2 July 2008
Good morning all.
Another weekend has passed and we are still waiting for summer to really arrive!
Vikings gearbox repair is now almost complete and it is currently being re-assembled. In order to replace the gearbox in time for the Tynwald Day weekend, and to return to full service speed, Viking’s 17.45 Isle of Man-Liverpool and 21.15 Liverpool-Isle of Man sailings on Thursday have been rescheduled. Both services will be undertaken by Snaefell, with the 17.45 now sailing to Heysham at 18.45, and the return leaving Heysham at 22.00. Coach transfers for affected foot passengers will be arranged.
I have had quite a few interesting comments this last week regarding matters as diverse as special excursion day trips, Steam Packet Holidays and future winter services. On the latter point we are dependant on Mersey Docks and Harbour Company completing the necessary works to allow Ben-my-Chree to use the Liverpool Landing Stage berth. If they are not able to complete this in time, weekend services to Liverpool through the winter will once again be to the 12 Quays berth in Birkenhead.
Incat 050 has made very good progress and as I write this has left Colombo, Sri Lanka on her way to the next stop on her journey at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In Jeddah she will take on fuel once again for her transit through the Suez Canal and on to Valletta in Malta. She has encountered some heavy weather en-route, particularly off the southern and western coast of Australia, and even at present is heading towards Africa in a heavy westerly swell.
Reports from the Captain and crew about her comfort level in seas much higher than those in which she will operate here are very encouraging. She will be a significantly more comfortable vessel to travel on at speed than either of our existing fast craft. We will be fitting an advanced ride control system to the ship when she arrives in the UK which will further benefit passenger comfort.
We are in regular contact with our team on board and we have added a map to our website, with which you can chart the vessel’s progress on her journey. A number of the Islands primary schools have also been involved in the adventure and will be speaking to the vessel’s captain and crew, satellite technology permitting!
I will be joining the Incat in the next week in Suez along with a journalist and we have a schedule of radio links and interviews lined up. I hope to do a more regular Blog update too on what’s happening and will stay with her until she arrives in Malta.
This remains a very exciting time for the Company and I am looking forward to her arrival in Portsmouth where we can begin the conversion and refurbishment project. Suggested vessel names are still flying in – you can be sure that whatever is eventually chosen will reflect the importance of the new vessel to the Company and the Island.
For now, best wishes to all.
Mark
25 June 2008
Good afternoon all.
In last week’s Blog I mentioned that for the previous week we’d had the weather on our side – remind me not to tempt fate again! Last weekend’s severe weather in the Irish Sea unfortunately led to fast craft sailings being cancelled on Sunday, with alternative arrangements made for passengers to travel on the Ben-my-Chree. We do apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers-it is most unusual to have winds of such force so late in the season and many other Irish Sea operators also had difficulties with their services. It goes to show that, as a ferry company, we are always at the mercy of the weather, even in the middle of a Manx summer.
Our spirits were lifted over the gloomy weekend weather by the news that our new vessel, Incat 050, embarked on her month-long voyage from Tasmania to Portsmouth, where she will be refitted in time for entering service in 2009, replacing Viking.
She arrived in Fremantle on Australia’s West Coast on Monday, before setting off on the 3,413-mile second leg to Colombo in Sri Lanka. She is now well into the second leg and in international waters heading for the equator. We are in regular contact with our team on board and we have added a map to our website, with which you can chart the vessel’s progress on her journey.
The logistics involved in such a voyage has meant an awful lot of time and effort has gone into organising the delivery of Incat 050 to the UK. It’s an exciting time for the Company and we are keen to see the ship in Portsmouth, and, of course, when it sails into Douglas next year resplendent in its new livery.
I’m scheduled to meet up with Incat 050 for one of the legs and will stay with her until she arrives in Malta. Whilst on board, I’ll be keeping you regularly updated on our progress, on a daily basis whenever possible via this Blog. There will also be a series of live radio broadcasts from the ship on both Manx Radio and BBC Radio Merseyside - technology permitting!
For now, best wishes to all.
Mark
16 June 2008
Good afternoon all.
I hope you had a good weekend - the weather was certainly on our side. Unfortunately, mechanical issues were not. Liverpool sailings were slightly delayed due to a failure on one of the Viking’s four gearboxes.
We know about similar issues on other such craft, and indeed have experienced failures in two of our own before this third one. It is a problem with all vessels of this class. Last winter, we did a thorough inspection of the gearbox and found it to be in good condition so this latest failure is disappointing.
An estimate for repair is three weeks, in which time we will remove the gearbox, strip it down, rebuild and refit it to the Viking. During this period, the vessel will be operating at reduced speed, which means the sailings will take approximately three hours. We’re keeping the departure times as published for now - we'll try and get away early when we can and do everything possible to speed up turnaround times. If we find we still need to tweak the schedule we’ll let everyone know about any unforeseen changes as quickly as we can.
I do regret the inconvenience this may cause, and we are working as quickly as we can to restore normal service so please bear with us.
