First trip on the new WB Yates. Dreadful experien...

First trip on the new WB Yates. Dreadful experience, wrote to Irish Ferries as below:

As a frequent traveller with Irish Ferries and a former regular passenger on Oscar Wilde, I thought you may be interested in my experience of my first trip on WB Yates.

On embarkation neither key to our cabin worked and I was summarily sent to information, where on the way I was abruptly required to show my boarding card again to an orange vest, where I was eventually provided with 2 more keys neither of which also worked. You have countless staff standing around in passageways none of whom were prepared to help. I was simply told to go back again to reception which I was unhappy to do as the first experience there was so unpleasant. Finally, the restaurant manager, whom I knew from the Oscar Wilde found someone with a pass key on his wrist who eventually opened the cabin. Sometime later he returned with one key saying they had run out so we could not have a second key for the entire voyage which was not convenient.

Your marketing blurb refers to many bars; I could only find one which was really quite small compared to those on Oscar Wilde and drafty and smokey as it opens directly onto the smoking deck.

Our worst experience was breakfast in the Lady Gregory restaurant. This is badly positioned, stuck on the end of the large self service canteen. It is also used as a passageway for all and sundry to wander right by our table to return to their cabins or whatever often with noisy children. The service there is bizarre; a man wanders about with a tray of croissants when you have hardly sat down, no longer can you choose your cereal, another man brings a tray of a few boxes; the hot milk requested was luke warm (and coffee so bad we used our own tea). The poached eggs had to be returned as they were uncooked and came back with one rock hard and the other also uncooked. I am always wary when waiters bring plates that are dangerously hot and warn us to be careful. This is because the food is not freshly made, just warmed up from before and in this case the bacon was dry and chewy. The price has been hiked up from about 15 (on the OW) to 20 euros per head and frankly a breakfast costing that is much the same as it would cost in a top London hotel and yet it was of very low quality. You even wanted to charge extra for some bottled water. The cheap and nasty little sachets of jam for example should be upgraded. I travelled on a morning ferry with Brittany Ferries just two weeks ago and their breakfast in the proper restaurant is much better; freshly made with nice mini jars of preserves etc and it cost about half your price!

I noted that you have hiked up the price for dinner too. I had a couple of dinners in the past on the Oscar Wilde, one was very good- the other not so with an aggressive waiter spoiling it, but I wouldn't be forking out 40 odd euros a head plus wine to see whether there is any improvement.

Travelling to Dublin is less convenient for me than Rosslare which with the on board experience made the overall journey wearying.

On the plus side the WB Yates is quieter, the cabin more comfortable, car deck is more airy and better lit.

Yours faithfully.

Standard brush off reply.