One of the last remaining overnight connections between the UK and continental Europe on a sturdy ferry operated by a premium ferry operator.

Booking

With daily departures in both ways there usually a plenty of tickets for foot passengers available. As this was a spontaneous trip, I booked just ten days before sailing in March 2023. All the sweet deals were gone at that point of course so I got the standard fare of 404,00 € which included a 2-berth outboard (i. e. with a window) cabin.

For the review’s sake I added a buffet dinner (27,50 €) and one breakfast (12,95 €) as well as C02 compensation at a nominal fee. The rest of my one-board meals I boght from Albert Heijn in Amsterdam and Boots in Newcastle – both stores offer excellent take-aways snacks. Try the dutch truffel majonaise with baguette bread and the british ploughman’s sandwich.

DFDS markets this as a ‘Mini Cruise’ so the transfer from the Port of Tyne to downtown Newcastle is included (or the other way round when cruising to Amsterdam). I paid an extra 17,00 € for the bus rides to and from the IJmuiden terminal, which is about OK considering the long distance between IJmuiden and Amsterdam Centraal station. Other than transfers no further excursions or activities are on offer.

Booking on DFDS Seaways’ modern booking engine was a breeze and I received a booking code together with a detailed itinary within a few seconds after paying via PayPal.

Route

The ferry quay of IJmuiden is right on the part of IJmuiden port, which means your ferry reaches the open sea soon after lines are cast off around 17:30 hrs.

After that you in for a run off the mill North Sea crossing with changing weather conditions and the typical inventory of a shallow sea such as fish trawlers, oil rigs and plenty of wind parks. At times during the night this felt more like a sleeper train ride, as there was always something going on outside.

Newcastle is heralded on the next morning by the muddy waters of the River Tyne, which don’t mix with the salty North Sea for quite some distance. After entering the Tyne between North and South Shields the ferry travels upstream for another 20 mins or so before docking at the terminal in the Port of Tyne.

Gallery IJmuiden – Newcastle

The return journey is pretty much the same in reverse with almost identical departure and arrival times.

Gallery Newcastle  – IJmuiden

Ship and Operating Company

Travelling on the Princess Seaways meant meeting an old acquaintance as I had travelled on this ferry in 1996 from Melbourne to Davenport. She was aptly named Spirit of Tasmania then.

The ship was built as Peter Pan for TT-Lines by Schichau Seebeckwerft in Bremerhaven in 1986.

In 2002 she returned to Europe for Fjord Line in Norway before being sold to DFDS in 2006. After a comprehensive renovation she has been operating exclusively on the IJmuiden–Newcastle route since Mai 2007.

DFDS had planned to sell the Princess Seaways to Moby Lines in 2019 but that deal fell through.

The Princess Seaways, IMO 8502391, is registered in Denmark. She has four MAK 8M552 engines with a total output of 26,649 HP that propel her to a relatively moderate maximum speed of 19.5 knots (36 KPH).

With a capacity of 1,410 lane meters she can accommodate up to 450 vehicles and 1,500 passengers.

On Board

Cabin

As usual, I booked the cheapest, single occupancy, outboard cabin. This meant sleeping the two nights in a four-berth cabin with the top bunks being stowed away.

Even by ferry standards these are basic and small on the Princess Seaways. The bathroom is a multifunctional shower/toilet unit, the beds are narrow and instead of a propper closet there are just a few coat hooks.

There also is a tiny desk (with a great view through the cabin window) and a single 230V power socket.

Amenities are spartan featuring a soap dispenser, a radio, and one towel per bed, (nicely rolled-up nad raped dramatically on the blanket).

The colour scheme with black, blue, and white is quite stylish though and well in line with DFDS’ corporate branding.

I found the bed to be rather comfortable, and in fact the whole cabin was a nice place to spend a few hours as it was clean and well air-conditioned.   

There is no housekeeping during the stay in Newcastle but someone will empty your trash bin whilst in port.

Facilities

The whole ship seemed to be in good shape and most of the surfaces and floors as well as the furniture looked well maintained or recently updated and didn’t show its’ heavy usage.

A particularly well-used area was the Duty-Free Shop, as a lot of passengers take this trip as a Booze Cruise (maybe even stocking up on other substances in Amsterdam). There even was a sign saying that bottles of spirits could only be picked up in the morning before arrival; single malts excluded. Apparently DFDS doesn’t believe that these noble distillates can lead to excessive partying (the author knows otherwise though).    

There are a few other facilities on board such as a small cinema and children’s play areas, but the Princess Seaways has none of the fancier offerings such as spas, pools or gyms that some more modern cruise ferries offer.  

