December 2007

18 December 2007

Good morning.  The Christmas period is almost upon us - a busy period for the company as well as our customers.  I am away during the New Year period so won’t be posting again until January 2008.

I hope you continue to send your comments to me in the New Year.  As I’ve said in the past I read every one and appreciate all your feedback. I do feel the blog is a useful method of communication.

November has been a good month with overall growth in our passenger numbers. Reliability of service coupled with wide availability of special offers has encouraged greater use of the services provided.

Many thanks to everyone that’s posted since I became chief executive in July.  Many of your comments have been used as a constructive basis for the changes I am implementing in 2008.

Whatever you are doing I hope you all enjoy a peaceful Christmas and have a happy and healthy 2008.

Best regards
Mark

10 December 2007

Hi there – I’ve been out of the office on business but thought I’d send you an update.

Thank you to everyone that’s commented recently – please keep them coming as your opinions are important to me.

To Michelle who posted about customer service at Heysham.  I know our passenger manager has been in touch but I wanted to apologise for the inconvenience you experienced.  I assure you we will make every effort to ensure that there is consistency and hope you see a difference next time you travel with your children.

In response to David who asked about the possibility of running a day trip from Fleetwood in 2008.   We will publish our full list of day trips around March next year and are currently checking berth suitability with Fleetwood, and other ports.  If the berth is available we will plan to do a trip.

Christmas is nearly here – and this year we are donating to a charity instead of sending corporate Christmas cards.  The staff thought this year it would be good to give a donation to one of the charities we support throughout the year.  The favourite was the Isle of Man Children’s Centre so we are donating £1,000 to their Building Blocks Appeal.

Another weekend of unsettled weather, and another in which fast craft would not have sailed on at least one day. The Ben however was able to maintain a service to Liverpool Birkenhead ensuring many hundreds of passengers were not inconvenienced.
 
Well bye for now – and keep in touch.

Mark

November 2007

22 November 2007

Good morning – I hope you are all well.

We’ve just had another weekend of unsettled weather where day trips, if operated with a fastcraft would not have sailed.

To date, we’ve had poor weather on one day of each weekend since the Ben-my-Chree service to Liverpool Birkenhead commenced.  In terms of numbers, that means over 1700 passengers have not suffered disruption to their travel plans – indicating the real benefits of this service. The current long range forecast for this coming weekend suggests that we may again have lost the daytrip on Saturday if operated by a fastcraft.

We are a small company with limited resources. Despite that, we offer a high degree of frequency and capacity year round that far exceeds demand and which at times can not be justified on a commercial basis alone. We do all this of course without any subsidy from the taxpayer. This means that we have to prioritise services at certain times, and the winter service to Liverpool Birkenhead is a clear example of this.

Despite comment on online forums the majority of our passengers are benefiting from services to both Heysham and Liverpool which gives them certainty of travel through the winter months. Of those signing the petition, many are commenting on general aspects of the service.

These comments, together with feedback from other customers and our own research are being carefully considered to identify areas we can improve. Steps we have already taken include early publication of our 2008 timetable, the ability to book for 2008 sailings by the end of September this year (much earlier than previous years) and the fact that all TT 2008 bookings taken so far are ‘confirmed bookings, not  provisional’ as in previous years. These all represent real benefits to our passengers.

Market research between August and October this year, with a survey size of over 5,000 passengers, suggests that 82% felt their journey was ‘Excellent or Good’, and 53% felt value for money was ‘Excellent or Good’. The survey highlighted the need to improve in areas such as value for money of food (49% ‘Excellent or Good’), and quality of children’s play area (42% ‘Excellent or Good’). It is our intention to continue and expand this market research.

We have already made a number of changes designed to give our passengers more choice and quality of service. We have also appointed a Passenger Manager, a service ‘Tsar’ if you like. He will be highly visible and accessible, and his key focus is to ensure passengers are given a high level of service. These changes will begin to impact in the near future and I hope you will begin to notice service improvements soon.

That’s it for now – I will post again soon.

Thanks, Mark

22 November 2007

Hi there – we’ve had a revamp of the blog and set up a form for you to send your comments.

I’m making changes to our service in the New Year so would appreciate your feedback when they happen.

Your opinions are very important to us so keep sending them in.  I will read every one that’s sent – and hope you enjoy the slightly ‘new look’ blog.

Best regards,

Mark

19 November 2007

Good afternoon – I  hope you are all well.

I thought I’d start by pasting our press release which we issued last Wednesday.   Despite our local newspapers take on things we’re not purporting to offer a ‘22 hour day trip’ to our passengers, but a day trip rate for weekend trips.

The statement was as follows:

PASSENGERS can now travel with a car + 4 for £99 for shopping and family trips until the end of February 2008.

Mark Woodward chief executive of the Steam Packet Company said: "We have reviewed opportunities for extra day trips as we are very keen to assist our passengers. However using the Superseacat Two would lead to the danger of weather disruption which would compromise the reliability we want to provide.

