailed Fishguard to Dublin,
so thank you ever so much for your insight into this temporary route
- it was fascinating for me,
despite having travelled on the Stena Adventurer dozens of times.
By the way, the "alleyways" as you call them allow HGV drivers to access their lorries parked in the open space at the far end of the vehicle deck towards the stern without having to walk a significant distance along the vehicle deck itself - it's a safety feature.
Goods vehicles are parked in the unenclosed area to allow trailer refridgeration units to continuously operate during the voyage,
which they can't do in enclosed areas due to the exhaust fumes;
trailers loaded with hazardous materials are also shipped on the open deck for safety reasons.
A very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to you
- I'm soo looking forward to seeing more your videos again this year.
Rerally interesting comment Eric - especially wrt those 'alleyways' on the ship and it all makes sense to me now! I'll hopefully be doing a few more ferries this year but if there's anything you especially want to see, let me know.
@@LetsMakeaTrip Yes. I think I've been leaving it too long between itineraries that involve ferries too . I'd definitely like to see more Caledonian Macbrayne videos (I've only managed Brodick and Cumbrae so far)
Brilliant video as always Mark!! The ship looks great!! I had the same thing with the stena plus lounge on the Fishguard to Rosslare route when I was doing a sail and rail. Called the phone number to book the lounge and told it was 25 pounds, when I got to the port the next day as I was checking in I was told you should have waited until getting to the port as they were then selling it for 15 pounds. Got onto customer services who didn't want to refund me the difference but they did so a refund of 10 pounds in the end. When I did the sail and rail for the second time and called up to book the stena plus lounge, before she said the price I asked if there were any discounts and straight away was told it's only 15 pounds because it's a quiet crossing. Did not know about the CIV rules to be honest, will have to have a look up on them. With regards to transport for Wales rail, sounds familiar to an incident I had with GWR when I had booked train journey wrong due to travelling from Devon up to Paddington on the night Riviera service, called customer services and told straight away that I would have to buy a new ticket. When I got to Paddington, went to ticket sales desk and told them what has happened, they straight away said no bother, changed something on the ticket, stamped it and said you can travel on any of these trains on your ticket.
Apologies for the long winded explanation, hope all is well, take care and happy new year to you too
I don't normally like music in videos like this but it works so well with the views and sets a really good tone 😊
Great vid, I really like the look of Stena Adventurer.
The sailrail tickets ( and any train or ferry ticket) is provided under contract law. The companies involved are obligated to get you to your stated destination if at all possible. That means that you could have gone to your original port of Holyhead and Stena would have been obligated to provide you with transport to Fishguard. As I have done the sailrail via Holyhead many times the worst issue I have had to deal with is a missed connection at either Crew or Chester necessitating the station manager having to call a taxi to get me to Holyhead
Yes this is what I believe and I think Stena would've done that. Only question is, who is obligated and what would TfW have done if asked the same question? Like I said in the video, Stena were really good but TfW, they just didn't have a clue. I have written to them so watch this space!
It amazed me how close in time the arriving train and departing train were in Crewe when I took this journey a few years ago. You have most people getting off the train and running down the platform to try to get on to the departing train. If the departing train left 10 minutes later it would take a lot of the stress out of it.
It's the ferries that were having the issue due to the closure of Holyhead port. The trains were unaffected so they could successfully argue that they would have successfully upheld their side of the contract by getting you to Holyhead . From there to Dublin the ball would have been in Stena Line's court to get you to Fishguard and thus to Dublin@@LetsMakeaTrip
That was a bad day, Mark. Glad it all turned out well. Cheers from Oz.
Always keep smiling Mark, good things come to those who do eventually, great video
Nice to see you back onboard a ferry Mark - when I saw the route that you sailed my first thoughts were whether or not you would see Bardsey Island....having been brought up in North Wales where we could see Bardsey Island from where we lived, and lighthouse at night, I'm pleased that you were able to see it in the distance.
That quietness on the ferry reminded me of a trip I made in the late 80s from Dover to Ostend. I traveled out on the Jetfoil which was really strange to travel on but coming back was on this ferry The official passenger count was 11! Trip back was about 4 hours and we were all in the cinema watching When Harry Met Sally for free as there were so few of us
Nice video again Mark, and thanks for the heads up re: the CIV rules!
Hi Mark, that was fascinating. My first memory of a ferry is as a child watching the family car being craned on! Since then, ferries have certainly evolved, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience them at least once, often more pretty much every year from the UK to Scandinavia and Europe. I’ve never seen deck space like that on a ferry, but then I’ve never to my shame been to Ireland. I’ve decided I must rectify that this year, almost certainly with the car, out one way and back another. Thank you for the video, I’ll be using Stena for sure.