On a more positive note, we hope to begin the journey of Incat 050 home later this week. Our crew are already in Hobart, Tasmania and final preparations are underway. Its a surprisingly complicated business to get her back here. The trip home will be closely monitored and I hope to bring you lots of interesting information from the journey via this blog over the following weeks.
Until next week,
Mark
9 June 2008
Good afternoon to you all. Well here we are with TT2008 very nearly behind us!
Some people miss the TT when it’s over and others are glad to see that life gets back to normal, but I’m sure everyone can agree that it was a hugely successful fortnight. The weather was great for the most part and summer showers only seemed to happen outside race days, which is ideal for the bikes and our gardens!
From our point of view also, TT went very well: all sailings ran pretty much to schedule and passenger figures are up from 2006 (the last “normal” TT festival).
2006 Figures
30791 passengers, 4359 vehicles, 9625 bikes. Total vehicles = 13984
2008 Figures
31038 passengers, 4556 vehicles, 9555 bikes. Total vehicles = 14111
This year was the first year that TT races extended into the Saturday after Senior Race Day. Steam Packet Races have been held for many years now. We had a fantastic day on Saturday on the Billown Circuit with races for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Lightweight and Ultra Lightweight Classes. Once again the weather was perfect and the crowds the biggest I have ever seen. We were lucky to have the inimitable ‘Hairy Bikers’ who did a cooking demonstration and some speaking for our guests before the races started. The hilarious food lovers had everyone laughing and really got us in the mood for some good food and excellent racing.
I hope everyone’s experience of TT 2008, whether on the Island or viewing from afar, was equally pleasant.
Mark
23 May 2008
Hello everyone.
Well, we’re staring Practice Week in the face and I can’t believe it’s come around so quickly. As you know, we’ve been preparing for the TT for many months now, having chartered the Stena Caledonia, P&O Express and the Merchant Brilliant freight vessel, so we can cater for even more passengers and vehicles than usual over this hugely busy time. Because of this additional capacity, there is still space available for travel during the fortnight, so do please go to ‘Book Now’ on our site and check out available dates and times. There is still plenty of accommodation available at hotels, campsites and Homestay. Call 01624 686802 for Homestay or 686801 for the Welcome Centre.
Following on from my blog last Monday, we are now beginning the preparation work for introducing our new fast craft into service next year. There has been much positive feedback from the illustrative drawings indicating what the new ship will look like. I know too that there is a lot of interest in the name of the new ship. If you have suggestions do email them to me. We will keep track of all suggestions and those who suggest the eventual name chosen will be entered into a draw for a substantial prize! We’d like to stay with the traditional Manx heritage theme, but I’m open to ideas!
I know everyone’s going to be very busy over the next two weeks, so in case I don’t get a chance to post another blog entry before the end of the fortnight, I wish you all a really enjoyable festival here on the beautiful Isle of Man.
And don’t forget the racing on the Billown circuit on 7 June for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Lightweight and Ultra Lightweight classes!
Have a wonderful TT and please stay safe.
Mark
19May 2008
Good afternoon all.
Today is an exciting day for Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, as we’re announcing the purchase of a new vessel. Some of you may have seen the speculation in the local press surrounding this. I can now confirm that it is true; we are buying the ’Incat 050’ This vessel will replace the Viking on the Liverpool/Douglas routes starting next year. Journey times to Liverpool will be reduced to around 2 ¼ hours.
The Incat 050 (as it will be known for now, though we’re planning to rename it, perhaps with some input from the public) holds more passengers and cars than the Viking. It can also carry coaches and freight. It’s faster and has a higher wave limit so will be more comfortable in Irish Sea weather conditions. Also, it’s bigger so there’ll be more room for more varied and spacious passenger facilities on-board.
Built in 1998, Incat 050 has a proven track record: it was first used for passenger and freight sailings between Australia and Tasmania and the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Then it was chartered by the US Military for evaluation purposes in 2001 - and praised for its performance. Because of its most recent use, it has significantly fewer hours of service than a vessel of comparable age.
She will undergo a major refit including extended passenger accommodation and new livery so she can begin her service at the start of the 2009 season. So from next year I’m pleased to say that we will be able to provide an even better service to the Island, its residents and visitors.
It’s a major step forward for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and a significant investment for the future.
Mark
14 May 2008
Good afternoon all. What a beautiful weekend we had – let’s hope it continues through TT. And the weekend had an exciting start for IOM Steam Packet Company, with our Viking crew rescuing a young man from the River Mersey on Friday evening!
Reports came through that a man had jumped into the River Mersey in the vicinity of the terminal building while our crew was loading the Viking ready for its return to the Island. They immediately informed the Liverpool Coastguard and Mersey Radio VTS, and two of the crew launched the port side rescue boat. The two quick thinking men recovered the casualty and transferred him to the landing stage where the local emergency services were waiting. The rescue boat was recovered and loading operations resumed.
I’m very proud of our crew and the two rescuers in particular, who had tricky sea conditions to contend with when they lowered the boat. They showed true calm under pressure.
