On Saturday, January 6, Brittany Ferries' cruiseferry NORMANDIE marked her inaugural visit to Ireland, docking at the Port of Rosslare.
Departing Cherbourg (France) just before 10:00 p.m. on Friday night, NORMANDIE arrived ~02:00 on Saturday and set sail from Rosslare yesterday evening, bound for France at 10:00 p.m., ultimately arriving at 04:00 p.m. on Sunday.
This voyage is part of a series, with NORMANDIE scheduled to repeat these trips on January 12 and 19 departing from Cherbourg, and January 13 and 20 departing from Rosslare.
While servicing the Rosslare-Cherbourg route, NORMANDIE accommodates a diverse range of traffic, including foot passengers. However, it's important to note that the cruiseferry is limited to carrying 100 passengers plus freight drivers during her operations on the Irish service.
NORMANDIE's Cherbourg-Rosslare route was not originally planned. The usual vessel for this route, COTENTIN, encountered a major technical issue, leading to its stay at Damen Shiprepair Brest (DSBr) since December 19. Repairs to one of the two main engines, involving the dismounting and repair of 12 cylinder heads, are underway, with an expected return to service on January 21, 2024.
Throughout the winter season, NORMANDIE has predominantly operated on the Portsmouth-Le Havre route from Monday to Thursday and the Portsmouth-Caen route on weekends. Meanwhile, COTENTIN, during winter, has been engaged in a weekend roundtrip from Cherbourg to Rosslare, dedicating the week to the Caen route, with positioning trips on the Cherbourg – Portsmouth route to facilitate the Irish sailing.