Interior comparison between 3 remaining V-Class

[Ferryman]

Seeming that it won't be long until we have a standardized fleet, with all of the same characteristics, we must take advantage of being able to "note the differences". Like the title says, this will be a comparison between the 3 V-Class.

I've done my best to try and take photos of things in the exact same areas of the ships, to compare and contrast the differences. This was actually quite fun to do. This is still a work in progress, and I will continue to update this thread as time goes on. I know I haven't covered all of the spots, so feel free to contribute!!

Alright, we start off with the Forward Lounge:

Vancouver:




Saanich:





Esquimalt:





The Arcade is in this lounge on the Vancouver and Esquimalt. But on the Saanich, this lounge is a Mens Washroom

Vancouver/Esquimalt



Saanich



Next off, we got to the Mid Ship Lounge. This would be part of the section of the ship that was added on during the 70s.

Saanich: This is a hard lounge to get a photo of, with the Gift Shop taking up most of the space in this lounge.






Vancouver




Esquimalt




We now move to the Mid ship aft lounge. (Photos of this area on Saanich are lacking right now. So if anyone has any, please post them!)

Vancouver:



Esquimalt:



Saanich: Basically the major difference between the other two, was the fact that the Chief Stewards office is right in place of the Gift Shop.

Now I'd continue on to the Cafeteria, but we need some photos of the Vancouver and Saanichs cafeteria in order to compare.

So instead, we walk up the stairs to the lounge directly above the Cafeteria. This is the upper aft lounge, or Ex Buffet/Restaurant.

Vancouver




Esquimalt






Saanich







Now we walk outside to look at the outer deck, looking forward, while we walk to the Upper Mid ship lounge, ex Solariums.

Esquimalt



Vancouver



Saanich



But of course on the Saanich, the upper aft lounge and the upper mid lounge are connected by a side lounge which was once crew areas, and is a long hallway of computer stations.



Here's the ex solarium lounge.

Saanich: She has the Kids play area enclosed in this lounge, with the arcade in a seperate enclosed lounge right beside it.





Esquimalt




Vancouver




So we walk down the aisle dividing the chairs and through the doors, to proceed down the hallway past the Staterooms to the Bridge

Vancouver




Esquimalt



Saanich



Now we'll compare Bridge wing photos.

Saanich




Vancouver




Esquimalt





That's all for now! Like I said, please let me know if you have anything to contribute to compare all three ships. I have photos of some of the lounges that I didn't show on here on some of the ships, so we can try try and match angles if you have anything.

[Canucks]

Great comparisons Chris! I did not realize how different the three boats could be. Is there any particular reason why the Saanich is fancier ex. the curtains and ceiling panels? I look forward to any other contributions.

[Ferryman]

Jun 16, 2008 22:07:50 GMT -8 Canucks said:

Great comparisons Chris! I did not realize how different the three boats could be. Is there any particular reason why the Saanich is fancier ex. the curtains and ceiling panels? I look forward to any other contributions.

Well, here's my theory to the matter.

Once the Spirits came into service on Route 1, all of the V-Class would have then become "the old clunker boats". The travelling public would then try and avoid riding on those vessels, especially when they knew they could travel in comfort and space on the "Super V's". So I guess at that point, BC Ferries decided to try and upgrade the V-Class to look more comforting and welcoming. But I can only come to think that the Saanich was theo only one upgraded, because she's the number two boat out of Swartz Bay, which runs almost daily. Plus there probably wasn't enough money once the Pacifcat project was well underway to finish upgrading the remaining V's.

[Hardy]

Simple answer to that is that Saanich is used more often than either than Vancouver (or the ex-Esquimalt) was for 3rd boat duty on Rte-1. Seeing as she was used more often, she was better appointed and has more "creature comforts". Even now, when you check the CurCon, you will notice that the Swartz-based Saanich makes more runs than the Tsa-based Vancouver. They put their money into the most-used boat. This is also why the ex-Esquimalt ran Rte-3 as a spare, or was put on Rte-30 as a replacement vessel. When she was not available, usually the Vancouver got bumped over to Rte-30, while the better-appointed Saanich remained on Rte-1. The ex-Esquimalt was always the "goat" of the fleet, being shuttled around to whichever run needed an extra or replacement boat, and this was one of the contributing factors why she fell into a state of disrepair - it is argued that because she had no "steady" crew looking after her and was the "fill-in-Queen", that no one really bothered to take good care of her. This duty/designation of "fill-in-Queen" now befalls the Coquitlam as the V-class are phased out...

[Ian]

When was the last time the Buffet was used on the Saanich, Esquimalt or Vancouver. I was on the Vancouver two days ago sitting in that lounge and noticed the mirrored ceiling where the food counters used to be.

[Mirrlees]

The last time that I remember the buffet being used on the Saanich was for Sunday Dinner buffets back in 1997. This was only on the Saanich the ones on the Van and Esqie have'nt been used for donkey's years.

[Balfour]

I remember the Buffet on the Saanich last being used in July 2002 for brunch on a weekday on a 10AM sailing out of TSA.

[lmtengs]

When I sailed on the Saanich in '07 or '08, the old buffet counters and all were still in place and they were rattling like heck. The buffet lounge had about 6 or 7 people in it, and every other lounge on the ship was packed full. I suspect the rattle was the reason it was so empty.