I’m sure everyone has now heard about EuroManx ceasing operations. I know that other airlines are helping to transport passengers holding EuroManx tickets, but if anyone is having difficulty finding an alternative flight, please note that we have excess capacity on our twice daily Liverpool and Heysham sailings. It’s good to see the Island’s carriers pulling together to help out at this tricky time for travellers.
The Snaefell returned to service Monday with her first Liverpool sailing since she had her new livery, so the entire fleet is on the go and looking good.
TT is edging ever closer and bookings are flooding in for the fortnight. We still have capacity though, so if you want to visit the Island or indeed escape the festival madness get your tickets booked online.
All the best and may this great weather continue!
Mark
8 May 2008
Hello all. It’s good to be back – especially now the summer weather is really kicking in. I hope everyone had a good time in the glorious Bank Holiday sun on Monday.
It’s great to return to see the Ben-My-Chree, Viking and Snaefell all in Douglas harbour last week, with Snaefell completing various trials and training requirements prior to commencement of her service, which is likely to be 12 May. We’ve received many positive comments on the website and specific thanks go to Nigel, Colin and Fraser, some of whom seem to be regularly checking webcam shots.
Andy asked why the marshals discount was 50% for returning visiting Manx Grand Prix marshals and not 10% for TT marshals. The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company is a major sponsor of these events already and the generous 50% discount for those marshals who visit both events is specifically targeted to boost numbers for the MGP whereas a 10% discount would be less likely to do this. We also offer MGP competitors a discount and the total support package is substantial. It would be great if other organisations were also able to consider marshals discounts, so we achieve a high level of support for that event.
Paul asked if return fares could be used for Ireland/England trips with a 'stopover' in the Isle of Man (rather than buying two single fares). Although our website will automatically offer a return trip back to any port in the country of origin if you do wish to book stopover trips, our Reservations team will be pleased to assist and, yes, cheaper return offer fares are still available for these type of trips where two legs are still involved.
June suggested we cordon off lounges for the sole use of motorists, as sometimes foot passengers are loaded first for operational necessity and therefore get first choice of seating location. All sailings have excess seating and in fact most sailings are not loaded to full capacity so there is rarely an issue with this but we do appreciate the comment. Cordoning off areas would, on the whole, unnecessarily restrict customer choice of seating, but we do offer a seat reservation facility for only £2.50 per seat and this facility is also available on line.
Other feedback has been both positive and negative about the choice of food available onboard. Our food menu is reviewed regularly to try to meet changes in demand and we are always happy to receive comments. We ensure that prices of food onboard compare well with similar travel operations.
Thanks again to everyone for the many comments posted – keep them coming.
All the best
Mark
25 April 2008
Afternoon all. As Mark said, he’s away for a couple of weeks so it’s John Watt here, filling in for him as best I can.
We’ve received so much positive feedback about the new look Ben-My-Chree; it’s really encouraging. Thank you to everyone who has posted their compliments and to Alex Brindley of Manx Radio for passing on "lots of good comments from listeners".
We were also pleased to see that the Ben completed a Heysham to Douglas sailing in around three hours this week, albeit with favourable tides etc. Maybe her new paintwork is having a beneficial effect in more ways than one – and we didn’t even give her “go-faster stripes”!
The Snaefell arrived back yesterday as well, so the whole fleet is looking great in its new colours. Having two fast craft in the fleet this summer is a significant investment for us and helps improve services to both Liverpool and Ireland.
With days lengthening, some excellent sailing weather and spring in the air (well blossom on the trees) it’s good to see so many passengers taking short break leisure trips both to and from the Island. I’m always amazed by the variety of reasons for travel: short breaks in the Isle of Man, Manx residents visiting friends and relatives throughout the UK, touring holidays in the Peak District or the continent… For those of you thinking about a summer trip to the continent we do still offer attractive Landbridge fares via Dover (call Steam Packet Holidays 01624 645777 for further details). We'd love to hear from you if your recent trip away has been "out of the ordinary" and maybe we can mention them in future blogs.
Lastly, there are lots of special events coming up in the Isle of Man over the next few weeks. The Island has lots of special events for many visitors throughout the year - best wishes to all organisers and attendees. Events coming up include Bushy's Big Wheel Blues Festival in Laxey (2 - 3 May), Round Island Yacht Race (4 May), RBS International Rally (9 - 10 May), and Ramsey Angling Festival (15 - 18 May). Further details of these and other events are at www.visitisleofman.com.
Hope you all have a good weekend.
John
15 April 2008
Hello all
Ben-my-Chree sailed back into Manx waters this week, resplendent in her new livery, and passengers will discover that she’s looking just as good inside as she is outside.
Her biennial overhaul includes the complete refurbishment of all carpets, flooring and some seating in line with our new corporate look. The new Niarbyl Reserved Lounge now features all reserved seating, with 89 seats which can be pre-booked, compared with 56 previously. Also, all her main cabin and bar Tub chairs will have flexible snap link fixings, which makes access much easier for wheelchair users.