"Using the Ben-my-Chree for an extended day in Merseyside is not possible as it has been confirmed there are no slots suitable for a day return. However we are able to offer the day trip rate with passengers travelling from the IOM on the 0800 and returning the next day at 02:15 from Heysham."

The company are also offering a 'Christmas shopping special' at the current day trip fare with foot  passengers now being able to travel for £25 (including fuel surcharge.  Passengers can travel from IOM on 0800 on Saturday returning either 02:15 from Heysham on Sunday with a free courtesy bus from Liverpool or on the 14:00 service from Twelve Quays, Birkenhead.

Mark Woodward concluded: "We hope these reduced rates and what amounts to an extended stay in England with free coach transfers to Heysham will be of interest and benefit to our passengers."

It is interesting to note that had we maintained the fast ferry service which is one of the subjects of the ManxForums online petition, we would already have lost 3 out of the 4 scheduled day trips to poor weather.  I believe that vindicates our decision and has allowed many of our customers to book with certainty without facing  disruption to their travel plans.

I have many plans for the next few months – many of which will be implemented early next year.  These include wide-ranging improvements such as more bookable
seating on board and giving you more choice when travelling.  I am also going to
standardise livery on all our vessels to better reflect the Island's identity and culture.

I’m aiming to provide consistency of service along with traditional etiquette in a modern environment. This will take time, but I hope that you will begin to notice the changes soon.

That’s it for now.

Mark

7 November 2007

Good morning – I thought I’d send you an update and try and give you the Steam Packet’s perspective on recent events.

I’ve been watching the online petition today, which has grown in the last couple of days.  I’m reading it in detail to see what your main concerns are – it does matter to me and I fully intend to address them.  An overriding one I see is about our winter schedule. Many others that are raised in the petition are already being looked at by the Select Committee inquiry.

After reading through though it strikes me that the numbers signing the petition bears no relation to the actual number of day-trippers that have used this service in recent years.  The adage of ‘use it or lose it’ is clearly at work here. Because of the poor numbers of day trippers in recent years, the changes have been made to benefit those who use the service for longer breaks.

The OFT are right to be interested in the way in which we have dealt with those customers who booked to travel on a fast craft to Liverpool, and are now travelling on a conventional vessel to Birkenhead.  We’ve made every effort to minimise any inconvenience to those passengers. 

To reiterate, the changes made to the winter schedule were in order to provide a reliable winter service that customers can book and plan for with confidence.  These benefits have been recognised by the DoTL, DoT and Travelwatch.  I know they don’t benefit everybody, but we have to weigh up the needs of the majority of the travelling public.

I fully acknowledge that there are some areas we need to continue to improve in - and strive to improve.  It is my intention to address these areas - and I hope people will acknowledge my willingness and determination to do this. It does take time though, and changes will not happen overnight. Please bear with us and allow us to plan and implement service improvements.

Thanks for reading.

October 2007

31 October 2007

We’ve had a lot of postings over this weekend so keep them coming – we appreciate everyone’s feedback.

Thanks to Carolyn who after travelling with us again recently has seen a lot of improvements.

She sailed with us in August and commented about several areas of the service.   ‘Not enough seats and too many people’ was one of her observations and she described the crew as ‘preoccupied’.

She sailed on the SSC2 again recently and said:

‘I felt I must send a positive e-mail to you.  I have just done another 4 journey's on the Superseacat Two since my last e-mail to you.
 
All sailings as I am sure you will know were very busy but I have to say after loading I was able to find a seat with no problems.  The staff were great, helpful and courteous.

Last evening (28th) the crossing was a bit choppy!!!   But I felt really relaxed due to Captain Duggan keeping pasengers informed at all times and preparing us for the journey.
 
Excellent stuff keep it up - the positives win’.

Thanks to Jenny who often gives us useful feedback.  She traveled in the Blue Riband recently (on a choppy crossing) and asked the following:

‘Can bolts please be put on the cupboard doors, so that these do not fly open and bang shut whenever the ship has a rough crossing.

‘Biscuits? Again? Perhaps the substitution of cream crackers is just an aberration, but if cream crackers are to feature regularly (in addition to biscuits I hope!), perhaps small portions of cheese could be considered as a further addition to the range, for those who like a savoury snack’.

Both things have been addressed onboard now Jenny and thanks for letting us know.

To Ihab who requested information about future day trips from Whitehaven to IOM.  We’ve made a note of your interest and once the dates for the Whitehaven trips are finalised will forward them to you.

Hop tu Naa is here again – and we’re been getting in the swing onboard today.  All children travelling to Liverpool and Heysham have received a Halloween hat and there’s been a special Hop tu Naa menu available for parents to treat the family to including ‘Pumpkin and Parsnip’ soup!

Keep sending your comments to Mark.  He’ll be back next week and will post again then.

Rupert Trevelyan
Director of Marketing

22 October 2007

Hello again – I’m just heading off on business for a couple of days so I thought I’d update you before I go.