Hi Mark. Another fantastic video, and thank you. I am retiring in April and am hoping to do some of your great adventures myself. Take care. D
Cheers David, that makes two of us then! Maybe I’ll see you around somewhere , enjoy your retirement 👍😊
Mark.
Another very interesting and informative video from you.
Ferries have certainly improved over the years and that looks a very good one.
Looking forward to your next video.
Colin.
Cheers Colin, I would definitely recommend a trip on this one. A really interesting ship 👍
Excellent video Mark…thank you…🙏
Looks an amazing ferry journey Mark, I'll add it to my ever-growing list 😂 👍
Great video, Mark. It looked like you had the entire ferry to yourself. Where was everyone? 😂 All the best. Andy.
Great video, as always! I've been travelling UK to Ireland for years by rail+sea, and I've got to say back in the day B&I (now Irish Ferries) often seemed the best, but on recent trips it seems that both in ships and customer service Stena has the edge, as you found. (Don't get me wrong, absolutley fantastic crews on both companies - *so* much better than on the English Channel operators - but when contacting customer services when things go wrong Stena always seem really helpful.)
Stena were really good yes. I haven’t had a bad experience with Stena, ever. I must’ve travelled with B&I at some point, I have some playing cards somewhere. I must dig them out!
Thanks Mark. Another great video. Very interesting with lots of useful information. 😊
I haven't sailed with Irish ferries but am a stena veteran. Good operator
I had a similar story several years ago. I'd booked a sail-rail ticket to the Isle of Man via Heysham Port, so I got on the train to Heysham Port. About half way there the guard checked my ticket, did a double take and said "the ferries don't start running again until next week, change at Lancaster for the ferry from Liverpool" The subsequent train guards didn't care that I was a long way from either of the routes I should have been on, and the staff at the ferry terminal were incredibly helpful and issued me with ferry tickets for both the outward and return legs.
Not an international voyage
Thanks Mark that was an excellent adventure 👍
Cheers James and thanks for leaving a comment mate 😊👍
Hi mark Paul from Kent happy new year 🎉excellent video fully agree stena looked very good did the railway company reach out to you after you made the video kindest regards Paul
Hi Paul, same to you mate! I have written to TfW and when I get a response I'll post it up here. Cheers.
Well written and presented, very interesting. Thanks
Cheers Simon and thanks for the comment mate!
What a quiet crossing. We do like Stena. We’re debating Loganair flight vs Stena Aberdeen to Belfast in September.
Hi mark good to see you back great video as normal. Holyhead is back open on the 16 of Jan. I was gonna go to Ireland next when it opens but everytime I try to book with national express to go over it keeps saying there’s no travel route for the date in question. So I spoke to them on the phone and told me to go Birmingham coach station to book
Your own personal ferry (and a good one too), that was a result alright! Another great video, Mark, thank you 😊😊
Cheers Ian, it certainly felt like it! A really interesting ship (though they good do with updating the signage!
Great video! I wouldnt have the patience to stay for 6,5 hours on a boat, but it was very interesting to watch. I stayed at the same hotel in Dublin late November😀
Thanks Edward, I do like the North Docklands hotel - the food is decent there too. About 30 mins walk from the ferry terminal if you need to know.
@@LetsMakeaTrip And I was happily surprised to pay only 45 EUR a night, for Dublin a very good price.
Hi Mark. As a regular traveller on Stena through Holyhead, this was a very interesting watch. I couldn’t tell for sure from the footage, but did you think the cruising speed was reduced on the crossing? The Adventurer normally does about 22kts, I think, but at that speed the Fishguard-Dublin crossing would probably be quicker than the 6.5 hours it took for you. I wonder whether it’s a cost-saving measure on fuel to account for the longer crossing. Anyway, - a very enjoyable watch as ever - thanks!
Yes you might be right Stephen. When I looked at the official ship guide Stena publish, I think 21 knots was the stated speed.
I use CIV tickets a lot to reach London from Wales for Eurostar, as you say most ticket offices have never heard of it. I had to amend a ticket recently and in fairness the staff at the ticket office did so without any trouble and waived the usual admin fees. It's a good reason to keep ticket offices as I'm sure the experience online or by phone wouldn't have been so easy.
1. I do love the superstructure of the Stena Adventurer. The deck configuration is unique and fascinating.
2. Dublin Port now has a greenway, which is a much nicer walking route than the one you took. From the ferry terminal building, head along Terminal Road North onto Promenade Road, and the greenway should be visible beside the road (to your right). I think you walked Tolka Quay Road or Alexandra Road, which are far less pleasant.
