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Post by Mac Write on Apr 20, 2005 0:23:21 GMT -8
The Spirit ships suck for size, decks, services, car decks, etc compared to the 1200 car Ulysses. Check out this 12 deck 7 car deck 4 truck deck ferry that takes on 120km winds with ease and 10 foot swells www.irishferries.com/360tour/ulysses/fulltour.shtmlNow the Spirits the best we have would croke under those conditions if not scream for their lives as they sink to their deaths. Anyone been on that ship (or watch the Discovery Channel "Super Ships" documentary on this ship that could crush all of B.C. Ferries ships and no one would notice? |
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Post by Balfour on Apr 20, 2005 6:47:27 GMT -8
I posted something about this in the non-bcf section, and I have seen the super ships on the disovery chanel.
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Post by NMcKay on Apr 20, 2005 7:03:05 GMT -8
yeah. we had a debate about weather or not she had 2 or 3 bow thrusters
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Post by cascade on Apr 20, 2005 7:43:28 GMT -8
One of the things that I have mentioned in the past and that is the finished product of European ferries.
I was the biggest champion of BC Ferries outside of BC, as the European Ferries were crap - then something happen. The Europeans got there act together - and the pictures you see of the Irish Ferry is standard now - with the interior fit outs & services on offer to the customer.
At christmas time 2004 - I had a group of friends over in BC - going skiing - then onto BCF - across to the island. There comments about the state of our ferries - well they would not be allowed on this family site for starters. I was totaly embarrassed - as I had been pushing and pumping up the great value / service that BCFS does. If you don't travel outside of BC and use other ferry services - then you will never know. Some of the younger / students - should travel to Europe - and if your interested in Ferries - then ride a few different ones and see the difference. It will be a real eye opener
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Doug
Voyager 
Lurking within...the car deck.
Posts: 2,213
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Post by Doug on Apr 20, 2005 19:27:20 GMT -8
Ya, I've seen a lot of interior photos of the European ferries. It gets me, because the exterior is often horribly ugly looking while the inside is brand-new. It's like every one goes for a major refit every five years. But how many European routes are the same crossing time as those to Vancouver Island? One - Calais-Dover (maybe not even). They have to be nicer to get competition, otherwise people will go the much faster air way.
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Post by clay on Apr 20, 2005 20:17:19 GMT -8
The Spirits suck? This Mac Write idiot should have his head examined for choosing such a moronic thing to discuss, and should also attend a writing workshop or two, as his spelling and sentence structure is that of a chimpanzee with dementia. So our Spirit ships suck because they are smaller than the Ulysses, is that what you think? What a juvenile, simplistic way of thinking. I think all of us who are proud of the ships of BCF would prefer it if you would find alternative means of transportation between the Lower Mainland and the Islands, and maybe you, with all of your apparent marine and shipbuilding knowledge, should submit your own ferry designs to the proper people at BCF. Yeah, right. ;D
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Post by Mac Write on Apr 20, 2005 20:37:30 GMT -8
I love ferries. Compared to Europe, our best ships the Spirits are 2-3 star ferries compared to their 5 star ferries. Now if each ferry had to compete against other ships on the route, things would be allot different. Services would drastically improve and the crew would bend over backwords to keep you as a customer.
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Apr 20, 2005 20:40:11 GMT -8
Yeah, I would love to go to Europe and ride some of the ferries, anyone else want to go??? Maybe we can have a big ferry group, tour trip, to Europe to see some of the European Ferries, Cascade can be the tour guide! ;D
Of course if we all could afford to go!
As far as Mac Write and saying the Spirit ships suck. They dont at all. How long is that ferries crossing time is like 3 hours 15 mins which explains probably why they have alot of amenities. Maybe it's a busier route and needs a ferry that can carry 1342 cars. That is even more than the two Spirit ships combined can carry 940 between the two. But I love our Spirit ships, there awesome, and without them now route 1 would be a disaster!
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Post by Balfour on Apr 20, 2005 20:48:30 GMT -8
I'd have to agree with Karl on that.
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Post by Mac Write on Apr 20, 2005 21:37:47 GMT -8
I love the Spirits, the point I was making compared to Europe our ferries suck. Now compared to WSF our ferries are top of the line  |
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Post by BrianWilliams on Apr 21, 2005 0:10:56 GMT -8
There is little point in building ice-resistance, let alone ice-breaking capability in BC coastal ferries' hulls.
And there is no point in lading our trans-Georgia boats with discos, casinos and staterooms. It's a 100-minute crossing on an inland sea, f'r goodness' sake.
The European ferries, some of them, make 20-hour voyages in the most dangerous waters, in all seasons.
BC Ferries paddle in a duck pond by comparison. We should be grateful for our pleasant geography.
Not just Europe: Some years ago, I sailed on the MV Corumuel from Topolobampo (La Paz) to Mazatlan. It was a 22-hour crossing of the Sea of Cortez. One hour out of Topolobampo, we began to roll on the big Pacific swells, and the roll, pitch and yaw of this big German-built ship kept up 'til we got behind the breakwater at Mazatlan.
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Post by cascade on Apr 21, 2005 6:19:02 GMT -8
In Europe - per say - there are long crossing and short crossing. Some are of the same lenght and time as on the Coast. Some are in pretty bad waters - but some like in the Med - are in "milk pond" type of waters. Non -tidal movement.
The inside of the vessel - changes to it - came about 10 years ago - with the arrival of the LCC market - Low Cost Airlines - plus the Channel Tunnel. People had a choice on travel. They also ended the "duty free" - no tax on drink ect..The ferry companies used the duty free cash flow to keep the ticket prices down - as there is no Government sub's here in Europe. (Yes I know about the local councils who sub airlines on landing fees - to get them to fly to there airports)
So to get people back on the Ferries - things had to change - they improved the interior - brough in a lot better and cheaper food - better seats and WiFi / moblie phone links - while travelling.
