zuludelta

yeah there is definitely an attitude and behaviour change happening in relation to they way people holiday despite the CAA figures.

I'm not too sure of that! Attitudes are changing faster than ever. Look how quickly the public's distaste of plastic has grown compared to its widespread acceptance a mere 10 years ago.

Yeah in the media and popular culture, 9 times out of 10, references to ferry travel are negative. With the zeitgeist of "flight shame" now upon us, ferry operators really need to exploit this sentiment beyond just Guardian readers!

sounds like BF then

It still amazes me how Cuxhaven and Esberg had to be withdrawn - yet BF can sustain UK-Spain routes even in the winter. Was is freight-only providers who were providing this over-capacity?

What is the story there? Aren't Aki and Wonder the "young ones" of the Moby fleet? I'm guessing these two must be the two work horses for Moby if they are getting refurbished so early?

I think it has stuck unfortunately. And I do remember those adverts for DFDS in the 1990s which used to boast of their "sleek white cruise ferries".

During the time of 2010 Icelandic ash cloud, a weird thing happened. People who had never contemplated traveling by ferry were forced to travel by ferry. And here is the interesting bit. Journalists and TV crews were at PIP interviewing passengers getting off the PA and most disembarking passengers were surprised at how pleasant the experience was. I can only imagine that there loads more of traveling public have a similar misconception of ferry travel. This problem has been created by other ferry companies of dirty ships, rowdy passengers and sh*t food. There is also the image problem of ferries being slow. (Most people forgetting that it's actually one night of accommodation and not really different from somebody staying at an airport hotel to catch a flight the next day). The problem is not helped by celebrities. While you'll have paparazzi at Stansted snapping Tony and Cherie getting off a Ryanair or David Cameron flying off on EasyJet but when was the last time you saw a newspaper article of a politician or celebrity getting off a ferry? Never. With environmentally friendly travel and "flight shame" now en vogue, I think the ferry industry is in a good position but still has a major image problem. What do you think?

Not many out on deck for a peak summer sailing!

Very interesting answers there. BF passengers who complain about the loading process should be given this option...It could be called Brittany Ferries Express Boarding...

Over this summer, there have been a few online reports of the PAs issues affecting ARMs departure and arrival times. This got me thinking about the limitations of ports with just one deep-water berth. How comes even on really small Greek islands you have 30000+ton ro-ro ferries that just seem to back into quayside, lower the ramp and the cars/trucks just drive off? (Sorry, if I'm making this sound too simplistic!)

The holidaying Dutch in France are fascinating to watch. Typically they arrive in a Mazda or some PSA-made car. Setup Tent. Put chairs outside tent. Then it's chocolate sprinkles in the morning. Sit outside tent for whole day. Heineken or Amstel in the evening. Rinse, wash, repeat for two weeks. The said tent is taken down and it's back on autoroute back home to Utrecht. Hup Holland...

Something has definitely changed in BF...Where are the days of BF taking ugly-looking ships like the Nils Holgerson and turning them in sleek ships like the Val gone to?

Could not agree with you more. They did not want to be seen as directly competing with BF and attracting the attention of the competition authorities for this deal to pass. These short-term investors always have an "exit strategy". It's all unraveling now just like at the end of a Scooby Doo episode.