Stena Line

I had the most horrific travel experience of my life with Stena Line. My sister and I booked a ticket from Dublin to Holyhead for an 8:20am ferry. We were flying in from New York and arrived in time to rush over the port. We arrived approximately thirty minutes before departure but had difficulties finding the check-​in since the terminal building was dark for someone looking from outside. We finally entered at 8am and were told we would not be allowed to board despite the fact that the sign prominently displayed outside flashed the message that boarding for the 8:20 ferry was open. I asked and almost begged to be let on and explained that we had booked round trip train tickets and an Airbnb and paid for our activities in London which all would be a loss if we were not allowed on. One of the employees, a man by the name of Owen, insisted that we would it be allowed to board and that, despite being only 4 minutes past the hour, we were over 20 minutes late. He was smirking, mind you, when I pleaded that he reconsider and instead offered that another ferry copy working 15 minutes down the way at he next terminal had a ferry leaving at 9 which would cost us 40 Euro and be a fast ferry. Neither of these things turned out to be true. By the time we arrived at the next terminal (by foot because we had sent away our taxi) the other ferry was already leaving port and the next ferry was at 9 PM. The Stena Line ferry, the one we were supposed to have boarded, was still at port. We rushed back to the Stena terminal to plead our case again but by the time we walked the 15 minutes back to the terminal the ferry had left. I demanded an explanation as to why we had been misled to think that the other ferry company would be available, why the sign outside had only just changed to say that boarding was closed, and what would be done to compensate for our ill treatment. Owen, who had been so glad to keep us from boarding and, I’m sure now, intentionally misled us into leaving by essentially waving us off with a flippant «you’ll want to be going now» remained behind his desk in the corner while one of the other employees told us that «boarding was still opened for vehicles only» (so if we had been in a car we would have been allowed to board?) and that, inexplicably given what she had just told me, we couldn’t have been let on because the loading bay was being lifted when we arrived at 8am (how exactly were the vehicles being loaded if that was the case?). All of this did not make sense because Owen had, so graciously, informed us that he had waited 10 minutes past the 30 minutes prior to boarding mark (until 8am) to let the ferry crew knew that they should go ahead without us. So in 4 minutes, while we explained our situation to Owen (that we had been lost outside the check-​in Dock because the building was otherwise dark, that we would lose significant sums of we weren’t allowed on, that we had traveled from the airport to the docks) the feet crew had pulled up the ramp so much that we could not board even when we noted that it was 20 more minutes before the ferry left?
They offered to change our ticket to a 3pm ferry but kept our return trip as it was which meant that we would have arrived in London at 12am and would need to return the following day at 1pm. This also would have required that we change our train tickets which would have cost us 44 euro per ticket for both our outboard and return tickets to cancel and rebook. New fares for two people on the train would have cost us 189 euro per person per trip. Meaning would would have ultimately spent close to 800 euro to make the necessary changes to get to London simply to be in the city for a handful of hours.
We were flustered to say the least and when we called the company to complain on the spot the customer service line offered nothing but to reimburse us our fate minus 40 euro for their troubles because we were «choosing to cancel our tickets.» No one offered an apology or to help. We lost, all told, over $ 450 USD because of the callousness of the Stena Line employees. I’ve had better experiences at airports where employees have held planes for those who are running late and offered calls. This all did not add up and I intend to file a complaint with Stena Line and with the Irish equivalent of the Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau for damages and distress caused. I’m writing this to let others know what kind of customer service Stena Line provides and the completely inconsiderate and, as another Irish fellow we met characterized it, disgraceful way in which we were treated. I travel widely and this has really been the worst trip I’ve ever taken. I couldn’t believe that they would treat two young women traveling alone in a foreign country in this way.

I truly enjoy the Stena Line service, which I suppose I’ve used 3 times now, either to or from the UK. For my last trip, I decided to take advantage of a recent promotion to go from Dublin to Holyhead (Wales) with a same-​day return for only € 5 (I had membership credit for a total cost of € 1 round-​trip). I was in the middle of a big writing project, and so I took advantage of the deal as a day out with scenery and WiFi to get work done. In the middle, I enjoyed a little visit to Holyhead, which previously, I’d only seen through doors as I walked to the train.
Honestly, it was a lovely day, and I enjoyed seeing the lanes of cars and caravans packed with kayaks and bicycles as people went on their August holidays. It was nice, too, that Stena provided activities onboard for children, including crafts, some kind of mini-​play, and family-​friendly films.
I wouldn’t mind if Stena cleaned and upgraded their seating areas and provided more spots to «plug in.» Even in the Stena-​plus lounge (which features unlimited snacks & beverages), it’s seats along the periphery that have plugs, and those mostly have little side café tables. Upgrading their WiFi and providing some work stations would make a big difference.
Still, it’s pretty terrific to have a stress-​free, comfortable, and inexpensive transportation to London with gorgeous views from the ship and from the train, if you choose to take advantage of that option.

Just did the Dublin-​Holyhead trip and I have to say it was such an easy was to travel! I hate flying because of all the waiting around and queues and stress, and taking the ferry meant that I pretty much dodged all of those factors.
As a whole we were so impressed by the efficiency of the system, with a bus bringing us directly from the boat to the terminal both ways, and a maximum waiting time of 5mins.
The journey itself was super-​smooth and surprisingly quiet, and we were impressed by the designated areas like «teen zone» and a cinema room.
The down points would be the café onboard and what that had to offer. Essentially don’t expect anything more than vendor machine coffee and the kind of food you’d get on a basic train food cart. Mind you, the staff nearly made up for that with their pleasant and friendly professionalism.