Thanks first of all to David and Evelyn who travelled back last weekend on the SSC2.  I quote: “Both trips were excellent - crew and good food, with "scones" in both directions.”  We get quite a bit of ‘feedback’ about our food onboard so it’s nice to receive a compliment.

Day trip wise – I acknowledge there have been mixed opinions about our schedule changes this winter!   However these decisions have been made in response to customer feedback (both onboard customer surveys and verbal and written feedback from individual customers) who sought a reliable winter service.

The benefits of these changes have been recognised by the DoTL, DoT and Travelwatch and although they don’t suit everyone we need to weigh up the needs of the majority of the traveling public. It will mean a much higher degree of certainty for our customers this winter.

Thanks to Simon from the West Midlands who told me he has been coming to the Island for the last 50 years.  He asked about having day trips from either Liverpool or Llandudno – if you look ahead to summer 2008 we will be providing day trips from Liverpool again.  Simon said: “I often have a day out to New Brighton just to see the Seacat leaving Liverpool at 11:15 just to remind me what a wonderful place she is on her way to.”  You’re right Simon – hope to see you here again soon.

Apologies to William following his complaint about our toilets at Liverpool. I have spoken to the managers at Liverpool Port and hopefully the next time you travel you will see a marked difference – with soap dispensers properly filled up etc. Our new facilities in Liverpool are now progressing well, and it is hoped that we will have a new passenger terminal as well as an improved car check in area by mid 2008.

Well bye for now – will post again soon.

Mark

16 October 2007

Good day to you all – hope you had a good weekend. 

Well I’ve had quite a few postings of late – some bad, some good.  I am taking everything on board though – your comments never go unread or unheard.

Starting off on a positive note – this lovely photograph of the Ben-my-Chree and a Labrador dog taken on Douglas Head.  Thanks a lot for sending this Alan – and for your comments about our dog friendly service that you used this summer.

Thanks also to Adrian and his positive comments about running the Ben-my-Chree to Heysham and Birkenhead this summer.  I know this has had a mixed reaction from some but by far most customers I’ve spoken to understand that it’s happened in order to provide increased reliability throughout the winter months. That is seen by a majority as a positive step.

Adrian also asked about future plans for restoring some of the traditional livery to the vessels.  Without giving too much away I can say that you should not be too disappointed next season....

Thanks to Fraser who was asking about possible delays to sailings during TT and MGP 2008. 

I quote: “As a regular visitor (and marshal) to the Island, I was wondering why every year there are delays to the sailings and the excuse is invariably due to heavy loadings.”

Fraser – we will review the TT and MGP schedules prior to confirmation. The current timetables are provisional. To allow customers to make advance bookings for the following year at the beginning of the TT and MGP, we use last years timetables but then review timings afterwards in the light of the experience. Unfortunately the demand is so heavy that any delay in one port can have a knock on impact to later timings, and changing one timing can then impact on another.

Well that’s it for now – I will post again soon.  Please keep them coming!

Mark
 

8 October 2007

Hi there – thought I would update the blog.  We had great sailing weather this weekend didn’t we? I hope everyone ashore also managed to enjoy it.

I’ve had lots of postings of late – thanks for all of them.  Paul contacted me to ask about our scheduled day return from Heysham to the IOM this October.  The reason for the SSC2 schedule change is to accommodate extra demand at half term. We cannot do 2 round trips to Liverpool due to crew hours restrictions, but can manage a Liverpool and a Heysham return. There will be little opportunity for day trip traffic though due to peak period demand which is why we didn’t
advertise it.

Thanks to Graham who made various comments about our Blue Riband service.  He is a member and made several observations which are very useful.

Graham said: “The current staff are far more helpful and effective than those of a year ago and the improvement to the Blue Riband male toilets is appreciated.’ Toilets are always a challenge on ships and we are always looking at additional work to improve them further.

He was also very complimentary about our lashing service for his motorbike and said it had been ‘excellent - with great care shown for the protection of paintwork’.

Amongst other comments he also mentioned he has never received a message on his mobile when a sailing was delayed.  We will look at this but it is important to ensure you keep us updated if your mobile number changes.

Finally thanks to Joe who I received several comments from.  With regard to the blog Joe I do ensure that a reply is given to comments where warranted.  I’m sorry you liken it to a newsletter, but my view is that it is a step in the right direction. Overall I’ve had very good feedback.  I also respond to a balanced amount of both positive and negative comments for people to read on the site.

Your comments about our onboard provision for animals were interesting.  We won’t be using our fast craft between early November and the end of February so your issue of car alarms and dogs sensitivity to them won’t be an issue. However I have fed your comments back to the appropriate staff so they will be extra vigilant about car alarms going off in the future.

Well thanks again for now – and I’ll post soon.

Mark

 

1 October 2007

Hi again – just a note to say hello and keep you up to date with things.

