Premium Experience in the Premium Lounge

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. Ltd. receives a quite a lot of bad press, not all of it entirely fair, especially as I imagine not everyone who is quick to criticise really comprehends the complexities of running a ferry and freight service to and from the Island.

Personally I hold no brief for the Steam Packet and indeed am not beyond having a pop at them myself when I feel it's justified (see http://michaelswelbeckblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/my-seat-is-reserved.html)which I wrote about a year ago.

However, credit where it is due and I think their customer service standards have improved immensely over the past 20 years or so.

Last weekend, Irene and I nipped across for a couple of nights to see her mother who lives in Kendal (some of our longer term clients may even remember her living at the Hotel). We picked the right time to go and were extremely lucky with the weather, despite conditions around the U.K. being unstable, especially down at the Olympics where they copped a soaking on Sunday morning.

Because of the sailing timetable, we travelled to Liverpool and returned through Heysham which best suited our needs but the Ben-my-Chree was extremely busy with a full complement of passengers, including some children's parties.

(Was too relaxed to remember to take photographs of the view etc. so I nicked this off www.steam-packet.com ;)

Although we had found seats and there were plenty of others dotted around, it was quite hectic, so I had the idea of enquiring about the Premium Lounge in which we had never been.

It costs £17.00 per person which initially sounded a little steep to me but tea and coffee are free, as are all soft drinks and a supply of biscuits, magazines etc, so having done a quick calculation, we took the plunge and five minutes later were installed in luxury.

There are leather aircraft style seats which recline without pinning in the person behind you, therefore giving prize that taller specimens of the race yearn for: ample leg room.

Some of the chairs have 'Sky News' fed onto a screen in front of them but we opted for the superb panoramic view, overlooking the bows and the ocean beyond (apparently the blinds are drawn on night time sailings for navigational purposes.)

The steward whose name I unfortunately didn't take note of, was excellent throughout the journey and it was a great pleasure to drink out of proper mugs and have our drinks in glasses instead of plastic.

As we approached the Island, sipping our beverages as we watched Manannan unfold his cloak, I can honestly say that I've never had a more relaxed homecoming and it was worth every penny of the £34.00 for the privilege.