Fire on "KING SEAWAYS extinguished within 15 minutes

29.12 Fire on KING SEAWAYS extinguished within 15 minutes - DFDSGroup.com:

Please click link above for the DFDS latest news about the fire on board "KING SEAWAYS", the ship is now back at Northshields, thankfully no major casualties reported and all passengers will get a refund. Photo of the "KING SEAWAYS" taken from Wikipedia

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to all the followers of this Blog

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a wonderful 2014 for all the followers of this Blog, thank you very much for your continued support and for all the comments. Photo taken on board CAP FINISTERE, 17.12.2013

Onboard Dining, one of the highlights when travelling with BRITTANY FERRIES

BRITTANY FERRIES Cruise Ships have in my opinion the best food served on any of the Ferry Operators currently in service, it is in fact one of the highlights of passengers travel experience a taste of French Hospitality and service. Photos taken onboard "CAP FINISTERE's" LE PORT Restaurant 17.12.2013

"NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS" at Dover

"NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS" is a freight only MY FERRYLINK Ferry, the ship is seen below at Dover, photos taken 9.12.2013

Dover / Calais one of the busiest Ferry Routes in the World

Ferries arriving, departing, loading, unloading, getting ready for sea, a constant activity of one of the busiest Ferry Routes in the World, photos taken on board the new "SPIRIT OF FRANCE" leaving Dover on her way to Calais, the 9.25am departure. Photos 9.12.2013

M.V. "ZEUS PALACE" passenger facilities

"ZEUS PALACE"'s Passenger Facilities are in need of a makeover, they look tired, outdated and in need of refurbishment, the ship is only 13 years old but she looks like 25 in some areas, her crew is outstanding doing the best to keep the ship clean which is a difficult task because some of the passengers don't really co-operate making a difficult job for the the majority of the Philippines crew, rumours have linked her with the Newcastle to Bergen service to be re-instated during the Spring of 2014 or so it seems, nothing official has been confirmed yet, if she is the ship selected, then a big refit is needed in order to keep her ready for the new job, it was good to see her travelling with 180 trailers, this is an important route, it reduces costs for the Haulage companies and is a safe and relaxing way to travel, "ZEUS PALACE" is normally operated in Greece and was only employed on the Barcelona/Civitavecchia route to cover for the CRUISE ROMA annual refit, her officers are Italian, photos taken on board 22sd and 23rd November 2013

M.V. "ZEUS PALACE" sailing the stormy Mediterranean

Recently on board "ZEUS PALACE" I have experienced one of the most severe storms during these last twenty years that I have been living on Cruise Ferries. The GRIMALDI ship was covering for the CRUISE ROMA that went for her annual refit, we sailed from Barcelona to Civitavecchia direct with no stop at Porto Torres, I believe this call will resume in spring next year. The normal ship's departure is daily at 22.45 from Barcelona with expected E.T.A. in Italy at 18.15 the following day, soon we were notified by a text message that the departure due to bad weather would be 3.30am, in the end the ship didn't sail until 5am, the crossing in terms of weather went from bad to worse with the ship facing force 11 and 6/7 meter swells, we got to a stage where the captain changed the course of the ship, the starboard side of the "ZEUS PALACE" was a total washout, I did venture where nobody else did but to be honest do not recommend it with this sort of weather, how the decks were opened I will never understand, the ship behave remarkably well against such atrocious weather and to my astonishment we kept sailing between 22 to 23 knots. One trip to remember no doubt on board the ship that has been announced to re-start the Newcastle/Bergen route in April next year. Photos taken 22/23 of November 2013

M.S. "ISABEL DEL MAR" laid-up in Barcelona

Seen here laid-up at Barcelona is the 1988 built ferry "ISABEL DEL MAR", she has been operated by ISCOMAR since 2008 and is apparently been sold for scrap, the ship can carry 900 passengers and weights 12.589 G.T., the ship is registered at Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Photos 22.11.2013

P & O ship "WILLIAM FAWCETT" of 1828

Althought never owned by P & O the "WILLIAM FAWCETT" built in 1828 was considered to be the first P & O ship, she started a service with the then known "Peninsular Steam Navigation Company" in 1835 connecting London with Spain and Portugal with turnarounds in Lisbon, this was extended on several voyages to Gibraltar as well. Photos taken on board SPIRIT OF FRANCE, 28.11.2013