Review: the Stena Plus Lounge, on a ferry between Liverpool and Belfast

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• Save East Coast Rewards says:

  5 Jun5 June 06:22

  The overnight trips are definitely the way to go. I did that to/from Holland just before COVID and then my subsequent move to Italy. In my case I took a bike so boarded with the other road passengers, but I think they had a proper passenger terminal there so no need to board by bus.

  I know the Holyhead to Dublin ferries has some excellent rail+boat fares so perhaps there’s also that possibility on this route.

  Based on your review, the lounge seems worth the extra £25 for the extra comfort and food. The booze offering looks disappointing though (or were there also other drinks that you didn’t cover?). I think it’d be the ideal place if you want to work while travelling.

  What would have been interesting is to know what other options are available on the ferry as well. For example on my overnight sailing to Holland the ferry had two restaurant offerings, one table service and the other buffet. I believe that ship also had a lounge but it was not offered to me when booking (presumably because I’d booked a berth)

  • Martin says:

    5 Jun5 June 06:37

    I think on the Hoek overnight sailings it’s only open for breakfast – but given that you have to book a cabin anyway (and the early arrival time, and the even earlier wake-up call to tell you the restaurant is open) I’m not sure it’s really worth it.

    It certainly looks a lot smaller than the one in the review!

    • Sean says:

      5 Jun5 June 08:04

      I used the Hoek one during covid and the lounge was open on departure in the evening until about 11pm I think.

  • Nick says:

    5 Jun5 June 09:34

    SailRail doesn’t apply to this route – for Belfast it’s only via Scotland. But the fares to Ireland (available right up to the last minute at a fixed price) are one of the biggest bargains in UK travel, and the route via Holyhead very easy indeed. Come to think of it, sounds like a great thing for @Rhys to cover for HfP!

• Ian says:

  5 Jun5 June 06:30

  Seems over-priced for what is essentially a half decent seat and a few snacks and cheap wine.

  At least in an, even average, airport lounge, you will get sandwiches, crisps, spirits, and better wine or even hot food.

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:

    5 Jun5 June 06:51

    I thought it was reasonable for the amount of time you have to spend there but unless the wine was surprisingly good I’d probably just end up drinking water. It’s worth noting that Stena has a loyalty scheme and unless the benefits have changed since covid one of the status levels gives you lounge access so regular travellers get it free.

  • HAM76 says:

    5 Jun5 June 07:50

    3 quids per hour for unlimited non-alcoholic drinks, some snacks, a decent place o stay and (cheap) wine… Most coworking spaces charge way more. Airport lounges are limited to three hours, so 3-4 times more expensive, too. Looks like a great offer to me.

  • Rob says:

    5 Jun5 June 08:03

    Try spending 8 hours in a less decent seat elsewhere on the boat and buying your own snacks 🙂

    • TimM says:

      5 Jun5 June 08:33

      For example ‘deck class’ on a Greek ferry. The ones between Piraeus and the Dodecanese take well over 12 hours and you are not even entitled to a seat. The toilets are something else.

• Bagoly says:

  5 Jun5 June 06:32

  Grammar Pedant alert – please may we have “between the two cities” rather than “between both cities” – “both” distinguishes from only one which is not relevant here.
  At least that was standard in the twentieth century …

  Stena themselves introduce a new-to-me variation on the same conceptual mistake by saying “Travel by ferry to Liverpool and Belfast ” From where?!

  • BA-Flyer says:

    5 Jun5 June 07:21

    I could tell Rhys wrote this article just from the unnecessary exclamation mark at the end of the title.

    • NorthernLass says:

      5 Jun5 June 10:43

      I took the exclamation mark as an ironic nod to the contrast between Liverpool-Belfast ferry and the usual F/J to Dubai/Costa Rica/Sydney type of material one sees here! Also the article is a refreshing change.

      • Rob says:

        5 Jun5 June 11:18

        Correct – in fact, Rhys didn’t put it in, I put it in whilst editing.

  • Nige says:

    5 Jun5 June 07:43

    🙄

  • TimM says:

    5 Jun5 June 08:39

    I have the same reaction to a lot of HfP headlines, ‘New route to X’. From where? Then I realise that HfP is London-centric and deduce it is from London.

    My IP address is usually reported as being in London when I am actually in Yorkshire. I wonder if HfP overestimates its London readership based on reported locations from IP addresses?

    • Rob says:

      5 Jun5 June 08:43

      No, we did a reader survey last year remember. 10,000 people completed it and just 11 lived in Norfolk. (This is the only number I remember off the top of my head.) The skew really is that extreme.