3. When I was doing this trip with Irish Ferries in the immediate aftermath of the storm, Transport for Wales were wonderful. No one disputed my ticket. And trains weren't running due to storm damage, so they actually put on a taxi for me to Pembroke Dock. (And, as it was just for me, they booked the taxi for a time that suited me, instead of following a rail timetable.)
The first page of filedump.ýes.info/Yule%20Ball%20travel%20(report).pdf is a plan. The remaining pages are what actually happened, when many things went wrong (on both legs of the trip).
I did include a link to a write-up of my trip immediately after the storm, but it looks like TH-cam removed it. It doesn't like links.
I have done a Sail/Rail twice now to Rosslaire, starting at Dorchester West in Dorset, ending up at Fishguard after 3 separate services and a very stressful journey worrying about connections and had the train of been late, the ferry wouldn't have waited. All in all though a super cheap journey.
As a ticket office clerk, I do know about the CIV rules as its the same situation with connecting onto Eurostar services. If you have a London International CIV ticket and you miss the Eurostar connection though the fault of the train operating company, Eurostar will rebook you onto the next available service.
We travelled Fishguard to Dublin with Irish ferries between Christmas and the new year, an unusual route as Irish ferries are not usually seen at Fishguard. Like you we found the ferry almost deserted, probably the smoothest sea conditions we have ever seen.
I do wonder whether most people had given it a miss because of the issue at Holyhead, or whether it is genuinely really quiet at that time of year. Fishguard is a nightmare to get to anyway. Not sure I’ll bother again but glad I made the effort!
@@LetsMakeaTripAny advice from getting from Manchester now that Holyhead is closed? I normally go from Manchester Piccadilly via Chester or Lladnuo, but is there really any point in going down to Cardiff and getting to Fishguard or Pembroke (for Irish Ferries) from there? Or would I be better off going Manchester Victoria, Liverpool, Birkenhead to Belfast or Dublin (perhaps getting the Enterprise train down from Belfast to Dublin)?
@@michaeljohndennis2231 from Manchester to Dublin, I'd likely leave from Liverpool.the night ferry is a bit short for Dublin, so making a detour via Belfast is definitely an option I'd look into. From London, I would probably go to Fishguard, it's a nice route through South Wales.
@@barvdw I agree . Personally I'll be delaying my plans until Holyhead reopens
.
That lounge is comfy. Been on it on that one couple of times
Just remembered in 2012 it was been changed around now I remember
Another great and informative video. Love Sail/Rail too and will be mindful in future of my CIV rights 👍
Must agree Stena take it for me wrt Irish Sea crossing. That looks like a lovely ship. A stylish refit 👍
Those 7-foot passengers going in the bus with you must have been banging their heads in some parts of the ferry...
Haha, I should've said 2-foot dogs as well! Or would that have been 4-foot dogs?
I've found that Stena are an exemplary shipping company and you have showcased the best of travel out there on your sailing to Dublin.
In stark contrast, Transport for Wales are shocking. Both in terms of fleet availability, reliability but also with their staff. Trains cancelled due to lack of train crew at short notice, and a very poor management strategy all contributes to what turned out to be a horrific journey. I find it amazing that the one place where you would expect them to shine (selling you their tickets) they even fall down in that department, miserably! That CIV restriction is common for Sail Rail fares, of which TfW staff should be competent in understanding because their network involves multiple ports. The lack of understanding and empathy from TfW really highlights how poor the railways are in this Country, both England and Wales! If I were you, I would be starting a complaint with them, with the express intention of taking it to the Rail Ombudsman when they inevitably tell you they did nothing wrong.
You are intrinsically correct on the CIV meaning. My own interpretation - which may very well be wrong- is that you should have travelled the same day down to Fishguard, and thus one day late on the ferry to Dublin. Another interesting twist is that I think the strict meaning of CIV is that you may have been entitled to travel to Fishguard on the correct ticketed date then use the overnight ferry from Fishguard to Rosslare and Stena then give you a ticket on the early Rosslare to Dublin train.
Cheers Stuart, one of the issues (for me) was I had a hotel in Dublin booked and a flight back the next day. So I needed to be in Dublin that night. Obviously that is outside the scope of the ticket (and this video). I’ve written to TfW anyway and I’m looking forward to hearing their interpretation.
