Hello, I'm wondering if anyone has taken this ferry and can give me a "review" of the experience. We need to get from Dublin to London this summer, and are hoping to do the sail/rail thing. However, my daughter (10 by that time) is a bit freaked out by boats, and I'm trying to reassure her that this will be a lot smoother than what she has previously experienced (whale watches in Cape Cod, ferries on Lake Champlain and in the San Francisco bay). But I don't want to mislead her! Thanks in advance!
Posted by
Downingtown, USA
2449 posts
I personally would not do this it if she is at all worried. No one can predict the weather. The sea could be calm one day and horrible the next. We were in Ireland in October and sea was calm so we were going to take ferry to Aran island. The day we were going to do it, all ferries were cancelled and even if they were not, we wouldn't do it. Suggest you just fly, in my opinion.
Posted by
Beverly Hills, MI
813 posts
Last September we ended up taking the Ulysses over to Dublin since the winds were blowing 25-40 mph and it was too rough for the high speed ferries to run. The Ulysses is a big ship (686 feet long and 50,000 gross tons) and much larger than what referenced that your daughter has ever been on. The ship is fully enclosed and there is a very limited open area on the top deck. Even in pretty foul weather,it was a very comfortable ride across. Besides, you only have two choices to get to Ireland, ship or plane and if it is blowing hard enough to make the ferry crossing really bad, I sure as the devil would not want to to be in an airplane landing in those conditions ... that's really scary.
Posted by
OP
8 posts
Hmmm, thank you both for your replies -- all good points!