A long comes Speed Ferries and he wants to do the "Yeild Management" type of ticket - you book on the internet - and your car is average price of £50 for the crossing. The other ferry companies were charging up to £260 per car. Last year - 2004 - in a 90 day period from starting up - he had 66,000 cars at £50 average fare - not bad. The other companies are really pissed off - and lossing market share. It took him 3 years to get his company up and running - started in May 2004 - from Dover.
I wonder is this the way ahead on pricing ? Book well inadvance and get a cheaper fare ? I am aware of the rip off booking fee of $15 that BCFS charge - they made a lot on that fee alone...
I also wonder if any of the BCF management has had a look at the turn around some of these European ferry companies have done - hence maybe they will make the food better and cheaper.
That was one of the biggest problems I had last Xmas time in BC - the Ferry food was pure crap - we never finished anything we order - it was so bad. Also we were about the only people there - while the vessel - car wise was about 85% full - so I guess that tell's it's own story.
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Post by cascade on Apr 21, 2005 6:25:54 GMT -8
Karl - "European Ferry Tour 2006" your on - no problem - group booking on Karl's plane - cheap rate to Europe.
Do the younger members know that - if your under 26 you can get a work visa for 2 years to come and live & work in the UK.
London is very expensive compared to BC - but the rest of europe is OK. I think the average wage in London for say low skill job is around £8.50 per hour. You should aim for £25,000 per year - which is very do-able. Females have a lot better chance of job's than guys.
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Post by NMcKay on Apr 21, 2005 6:27:59 GMT -8
yeah. but any certifications you have over hear. would have to be re-aquired when you move over there.
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Post by cascade on Apr 21, 2005 6:36:12 GMT -8
No your wrong Harbourlynx - in fact London and the UK is full of people from New Zealand, South Africa and Australian and Canadian's - Why because all of these countries - have the same education systems. In canada there is a much better / rounded system. Here they only do 3 subjects for there A level's which is like are Grade 12 - they only do 3 years for BA degree.
Anything you have in BC - is very easy to transfer to the UK system - even your BC Drivers License - carries more weight than the America Driving license - they have to re-apply and do a driving test - you won't.
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Apr 21, 2005 13:49:59 GMT -8
Yeah well we could all go on my plane if I had my own 747. Are plane would never be able to make it to Europe as it's a small plane and fuel only lasts 4 hours. Would never make it across the ocean. I dont know about working in Europe. I would just like to go and see it, and some of the ferry systems there. Most people who visit, how long do they stay, two weeks or more?
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Post by NMcKay on Apr 21, 2005 15:44:03 GMT -8
cheat. dont go to england. take the long route, go north to Greenland. short ho to iceland, then go to Norwayy. then onto England
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Post by cascade on Apr 22, 2005 8:10:12 GMT -8
Karl - if your a student - most come over for the summer months and work in the Pub's & cafe ect... in the winter time they head for the Alps and teach skiing - so Stronger Skier has a job.
Another thing - if you know anything about boats - then you could get a summer job on one of the floating Gin Palace in the Med - (I did that to pay for school - worked a summer - no visa is needed) If anyone is interested I can give the names of crew agency people - a VERY good friend owns one in France - he is english.
Most come over with Grade 12 and a few microsoft cert in WP - systems work ect - they are the ones that get the money. A systems person here can get anythuing from £25,000 to £50,000 with very limited experience - as the Microsoft cert carries a lot of weight.
In general terms - for a hoilday they come for about 3 weeks - do England then Europe. If they come to work - then it is for two years - and they base themselfs in London. We did have a "BC House" but the NDP closed it down - they would help you with finding job's. A close friend has a agency for New zealanders - he scotish - there are a number of agency for canadians also.
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Post by Balfour on Apr 22, 2005 14:20:19 GMT -8
Karl - if your a student - most come over for the summer months and work in the Pub's & cafe ect... in the winter time they head for the Alps and teach skiing - so Stronger Skier has a job. I need my CSIA 3 to get a job as a ski instructor in another country outside of Canada. |
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Post by NMcKay on Apr 22, 2005 15:27:04 GMT -8
i need my A+ and My MSCE before i go looking for jobs.
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Doug
Voyager
Lurking within...the car deck.
Posts: 2,213
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Post by Doug on Apr 22, 2005 20:49:01 GMT -8
The maximum crossing time to Vancouver Island is two hours while Irish Sea crossings can probably take up to twice as long. And if you consider flat screen TVs with internet on an hour and a half ferry cheap, Clay is right, LOL, you do have the brain of a chimp.  |
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Post by nolonger on Apr 22, 2005 21:02:58 GMT -8
While I agree in principal that the original thread post is really comparing apples and oranges, there is no need to get nasty here. This is no place for name calling. Come on Clay and Doug, lighten up.
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Post by NMcKay on Apr 22, 2005 21:54:26 GMT -8
yeah. we tends to get some pretty good deals. Per hour. if you compare Irish Ferries to BCF.
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Post by Curtis on Apr 23, 2005 12:12:46 GMT -8
Probably with the traffic they get over there if bCF ran it we would have the Sprits and a C-Class on one route and the 4 other C-Class on another and all 4 V-Class on the other
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Post by NMcKay on Apr 23, 2005 13:34:39 GMT -8
the Harbourlynx run runs at exactly the same rate per hour as the ferries on the east coast. per hour.
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