Hi Mark I believe there are civ tickets for travel down to London for travel on Eurostar. These are a fixed price and often cheaper than normal fares but you are protected against delays and cancellations on both parts of the journey. I once had a guard allow me on a TPE service after my ship into Newcastle was delayed 2 hours due to Storm Clara. I asked nicely if I could use my advance ticket, it helped another guy had the same issue, he said yes and it prevented me having to take the coach home as a new walk up ticket was very expensive. The ship ship did look good and like yourself I do like plenty of deck space. The food in the lounge looked like an upgraded train lounge and ok if the ship was busy and if the same price as the normal route then at least you have more hours on board. Well done for making the trip and it looks like it was worth it.
The CIV tickets have more lenient restrictions for flexible tickets, but you are still able to take the next service with a normal advance from London Terminals too as well.
Cheers, it was a really interesting ship, definitely recommend it. WRT the CIV rules, I've written to TfW so we'll see what they say. I would think they apply as they're stated on the ticket. Otherwise, don't print them on the ticket. I also found the TfW staff on the trains much more helpful than the customer service staff who are either reading from a script or simply don't know anything about them (in which case training should be improved).
I'm sorry you had a bad experience with a Welsh company 😱😮. And a mediocre breakfast! Seems Adventurer made up for it though 😁😁. I've sailed on her a few times, usually return journey to Holyhead. Are the drinks and snacks free with the Stena Plus lounge? I'm thinking about upgrading for next week, but at same time I do love the restaurant and breakfast overlooking the bow😁.
Charter of international Voyage. You can take any service on the route and your bags , as long as it’s on same journey and not broken ( hotel stay)
Most important traveler on the train. Can take any service.
I was turned away at Euston once for wrong time ( I wanted early train) , I stated I’m CIV I can take any service. She left to see supervisor and came back and swiftly opened barrier and apologised.
CIV your most important passenger on the train. I would have taken train to Fishguard on same ticket
Thanks steve for the video
Stena ship looked great with all the recent alterations, but surely the 1st thing you do is update the maps telling you what's where !! :)
After using all UK TOC. TfW has to be the worst and most complicated train operator. I was in Bangor (north wales) heading for Swindon. Asked at Bangor what the best route would be. No idea. Ended up at Chester then Birmingham New Street then Swindon. Just as train pulled into Swindon has call to say Swindon meeting was cancelled. If i got this earlier i’d get a direct train bangor to euston. But alas ended up at Swindon ticket office at 9pm buying a ticket to Paddington.
My experience of this trip was that no one on their social media or ticket office had a clue what I was talking about. That's not good and should be addressed by internal upskilling. I doubt that'll happen though. I get the impression that they're proficient at selling basic tickets and answering basic queries but anything unusual and they just either don't know or give you the wrong information. It needs to be addressed.
Great video mark❤
Thanks Sheila 😊👍
Nice one mate. Bit of a pallaver but glad it was sorted eventually!
Cheers, I'm still waiting for a reply off them as I'm really interested to see if their customer relations people have heard of CIV. You would think so but nothing would surprise me with this lot!
@LetsMakeaTrip haha! I've only heard of it because you can buy a ticket to London CIV - but only if you already have a Eurostar ticket. It's cheaper than an Anytime ticket but more than an Advance, but gives flexibility in case of delays on either train.
Hoi, Mark, what a story. Really interesting and well done. Same impression here, as long as you pay and everything goes to plan, you´re a good customer. In other case´s you can search for someone able to solve you´re thing, as long as there is someone!. Stena made it. Greetings, Markus
Cheers Markus, fortunately people in ‘real life’ tend to be a little more pragmatic (well, most of the time anyway!).
Very interesting and insightful video diary my friend, as usual, your content is right up my alley mate, I love travelling and have done quite a few mini cruises on board ferries..... I love ships and the sea, maybe I should've joined the Navy instead of the Army 🤔...... with my wife when we were younger, mainly from Harwich but DFDS don't work out of the Essex port anymore.
Cheers mate. I reckon I'd have chosen the Navy out of the forces if I'd been interested back in the day. Travel the world and all that but like yourself, it's the ships that interest me really. Glad you enjoyed the vid!
Thanks for another nice trip, Mark!
Thanks for watching and commenting 👍 It’s most appreciated 😊
I travel on the sister ship the Stena Nordica from Fishguard to Rosslare at this time of year it is like a ghost ship very few passengers exactly like the Stena adventurer in the video as for Transporter Wales all I can say is they are a disaster Arriva before them were bad enough, we seem to have buses more than trains with transport for Wales
Hi Mark another great video Fishguard is marginally better than Holydead i agree Stena is better than Irish ferries as for TFW what a shambles they are mate you did well getting to Fishguard safe travels mate
That boat looks awesome if a little quiet. Under CIV they are legally obliged to honour the ticket under contract. Did you get the money for your new journey back?
