Travelling with Stena

chancer12

Have the most dreadful situation here. booked and paid for sail and rail for my son to come home this weekend. Stena say they sent the tickets, he hasn't received them and they've basically told me that its my problem. Im down 90Euro. they suggest he contacts the postal service. Am totally disgusted with them. Happy Christmas from Stena

old hippy

chancer12 wrote: »

Have the most dreadful situation here. booked and paid for sail and rail for my son to come home this weekend. Stena say they sent the tickets, he hasn't received them and they've basically told me that its my problem. Im down 90Euro. they suggest he contacts the postal service. Am totally disgusted with them. Happy Christmas from Stena

Not sure this is the correct thread but sorry to hear that

djpbarry

chancer12 wrote: »

Have the most dreadful situation here. booked and paid for sail and rail for my son to come home this weekend. Stena say they sent the tickets, he hasn't received them and they've basically told me that its my problem. Im down 90Euro. they suggest he contacts the postal service. Am totally disgusted with them. Happy Christmas from Stena

I remember my Stena tickets didn't show up a couple of years ago and, as far as I recall, after giving Stena a call, they advised me to just print off the booking confirmation and bring it to the Virgin ticket desk at Euston. Took a while, but I got my tickets without too much trouble.

I would however suggest you give them another call. It's obviously their responsibility to get your tickets delivered, not yours!

BrokenArrows

Thats crazy that they would say that. Call back and talk to another person or demand to speak to management.

chancer12

Thanks so much everyone, the tickets eventually turned up the next day! However, I had been back on to Stena and their response was that because I had declined their guaranteed (extra £6) postal delivery then they were no longer liable once they posted them. My argument to that was that I hadn't been advised of those conditions when I declined the postal option. Its something to be aware of. They also said that because the tickets were a bundle - rail/sail that they would be out of pocket with National Rail. It seems utterly ridiculous that they couldn't cancel one booking and re-issue another one.

Fysh

chancer12 wrote: »

Thanks so much everyone, the tickets eventually turned up the next day! However, I had been back on to Stena and their response was that because I had declined their guaranteed (extra £6) postal delivery then they were no longer liable once they posted them. My argument to that was that I hadn't been advised of those conditions when I declined the postal option. Its something to be aware of. They also said that because the tickets were a bundle - rail/sail that they would be out of pocket with National Rail. It seems utterly ridiculous that they couldn't cancel one booking and re-issue another one.

Glad to hear you got sorted, this time of year is stressful enough without travel aggro

silvervixen84

Glad the tickets arrived and he'll make it home.

Might be a less stressful option next time to send your son the cash to book online himself and he can just print his ferry ticket and collect the train tickets at any train station.

chancer12

You bet, even better if he paid for them himself! However, trying to make the transfer between banks was such an issue (ans expensive) so I thought this would be easier! Jeeze, even when they've left home, kids are a bother! However, am looking forward to seeing him home. Happy Christmas everyone!

djpbarry

chancer12 wrote: »

You bet, even better if he paid for them himself! However, trying to make the transfer between banks was such an issue (ans expensive) so I thought this would be easier!

Don't waste your time and money trying to transfer cash through banks. Use something like this in future:

www.currencyfair.com

LadyMayBelle

http://www.thejournal.ie/power-knocked-out-and-ferries-cancelled-1235080-Dec2013/

Check your bookings!

LadyMayBelle

http://www.thejournal.ie/power-knocked-out-and-ferries-cancelled-1235080-Dec2013/

Check your bookings!

Santa Cruz

Tried the ferry last year for a change. Felt like I was being shipped off to a concentration camp. The slow train from Chester to Holyhead is a disaster. Passing railway crossing where if a person sticks out his hand the train has to stop to pick him up.

ballsymchugh

got the ferry last night. you wouldn't want to be of a delicate constitution getting the ferry this weekend anyway, felt like the ship was hopping off the waves.
the catamarans are cancelled for today and tomorrow too, so anyone getting the ferry, get on it quick and find somewhere to rest. they'll be jammers. it seemed a hell of a lot busier than last year before the cancellations were announced.

Irish Steve

Santa Cruz wrote: »

Tried the ferry last year for a change. Felt like I was being shipped off to a concentration camp. The slow train from Chester to Holyhead is a disaster. Passing railway crossing where if a person sticks out his hand the train has to stop to pick him up.

No, sorry, I am going to disagree with you at a fundamental level. The slow train from Chester to Holyhead is exactly that, a public service that picks passengers up at all of the designated stations on the route, and if there's no one waiting, it doesn't stop. It is there to provide local transport for people that otherwise might not be able to travel, and Irish Rail could learn a lot from the way that this line operates.

There are plenty of alternatives, faster, and they don't stop everywhere, I've used the Virgin rail service from Holyhead to Birmingham (and then changed to another route), and it is excellent.

I've also used the local service from Holyhead across to Chester on several occasions, and it puts the shambles that is Ireland's rail service into context, only in Ireland does a train from Rosslare leave 30 minutes before the ferry arrives, and the next train is 3 hours later.

The service out of Holyhead is excellent, both in terms of frequency and reliability, they have on board snack service or better, and when I look at the price I pay for ferry and rail to get to pretty much anywhere in the UK, it takes some beating, and for sure makes the hassle of flying a lot less attractive. OK, it takes longer than flying, but that's not insurmountable.

And no, I don't work for Irish Ferries, or Stena, or a rail company, I just happen to use their services.

djpbarry

Irish Steve wrote: »

No, sorry, I am going to disagree with you at a fundamental level. The slow train from Chester to Holyhead is exactly that, a public service that picks passengers up at all of the designated stations on the route, and if there's no one waiting, it doesn't stop. It is there to provide local transport for people that otherwise might not be able to travel, and Irish Rail could learn a lot from the way that this line operates.

I think you're really, really overstating the quality of rail services in North Wales - that line between Crewe and Holyhead is painfully slow. The journey time is comparable to Dublin-Galway. I don't understand what Irish Rail have to learn from such a service?

Irish Steve wrote: »

There are plenty of alternatives, faster, and they don't stop everywhere, I've used the Virgin rail service from Holyhead to Birmingham (and then changed to another route), and it is excellent.

I think you're also glossing over Virgin's shortcomings. I use their services fairly regularly to get to Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, and there have been a number of occasions when, for example, their seat reservation system hasn't been working. I’ve also experienced severe delays on several occasions and on two separate occasions, the train broke down and could go no further.

Irish Steve wrote: »

I've also used the local service from Holyhead across to Chester on several occasions, and it puts the shambles that is Ireland's rail service into context...

It really doesn’t. Arriva trains are, without question, the worst rail service I have ever used. I’ve got that train twice and on both occasions it was ridiculously over-crowded, to the point that people were unable to get to the toilets. Two and a half hours in such conditions is not pleasant.

biZrb

The train from Holyhead to Crewe only ever has 3 carriages, the amount of people trying to fit onto that train is crazy. If you don't get into it you have to wait over an hour for the next train. I managed to get on it one year by standing at the end of the first class carriage but the ticket checker told me I'd have to pay the first class rate just to stand there.
But it's a cheap way of getting home so I don't mind putting up with it.

Fysh

I'm going to lock this thread as the OP's issue is now resolved and it's threatening to turn into an argument.