I used the Stena Line ferry recently as foot passenger from Dublin Port to Holyhead because it was a cheaper alternative to booking a last minute flight to the UK. 60 EUR return, not bad when you are booking it the day before you travel. The free bus service put on by Stena Line from Westmoreland Street to the port is also very handy.
The journey was fine, sailing was moderate. I did get one of the comfier seats.
The free Wi-​Fi on board is great. The signal does go up and down a bit. But generally it was reliable enough to use the texting apps on my phone.
When booking, the website said the boat gets to Holyhead at 00:30, but the captain announced that the boat would arrive on time at 00:40… one of them is wrong.
Also another thing when booking online, the Laser option when paying doesn’t seem to work. It didn’t work last time either. Why I am I making this point? Well there is no 6 EUR charge when using a Laser card. So I had to use my credit card in the end and incur the 6 EUR charge. All I am saying is it raised an eyebrow…
OK, so this is my biggest grip: when we docked back in Dublin on the return sailing on the evening of the October bank holiday there was no bus to bring the foot passengers into town. We waited over an hour for the first bus to arrive, which was not big enough for everyone. So it was an hour an half since docking before I got on a bus to bring me back to town. OK, it is a free service the bus from town to port and back. But I wouldn’t have booked the ferry at all if this bus service for foot passengers was not there. Apparently the marathon was the reason the buses could not get to Dublin Port. We docked at 1730 ish. I didn’t buy it, the port in on the North side. An alternative drop off point could have been used instead of Westmoreland street if it was unreachable, say O’Connell for example. It was a bit of a joke, especially when the port staff are dressed up for Halloween, the girl as Where’s Wally and the guys as Kermit the Frog… I kid you not. And there was a passenger in a wheel chair waiting too, so believe me when I say I wasn’t laughing while waiting in the cold terminal building waiting an hour and a half for a bus. There wasn’t a toilet in the arrivals hall either.
I was so glad to get home when I did, I can tell you.

I tend to avoid flying when I can, ok, there’s the thing about if I stand on solid ground and start flapping my little stubby arms, do I take flight? … no, then why trust Michael O’Learys el cheapo lets cut corners aircraft … somethings gotta give there some day and I will avoid being the flotsam over the Irish Sea when it does!
Ok Stena line — I do a bit of travelling to the UK and its honestly cheaper to bring the car when you have a few places to visit and they’re not all based around London and da tube! Irish Ferries, Mmmm … whatever it is about IF, I can’t put my finger on it — they do try hard, but it just feels cheap, it just feels like I’m getting taken for a ride (which I am, on water…), it feels wrong, in fact the last time I went Irish Ferries the craft was over crowded, smelly and the staff just not very pleasant … so, back to Stena! … I like them, apart from the website which needs to be brought into the 20^th century, they actually do offer a good service. They do actually listen, really listen! if you have questions /​problems and do I honestly feel provide a better service than IF.
The trick with Stena, especially when driving, is to spend an extra few quid and go for premium — it makes a world of a difference. You get access to the premium lounge, which may not sound something amazing, but trust me, its worth a lot when you are tired, potentially have children with you and want to know that your seat will still be there when you come back from the loo or general ambling about (whilst trying to keep upright!). The premium lounge is situated in a particularly good position and even if the sea is a tad rough (which its generally not), its quite comfortable … not that the same can be said if you’ve baggsed a seat along the side of the ship!
Top tip — if its not midsummer and very good weather is almost guaranteed, do NOT travel on the smallest ship with afair is called «the lynx» … its a tiny little thing and is tossed around like a rubber-​ducky in a 3year olds bathtub … splash, splash, splash! (oh and no point in buying premium on that wee tub, there’s SFA difference between premium and normal on that craft)
ps: update — a few days after travelling with Stena for the final time this year, first, new top tip, JOIN COMPASS POINTS!!! … I normally avoid these frequent flyer jobbies, my information is more valuable than the return they generally give back (Tesco take note!) … anyway, I went to pay for my trip this time and it asked me if I wanted to use my points in part payment — Yep! says me. why not? … Ohhhh, nice shiney nice, they gave me almost € 120 off the total fare!!! … now THATS SWEET!
pps: Stena, if you’re reading this I DONT like your new style premium lounge — the chairs dont have high enough headrests, making it difficult to get a comfortable position on hte midnight ferry when one is trying to grab a wee snooze! … change them for the comfy old ones, or the puppy gets it…

I was on the Stena Line express so it was smaller than the HSS and it takes two hours to get from Wales to Dun Laoghaire. I was on this boat during the time when all the flights were grounded so I’m not too sure whether this boat runs a regular service or not (the HSS does)
I had the pleasure of being upgraded to the Stena Line Plus Lounge (which sounds fancy but it’s only an extra 15 euro) and I was impressed by the service. They offer refreshments, big comfortable chairs, a code on the door (to keep the riff raff out don’t-cher know).
The staff are very friendly (if not a little busy but still had time to stop to chat) and they offered free Internet in the Plus Lounge, which was agonisingly slow but it is a boat after all I just didn’t have the patience so I went off to browse in the relatively small shop (and still came out with two bags?!) which just sells the normal merchandise i. e perfume, toys etc
Considering I was travelling by trains since 10am it was a nice way to end a long day.

Don’t like to fly? Have you been banned from Dublin Airport? Perhaps you just think aviation is a tool of Satan. If you still want to leave the country, one of your only remaining options is getting a Stena Line ferry. Leaving from either Dublin Port or Dun Laoghaire Port and heading to Holyhead in north Wales, it takes approximately four hours but you can bring your car and you don’t have to check in ridiculously early.
Once on board, most people have a couple of drinks to settle their stomachs, or, if they are part of a stag/​hen, to get the party started. If you don’t fancy spending this much time at sea, then there is always the option of Stena Line’s catamaran service, which will get you there in one hour and forty minutes.