Some news for you first on our timetable – bookings for 2008 will be able to be made from the 1st week of October.  So for those who want to take advantage of our cheaper fares you can start booking then.

Following our cancellation of the Belfast service last week a few passengers have aired their views.   We’re sorry we weren’t able to contact all of you in good time as the decision to cancel occurred when at sea on the outward journey.
 
A technical issue meant the Captain was not prepared to continue with the earlier sailing to Belfast – and weather conditions became worse than forecast which exacerbated the situation.

Some passengers were annoyed that they only found out the cancellation upon arriving at Belfast port.  We did try to contact everyone concerned from 8am and kept the Irish and local media informed from 8.15am onwards.   I’m sorry for any inconvenience caused to those passengers.

On to another subject now – food onboard.  Opinion is a bit divided in this area – some of you like it and think it is good value for money, others unfortunately don’t.  Thank you to Richard Garfield who made the following comments about our popular breakfast baps!  “I ordered bacon and egg in a bap, and wasn't prepared for what arrived.  The bacon was dry and hard (difficult to keep it fresh, I know) and the egg was frothed and beaten....like an omelette or scrambled egg.  Good job I didn't ask for it sunny side up.” 

Thanks for your comments Richard – I have spoken to the appropriate manager and they have been noted.  I want everyone to enjoy our onboard menu and aim for that to be the case in the very near future.

Many thanks finally to Angela who believes the Steam Packet does (and I quote) ‘an excellent job’.  She said, ‘I was especially impressed by how well it coped with the TT Centenary in June this year. My return sailing to Heysham was delayed but I didn’t feel that I’d been inconvenienced. Indeed I refused the Meal Voucher that I was offered in Compensation because I felt it unnecessary.’

Angela also had a query about her booking for TT 2008. Just to let you know Angela I have looked into it and will get a response for you as soon as possible.

That’s it for now – keep posting and I’ll write again soon.

Mark

September 2007

20 September 2007

Hello – almost at the end of another week, so just thought I’d sign in while I’ve got a minute.  It’s pretty busy here as always and there’s always someone wanting my attention nowadays!

Hot topic first of all is biscuits – a favourite of mine.  Thanks a lot to the gentleman who commented on our biscuits in the Blue Riband lounge.  He mentioned they weren’t as nice as previously – and the standard in his opinion had dropped.  We have introduced ‘Fair Trade’ products and they don’t seem to be as popular as previous ones. I’ve spoken to our people responsible and asked that we have a selection of both in future.

We are finalizing our timetable at the moment so that should be published in the next few weeks allowing bookings for 2008.  We’re hoping to work in several more ‘themed’ day trips for you to take advantage of – with themed vessels taking you to themed events in the UK.  Once we have established more details I’ll let you know.

We’re going to be sponsoring a lot more youth projects over the next year – as young people are the future.  In line with the ‘Freedom to Learn’ initiative we’re recently sponsored a student from QE11 called Katy Radcliffe.  Katy is only 12 but she’s traveling to the USA on behalf of the IOM and the UK to take part in the ‘People to People - World Leadership Forum’ in Washington D.C. next April.

The aim of the forum is to develop leadership skills among the world’s youth and Katy’s school have nominated her because of her high academic achievements and leadership qualities.  Good luck with your venture Katy – we are all behind you!

Keep your comments coming about our service – send me anything that’s on your mind. If I can’t answer you, I’ll find someone that can!

Thanks, Mark

13 September 2007

Hello again – thanks for all your recent comments.

Many thanks to Bob for posting.    I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog and hope you continue to do so.

Bob pointed out that the vessel we featured on the blog is actually the N.F. Jaguar which later became the Peveril.  The Jaguar was chartered from P&O in 1981 to commence the Steam Packet's RO-RO service to Liverpool.  In January 1983 she was renamed Peveril and in April was repainted in traditional Steam Packet livery.

The photo shows her in the hull colours of P&O with the Steam Packet RO-RO legend overpainted. The linkspan is now the number 3 at Heysham – thanks for spotting my deliberate mistake Bob!

Thanks also to Craig for his feedback after recently travelling from the Island on the SSC2.

I’m glad your sailing was pleasant and on time!   Also that you thought the updates from the bridge were informative.

I agree that the interior of the Superseacat II is in need of a refresh, but we’ve got plans to spruce it up over the winter.    We are re-carpeting and re-upholstering certain areas so rest assured work is planned.  It’s nice that you noted that the toilet and shop areas were clean and well maintained – improving cleanliness on our vessels is a big priority for me.

I’ve discussed your comments about customer service with our onboard managers – and it is being addressed.    It is imperative that our staff are polite to our customers – and I agree that a smile and a thank you always goes a long way.  Your comments about onboard entertainment were also interesting.  Customers do seem to enjoy our children’s magician performances – so maybe we’ll bring him back soon.  Our marketing team are currently working on plans for some onboard TV – with local news and current affairs updates.  So watch this space for news on that!