Yep that’s a temporary route whilst Holyhead is out of action, think it’s due back in action 15th ? jan. It’s all been a bit of a mess prior to Christmas what with the weather as well.
Some beautiful filming (videoing ?) of the sea and landscape.
Cheers mate, you've just reminded me I must get my Prophet 5 out for a play some time soon!
Nice ship and video. You sound much better I hope you are👍
Cheers Dave. It was a really interesting ship, yes. I’m not 100% tbh but admit I did sound better after a couple of glasses of wine! Maybe that’s a thing? 😂
@ love your vids especially your ferry trips👍take care and happy roaming😁
I’ve been on both the Stena Adventurer and the Irish Ferries Ulysses before their refurbishment and after the Ulysses refurbishment, but I’ve not yet been on the Adventurer post-refurbishment - I tend to prefer the Ulysses, especially the Club Class Lounge, but I would like to see what Stena have done
You're the first passenger I have ever seen on a Clarbeson Road platform! Used to live in Haverfordwest
Haha, three times I stood on those platforms! Cheers James.
@@LetsMakeaTripI recall it is a request stop station- a hand signal to the oncoming driver?
11:30 I suspect some have been put off by the inconvenient alternative port (me included!)
Definitely I would say. And the early sailing time too. Imagine TfW being sensible enough to put a connecting service on from Cardiff lol - no chance that would happen, it's too logical!!
@@LetsMakeaTrip Cardiff? I think even if only from Llaneli they'd be a difference!
Given the cost of rail travel you might reasonably expect their staff to be both aware and helpful, especially under abnormal circumstances. That they weren’t is simply disgraceful.
I recently had to travel to a destination about 100 miles away, a journey involving 3 connections! The first train was late, missing the connection. This reduced the point to point average speed to a little under 14 mph. When I was younger I could have cycled it faster than that and saved the fare, on that day over three times Ryanair’s return fare to Malaga departing at about the same time. I’ve subsequently done the trip by bus. It takes 20% longer and there’s an extra connection but it’s FREE.
What a piano player.
This man's amazing
He is isn't he. Unfortunately, it's not me! If I have the time, I will do my own music at some point though.
Fishguard trainx finish early at like 10pm compare to Holyhead trains that finish at 2am
Yep and they don’t start particularly early either!
@LetsMakeaTrip it's because Holyhead is more near main cities like Manchester and Liverpool. Compare to Fishguard which the next big city would be 4 hours away in Cardiff, and Bristol .
It is cheaper for take a car and a cabin from Roslare to Cherberg , an 18 hour journey.
than to take a car from Dublin to Holyhead.
A DUOPLY.
more compilation required.
I often use Stenna but I can't but think they have a bit of a cheek charging for lounges or for seating.
I have to admit Stena will most likely remain my favorite Ferry Company...
Quite simply because they have an outstanding service and customer service that one can only dream about... Absolutely perfect in all ways.
Not only that part is to be loved about Stena, it's also the maintenance that they give the vessels.
Most of that wont be seen by normal passengers, because it happens in the engineroom and such.
I will say this that maintenance is perfect too, i mean if you can run these engines reliable in all weather and troughout the year for call it 14-16 hours a day and not be faced by wear on the engines that tells all you need to know about the maintenance.
Ofcouse it's MAN engines buuut those MAN engines can and will break down if they are not looked after.
And the age of this vessel shows the same inspite her age... she's in great shape giving a more modern vibe than the Irish Ferries (which feel abit old and with that i dont mean no disrespect because i do like the Irish Ferries too)
The overall experience onboard Stena Line is better tho will admit.
Greetz from the Netherlands
Bjorn
Cheers Bjorn. I totally agree with your comment. I was just trying to think back and I've probably travelled with Stena approx a dozen times. I have never had a bad experience with them. I would go as far as to say the crew are really well trained in customer service and are, in my experience, the best in the business.
A sterling effort to complete this trip.
Aren't our TOCs wonderful.................
Now I'm retired I get out and about once or twice a week, usually with EMR and XC but sometimes Northern and TfW and I have to say TfW can be the most problematic with regards to timekeeping but at least the 197s are better than the 150/153s for comfort.
Looking forward to your next trip.
Cheers Kevin, I don’t mind the 197’s though I preferred the 175’s really and I’m not quite sure why they got rid of them! I need to do more EMR though, they look quite smart.
@@LetsMakeaTrip I agree the 175s were very comfortable but they were essentially 'non-standard' coming from the Alsthom Coradia stable (I can only think of the 180s from the same manufacturer) and the fires they suffered didn't help.