      Hence why we can only get 10 people to a free drinks party in Liverpool but can sell out a paid-for London event for 500 in 10 minutes ….

      What is true is that the Home Counties readership (who still work in London) is a bit bigger than we thought and the Zone 1-4 residents readership a bit lower than we thought. They are still about 80% of the total though. The survey showed that the readers also skew a bit older than we thought. If you come to the party the average age is probably 5 years lower than our average reader age and they probably live, on average, 10 miles nearer St Pancras than the average reader.

      • Brian says:

        5 Jun5 June 08:47

        I reckon that you’d have got more people in Liverpool if Rhys had held a raffle…

      • broomy23 says:

        5 Jun5 June 09:30

        I feel like I’m in a very exclusive club now as I live in Norfolk 🙂

        • Man of Kent says:

          5 Jun5 June 16:31

          I’m afraid I’ve made it a bit less exclusive as, despite my username I too live in Norfolk . I started reading HfP after the reader survey was done (what have I been doing all these years) so didn’t participate but am pleased to have increased the regional readership by 9%!

    • yorkieflyer says:

      5 Jun5 June 11:39

      This yorkie agrees from the Eurostar, a delay on leaving due to border queues for full trains according to train manager, Brexit bonus!
      Back to the topic, a welcome change as were the Liverpool hotel reviews. I sometimes think the site should be renamed HeadforDubaifromLondon

  • BuildBackBetter says:

    5 Jun5 June 09:43

    I get annoyed by phrases like ‘to be honest’.

    • The Original David says:

      5 Jun5 June 10:15

      To be honest, I think some people get annoyed far too easily these days. Just because it’s not how you’d do something doesn’t make it wrong.

    • Froggee says:

      5 Jun5 June 11:33

      I don’t get annoyed by “to be honest” as anybody who uses such a phrase is clearly highlighting the fact that most of the time they are not honest. Therefore it’s very helpful identifying dishonest people.

• Tetly1967 says:

  5 Jun5 June 06:39

  We’ve used this ferry since its inception and thoroughly recommend it as the most pleasant way to get to Belfast, the two new ferries are really nice and have never felt overly busy. We tend to use the overnight ferry and enjoy a hearty Belfast breakfast when we arrive but have used the day crossing a couple of times and enjoyed the lounge but eight hours is a long time to be in even the most comfortable lounge!

  Have also used it on the (very similar) Dublin-Holyhead service. In both instances the free food and drink is ok – but avoid the wine! As Rhys says it is insubstantial so for the day crossing also budget for a lunch.

  And everyone should spend some time in Northern Ireland – a fabulous part of the UK.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    5 Jun5 June 09:26

    Most pleasant way with a car? How could it beat <1hr flight?

  • Michael says:

    5 Jun5 June 13:44

    Holyhead – Dublin on the fast ferry is the way to go. IIRC 1h45 sailing. With the port tunnel, Dublin port is only around 1h30ish from Belfast, motorway basically the whole way.

• Barry says:

  5 Jun5 June 07:22

  Do not be mistaken, do not be misled, we are not Scousers, we’re from Birkenhead! etc

• Ken says:

  5 Jun5 June 07:39

  This seems fairly priced and right idea to exclude beer and spirits which attracts people looking for a challenge to get their moneys worth.

  Still…if you can sleep the overnight crossing is the best option

• tony says:

  5 Jun5 June 07:41

  Re the bus – what happens about suitcase-size luggage? And also am a bit surprised that the bus goes onto the actual ferry as presumably it’s not all that easy to get the thing off again at the other side!

  As a vague aside I saw something about one of the Isle of Man ferries having been upgraded to include a smart lounge. But at £22 per person and only non alcoholic drinks included that seems like a far worse deal, especially given the journey from Liverpool is way shorter.

  • Bill says:

    5 Jun5 June 07:45

    See my post above… You are referring to the Injerbrek lounge on board Manxman

  • pauldb says:

    5 Jun5 June 08:00

    If the bus has to come aboard to disembark foot passengers, does than mean you get off before or after the other vehicles?

    • Rhys says:

      5 Jun5 June 09:06

      After. The bus actually reverses onto the cargo deck (!)

  • Rhys says:

    5 Jun5 June 09:06

    Large suitcases must be ‘checked in’. They have the world’s tiniest baggage collection carousel in Belfast!

• Bill says:

  5 Jun5 June 07:43

  If anyone books this be aware the ferries are called Manxman (operating year round normally Heysham) and Mannanan (summer normally Liverpool). Manxman will only serve Liverpool in winter (from Nov 24 onwards). There’s also sailings to Belfast and Dublin

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.