We’re also working on our timetable for next year, and would like to get it out by the end of the month – so we’ve got a busy time ahead.  Keep posted for news about some themed day trips next year – great fun for the kids and all the family.

Bye for now and keep blogging.

Mark

4 September 2007

Hello again.   I’m back from leave now and have been reading all your recent postings while on holiday.

They’re still coming in thick and fast and I hope this will continue.  I really want to know your opinions on our service and do appreciate your feedback.

Firstly thanks to Alan Birkett who posted about his journey on the 26 August. 

He said: “My wife & I returned 1st class on Sunday 26 August. I was very impressed with the craft and even more so by the service from the steward. Unfortunately I cannot remember his name but he was Portugese.  SeaCat is certainly the ONLY way to travel to IOM.”

Thanks for your comments Alan.  I agree that the Superseacat II provides a fast and effective way to travel by sea. We often get negative comments on other marine related blogs and sites and these do not fairly reflect the very high levels of reliability we achieve with all our vessels. For example Superseacat 2 has only missed three sailings this year – two due to weather and one to technical reasons. Ben-my-Chree has only missed three sailings, all due to weather.

Hello and thank you to Andrew Hall who did exactly as I suggested regarding his problems with our online booking system.

Andrew sent us all the details of what he tried to do so we’re looking look into things to try and alleviate the problem.  So far we can’t find any evidence of failure of our booking system – many of the  problems reported with our web based booking system may often in fact be problems with customers personal computers. Sometimes over-zealous web browser security settings can prevent the customer completing transactions.

Thanks also to Emma Dimbleby who is a mother of two children aged 4 and 1.  It is always useful to get feedback from parents to gauge whether our service is family friendly.  If there are changes to be made I want to know your suggestions so keep them coming.

Emma suggested a few ways of keeping children entertained on board.   Here is one example:
“Improve your play areas on the boats.  We took our excited children to find them, only to realise they were simply a very small area with soft padding and a few large Lego bricks.  I realise space is at a premium, but what about areas for different ages?  Age relevant films could then be shown in each area and age relevant toys / activities could be set up.  Even within the small space available, TVs are not always on and there is very little to do”.

I know that traveling with young children can be stressful - Being a father to two girls any suggestions to keep them entertained when they were young was very useful!  Thanks Emma and I’ll certainly bear it in mind when looking at new vessels or refurbishing existing ones.

Well that’s it for now – I will post again soon.

Mark

August 2007

24 August 2007

Hi there – hope you are all well.  Many thanks for all your postings while Mark has been away.  He is back next week so he will post again soon.

In the meantime here are few more ‘Pics from the Past’ for you to ponder over.  They were kindly lent to us from the Department of Transport’s exhibition – can you spot yourself – or your car - amongst the throng?

How about this one of the old waiting area in the Sea Terminal?  Can you see yourself waiting for friends or family?

Bye for now,

Laura Howland
Communications Manager

14 August 2007

Hello again – this will be my last posting for a couple of weeks as I am heading off for the ritual summer holiday with children and family! While I am away, please keep logging on to see some more ‘nostalgia’ pics.

Thanks to Andrew who asked about extending the Belfast service into the winter months next year.  We haven’t any immediate plans to do this, as it is very difficult to generate enough passengers even in summer months.  However, when evaluating how successful our Irish marketing campaign has been this year I’ll give it some thought.
 
I’m glad you looked forward to travelling on the Emeraude Andrew – I’ve had good reports in general about her from our customers.  However she is only chartered until the end of September - so won’t be returning next year unfortunately.

I’ve seen our pictures from the Whitehaven trip and have posted a couple up for those that attended.  We’ve had really good feedback and lots of requests for more – I’ll see what we can do as they are obviously popular.  The Lakes coach trip also proved a hit – I’ve posted a picture of all those that attended so see if you can spot yourself.

We are sponsoring the Awards for Excellence again this year – you can read about it in this week’s Examiner.  Our category is ‘Teamwork – especially working across departments or organisations’ – very apt as it is a subject close to my heart.  I think the Awards are an excellent way of sponsoring the local business community and last year’s event was very well orchestrated by the IOM Newspapers.

Thanks also to Mr Trace, headteacher of Ramsey Grammar School for his complimentary letter in last week’s Independent.  It is good to get such positive feedback about our staff and service. We do take punctuality very seriously, but I am pleased that our Captain used his discretion on the day given the number of people who were late, and decided to delay the departure so they could travel.

Well all the best to you for now – and I’ll post again in a couple of weeks.

Mark

9 August 2007

Well it seems nostalgia is popular - I have had lots of comments about the photographs shown in my last post. No one owned up to being present in the Crows Nest Restaurant but thanks to Ian who identified the Peveril as the vessel shown on the link span. I will try and get more pictures from the past in future blogs.