It's ironic they've now found a new life in the far South West, we'll have to ask the esteemed Mr Hoover to check them out.
great videos as always full of information as for your train ticket they are fobbing you off .
I got that impression sadly. Cheers Patrick.
The reason for the covered area on the outside deck on deck 7, is because the passenger area on deck 8 & 9 go further back then deck 7. Also, before 2022 the shop used to be on deck 8, before the builded the bigger shop on deck 7. Of course sometime before 2009 the shop used to be on Deck 7, along with the Stena Plus lounge. Before they were moved to Deck 8. Since 2022 the Stena Plus Lounge on the Adventure was made bigger. Also, the Family Hub is a new area, just opened this year. It is located where the free cinemas used to be, as well as being the area where Hyggy Lounge was, before it was moved to deck 7 in about 2020/2021.
Yes the deck plan is out-of-date.
It’s a good job you set off a day early otherwise you may have missed your ferry.
Great video Mark
Cheers Robert 😊👍
I’m very surprised they haven’t diverted the Holyhead to Dublin ferry to Liverpool ( well Birkenhead) mileage wise it would make more sense.
They did
That cross deck space and other weird semi enclosed spaces looked like smoking areas, they tend not to advertise them but the absence of no smoking/vaping signs give them away. Nice to see a ferry flying the 'Red Duster' rather than a flag of convenience which would be the reason for the good service as staff paid the UK living wage and care for people. P&O and Irish Ferries take note. They could at least use the comparable Irish or other EU port registration. Many UK companies tend to appear not to know of former EU legislation that was signed into UK law on Brexit to make it enforceable. They think that they can just ignore it.
Yes it makes a change to not sea the flag of Cyprus on the Irish Sea! As always, all Stena staff I encountered were brilliant! Really impressed with them again! Cheers Tony.
18:17 Strange to see signs in Dutch on a ferry between the UK and Ireland
And it's always done the Holyhead - Dublin route too. Dutch HGV drivers heading for Ireland?
@@LetsMakeaTrip I'm pretty sure they will understand a sign in English just fine.
Seems to me that transport for Wales are mucky mouse and not too be trusted, ferry looks good and I don't think I would bother with the Stena lounge , thanks for the video
Nice tub that, a bit like the mary celeste with just you as billy no mates wandering around,. I would have thought it would have been rammed with trucks seeing as holyhead is out of commission, aparenly holyhead is due to partially reopen next week, looking forward to part two the return trip,.That roofed open sided deck looked like a ships stores unloading area judging by the stack of pallets there, on a side note regarding your mega bus birmingham brunel st to london heathrow video, that service has been scrapped,.I'm planning a trip to thailand soon from oswestry and looking at a train from gobowen 09.58am to shrewsbury, but it says (limited availability) ? arrives at shrewsbury 10.16am £5.20,.Then catch the national express at shrewsbury 10.50am to get me to LHR at 17.00pm £45.80 (thats doubled in price since 2022).my LHR/BKK flight departure is 21.35pm,.Does that sound like plan to you ?,. At least the NX goes direct to LHR albeit around the houses, digbeth (change coaches) and BHX at least it cuts out the tedious run into victoria coach station and change coaches to come back to LHR,.cheers ,.
Try Local Bus shrewsbury-BHM then BHM-Oxford and one of the fast Oxford=LHR services , check prices.
Cheers Mike, I flew back tbh - this was the main reason I had to get to Dublin on 29th. Your trip to LHR - personally I would do exactly the same and would be on the 10:50 NX from Shrews. I'm booked on that in a week's time - £17.40 I think it cost. If you've got the time, I would go straight through to Victoria and then back out to LHR just because it would be cheaper this way. Enjoy Thailand mate, I really miss it!!
@@LetsMakeaTrip Last trip i did NX from telford to digbeth, marble arch, victoria,(change) to LHR,. I'm not a fan of practically driving past lhr on the a40 into london to vcs changing coaches and driving back out of london to lhr, last time it was torturously slow with rush hour traffic to get to lhr just after 6pm,. Not alot of room for errors, breakdowns, accidents, I hope that you do a video on your next NX trip,.
@@highpath4776 Is that with national express ?
@@cabovermike Oxford Tube (or whatever it is this week, used to be the 390? variant of the X90 london service - though you can get off the Oxford Tube I think at Hillingdon for a windswept local bus to Heathrow.
Stena looked great, especially as it was not busy.
Being quiet certainly helps with the filming!
gotta love Transport for Wales!!!!!!!
I love their onboard food on the 'premier' trains and the train crews/staff/guards are great. Everything else - not so brilliant in my experience.