The children’s play area has been redesigned, and now has a TV viewing area with two additional screens, and two of the Ben’s cabins have been refurbished to the highest standard, with sofa/beds, flat screen TV and DVD, integrated fridge and hot drinks unit and upgraded toilet/shower room.
I think they look superb - I’d happily move the family in and live on board, although my wife might have something to say about that…!
With Ben-my-Chree now back in service, we now eagerly anticipate Snaefell‘s return, and with it our fleet back to full strength.
Snaefell is scheduled to return to Manx waters next weekend, with a planned return to service towards the end of the month once sea trials have been successfully completed.
Her refurbishment also covers all carpets, flooring and seats to new corporate standards, whilst her Niarbyl lounge now has 68 seats which can be reserved.
Many thanks again for all your continued posts and comments – they are what make this blog so worthwhile and I will continue to endeavour to reply to them.
Those of you travelling through Liverpool recently will no doubt have noticed that there are even more building works going on than has recently been the case. Work has now stepped up to complete several projects for ‘Capital of Culture’ year as well refurbishing our landing stage. I apologise in advance to those of you who may be inconvenienced over the course of this summer as a result. Work is scheduled for completion before the end of the year and will mean much better car check-in and new passenger terminal facilities. I would ask that you bear with us while this work is completed – our staff will do their utmost to make the experience as pleasant as possible but it will be some time before we can begin to improve the situation.
Finally, those readers with eagle eyes might notice a slight change come over the blog for the next couple of weeks – I’m out of the office for a while, so our Commercial Director John Watt will be stepping in as a ‘guest blogger’.
You’ll be in good hands with John, although I have warned him not to do too good a job!
Take care,
Mark
7 April 2008
Good morning all. Another weekend of blustery weather! I hope your travels weren’t affected too badly by the elements. Things are looking a little more settled now but the weather has been nothing if not unpredictable of late.
We’re really gearing up for the 2008 TT period now: bookings are 7% up from this time in 2006 (the last ‘normal’ TT year), so it looks like we’re in for a busy summer on the Island. As you may know, we have engaged the services of the Stena Caledonia during TT to allow us to cater for even more travellers, so we do have some capacity still available. If you’re planning on travelling during this period please do get your tickets booked now to avoid “missing the boat”!
The Ben-My-Chree went into dry dock on Tuesday evening for her biennial overhaul. While there we will be doing a significant amount of work on refurbishing her interior and of course externally she will enjoy something of a ‘make over’ with our new branding prominent on her return to service.
As some of you will be aware, we have introduced different lounges this year, on fast craft vessels, in which seating can be reserved. We have had some difficulties in the web interface regarding seating maps and online reservations.
Carolyn commented that “I understand that the reserved seating area on the Viking has been moved to the upper deck, in the area that was the first class lounge last year, which is better. However, when booking a reserved seat, the website does not reflect the new location and seat numbers but continues to show the lower deck area used last year. Thus, one has no idea what seat is actually being booked. I also understand that the wholly inadequate method of marking the booked seat with a loose piece of A4 paper is still in operation”.
I assure you that we are aware of this and working hard to resolve it. I am hopeful it will be only a short while until this facility is back on line.
Thank you for all your posts over the last couple of weeks and sorry if I haven’t got back to you on some of them. I am encouraged that we do seem to be getting more positive feedback, and that our efforts to focus on passenger service have been welcomed.
Mark
31 March 2008
I hope everyone had a great Easter. Apparently the next time Easter will fall as early as it did this year will be in 130 years or so!
I’m pleased to see that while I was away the Office of Fair Trading mentioned the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company favourably in a report they’ve published. They recently conducted a survey on the cost of using credit and debit cards while booking travel online to and from the Island. The survey included eight airlines and ourselves; all but one of which charge more than we do. You can see the results on their website:
Office of Fair Trading - Comparing the cost of booking travel tickets on-line
I know it’s a frustration for many people that while you think you’re getting a good deal by booking tickets online, through some companies, you end up agreeing to all sorts of extra charges or having to start again! Unlike most airlines, we don’t charge for using a debit card to book your tickets online and we only charge £3 for using a credit card – that’s per booking, not per person, regardless of the number of people in your party and whether it’s a single or return booking. Simple.
The weather has been quite poor over the last week and some people have been inconvenienced by cancelled or delayed sailings, but I understand from the majority of your posts that our passenger service staff have dealt with the problems well. And on 20th March we saw the first Irish sailing of the year, which marks the start of the spring/summer season for us.
If only someone would tell the weather!
Many of you will know that the Ben-my-Chree will be going for its biennial service at the beginning of April and will be out of service for a fortnight. Viking will provide services to Liverpool, Heysham and Belfast during this time. The freight ship Triumph is in Douglas Bay at present ready to assume freight duties during this period. The Ben will emerge with both the new external colour scheme and designs as well as a significantly refurbished interior. I hope it will meet with your approval!
