Anyone been on the new Blue Star 1 From Rosyth - Zeebrugge, we are sailing on it on the 7th June on our way to the Italian Lakes and was wondering what it was like onboard, more especially boarding with a twin axle van , any slopes to negotiate when boarding ?.
Jamsie
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Was on it last week, never saw a caravan boarding at Rosyth so possibly put them on before the cars? but you will be fine. I was on my own and only had an aircraft seat going out and a cabin on the return leg. Prices on board are ok pint = £2.20 breakfast was £9. Take a good book, dont keep looking at the time, have a couple of drinks then get a good nights kip.
Thanks for your reply, we have a cabin booked and all our meals etc. Once you have arrived in Zeebrugge are all the major roads to the South clearly marked and are they busy, as it will be around lunch time when we dock.
The photographs of the ship look really nice and was just wondering what it was like on board and, if there was much difference from the last one.
The ship is spotless, 2 restaurants, 2 bars a cinema and a very small casino.
The roads are fine once out of the docks there is one long dual carriageway out of town leading toward all the major routes. Just take your time and get your bearings, all the traffic off the ship will be heading the same way for a few miles, all the routes are well sign posted.
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Thanks for the information, I have a pretty clear idea of which route I need to take so as usual will trust the Sat Nav. The ship sounds good so it's straight to the bar once on board then. Might try them both and alternate bars between drinks to pass the time.
Thanks for the info guys, we'll be travelling over on her on the 23rd June sailing on the way to France. Looking forward to see how the new ship compares to Superfast X (which was superb).
As night shift says, getting out of Zeebrugge is easy, just follow the traffic out of the docks and signs for Bruges which has a good bypass and easy access to the motorway network. The motorways in Belgium can be a bit rough though, they don't seem to have the best surfaces !
The only thing to watch out for is getting through the passport control which can take a while. We have been the last two summers and with typical Belgian efficiency there is usually just one person looking at the passports ! If the ship is busy you could be waiting for a while
I have spoken to a guy lately who has been on the new ship and he says it's fantastic, even better than the old one. We sail out on 7th June and we are really looking forward to the overnight sail then, our trip down to the Italian Lakes.
I must admit though, I was unaware of the condition of the motorways in Belgium, I have driven all over Europe and most of the roads are generally better than we have here but surprisingly, I have never driven in Belguim.
As for passport control then lets hope they have more than 1 on duty.
Jamsie
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Passport control was fine, just a couple of coppers, I always have my passport open at the photo page and usually just get waved through. Thinking back there was road works taking place about ten miles from the docks with some contra flow, thing is I dont remember seeing them when I was going outwards? (wondering if I came back the same way I went). Driving on Belgium roads is like driving on silk compared to our lovely M8!!!. BTW the breakfast on the ferry is worth the trip alone, I have never seen such a piece of blackpudding the "size of a lorry wheel" (ahhh blackpudding) will be back in an hour just nipping to rosyth to get some messages lol.
By the time you have got back from Rosyth(with your black pudding, of course) you can read my reply.
I have made a couple of calls to my colleagues in France and Holland who drive on these roads quite regular and they say that they are generally very good compared to our motorways so I have nothing to be concerned about especially with the caravan on the back.
I am looking forward to the breakfast already and like yourself am a great fan of Black Pudding, can't wait now, but, what an expensive breakfast though !!.
It is expensive but it is help yourself and boy oh boy I did. I was fishing in France for 10 nights and never really ate much in those days so to say I got my £'s worth is an understatement. Most people started with fruit, slices of cheese, juice etc whilst I made a leaning tower of Pizza (spelling) out of blackpudding with an egg on top followed by another truckers breakfast. Not to be rude I did take an apple for desert!!
One thing when you have finished your breakfast take a tea or coffee with you as you have to buy it in the other areas of the ship. oh and a couple of apples and of course some blackpudding wrapped in a napkin. Not bad for £9.90
I met a lovely Dutch family whilst in France and they showed me some photo's of the Italian lakes...my god it looks like heaven. How long will it take you to get there??
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First of all I love the way you described your "leaning tower" of Pisa breakfast - brilliant !.
I reckon it will take us about 10 - 12 hours to get there, I have put in lots of routes through various search engines and they all come back with the same roads/motorways and, going on there calculations and, towing a caravan, it will be around 10 hours driving time but, this excludes breaks, fuel stops, etc.
We are not going to do it in the one stint but are planning to pull in somewhere around 7pm overnight, then get an early start the next day through Switzerland via the St. Gothard tunnel and hopefully arrive at our destination(Lake Maggiore) around mid-day, that's plan "A", not thought about plan "B" yet.
Finish work at lunch time today and then off to the "Gart" at Callander for a long weekend.
We have just returned from our holiday in Italy with the caravan via the Blue Star 1 and believe me, you will love it. Totally relaxing, nice cabins and excellent food on board, it also has more lounge space than the Superfast X, enjoy your trip.
night shift,
Thanks for all you help and information it was spot on, also, you were right, the black pudding was excellent but the haggis was even better.
We are now looking at going to Croatia with the van next year as we bumped into a lot of people who have been and they loved it.
Glad you enjoyed your trip mate was over the bridge midweek and watched the ferry docking, happy days!! Going back out in 5 weeks taking the hull overnighter with the wife and kids, why do we wish our lifes away?
I made the return trip on Blue Star 1 at the end of May. As others have said it was of a high standard and certainly comparable to the previous Superfast ships. However, I was less impressed with the buffet meal this time which I didn't think offered enough choice or quality. Like many seasoned ferry buffet connoisseurs I have tried most and still find P&O North Sea hard to beat. Apart from that my only other gripe was with the aircraft seat I booked (as I was just popping to France and back in a non-stop drop off of my daughters I didn't bother with cabin on way back).
I expected it to be uncomfortable which it was but I was really disappointed to find that the seating area was not enclosed but semi open to a main passage way between one of the bars and the childrens' play area. It was immediately next to a lounge seating area. There were TVs on showing what appeared to be German TV with Dutch sub-titles while the PA system played continuous techno music as children ran up and down between the eats pestering parents.GET A CABIN!
In addition there are no shower facilities for aircraft seat travellers.
In the end I slept fitfully on a lounge bench and got up at the crack of dawn and managed to have a good wash and get changed in the nearby gents toilet. Not ideal but it did the trick.
This meant I was ready for a coffee and a croissant by the window as we sailed in past the Bass Rock followed by a quick switch to Starboard for the cruise past the Fife towns and Inchcombe before the spectacular under the bridges final leg.
That is worth the fare in itself to be honest.
We are off Hull Zeebrugge 7th July and back Isjmuijden Newcastle 24th. Much much cheaper than Superfast so no contest for us this year I am afraid despite the spitting distance to Rosyth from here.
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Topic: Rosyth - Zeebrugge Blue Star 1