@@LetsMakeaTrip as you know live in South Wales too much hit and miss
Transport for Wales are useless, I booked a return ticket in advance some time ago and when I went to catch the train it had been cancelled and even though the station master had marked my ticket to be valid on later trains the first train I got was ok but on the return journey I had to pay again or be escorted off the train even though I was a disabled person! 😠
That is absolutely ridiculous. I hope you took it further. I am!
I'd suggest at least buying the "standby" version of the SailRail ticket, it doesn't give flexibility on the ferry but does on the train.
Don't buy separate tickets for the train and the ferry! The SailRail fares make the GB rail fare almost negligible on top of a straight foot fare.
I wouldn't risk a "SailRail Advance", pay the extra for "SailRail Standby", especially for coming back (otherwise you could be stuck hanging around unnecessarily if your ferry is on time, or stuck if the ferry is late).
Also, I think the issue was that there doesn't seem to be a listed fare for Dublin via Fishguard (only Rosslare via Fishguard or Dublin via Holyhead). Conductors on the spot are more likely to be flexible than customer service offices.
Civ means any train. The times mean nothing. Thats just a modern problem.
CIV means they can’t stop you or hold you up, must guarantee onward travel.
I took a civ Newcastle to Dublin after Ryanair failed to come over.
I booked it on the run to the last train, the kiosk wouldn’t sell my one till 7am. Not great machines for flexibility. Even though on Irish side your have a hand written paper ticket. No advance or time BS.
I’m running form 8 pm train. Guard didn’t care I had no printed ticket. I had a receipt of a sail rail on my phone, it’s late now so no printing in Liverpool as I’m running for connect to Chester. Got last train on underground platorm. No checks.
Make the last train to Holyhead. Lots of drunks sleeping past their stations. I’m sober lol 😝.
Got to check in showed my reference number on Trainline.com. And I stated my name. She printed me a boarding card.
As I stepped out into street at T1 Dublin was 06:45. I cancelled the 7am train ticket and had to pay an admin fee £12
So Newcastle to Dublin free. The power of CIV
Now I sing CIV I’m dynamite, when travelling and interacting with staff
Sing to the tune of TNT 🧨 by AC/DC
How did you end up at Clarbeston Road. It really is a station in the middle of nowhere!
Last station before the line splits and my earlier train went on to Milford Haven I think. In hindsight, I should’ve got off at Carmarthen 😂
@ what did you think of TfW’s new rolling stock? It’s 197’s that do that route isn’t it? The old 175’s were horrible
Any news from Transport for Wales? Also, is Holyhead port / station etc open yet? They don't seem to want to talk about it on any of the websites (which seems a little strange).
Nothing from TfW yet. They are supposed to respond within 20 working days.
Could i ask who your purchased the ticket with?
How on earth do Stenna make any money on that crossing . With only a couple of passengers on board.
All freight
Sorry to be off topic, but ... I am considering being a foot passenger from Fishguard to Rosslare. Rosslare looks a little bit cut off the train map. If I could manage to get to Waterford then Limerick Junction then either Mallow or Limerick, I would be `Game On` to hit Cork or Tralee or Galway (et.al.) Am I being too ambitious? Any idea of a reliable coach from Rosslare to Waterford, to get started?
Bus Éireann run port to Wexford to Waterford via new Ross. Nice modern VDLs now
@@bdeithrick Thanks !
Interestingly, I am quoted: a) rail costs from S.Manchester - to - Fishguard and back at 120 GBP, b) the same journey plus ferry to Rosslare - and back, for the grand total of 100 GBP (ie saving 20 GBP for a lot more action). c) For very carefully chosen dates in March, I can fly S.Manchester to S.Spain, return, for 95 GBP.
What kind of ID do you need, to travel on this ferry? I hear a passport is not legally required?
Photo ID is sufficient.
@@LetsMakeaTrip I think that's only for citizens etc of the countries in the Common Travel Area.
@@alanmon2690 correct, my Belgian ID card is enough in Ireland, but not for the UK since Brexit. Something about British people needing a passport, so Europeans need one for the UK as well, even if they accepted ID before...
@@barvdw I take my passport, driver's licence and bus pass going to Ireland just in case. I first went to Belgium in about 1984. I did not have a full passport so I walked to the nearest Post Office and got a simple pink card passport. The officer at Antwerp Airport (my favourite airport) had never seen one before and had to check. It got me in! (I did not like Kreik Bier...)
@@alanmon2690 did you have an 'old' kriek, sour and fruity, or a more modern one, more sugary? The latter is an excellent lemonade, but I agree, it's not beer
Would Ferry to Rosslare then train or bus have been quicker to Dublin ?