Thanks to Terry who wrote about the Whitehaven trip, nearly 200 passengers took the trip from the Isle of Man with 36 also taking the coach tour of the Lake District. Encouragingly the return trip was fully booked with day trippers from the Whitehaven area who had a lovely sunny day on the Isle of Man. We will of course consider Fleetwood next year after the success of this trip.

I am still getting some comments about our website and our IT department suggest that anyone having booking problems check that they are using an up to date browser. Versions 5.5 onwards of the Microsoft Internet browser are compatible (Broadband customers can download the latest version from the Microsoft website, but if you have dial up we recommend you go on the Microsoft site and request a disk). We do take hundreds of bookings on the web every day and browser problems are common with the few customers who contact us.

More comments about Liverpool terminal, those of you have passed through recently will have seen work taking place on the landing stage. There are improvements under way which will cause some disruption in the next few months, but bear with us as it will mean better facilities when work is completed.

To the gentleman asking about Blue Riband, we do have information in the seat upgrade section of our website accessible from the Home Page. Membership to Blue Riband is restricted to ensure comfort levels for members and there are no spaces available at the moment which is why we are not promoting it.

To Barrie, we do sell Bushy’s ( Manx Beer) on all ships we operate including the Ben-my-Chree, Superseacat Two and Emeraude France. It is not served in the main café area on the Ben-my-Chree as we only have space for our top 3 products. On some occasions due to low passenger levels the main bar is closed but I am sure the crew would be most obliging if you asked for a pint of Bushy’s.We changed our menus in February this year and where possible we feature Manx and Fair Trade products including beer.

Finally, I will be on holiday with my family from the middle of next week so I won’t be posting a blog for a couple of weeks. Please do continue though to send your comments through, and I will enjoy reading them on my return.

2 August 2007

It’s great to see the sun shining again as the ships come in - it’s a very pleasant sight from my window.

Well I thought I’d start with a bit of nostalgia – courtesy of the Department of Transport.  They have kindly lent us these photographs from their exhibition at the Sea Terminal of retro transport.

Does anyone recognise this restaurant?  Yes – it’s the old Crows Nest restaurant at the Sea Terminal taken in the mid 1970’s.  If anyone spots themselves let me know!

Can anyone name this vessel?  It’s good to see photographs of our old vessels – if anyone has any similar pictures from this time please email them to me for our archives.

I’ve had a lot of comments about our website which our IT team are currently reviewing.  A few people have said they’re having problems booking – including Tony. We have the facility to review individual bookings in detail so if you let us know the detailed time and date of booking we can check this out.

To Alex and his question about extending the Irish service.  We will be looking at the Irish sailings depending on how things go this year. Demand for Irish sailings is tiny compared to that for UK sailings, but we have taken the opportunity this year to try and grow this market with a dedicated vessel and more customer friendly timings. We have said previously that it is a case of ‘use it or lose it’, so we do hope that numbers at the end of the season are good.
 
We do have the 'Freedom to Flourish' logo on the ships already which refers to the Isle of Man, but I will discuss the 'IoM' notation further with my colleagues - the consensus view formerly is that it was too unwieldy, but who knows….
 
I have already begun to look at ship logos and colour schemes and think in at least one case you must have been reading my mind. I am keen to preserve our company heritage but in a meaningful way. Hence the return of the Ben-my-Chree funnel to a more traditional scheme recently - I would like to see a more 'retro' theme continued on the fleet. Watch this space for news on this – and news of other changes coming up!
 
Bye for now

Mark

July 2007

27 July 2007

I thought I’d say hello and keep you up to date with what’s been happening this week.

To Carolyn who asked about returning to the 07:00 Superseacat departure to Liverpool rather than the 07:30.  We did detailed market research about preferences, and as a result changed the time to 07:30. The majority of those asked felt that the 07:00 was too early.  I agree that arriving in Liverpool at 10:00 is not quite as convenient for some business travellers and day trippers but it was the consensus view that 07:30 was the better time.

To answer your question about the new check in system at Liverpool.  It seems to be working well and is only for foot passengers.  We do hope that real progress can be made with our Liverpool facilities in the near future, and I will be asking those responsible to ensure that our customer service delivery is both courteous and consistent.

To Marie who said she was asked to park her car on the outside deck of the Ben-my-Chree. It is standard practice to avoid the open deck area when possible but there are a variety of reasons, not always apparent to the customer, why we must use this area of the ship.

As mentioned on the radio and in the papers this week we are having a Whitehaven /Douglas, Douglas/Whitehaven day trip on 8 August.    We’re getting a lot of bookings for this now – but there are still some places left.  We also have a coach trip deal to the Lake District for only £35 on the same day – that includes both the ferry and coach fare! I hope lots of people come along on the day – as it was largely done following requests on the blog.

Finally, I would like to extend my sympathy to the wife and family of Cecil Mitchell of Ballasalla who died this Tuesday – 10 days after celebrating his 102nd birthday.

He was a friend of the company and completed 4,675 single sailings on our vessels.   