We look forward now to the rest of the summer and the TT Festival. Plans are well in hand for this and its looking like it will be a very busy fortnight.
Mark
17 March 2008
Good afternoon,
You may have heard this week that the Ben-my-Chree’s bi-ennial overhaul has been scheduled for the first two weeks of April. As you will have seen from my post of 12 February, we had to postpone the dates originally scheduled because we couldn’t source a suitable vessel to cover the Ben during this time. We have now chartered a freight vessel that can cover all of the Ben-my-Chree’s freight duties and the Viking will undertake all passenger sailings. I know that this will cause some inconvenience but this maintenance work is absolutely essential. It’s important that we get it done before the busy summer season though, for obvious reasons.
I’ve had plenty of comments with positive feedback this week from your posts. Thanks to all those of you that have sent in comments, whether positive or negative.
One which particularly caught my eye was from Jeremy who said:
‘Seldom am I moved to write, either in praise or protest, but my experience on my recent travels to and from the IOM with your company deserve a line or two. We went out on the Ben, with cabin, and came back on the Viking, with reserved seating. I was impressed with both. The vessels were clean and tidy and your staff, without exception, were very welcoming and professional. So, praise where it is due! Many thanks’.
Andrew agreed too and commented:
‘Hello Mark, Just thought I'd give you my view on the sailing this evening that I've just undertaken. First all off all, the terminal procedures at Liverpool for foot passengers seem a lot better and everything was controlled well although I found it difficult to find the foot passenger entrance without walking round through the vehicle check in. Onboard the vessel seems much improved since the new scheme has come into place and everything seems a lot more professional. One thing I do have a problem with as I have done in the past when travelling is that there is no actual markings as to where the reserved seating area is.’ Points noted Andrew and will be acted on!
As many of you will know, the end of school term approaches, and I will be taking a weeks leave, so next week’s blog will be a little later than usual!
Mark
10 March 2008
Hello everyone,
It was great to see the first fast craft sailings of the season last weekend. Thanks to Adrian who points out that the first sailing this year of ‘Viking’ was only one day removed from the same date as the launch of the original ‘Viking’ on March 7th 1905.
Now that the fast craft season has started, I want to remind everyone that we are getting very busy with bookings for TT 2008. If you haven’t booked your tickets, check on our web site this week as we have made some more tickets available.
Some more good news for TT travellers: we have now chartered the Stena Caledonia to provide extra sailings during this peak period. She is a large multi purpose conventional vessel and will mean we can provide extra services, primarily between Heysham and the Isle of Man . She will also provide an extra Isle of Man to Belfast service, and will give us useful extra capacity and back-up capability. Tickets for these extra sailings are available from today.
You may have seen in the press last week that some airlines are likely to introduce self-service check in machines, and a charge for using the check in desks. Will the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company be doing this? The answer is a resounding “no”. We know that face-to-face customer service is important to our customers; travelling can be hectic enough without having to contend with check in machines. And, you might disagree, but I think travellers prefer to see a reassuring face when they arrive to check in. So we won’t be charging for this personal service.
In the coming weeks, keep an eye out for new day trip schedules to some great locations. I think these will be very popular and may be booked up quickly, so do check the website regularly.
I’ll leave you now, but thanks again for all the positive comments we’ve received about the new livery. It’s appreciated.
Mark
3 March 2008
Good morning – hope you all had an enjoyable weekend.
We’ve certainly had some excitement over the past week, with the official launch of the new brand. At an event on Wednesday 27 February in the impressive Atrium at the Sefton Hotel we introduced the new look to the world in style. We had the new uniforms, logos and pictures of the re-branded vessels on display and I’m pleased to say that everyone seemed to meet the changes with enthusiasm, echoing comments that have been posted on the site recently – thank you for those.
The Lhon Dhoo Male Voice Choir performed and we had the hugely talented Gina Williams playing harp. They both lent a Celtic charm to the evening, which was so appropriate for the new focus on the Isle of Man in our re-brand.
We also saw the return home of the newly painted Viking on Thursday, formerly the Superseacat Two. I hope you agree that the vessel now looks very stylish in its new colours. Thanks to Andrew for this comment:
“I think the Steam Packet is to be congratulated on the revised livery for all their vessels and the reintroduction of some old names. Don’t you think the website address on the side of the vessel looks a bit tacky though?”
Sorry you feel the web address is tacky. It’s a great way of telling people about our online service, which we do take pride in – and I think it looks smart.
Also on Thursday, we used the first of our new style advertisements in the Courier. In each ad we’ll have a different “Did you know?” fact about the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, services and vessels. This week’s is: Did you know, we’re the oldest continuously operating passenger ferry company in the world?” A fact that makes me feel proud to be CEO. I suppose that the Island with the oldest uncontested government deserves the longest running ferry company!
I’ll leave you with that. Have a good week and I look forward to your posts.
Mark
25 February 2008
Good morning – I hope you are well.
I’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to post. I’ve received many positive comments about our new branding which is encouraging to hear as we continue to roll out the changes.