Probably not a lot in it I would say.
Did British Rail ever own/operate the ferries UK to Eire ?
It would’ve been Sealink back in the day yes.
Yes Sealink
Think they had a fatal accident at Fishguard with the gangway hence why they use the bus
Stena Adventurer finally doing another route other than the Holyhead -Dublin route she’s been doing for years , she can probably just about be called an Adventurer now right?
Nice ship been on it loads of times , great video mate and I like the reflective music you play when showing the sea and outside , hope you had a great time ? Looked like you had the whole ship to yourself ? Feels weird don’t it but I like it , I usually do ferry trips in the uk this time of year but currently in Tenerife to escape the cold and darkness and it’s hot 🥵.. cheers mark another great vid 👍🏼😁
These tickets confusions are not anything pleasant but at least you were able to get to your destination. Great video and definitely the rail and sail is on my to do list
I and two friends were affected last October by the consequences of the Talerdigg crash that suspended services between Shrewsbury and Machynlleth. Not bad as since we had a two hours wait for our train to Birmingham I was able to revisit and show Shrewsbury to my friends and they liked it. And on top of that Transport for Wales were very helpful and for that week they were flexible and waived their tickets restrictions as a result
How easy is it to book the rail and sail? Somehow the infos on train operators are misleading
I did get to where I was going but to do that I went against the advice of TfW customer service agents and ticket office staff. I shouldn'tr need to 'take that risk'. But like you say, fortunately, there are some sensible, pragmatic staff on the trains that can actually help.
Did I tell you about my C18th storm experience and the good people of Dublin ?
No.
@@LetsMakeaTrip Its an ancester write up from the Belfast Packet , a newspaper of about 1797 (I forget the date I have a PDF somewhere). (maybe it was 1767) , one of the Greatest storms to the date (and I think only 3 worse since then) in the Irish Sea. generally taking bookings from Donaghadee for a mix of ferry to Portpatrick ( both challenging beach landings for people and cattle catching the tide just right) and some trade down to Waterford/Cork or Bristol or South Wales mainly livestock or timber / cloth trades ) He (William) had a mix of fleet - and a cousin- Samuel Did the Atlantic trade with a couple of Briggs and a Schooner - but thats another tale) . I am sure William had a girl in every port as there seems more family than ancestors can provide , but Irish records are scant , confusing and probably have a smattering of untruths or errors in them - but I digress. The storm caught him, his ship, and his crew just outside Dublin and was washed onto the shore on the south side of the Liffey. The welcoming good people of Dublin immediately came to the stricken ship and prompty made off with every item of cargo, ships loose timbers and provisions and the clothing off him and his crew leaving them to their own fate. Quite how he managed to tell the tale I dont know likewise return to Belfast and later it is presumed went to the US. He probably had an agent in Dublin ,as well as relatives in Waterford/ friend one of whom a solitictor in Dungarvan (who prosectucted some of the Irish Rebellion persons ) so maybe some messaging to the or cadged a lift back on anothers ship to Belfast/Donaghdee.
Fishguard to Dublin is that a normal route
No, it’s temporary due to the damage to the docking berth at Holyhead.
Are there still CIV tickets linked to eurostar services?
Yes they are Richard. Seat61 website is your best resource for that.
@LetsMakeaTrip might be useful....
Yes as it’s a charter of international voyage
Very poor from TFW, especially when you consider they are supposedly the lead train operating company for sail & rail.
When I went from the north east to the Isle of Man and bought a sail & rail from Middlesbrough station, the staff there couldn’t have been more helpful.
My main question was how flexible the ticket is in case of disruption or whatever, and they said yes the whole point of these tickets is you can use any train, any time or reasonable route to get you to the port. The price of the tickets are done by area rather than individual stations anyway.
Ok, your port changed from Holyhead to Fishguard but the same applies - the way you get to the ship for Dublin is via Fishguard, so that’s where you’re entitled to go to get you to Dublin.
Part of the problem maybe is the S&R tickets aren’t well known enough, or more widely advertised, which is a shame.
Agree, they're not that well advertised and the internal knowledge (in the case of TfW anyway) is pretty-much non-existent. It's almost as if they don't want to sell them!?! Fortunately, I received a lot of help and advice on this from people who know the industry inside out. So I know my rights and it'll be interesting to see what TfW say next. Shouldn't need to be this way though.
Iom would not be under CIV rules. Less protection. But probably as good as Any train any route
You look very similar to Robert from the Guess Who board game. Is he your brother, or something?