Resembling a dart, her white washed superstructure, raked bow and massive winged funnel certainly draws attention to herself against the beautiful rolling hills behind Loch Ryan - in a good way!
Cairnryan Terminal, Scotland
Having written a comprehensive blog on Superfast V (now Cap Finistere) and Superfast X, now A Nepita, I thought I would write a blog on my voyage aboard Superfast V11, now Stena Superfast V11, which operates from Belfast to Cairnryan; a short journey which I wished was longer as the ship was great!
Stena Superfast V11 is an almost identical ship externally to Superfast X.
By reading this blog you will be able to directly compare the two sister ships.
Lets get cracking.
Grab a cuppa, sit back, relax and enjoy as I take you aboard Stena Superfast V11 from Belfast to Cairnryan.
The Stena terminal in Belfast is excellent; large, spacious and modern with a lovely café on the upper most level giving great views of the port and a welcoming reception on the ground floor.
The foot passenger gangway connects to the starboard side of Deck 7.
Having had a mammoth lengthy walk from the terminal through the covered walkway to the ship (allow plenty of time for the hike!), upon boarding you are immediately struck by warmth; the greeting by the crew, the ambient temperature aboard and cleanliness - she was obviously loved by those who worked aboard.
The lengthy foot passenger walkway at Belfast from the terminal to the ship........
Welcome aboard - finally!
I couldn't help but immediately start comparing her to the Superfast X - my instant reaction to seeing the interior of Stena Superfast V11 was WOW!
As with her sister ship, facilities aboard Stena Superfast V11 were on Decks 7 and 8 with a spa up on Deck 10 (Deck 9 was for crew).
Studying the deck plans prior to boarding it appeared the decks were cluttered and 'bitty' with too much crammed into what appeared to be a small space. However, this proved unfounded and navigation around Stena Superfast V11 was easy.
Stena Superfast V11
Lets start at the front of Deck 7 and work our way aft.
The spacious Met Lounge/bar dominates this portion of the ship. Large windows on three sides encapsulates the good quality, comfortable seating which consists of sofas, bar stools and tub chairs.
Those seats in the centre of the lounge are raised slightly higher allowing commanding views across this large space and out through the windows beyond.
Being fully carpeted and with its quality furnishings it is entirely possible to sit down and not want to move! A lovely place to relax.
Walking slightly aft, a large gaming arcade can be found within the starboard side corridor, separated by a floor to ceiling wall decorated on the outside with a plan of our route across the Irish Sea and details of the ship. In the port side corridor there is the main ship reception.
Baring in mind the foot passenger walkway is on the starboard side it not unreasonable for Stena to consider swapping the arcade with the information desk so embarking passengers enter the ship next to the information desk.
It should be noted that like Superfast X the information desk on Superfast V11 occupies the same area aboard.
I need to say at this point that opposite the main reception there is a toilet block housing TV screens above the hand wash basins. Definitely encourages people to wash their hands for longer as they watch TV! Brilliant!
The surprisingly large shop is situated on Deck 7 behind the bar and occupies the same area as the one aboard sister ship Stena Superfast X. It's floor to ceiling glass windows, good lighting and reflective surfaces makes it look even larger. The shop has a good range of products and is open throughout the voyage.
Adjacent to the shop is a large lounge.
We now arrive at the embarkation hall for foot passengers boarding in both Belfast and Cairnryan.
The hard flooring is laid port/starboard to give the impression of depth when boarding.
'Taste' Restaurant dominates the amid ship section of this deck.
A wide hard flooring aisle directs you to the highly open plan counter at the aft end where hot meals are cooked to order and brought to your table by a crew member. Unlimited hot drinks come as standard.
The seating area is truly vast and is decorated in greens and reds with mirrored ceiling supports, polished chair basis and good lighting to create the impression of space.
The Hygge Lounge occupies an area behind the Taste Restaurant on the starboard side (this area is a Quiet Lounge aboard Stena Superfast X). The lounge is spacious and has numerous large forward facing reclining seats and individual reading lights.
Lets go up to Deck 8 using the stairs at the forward end of Deck 7 by the foot passenger embarkation door.....
The very large and equally well patronised Stena Plus Lounge has the prime position at the front of Deck 8 with unrivalled views over the bow.
A range of seat types, complimentary drinks and snacks plus reading material such as daily papers and magazines are available to those guests who pay a supplement to go in here.
Though a very nice area to be in, the rest of the ship is decorated to an equally high standard so one should be wary about paying the (relatively high) cost to gain entry - the crossing is so short. On my crossing the Stena Plus Lounge was actually busier than the 'public' lounges in the rest of the ship therefore, I couldn't get any photos without people in the way!
It should be noted that the same area aboard her sister ship, Superfast X was a shopping centre.
Walking aft we come to the News Room, Magazine Lounge and Living Room, the later I had never seen aboard a Stena ferry previously. Complete with its own Barrister Coffee Bar, this dominant facility is a real gem; watching live BBC News on a big screen, reading a daily paper over a fresh coffee; very civilised indeed.
There is a quiet calmness within this area with persons curled up in one of the many oversized chairs catching up with the days events.
Note, most of the windows in here are the original cabin windows from when she operated for another company, though a couple have been enlarged as depicted in the picture below.
Walking aft, the interactive zone really had a wow factor with its gaming machines, photo booth, free cinema showing a feature film, touch screen air hockey, free internet at sea computers and even a projection of a fish tank on the floor!
Commercial drivers are very well catered for with their very own area.
Accessed via the port side, there is a dining room along the port side and a darkened reclining seat lounge. to starboard accessed internally via a private corridor just for commercial drivers.
Both sections are divided from the adjacent public corridors by a half height wall so they can lack privacy from people like me who peer over the top to see what's inside.
Within the Commercial Drivers area there is a flight of stairs, just like that aboard sister ship Superfast X. Just like that ship, access from here to Deck 9 and above is not possible therefore, if you wish to go to Deck 10 you need to use the stairs at the other end of the ship.
Lets head on up to Deck 10 - an area I desperately wanted to investigate aboard Stena Superfast X if you recall.....
Deck 10 accessed by the forward stairs.
Aboard Stena Superfast V11 the little oasis which is the Nordic Pure Spa comes complete with a Jacuzzi with sky dome overhead, beauty treatments and, by all accounts, luxurious bedroom suits. Baring in mind the crossing is only two and a half hours long, this level of comfort and luxury maybe somewhat wasted, albeit highly impressive!!
Stena Superfast V11 is a highly impressive vessel. Firstly her speed - her previous journey being advertised as being 90min late arriving into Cairnryan, though only 15min late arriving back into Belfast where I boarded her and subsequently departed back to Cairnryan on time.
Décor and facility wise she is smart, modern, comfortable and a real pleasure to travel on.
She has a large amount of exterior deck space including some wooden decked areas on the upper most decks.
On a negative, her motion in the calmest of seas is bizarre and it takes a while to get ones 'sea legs' - and believe me if you have read my Storm Chasing blog you know I like high seas! It was evident that having such large public spaces, the lack of handrails could be an issue in poor weather, particularly on the north Irish Sea.
Also, an outside bar on one of the extensive exterior decks would be great, especially to watch the passing vistas of Loch Ryan and the Irish coastline
But I don't want to end on a negative. If you get the opportunity, definitely try and get aboard Stena Superfast V11 if you get the chance. She is great and you will be warmly welcomed. Even if you are in Northern Ireland or Scotland for just a couple of days, nip across the Irish Sea for a day trip - it is such a quick journey.
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