Logan69

Two questions:
1. Does anyone who's familiar with the Sterna Lines' "fast ferry" from Holyhead, North Wales, to Dun Laoghaire (Dublin) know how rough this Irish Sea crossing tends to be in October? Is it definitely a Dramamine moment?

2. Is it worth spending a night in Holyhead before crossing on the ferry, or not? I can easily take a morning train in from Shrewsbury and catch the early afternoon ferry without alloting a night in Holyhead.
Thanks!

ron

We took the Irish Ferries Dublin Swift last October, which I presume is similar to Stena's fast ferry. While the ship rolled a bit, it was certainly not sea sick causing. Having said that, these ferries do get cancelled in bad weather.

It would almost always be better to stay in Shrewsbury than Holyhead. I suppose the only reason I might choose to stay in Holyhead would be if I was worried that the train service might be interrupted, and missing the ferry would have catastrophic results.

Lorna

I took the ferry a few years back. I am not prone to seasickness, but it was a very rocky journey. Many people were ill; the bathrooms became de facto infirmaries. When we returned to Oxford (our base for a long visit), we discovered that it would have actually been cheaper to fly and we could have eliminated the awful ferry crossing.

Frances

October tends to bring the first real storms of the winter to this part of the World BUT the chances of it being during the 2 hours you are on the "Olympic Flame"(Never goes out!) are not great.
If the waves are more than 8 feet (I think ) then the fast ferry doesn't sail and you will be transferred to the ferry.There are only 2 or 3 days a year when the ferry doesn't go and these tend to be in February.
I haven't been on the "Explorer in bad weather but people say its unpleasant because it hits the waves as opposed to sailing over them.
As for spending a night in Holyhead, well if you don't have a car and therefore will be in Holyhead throughout the evening, don't.I'm afraid it doesn't compare with a night in Shrewsbury.
Also if you book on the afternoon fast ferry and it is cancelled, you will not have long to wait for the ferry.If you book on the 8.50a.m and it is cancelled I don't think there is a ferry until the afternoon.The Explorer also goes out of service for about three weeks every year for maintenance and so during this period you may be forced to go by ferry unless they bring in a Sea- Cat from another route.I don't know when this maintenance period is scheduled.
The Jonathan Swift operated by Irish Ferries is smaller than the Stena Explorer.

leslie

Topping for Logan.

Logan69

Thanks for the info. It seems the one thing everybody agrees on is that a second night in Shrewsbury beats a night in Holyhead--unless I'm unwilling to trust that the morning train from Shrewsbury to Holyhead will arrive on time.

prue

We did the trip on the Ferry in October four years ago -
I am very prone to seasickness - even on floating restaurants!! However, I took a Kwells (an Australian remedy similar to Dramamine) and remained seated ALL the trip.
I found this also worked on the ferries from the UK to France -
It was fairly rough and quite a few passengers seemed to get sick - but I am sure it was because they were moving around.

jason888

Hi, Logan69!

We crossed over from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire on the Stena Explorer in June of this year and the crossing was mostly quite smooth at that time of year. The journey was advertised as being 99 minutes long, but there was a bit of cross wind, so it took a little longer.

The Stena Lines has a new "super ferry", the Stena Adventurer, which went into service on July 1, 2003, and goes from Holyhead directly to Dublin Port instead of Dun Loaghaire. It is even bigger than the Explorer, but somehow the advertised crossing time was over 3 hours! You might want to check up on departure time and arrival time on stenaline.com.

All ships rock to some extent. The best place to be is right in the middle of the ship for the least amount of movement. Also don't eat and drink too much - liquor that is!

There's not much in Holyhead, so if you have to spend a night, plan on spending it somewhere else!

Beautiful area of the world you are going to! Enjoy!

GeoffHamer

The weather cannot be predicted. The Irish Sea might be as calm as a millpond, or there might be a gale - they can happen at any time of year, but are less likely in the summer. From Holyhead, Irish Ferries run a fast catamaran and the ULYSSES which is the biggest ship on the Irish Sea. Stena Line run a larger catamaran and the STENA ADVENTURER. The ships are less likely to suffer movement in bad weather than the fast craft, and are much more reliable.
Holyhead is just a ferry port and it is certainly not a place anyone would choose to stay overnight.