#DublinSwift- Jonathan Swift, Irish Ferries fastferry returned fresh to the Dublin-Holyhead service this week, following annual drydocking maintenance in Birkenhead, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The central corridor route, which is a distance of 60 nautical miles (111 Kms) takes Jonathan Swift only 1 hour 49 minutes while running at up to 40 knots (80kph). So with each crossing, the Dublin Swift, (her marketing name), consumes 15 tonnes of marine diesel oil and in every year she clocks up an impressive total of 162,000 kms.

As previously reported, the Irish Ferrries fleet took in turn annual dry-docking at Cammel Laird, Birkenhead, where the Austal Auto-Express 86m built catamaran craft completed in Fremantle, western Australia, became the last vessel to receive work out of the company's other Irish Sea vessels, flagship Ulysses and cruiseferry Isle of Inishmore.

Now that Isle of Inishmore is back running Rosslare-Pembroke Dock sailings, previously covered by French routes cruiseferry, Oscar Wilde, which is currently undergoing overhaul in Birkenhead.

Oscar Wilde, a former Scandinavian overnight ferry, is scheduled to launch 2013 sailings, firstly Rosslare-Cherbourg on 27 February followed by the peak-season Rosslare-Roscoff route on 10 May.

#RUGBYFerry – Following the Irish rugby victory against the Welsh, Irish Ferries has space for fans wanting to watch the next RBS Six Nations match, when England encounter the team in green back on home ground in Dublin on 10 February.

The Holyhead-Dublin cruiseferry Ulysses, recently returned fresh from refit, will have plenty of space, with a capacity to handle more than 1,800 passengers and up to 1,300 cars alone. Fares on the route for a car and four people are available at around £108 per person return.

"We have four sailings a day into Dublin," says head of passenger sales Dermot Merrigan, "and we're always busy on match weekends. But with flight prices soaring around Six Nations dates, not to mention the baggage issues, a trip by car is a much more cost-effective and stress-free option."

SailRail tickets for foot passengers are also available, with combined ship and rail tickets from British mainline stations to Dublin from £76 per person return.
For further details contact: 08717 300 400 www.irishferries.com and for SailRail click HERE.

#Ferries - Ferry fares for people travelling between Inis Mór in the Aran Islands and the mainland are set to almost double from tomorrow 1 February, as RTÉ News reports.

Island Ferries founder Paddy O'Brien has cited increased fuel costs for the sharp fare rise from €8 to €15 for return trips from the largest island in the group in Galway Bay.

Fares for residents of Inis Oírr and Inis Meáin are also rising by 25% after an increase in the annual subvention to provide ferry services to the islands sought by Island Ferries was not accepted by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

The department had failed to secure any tenders for a public service contract on the Aran Islands ferry service, the present contracts for which expire today.

#HolidayWorldDublin- The annual Holiday World Show, Dublin is underway having opening yesterday in the RDS Simmonscourt Complex, Ballsbidge. As previously reported, Eoghan Corry's Expert Travel Clinics will include talks on those considering taking a cruise.

The FREE travel clinic (see times) will have expert speakers from a broad variety of holiday options from around the world, and they will be on hand to answer consumer questions from the floor.

Among the Ferry & Cruise Exhibitors are Celtic Link Ferries, Stena Line, Shannon Ferries, Hurtigruten, Azamara Cruises, RCL, P&O Cruises, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines and MSC Cruises. For a list of Exhibitors click HERE and for further information on opening times (final day is tomorrow) and admission rates visit: www.holidayworldshow.com/visit-page51329.html

#MerseyFerry- Royal Daffodil, as previously reported on Afloat.ie, is due to be withdrawn from the Mersey Ferries fleet. She is to lay-up at the Duke Street Basin in Birkenhead, from the end of the month on shore power, following dry docking, reports Jehan Ashmore.

The veteran vessel, now in her 51st year, is currently berthed at the nearby Cammell Laird dry-dock facility where a hull inspection is to be carried out by a MCA Surveyor. Her running mates, Royal Iris of the Mersey and Snowdrop, a pair of older sisters, continue to serve routes across the Mersey linking Liverpool to the Wirral Peninsula.

Operator Mersey Ferries claim the reason for the planned reduced fleet, follows declining passengers and significant losses incurred by the company.

According to Mersey Ferries, discussions have been held with the National Waterways Museum, with regards to Royal Daffodil, but no decision has been made as of yet.

#FerryPort – Work has begun on a major upgrade of the Scottish ferryport of Cairnryan, on Loch Ryan, according to The Irish News.

The renovation of part of the P&O Ferries division-owed port comes after rival Stena Line invested millions in its terminal in Belfast. As recently referred on Afloat.ie, Stena also invested heavily in recent years with a brand new facility just outside Cairnryan.

While the project will mean improved services for those using the ferry crossing, it is also good news for the Northern Ireland construction industry. Work will be carried out by Belfast-based civil engineering contractors McLaughlin and Harvey.

A new roll-on and roll-off linkspan is to be installed at the port with work expected to be complete by the end of the year. This replacement floating ramp structure will be used by freight and tourist vehicles shipping with P&O Ferries' services to and from Larne.

