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We awoke the following morning to a bright, sunny day and as we ate a late breakfast in the Hotel Rosslare overlooking the harbour the scene was unusual: the Stena Europe, which would normally have made her morning departure to Wales, could be seen alongside preparing to head off for her overhaul. The Normandy, due to depart at 1230, was nowhere to be seen and this was an increasing concern as time went by. We wandered down to the terminal to check in at around 1130 to see what the latest was and were breezily told that departure would now not be until 1415. Given that the ship was still not even in sight over the horizon this seemed optimistic and so it proved. We returned to the hotel bar and finally the Normandy hove into view at around 1235, her ramps hitting the quayside at 1315.

Returning to the terminal, the display boards now showed a further half hour delay with departure scheduled for 1445 – leaving plenty of time to admire the Koningin Beatrix model which still adorns the Stena Line desk before we headed upstairs to the foot passenger waiting area. Called on board at 1415, it was not until 1530 that we finally left Rosslare and again the announcements made did not explain or apologise for the delay, simply stating that arrival in Pembroke Dock was “scheduled” for 2000 (it was supposed to be 1700). Loitering by the information desk for five minutes it soon became clear that many of our fellow passengers were unimpressed. Whilst enduring the wait for disembarkation the previous evening one of the other foot passengers had observed, “so this is why they are cheaper than Stena Line”. On this occasion the range of complaints was widespread: the unexplained delay, the poor quality of the cafeteria’s food, the disinterested manner of many of the crew and the generally quite dirty and run-down state of parts of the ship. In most of these it really was hard to argue in the ship’s defence.

Whilst Irish Ferries had no-one to blame but themselves for these failings, Stena should not escape criticism: whilst it may perhaps not be possible to co-ordinate refits between the two companies such that the Stena Europe and Isle of Inishmore are not away at the same time, a little bit more planning would perhaps be in order. It later materialised that the Stena Europe’s overhaul was very much a last-minute thing and some foot passengers had turned up at Rosslare with reservations for Stena’s 0900 sailing, expecting to utilise connecting trains out of Fishguard after arrival at 1230. Quite what they were able to do when, after being transferred to Irish Ferries, they were deposited in Pembroke Dock at 2045 is anyone’s guess. [Report continues below]

STENA EUROPE & NORMANDY
January 2007
All 2007 pictures © matt@hhvferry.com

Above and below: The large aft outside decks of the Stena Europe and the Normandy - the Stena ship's deck bar, which previously went under the singularly inappropriate name of the 'Bahama Bar' has now been rebranded as 'C-Breeze'.

Above: High up above her forecastle the Normandy retains her original builders' plate.

What then to conclude about the final Sessan Linjen sisters as they are today? For reasons that I can only attribute to the side sponsons added to the ship in 2000, the Normandy seemed notably less comfortable than the ‘Europe’ in the breezy conditions we encountered on our crossings – if anything the weather encountered on the Stena sailings was the worse, but it was the Normandy which seemed to have the more difficulties. With her freight decks fully restored and with her modern interiors, the Stena Europe bears more of a resemblance to her intended rival the Stena Danica than to her sister – a triumph of Stena’s centralised corporate brand over anything else. The Normandy in contrast, appears to be finally getting attention to bring her up to more modern standards, although without significantly altering the key features the ship inherited from her original design and from mid-life refits by Stena themselves. Even despite her seeming decline of the past couple of years, the Stena Europe is still certainly the better cared for ship, and this most certainly seems to apply mechanically as well as in the passenger facilities.

I can’t think of another pair of sister ships where one is able to get such an up-close comparison yet which are so starkly different in so many respects. Even with her ongoing upgrades, the rumours are that the Normandy may not last beyond 2007; if that is the case, this may have been the final opportunity to compare and contrast this groundbreaking pair of ferries. Their careers may not have worked out quite as their original designers and owners intended, but they remain two of the most interesting and intriguing ships in operation around the British Isles.

Above and below: Rosslare ferry terminal, where the Stena Line desk still retains its splendid model of the route's former ship, the Koningin Beatrix (latterly Stena Baltica).

Above: The on-board tour concludes with the passenger accommodation on the Normandy's Decks 5 and 6 - since the Stena Europe has had these areas returned to vehicle deck use, there are no comparative photos. This picture shows the cinema on Deck 6.

Above: Just forward of the cinema is the 'Teen Zone' which was one of the areas in the mids of its refit, although there was no formal signage to indicate that the area was out of use; one look rather confirmed it however!

Above and below: The recliner lounges from hell - aft on the port side of Deck 5. In the larger of the two lounges (above) the shape of the former vehicle deck above means the rearmost seats disappear upwards. As with the cabins installed in this area, no windows have ever been provided.

Above: It is to be hoped that the refit work will extend to the lounges' rather bedraggled seating.

Above and below: The most extensive work is being carried out in the cabin areas themselves, with much of the flooring stripped up and repairs being made to the plumbing.

Above and below: Bags of pillows and blankets are piled up in several cabins, whilst others are evidently not quite ready for passengers just yet...

Above: In places, the underlay has been completely ripped away revealing the bare metal of the old upper vehicle deck, onto which these cabins were built in 1983.

Above: Almost all the lower deck cabins retain these instruction notices from the Sealink era, although in this case an Irish Ferries sign has now been rather messily added on top.