We have a new TV advertising campaign starting 3 March with a mixture of 30 second and 10 second adverts. This will be the first Isle of Man Steam Packet Company TV campaign in the North West of England since 2001. The TV campaign is a joint initiative between us and the Department of Tourism and Leisure - this will appear on Border TV, GMTV, Granada TV and Channel 4. There will also be a TV advertising campaign in Northern Ireland and Eire. The TV advert showcases the beauty of our Island and I’m confident many tourists will find it hard to resist.
Work will start shortly on refurbishment of our Ferry Travel Shop in the Sea Terminal which will include a new ticket sales counter. During the refurbishment our ticket sales will temporally be relocated to the check in desks in the departure lounge. This work will also include the relocation of our Belfast call centre to the Sea Terminal in Douglas. Our total investment in the Ferry Travel Shop and Call Centre with a new telephone system will be in excess of £100,000. I hope these improvements will cause the minimum amount of inconvenience as every effort is being made to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Last time I posted I mentioned that the Ben my Chree will be postponing her bi-ennial overhaul. Originally the services on 1st/2nd March to Liverpool were going to be provided by the Viking, however they will now be completed by additional Ben-my-Chree sailings to Liverpool Birkenhead. We have had to make these changes as contractors employed by Mersey Docks and Harbour Company are unable to complete important safety work to the Landing Stage berth at the Pier Head in Liverpool on schedule. Work is now scheduled to be completed before the weekend of 8th and 9th March. We will contact all those customers who may be affected by post and by phone and I’ll continue to keep you updated via this blog.
That’s it for now.
Mark
12 February 2008
Good morning – I thought I’d touch base with you on this lovely sunny morning.
We had planned to take the Ben-my-Chree out of service for a couple of weeks for her bi-ennial overhaul in late February/early March. However, we have had difficulty in finding a replacement vessel. As a result we have postponed the overhaul for now while we continue to search for a suitable vessel. We will keep all our customers advised and confirm arrangements as soon as we are able. We will contact all those customers who may be affected. Sailing times/port will be unchanged, but the journey will now be on Ben-my-Chree not Viking (except those booked on 1st/2nd March to Liverpool where the service will still be provided by Viking).
Those of you with children may have travelled off the Island for the half term break. If you travelled with us on Sunday I hope the fog on the Mersey didn’t interfere with your onward journey too much. The weather inevitably resulted in delays to the service - but I hope you managed to reach your respective destinations.
I’ve had a few comments about the new look and feel website – I hope you’ll check it out to see the differences we’ve made. The site now features the company’s new retro style ‘logo’ and the words ‘Isle of Man’ have been reintroduced into the design. It also includes our new corporate colours of red, black and gold.
A gentleman called John posted to say
‘Well done Mark. The new look site and the vessel rebranding is excellent. Good to see the Steam Packet moving forward.’
We’ve also made changes to the seat upgrades section of the site, 1st has been renamed the ‘Manannan Premium Lounge’ and the Blue Riband club the ‘Manannan Executive Club’. Thanks to Dick also for his comments and feedback which will allow us to improve the service we give to our customers particularly where delays are involved. It appears that while we have improved, we still can do more and I have asked those responsible to take on board these comments and ensure we do better.
As part of my drive to continually improve our service the payment details of the booking section are now clearly explained with a more transparent breakdown of costs. I hope that you will note and approve of the changes and look forward to receiving more feedback.
If you haven’t managed to get away this time there’s plenty of special offers for the Easter school break in our latest Steam Packet Holidays day trips and special excursions brochures.
If you and the family haven’t tried skiing before you can take advantage of the new ‘Chill Factore’ ski centre at the Trafford Centre in Manchester. From March we’re offering a great short break package with ferry and accommodation included.
With Liverpool being City of Culture 2008 you might like to take in some of the planned events. If so there’s some great (and inexpensive) accommodation featured in the brochure. If you want a brochure call Steam Packet Holidays on 645777 or call in to our office at the Sea Terminal.
Well that’s it for now – I hope you enjoy your half term break.
Mark
4th February 2008
Good afternoon – I just thought I’d keep you in touch with current events and say hello.
As you probably are aware we had some very high winds last week and cancelled two round trips of the Ben-my-Chree as a result – this is a very rare occurrence. I do apologise to all those customers who suffered inconvenience but assure you that this was a decision made purely on safety grounds.
Our thoughts are with the crew and passengers of the Ro-Ro ferry Riverdance which we have used as a cover vessel for our freight service in the past.
The vessel ran aground off Blackpool last Thursday evening with 19 crew and 4 passengers being flown to safety after it was hit by a freak wave. Thankfully no casualties were sustained and the RAF, Royal Navy and the Coastguard did an excellent rescue job. I commend them in these conditions – it must have been a frightening experience for everyone involved.
Many thanks for all your comments this week – I’ve had a lot come in about various subjects.