#RugbyFerry – Special sporting offers from Stena Line are available for those heading off to the RBS Rugby Six Nations Ireland v Wales game in the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on 2 February.

For motorists, there is a lead-in fare from €89 single car plus driver on Stena Line Irish Sea routes, with exception of Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead route, which resumes in late March. The fare on this seasonal-only operated route is from €139 single car plus driver.

If travelling as a 'foot' passenger, the fare is from €35 single per adult and applies to Dublin Port-Holyhead and Rosslare-Fishguard routes.

For those taking the Sail N' Rail combination, the fare starts from €39 single per adult, when booked in advance on the Rosslare-Fishguard route and onwards to Cardiff.

For further information including inclusive ferry and hotel-break offer visit: www.stenaline.ie/ferry/wales-ireland or call 01 204 7777

#FerryREFITS – Stena Line's charter of Finnarrow, which as previously reported on Afloat.ie, entered service on the Dublin Port-Holyhead route allowed Stena Nordica to relief the Rosslare-Fishguard ferry, and not as previously indicated go straight to annual refit.

Instead Stena Nordica, has replaced the St. Georges Channel route ferry Stena Europe, which sailed northbound to dry-dock at Harland & Wolff, Belfast. She is sharing the dry-dock with P&O's fast-craft Express, which too is undergoing annual maintenance having shifted berths from Donegall Quay.

The Stena Nordica of 24,206grt, is no stranger to Rosslare, having made an en-route call on certain weekend's while running P&O's Dublin Port-Cherbourg route as the European Ambassador, until the route closed in 2004.

#HolidayWorldDUBLIN- Thinking of getting away on a ferry-break or cruise, perhaps you should consider visiting Holiday World Show Dublin at the RDS Simmonscourt, Ballsbridge, over next weekend (25, 26 and 27 January).

The World will be your oyster, as the three-day show will offer an extensive range of exhibitors from across the globe with all types of holidays and travel options including those from the ferry and cruise sectors.

Once again Holiday World Show will host the free Eoghan Corry Expert Travel Clinics facilitated by the renowned travel journalist, who will be joined by leading industry experts giving talks and answering visitors' questions on topics such as Cruises and many more holiday topics.

So if you planning a cruising holiday but unsure where to start looking, visit the Holiday World Show, to ask the all those important questions and on discounts on offer.

Enjoy the show's new format where exhibitors are grouped into 9 distinct regions: Ferry & Cruise Sectors, Home holidays, Africa and the Middle East, Europe and the Mediterranean, Caribbean ,The Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Adventure travel and Caravan & Motorhome.

When? 2013 Holiday World Show, (RDS Simmonscourt Complex), Ballsbridge, Dublin: Dates & Times

Friday 25 January 1.00 pm - 7.00 pm Public & Trade

Saturday 26 January 11.00 am - 5.30 pm Public & Trade

Sunday 27 January 11.00 am - 5.30 pm Public & Trade

Admission Prices: Adults €7, Senior Citizens €4, Students €3 and Special Family Price 2 Adults & up to 4 children - €14

So to find out more about the show and its exhibitors – and get in the holiday mood visit: www.holidayworldshow.com As previously reported on Afloat.ie the Belfast Telegraph Holiday World Show is currently open this weekend in the Kings Hall Complex.

#DublinSwift – The are currently no fast-ferries operating at all on the Irish Sea, not due to bad weather, but for the annual refit of Jonathan Swift, the only such craft running throughout the year, on Irish Ferries Dublin-Holyhead route, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Irish Ferries which markets the fast-craft as the Dublin 'Swift' is currently undergoing maintenance at the Cammell Laird dry-dock facility, Birkenhead. Her brief absence from the route started during the week, however she to resume service on Tuesday 5 February with the 08:45 sailing from Dublin Port.

Also berthed in Birkenhead, is Irish Ferries cruiseferry Isle of Inishmore, which too is undergoing annual refit. As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the flagship Ulysses, the largest ferry on the Irish Sea, was also refitted at the same facility recently, as she returned earlier this week to the Dublin-Holyhead service.

So where are the rest of the fast-ferries?...well, there's three to be found in 'hibernation' mode. Firstly, facing opposite Birkenhead, the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company's fast-ferry Manannan is laying over for the winter in Liverpool docks, until required to operate routes to Douglas in the Spring.

Stena Line's HSS Stena Explorer is in lay-up at her berth in the inner harbour in Holyhead, where she is to remain until resuming her seasonal-only service starting on 22 March and running through the peak-season until September.

Finally the third fast-ferry, P&O's Express is berthed alongside Donegall Quay, Belfast, though this is not where she operates from, but on the seasonal Larne-Troon service.

Also to be found in Belfast is the laid-up HSS Stena Voyager, one of a trio of HSS 1500 series built in Finland. She became redundant more than a year ago following change of Scottish ferryport from Stranraer to Cairnryan, from where a pair of 'Superfast' ferries operate the North Channel route to Belfast.