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Vision of the Seas
2000 passengers will disembark in Portland this morning from the cruise liner Vision of the Seas. This visit by the Royal Caribbean Lines ship marks the start of a record season of visits by cruise liners to Portland Port.

Portland Port have increased their facilities to cater for visiting ships in 2012.

Today passengers will be greeted by Portland Town Crier, Stuart Cave, and tourism students from Weymouth College, who will provide the passengers with information about the area. Some will go on coach tours of the Jurassic Coast and others will spend their day locally. With each passenger expected to spend around £100, the cruise business gives a great boost to the economy of Weymouth & Portland and the surrounding area.

This evening passengers will be entertained by Weymouth Concert Brass Band, and the ship will be given a send-off by the firing of canon at Nothe Fort.
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Poole's popular ferry Barfleur will operate from Dover to Calais from 27 April. The ship, which is still owned by Brittany Ferries will be chartered to DFDS Seaways who already operate one ship on the Dover-Calais route.  

The Barfleur has been laid up in Caen since being withdrawn from the Poole-Cherbourg route last Autumn. Brittany Ferries decided not to operate the ferry again on the Poole route as it is not profitable. They will, however, continue to charter the Condor Express high-speed ferry to operate the Poole-Cherbourg route during the summer season only.

It is understood the Barfleur will operate for DFDS with a French crew, but will be renamed and repainted.
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All high-speed sailings will now depart from Poole until at least November. This decision follows a survey and temporary repairs to the quayside at the Weymouth terminal. The damage is far more serious than first thought and cannot be repaired successfully in the short-term.
This is devastating news for the Weymouth economy which benefits to the value of over £7m annually from the sailings of Condor Ferries from the town to the Channel Islands and France.
Local guest-house owners and hoteliers are particularly hard-hit. They have had to endure fewer guests due to the horrendous Olympic roadworks that have taken place in Weymouth over the past two years, and now the withdrawal of ferry sailings from the town.
The fear is now that Condor Ferries may decide to operate all their sailings from Poole on a permanent basis.
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The bridge is due to be officially opened today by the Princess Royal. There are problems with the road surface, however, and although the Princess Royal will attend today, the £37m structure will not yet be open to traffic.
Several thousand people have already crossed the new bridge on foot.

When the bridge is open to road traffic it will provide a much needed second crossing of Poole Harbour.


 
 
The ferry Barfleur may operate again in 2012 from Poole to Cherbourg, we've heard today through the grapevine.  A decision will be made in January 2012 and several factors will be taken into consideration.

This popular ferry was brought back into service this year, but the service was terminated at the beginning of October.
Many felt that would be the end of the conventional passenger ferry service from Poole, but there is still a chance the Barfleur may sail again.  At present the ship is laid up in Caen.

Many regular travellers prefer a conventional ferry to the fast catamaran that is already planned to link the two ports.  One of the Condor Ferries craft is chartered by Brittany Ferries to operate one return crossing a day between Poole and Cherbourg during the summer season, but the service cannot operate when the wave height is too great.
 
 
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The Royal Mail ship St Helena made its last voyage today from the UK, when it left Portland for Ascension Island and St Helena. The 6,700 tonne passenger and cargo ship has been making regular calls to the UK since 1977.  
The ship will now make more regular trips St Helena, Ascension and Cape Town.
An airport is due to be built on St Helena within the next 5 years.
 
 
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The Barfleur left Cherbourg last night on her last crossing to Poole and returned to France this morning.  On her last UK sailing there was a very good loading and spirits were high despite the fact that we may not see her again in Poole.  Brittany Ferries have not yet made a final decision regarding her future.
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On board as the Barfleur leaves Cherbourg for the last time in 2011
 
 
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Brittany Ferries have delayed making an announcement regarding the future of Poole-Cherbourg sailings in 2012.  The popular ferry BARFLEUR may not return to the route next year and it is not yet known when the high-speed service will operate.
Condor Ferries are expected to continue to operate from Poole and Weymouth to St Malo with their high-speed catamarans, but this often involves a change of ferry in Guernsey.  In the meantime a new company has announced plans to operate a high-speed ferry from Portland to Cherbourg, but although those plans have been public for many months, there is nothing more than speculation as the necessary infrastructure would need to be constructed before any such sailings could take place.
 
 
This is a new website to help customers get problems fixed on public transport.  If you have an issue with a bus, bus stop, train, station etc, this site will help you get you grievance to the body responsible. Equally, if you are pleased with the performance of a local bus, train, ferry etc. your praise can be publicised. The website address is FixMyTransport.com

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PS Waverley has arrived in Weymouth today to start its month of cruises from Dorset. 
The Waverley, built in 1947, is the last ocean-going paddle-steamer in the WORLD!  Its future is, however, uncertain due to rising costs, and there is a very real chance this could be the last year we shall see it gracing the seas.
There is an exciting programme of trips from Weymouth, Swanage and Bournemouth along the Jurassic Coast and also to the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth.  See programme.

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Waverley in Weymouth Bay