Thanks to David who has posted about our new look brochure for 2008. David says ‘It was good to look through the brochure for 2008 and see that you made some changes that myself and others had suggested. Thank you for listening to your customers’. We are trying to listen to our customers David – and I’m glad you’ve noticed this. With the forthcoming rebranding of customer facilities, ships, and staff uniforms this is going to be an exciting couple of months.
Another customer has asked about the timing of the bi-ennial overhaul of the
Ben–my-Chree. She is scheduled to go to dry-dock at the end of February subject to us being able to secure a suitable charter vessel.
Although weather in late February/early March can still be unpredictable, the numbers of passengers travelling at this time is only around one third of those in April, and this is why we chose this period to take the Ben-my-Chree out of service. Any fastcraft weather disruption during this period will therefore inconvenience fewer passengers on average, than would be the case with weather disruptions in April. If we are unable to secure a suitable charter in the next few weeks we will have to reschedule the dry-docking until April instead.
We will keep our customers informed as soon as firm decisions can be made.
Goodbye for now
Mark
29 January 2008
My apologies for the late posting this week but I have been off Island, and have been trying to catch up since.
It is a busy week ahead for the company. On Wednesday my commercial director and I are to appear before the Select Committee of Tynwald to give oral evidence. The Committee is tasked with looking at both standards of service and fare structures. I believe that the company does give a standard of service which is beneficial to the well being of the Island and its residents. The provision of a second fast ferry during the summer period is a clear indication of this commitment.
Of course, we like all businesses are always open to the accusation that our fares are too expensive. When did you last hear complaints of a service being too cheap? Our lead foot passenger fares have decreased since 1995 by more than 30%, while inflation has increased by 38%! By comparison, Manx weekly earnings over the same period have increased by 68%.
We will shortly be publishing details on our website of some market research carried out over the peak summer months of last year. Involving over 5,300 customer responses, this research indicates that the majority of our customers do not have an issue with the value of fares (only 15% rating value for money as ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’), as well as giving opinions on a wide range of other service issues.
Many of you will have read in the local press that we have decided to close the Belfast based call centre. Historically there were about 25 permanent staff in the Belfast call centre in the days when Sea Containers operated Seacat Scotland routes, Argyll and Antrim routes, Liverpool Dublin routes and of course Steam Packet routes.
At the time of the Sea Containers acquisition of the company, the decision was taken to relocate Island call centre jobs to Belfast. Many customers have registered their preference to speak to someone based on the Isle of Man, and it is for this reason as well as the decline of telephone bookings that we have decided to relocate the call function to the Island. This is good news for our customers and means more local employment. In the longer term it is consistent with our aim of reinforcing our links with the Manx community.
Thanks to Gordon who enquired whether the Whitehaven day trips would be repeated this year. We are certainly planning a range of daytrips this summer using Snaefell, to include Whitehaven and other destinations so keep looking at the website!
That’s it for now – I will post again soon.
Mark
22 January 2008
Good afternoon – I hope you are all well.
I’m busy with our plans to rebrand at the moment but thought I’d take a moment to send you an update.
Thanks firstly to Arthur who posted about the 1970’s Crows Nest Restaurant photograph I put up a while ago.
Arthur said: “The bloke in the centre of the picture with the glasses is me. The girl on my right is my late wife Elsie and the person sat opposite to her is my late sister Marjorie who was on holiday. Regards Arthur
That’s great - thanks again. If anyone else has any nostalgia photographs they’d like to send in I will post them up on the site.
It is pleasing to see that our decision to sail to Liverpool Birkenhead at winter weekends has been met with such success. Despite the small number of passengers who claimed that this was not the right thing to do, the much greater service reliability and number of passengers using the service has proved otherwise. Not only were Liverpool sea passengers up by almost 30% in December, but overall numbers by sea to both Heysham and Liverpool were up by 3% too.
You might have heard now that we’re closing our Belfast contact centre in March and eight permanent staff there will be offered redundancy packages.
I’d like to thank our staff in Belfast for their dedicated service over many years. It is with sadness this decision has been made but the scale of the operation has made this closure and consolidation inevitable.
In recent years the number of customers booking online has risen to 65% which resulted in the decrease of permanent employees in Belfast. Call levels have fallen from 736,000 in 2003 to 223,000 in 2007.
As a result the company is relocating the call centre to the Sea Terminal in Douglas where staff will combine contact centre and check in duties. Not only will this mean increased employment opportunities on the Island, but also that the service is more Manx focused - I am aware that this has been an issue with some customers in the past.
There’s been some feedback about my ‘use it or lose it’ phrase in connection with the use of a second fast craft (Snaefell) for our Irish services. In response to Katherine who posted some comments, the statement wasn’t intended to cause alarm - just a realistic assessment that the provision of a second fast craft for only 3% of our passengers who used Irish services last year, is not a viable situation that can be sustained long term. We are obliged of course to provide Irish services under the User Agreement. We would simply have to do this as we have in years prior to 2007 using Viking. Unfortunately this means more operationally driven, less customer friendly sailing times.
