Ferry Time blog

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North Sea Routes : Car Ferry Crossings from only £99 each way

If you are within half a day’s drive of Hull and you are quick you could enjoy a short break in either Belgium or Holland for less than £100 each way. There’s a six day summer sale starting today, June 5th 2009.

Twenty Thousand tickets have been put into the sale at a price of only £99 each way, that’s for sailing on
the following North Sea Ferry routes:

• Hull to Rotterdam
• Rotterdam to Hull
• Hull to Zeebrugge
• Zeebrugge to Hull

With night sailings on P&O luxury cruise ferries you can enjoy great
onboard entertainment, delicious food and relax in your own
comfortable ensuite cabin.

When you arrive in Belgium or Holland, you’ll be refreshed and ready
to go and the excellent autoroute motorway connections in Belgium, Holland and
into France mean you’ll be spoilt for choice on where to spend your
short break.

You’ll have to be quick though, tickets are limited and the best fares
will go quickly. Book by 10pm on Wednesday 10th June and travel before
31st December 2009.

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The first voyage of the new ferry service linking Scotland to mainland Europe has just been completed.

The Scottish Viking, which will sail between Rosyth in Fife and Zeebrugge in Belgium three times a week, finished its maiden voyage and passengers were welcomed off the ship by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond as it arrived into the Scottish port.

He said: “I’m delighted to welcome the Scottish Viking and its first homecoming passengers to Scotland… Maintaining connections with major European markets is vital for Scotland at a time of global economic challenges.

“But not only will the Scottish Viking allow access to important commercial contacts, it will be a boost for the local economy in Fife, and an environmentally friendly route home for Scotland’s friends, family and visitors.”

The ferry, run by Norfolkline, took over the route after it was discontinued by Superfast Ferries in September last year. Its departure from Zeebrugge however was delayed by several hours on Monday when the captain suffered a non-fatal heart attack and a replacement had to be found.

The Scottish Viking was built in an Italian shipyard and registered in Italy, and is therefore required to have an Italian captain on board. However, the ferry service will receive €2 million (£1.8 million) from the Scottish Government through a Waterborne Freight Grant.

As part of his welcome, the First Minister gave each passenger on the Scottish Viking’s maiden journey a special ticket offer for The Gathering, an international clan gathering due to take place in Edinburgh in July.

The Gathering is part of Scotland’s Homecoming Year celebrations, a series of events and festivities taking place throughout 2009 that are designed to put people from across the world back in touch with their Scottish roots.