Passengers are spoilt with choice of outdoor seating and there are so many decks and gangways that are accessible, offering much more outdoor space than on other ferries which was highly appreciated by passengers during the springtime trip.

Bars and Restaurants

There are two restaurants and several bars. I had booked just one dinner and breakfast to test what DFDS dishes out in its buffet-style restaurant. Both meals where moderately priced at 27.50 € and 12.50 € respectively.

Dinner featured a nice selection of appetizers which I enjoyed very much. The hot main dishes where nothing to write home about, but the phantastic cake and pie selection for dessert made up for that.

Breakfast had the typical full English options and was nice enough. Only the Coffee was nasty – thin but still with an unpleasant, scratchy aroma. The breakfast buffet is also ‘all you can eat’, but once you hear House of the Rising Sun from the Best of Pop played by two Flamenco Guitars playlist, you know you’ve outstayed your welcome.

As a big part of the passengers is party-orientated on this route, there is a huge bar and nightclub-area, which was very crowded on the return journey (which was Friday night). The entertainment was a crowd pleaser with bingo, a DJ and lot of duty-free booze. There was a huge security detachment so I guess some passengers tend to drink more they can handle.

The quality of service in the bar was so-so. The staff was friendly, yet a little overworked. I saw them filling multiple roles day and night.

Drinks could have been served with a little more style: its lime for the Margarita, lemon for the G&T – not the other way round, please):

Shore Excursion to Newcastle

Many ferry companies market thier crossings as ferry cruises and so does DFDS.

There may be similarities to cruises on board, yet when it comes to shore excursions offers usually are pretty thin. DFDS scores above average here with at least offering a well-organised transfer to downtown Newcastle. A little more, such as a guided tour, would have been nice but Newcastle can still be easily explored alone.

I very much recommend taking this trip with Newcastle as the stopover as the city on the Tyne is a lovely destination half a day; much more than tourist-flooded Amsterdam, I dare say.

Walking through the streets and along the riverbanks on this sunny day in March was a real pleasure. There is stunning architecture from the Norman castle, the Gothic St. Nicolas Cathedral to impressive Gregorian buildings and postmodern architecture along the Tyne.

I especially enjoyed exploring the historic Grainger Market, an indoor market dating back from 1835 as well as the Edwardian Central Arcade.

The DFDS shuttle bus stops in front of Newcastle’s main train station and picks up passengers next to the nearby St. Mary’s Cathedral on Bewick street.

Crew and Fellow Passengers

On the outbound trip the ship was relatively empty with senior citizens and students returning to the UK for the semester making up most of the passengers. I also had the impression that a few of my fellow passengers took this trip in lieu of a flight for ecological reasons.

On the return the Princess Seaways turned into a veritable show boat as it was a Friday evening. All it took was a few hundred brits and the whole ship felt like a London Pub or Magaluf in August. This was actually the first time on my ferry cruises that the night out-aspect on board was more than just an add-on but rather the central aspect of the trip.

The crowd was in a good mood and it was quite nice to have a drink amongst such experienced party goers. I still called it a night after one cocktail.  

Getting to the Port in Amsterdam (IJmuiden)

IJmuiden Port is a long way from central Amsterdam and it is also quite inconvenient to get there on regular public transport, so I would recommend booking the DFDS bus shuttle.

Coaches depart near the central railway station. Heading south-east and crossing a small gracht (channel) you will find a spilt level road that heads to a ramp. Don’t walk up the ramp but stay on the waterside. The street is called De Ruijterkade. There is no sign or post there; buses stop at the first parking bay near the bend.

A bowling alley called Aloha is nearby which has a large bar and pleasant outdoor patio to pass the wait.

In case you have to store luggage before you head to the shuttle bus, there are lockers in the station but beware the are often fully occupied and not accessible 24/7:

Embarkment/Disembarkment

Shuttle busses take passengers directly to the ferry terminal in IJmuiden Port. It looks massive from the outside but inside there are just a few check-in desks and immigration counters. Every member of staff there was super friendly.

The terminal in the Port of Tyne is airort airport style, of the low-cost variety. It doesn’t offer many facilities other than waiting areas. Staff there was friendly too but I found the English spoken by the Amsterdam staff to be much more accesible than the heavy Geordie accent spoken in Newcastle.

Summary

Even though the ship and landside facilities were modern and state of the art, this trip felt retro – not only because I travelled again on a ferry that I took 25 years ago on the other side of the world. Taking an overnight ferry to Britain, or the continent, is a nostalgic pleasure in times of low-cost flights and the Eurotunnel. Take it too before it is history.

PS:

Trip down memory lane: Melborne to Davenport in March 1996 on the Spirit of Tasmania. It got pretty rogh in the Tasman Strait.
Can’t believe that I didn’t take a picture of the ship!