Cecil was a very popular member of the community, and a regular on our sailings. Our condolences and sympathy go out to his family at this time.

I hope you all have a good weekend – I’ll post again next week.

Mark

23 July 2007

Hello again – I’m settled in my new office now so thought I’d update the blog.  It’s nice to have a clear desk to write on again – and not to be tripping up on box files!

I was browsing one of the shipping related forums at the weekend and picked up some comments about a lack of landbridge fares with the Steam Packet. I am pleased to say that we have an excellent arrangement with Norfolk Line, on the Dover to Dunkerque route, bookable through Steam Packet Holidays. Fares start from £199 return for a Car plus two passengers,from the Island to Dunkerque. We are also looking at expanding this to routes on the Western Channel.

That’s it for now – keep them coming and I will post again soon.

Mark

18 July 2007

Thanks a lot for all your postings – I’m moving into my new office so am writing this in between unpacking boxes!

I’m really glad you’re enjoying the blog – we’re planning to make some changes to it in the next few weeks to make it more interactive so keep sending your comments.

To Andrew – I hope you don’t mind me calling you that!  We’re not offering the usual lower daytrip fare as it is the end of Manx Grand Prix week.  We do have some day trips available throughout other times of the year though so we’re not ruling them out completely.

To the gentleman who said our windows needing cleaning in First Class.  They are apparently ‘bespattered’ with paint droplets – I like the word!   I’ve looked into that and our staff are on the case.   Hopefully by the time you travel again you will see a marked difference.

To the gentleman who commented about the improvements at Heysham.  I was glad to read you think Heysham looks better without the rusting cattle shed – and be assured that the check in procedures are being looked at.  As mentioned previously communication at all the ports is being looked at – and we’ve now ordered illuminated displays which will be fitted as soon as possible.

Thanks to David from Scotland for his comments about our fares.  I quote him ‘The fares are reasonable and in particular taking a family there is a vast difference between air and sea fares.  The through boat/train tickets are also excellent value and again for families if they have a family railcard it is even better value’.  Thanks again David for your support – it’s good to hear.

We had a very successful ‘Round the Island’ cruise last Saturday which we had some good feedback about.  Would people like to see more of these?  We had a full boat and general comments show that people had a good time.

Following your requests for one we are also running two return trips to Whitehaven and Douglas on the 8 August – for interested parties please contact our reservation line on 01624 661661.

Well that’s it for now – please post again soon.  I may have finished unpacking my boxes by then!

Mark

13 July 2007

Thank you for all your postings – I’m getting lots of different questions now so keep them coming!

To the gentleman who spoke about changing a booking at the last minute to an earlier crossing but having to pay extra for this.  Airline companies serving the Island offer a range of fares and on peak flights higher tariffs apply just like with us.  I’d suggest that booking early will enable customers to obtain the best price to suit them.

I’ve had a posting from a gentleman who discussed the disabled cabins on the Ben-my-Chree.  His request was to change the design of the cabin to incorporate a private bathroom.  We won’t be able to do this on the Ben unfortunately but I do appreciate his comments about not having to share a facility and having more space for a wheelchair.   I will definitely consider this for any future vessels.

Thanks a lot to the gentleman who understood our fare structure – and the fact he understood why we set the prices as we do.  With regard to purchasing the fastcraft fleet picture in the passenger lounge in Liverpool – I’ll discuss that with my colleagues and get back to you!

The question of our PA system at Douglas was raised by one poster.  It is a concern currently as is the communication at all our ports.  This was highlighted during the TT period – and we are currently considering all our options.    Possible changes are being discussed at a senior level – and one of our options at Douglas is to introduce electronic signage.  I will keep you posted on any developments.

To the gentleman who said it is now cheaper to fly than travel on our vessels.  Around 80% of our passengers benefit from our range of special offers and my advice to him would be if you can’t get a particular sailing you want perhaps try another day to travel to achieve the best deal.

Welcome back to the Island to the gentleman who was asking about summer services!   We’ve seen a slow decline in demand for summer services to Ireland. This year, on a trial basis, we have dedicated the smaller fast craft to these services with a good timetable. We have also invested heavily in a marketing campaign to support this and would be delighted if this had the desired effect.

Well that’s it for now – please post again soon and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Mark

10 July 2007

I’ve had lots of postings over the last couple of days so here goes.

Thanks for all your comments regarding day trips.   When we scheduled these on a regular basis in the past very few people used the service from Liverpool – and we even struggled to recover our advertising costs.

We’d like to work in more trips to our timetable but customer demand doesn’t always justify it.   By offering them we have to compromise the timings for customers who prefer earlier timings.  We have had a number of day trips from Liverpool this year departing at 11:15am (arrive Douglas c 13:45) and departing Douglas four hours later at 17:45.  When we have the late return from Liverpool at 21:15hrs it is less popular than the 1900 services and so is difficult to justify. 