To avoid this we would very much like to see significant growth within this market. That is why we have decided to continue with a loss-making service using Snaefell for a second year, and also to invest (in conjunction with our Department of Tourism and Leisure) in an extensive TV-based advertising campaign.
Finally, thanks to Simon who echoes a concern that I share. Cleanliness on board ships, (and planes and trains for that matter) is very important. It is one of the basic aspects of good customer service. That is why I have asked our new Passenger Manager to concentrate on routines and procedures for cleaning and hygiene onboard in his first few months. If we don’t get it right, please let him know!
That's it for now - Mark
14 January 2008
Good afternoon - I hope you all had a good weekend despite the weather!
Looking at the passengers figures, the Ben-my-Chree service to Liverpool Birkenhead has proved a resounding success. Not only have we had 100% reliability but also the service has been well used.
I know some passengers were unsure of the benefits but 29% more people used the service in December 2007 compared with the same month in the previous year.
Comments on my blog, on our onboard survey and feedback to our terminal staff also show that people have welcomed the reliability it has provided.
As the weather has occasionally disrupted the Heysham service I’m pleased to say our weekend sailings to Birkenhead haven’t suffered any problems. It will continue until 24 February after which we revert back to the Liverpool landing stage when Ben-my-Chree is away for her biennial overhaul.
Thanks to Mr Leece who posted regarding his experience of queuing to board with his vehicle. It highlights a point that we are trying to address:
“It seems really pointless being early to board as there seems to be no system of ensuring that first come are boarded early. The vehicles are lined up at Heysham in order and then re-lined again in any random pattern. Most frustrating if you have taken the trouble to be early!”
I agree with your comments and assure you we are trying to achieve a reliable system for this in all ports. I’ve spoken to our new Passenger Manager who will ensure that this matter is given proper attention.
A big thanks to Jonathan who posted about his recent experience of service improvements. Watch this space as there’s more to come.
“Just joined the Blue Riband Club. It was all a rush as I needed a quick trip home. (I will be needing a lot more as well in the next few months!) Lisa Broadbent (Blue Riband secretary) was brilliant in getting my membership sorted. Nice to see the "new" branding is on its way. Just back in to Birkenhead today 13/1 the onboard staff did well in a choppy first couple of hours. Keep the improvements going they are appreciated.
On a final note, TT fans have been able to book in advance for their ferry tickets to next year’s event. Bookings can be made on our website for TT 2008 – well ahead of previous years. There will be 233 sailings over the TT period with four confirmed vessels in service – and 115 extra sailings compared to normal schedules.
The main difference from last year is that the fleet is already in place and your booking will be confirmed not provisional – so if you haven’t booked already you still can!.
Bye for now
Mark
7 January 2008
May I wish all our customers a happy and healthy new year!
It’s been a fairly stormy start to 2008 with Storm Force 11 winds causing even the Ben-my-Chree to cancel a round trip sailing to Heysham. However, there are lots of positives as we look forward to the remainder of 2008.
Forward bookings for the TT 2008 period are well up on recent years (Centenary TT aside), and more importantly we already have the fleet in place to meet this demand. That means that all TT 2008 bookings are confirmed, not provisional.
The winter Ben-my-Chree service to Liverpool Birkenhead has provided 100% reliability to date as well as increased carryings, with overall passenger numbers in the November and December period up by almost 3% on the same period in 2006. In December alone, passenger numbers using the Liverpool Birkenhead service were up by more than 27%. Forward bookings for the first two months of 2008 are also up on last year.
We have decided to continue last year's initiative with a second fast craft dedicated once again to Irish summer services. Last year’s Irish passenger numbers were increased a little by a much improved timetable and an effective marketing campaign in conjunction with the Isle of Man Department of Tourism and Leisure. However, the service was not used nearly as much as was suggested would be the case by those asking for improved Irish services. This is a loss making service and we hope that numbers will improve further this year to the point where the service can at least become break even. The long term provision of this service does depend on use - ‘use it or lose it’ is the key message!
We are in the process of re-branding the company in line with our Manx heritage and traditions. The words ‘Isle of Man’ will once again feature prominently on our ships and our advertising. These changes will be reflected, in time, both ashore and afloat with new ship liveries and traditional Steam Packet names. Superseacat Two becomes ‘Viking’; Sea Express 1 becomes ‘Snaefell’. Lounges and facilities on board will also be improved and renamed using Manx names. To satisfy customer demand, the provision of reserved seating will be expanded and available on all ships, without compromising seating availability for those who prefer not to pre-book.
The appointment of a new Passenger Manager is an important step in making clear to all, the emphasis we place on the service we provide. His name is Jim Sheppard and his role is to ensure that we provide a service which is both good quality and consistent. Please do not hesitate to contact him if you wish to express an opinion on the service you receive, or would just like to make a general comment.
I assure you that we are committed to making the passenger experience as pleasant as we are able - I do ask your patience in that those measures described above and others on which we are working will take time to achieve. We may not always get it right, but we are determined to listen and learn when we get it wrong.
Mark