Thanks to the gentleman who likes the blog so far – and about his question regarding deck space on board.  The speed of fast craft means that the outside decks can be of limited use during passage so designers tend to maximise internal space for the increased comfort of passengers.

Hi to my old milkman!   Thanks for getting in touch and your comments about our Irish service.  We have scheduled additional trips to Ireland this year and introduced more customer friendly timings which are proving popular.  If demand dictates we will increase these in the future. 

Regarding conventional craft to Liverpool in winter months.  A number of our passengers have requested this preferring reliability over speed and fastcraft are less reliable in the winter months due to occasional adverse weather.   The Ben-my-Chree to Birkenhead in March did prove popular but unfortunately we have to service our regular freight demands and ensure we can provide an overnight Heysham service.  Therefore the Ben cannot leave Liverpool on Saturday evening and day trips would have to be via Heysham Express Coach Services.

To the gentleman who asked about fares being more at certain times of the year – like TT and MGP periods.  All transport operator pricing nowadays encourages additional trippage at off peak periods with lower fares.  Unfortunately it would be uneconomical to lower all the fares during these times.  In response to the bringing back the ‘6th sailing free’ offer this was in the days when standard fares applied and now we have attractive ‘Special Offers’ available throughout the year. 

I do read other blogs and forums and picked this comment up from one over the weekend.  We’re very happy to bring bikes over in vans – so maybe take a leaf out of his book!

He said, “A few of my mates asked me to book the MGP for them.  The IOMSP wanted £180 for bike and rider return that times 4 worked out at £720 a rip off but being a smart git I made a return booking on the same sailings for a van and four passengers for £380 bikes all fit in the van so that works out at £95 each.”

Thank you to the gentleman who suggested having numbered boarding cards – this will be taken up with our Liverpool Port Manager and considered for the future.

To the gentleman who is a hotelier on the Island.  Thanks for your comments and we will look at producing timetables that enable people to book further in advance.  We’ve been prevented from doing before as port berthing slots aren’t always available twelve months in advance. In addition as our fares are regulated by Government these are not all known far in advance.

That’s it for now.  I will post again in a couple of days.

Mark

6 July 2007

Many thanks for all your comments – they’re coming in thick and fast now.

In response to a posting about timings on the Liverpool route.  I appreciate your input but we’ve had to consider feedback from our inbound passengers from Liverpool and the 1900 hours from Liverpool is preferred to the 21:15pm.  We did complete market research to measure this and the majority wanted it this way.

To the gentleman asking about prices.  Our system quotes the cheapest fare available on individual sailings and special offers are widely available with the vast majority of passengers benefiting from these.  Clearly they can be restricted during busier periods but this is common practice throughout the travel industry worldwide.

In response to a request for the Ben-my-Chree hull to be painted in the traditional Steam Packet black – thanks for your suggestion and I will definitely consider it for future vessels.  Another comment asked about using traditional names for our vessels.  I’m sympathetic to this and would like to consider this for future plans.

I’ve had a few questions about Manx Grand Prix (MGP) prices.  Bookings for the MGP are very busy compared to the same time as last year - therefore some of the cheaper tickets have already been sold.  Overall the numbers of special offers available this year has actually increased compared to previously.

Some have said it is cheaper to travel to Ireland than the IOM.   If you compare our prices with a decade ago you will see they are much better value today.  Like for like comparisons with the shorter Holyhead to Dublin route indicate our fares are very competitive and many of our Special Offer fares are in fact cheaper.  Most of our passengers benefit from our special offer fares.   Maybe if you try alternative dates you’ll ensure getting the best deal.

Regarding car parking issues at the Sea Terminal – the DOT have their pay and display car park alongside Imperial Buildings which has 200 spaces.  This works out cheaper per day than the airport!

Morning departures are too early said one poster.  We currently have over twice as many sailings to England as a decade ago with daily departures usually at 07:30, 08:45, 15:00 and 19:45 which provides far greater choice.

That’s the main ones for now – keep posting and have a good weekend.

Mark

4 July 2007

I’ve had quite a few responses so far – you’ve been keeping me busy.

As said previously I can’t reply personally to everyone but will keep in touch as much as possible commenting on some of the main issues.

In response to comments about future vessels, we’ve been looking closely at suitable fast craft and we are actively pursuing options. We want to ensure that any replacement for existing vessels will offer even better ride comfort and on-board facilities.
 
I’ve also been asked about our winter service - the Liverpool winter service is of course a trade off between speed and reliability. Some of our customers prefer a slower speed with more weather reliability, while others prefer the high speed craft albeit they can be more affected by weather. We’re currently working towards how we might further improve the reliability of our winter Liverpool service. There are many issues to overcome first though.
 
In response to comments about glitches on our online booking system, we have urgently sought solutions to these and expect that things will be much improved in the near future.  I give you my assurance that they will be sorted out.
 
Thank you for posting to my blog and for your kind words. It’s proving popular so far with some interesting comments. If only a fraction of these lead to new initiatives it’s well worth doing!

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