The Spirit of France took to the water for the first time last Friday (18th Feb) when she was floated out of her construction dock at the STX Europe shipyard in Rauma, Finland.
P&O Ferries CEO Helen Deeble and the ship’s senior master Captain Steve Johnson were amongst those who braved temperatures as low as -20 degree centigrade to commemorate the flooding of the dry dock. In fact, temperatures were so cold, the official speeches were delivered into a microphone hurriedly protected from freezing by an oven glove!
Over the next six months the Spirit of France is due to be fitted out and then delivered to P&O Ferries in September to work alongside her identical twin the Spirit of Britain.
Spirit of France afloat for the first time at the STX Europe yard in Finland
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When is the last sailing of the Pride of Calais? Also how come the pride of Dover retired a while before the Spirit of Britian came into service?
Hi Joe, We’ve still not confirmed the last sailing for the Pride of Calais. The Spirit of Britain began service in January which is a fairly quiet month. The Spirit of France will arrive in September which will still be a busy period for the company and we will need all our ships for as long as possible.
you offer day trip at very good rate but being some 200 from dover its not posoble to do this in the day if the the rates were so we could have a stop over in france this would be fine we would take trip several times a year and so would maney people from the north so we go from hull on trips
Hi, If you check out our website this week you will see that we have a limited availabillity offer of £39 for a car and passengers on a 3 day return trip.
Has a date been set for the entry of Spirit of France into service? Also is it possible to get a flavour of the onboard artwork for the Spirit of France?
I travlled back to Dover on the 16th feb on the Spirit of Britian, very spacious seating area. Cars have there own deck.One draw back its a long way to the restraint when you board from Calias as you have to go down a deck or two then walk towards the front of the ferry then go up to the restraint. One thing that is the same as the old ferrys is time you have your meal and queued up to pay for it and then found a seat your meal is allmost cold,also the price of a cup of tea is a bit steep after all its only hot water and a tea bag, come on P&O please see if you can sort these things out there must be a way.But on the hole a great ferry.
Spirit of France looks like it is taking shape and look foreward to travelling on her at the end of the year.
Really, this shot just shows the size of it. Looks enormous, brilliant,fantastic just as its sister ship does, which I hope I will be crossing the channel on in the next couple of weeks.
Congratulations to all of you at P & O.
Regards
Terry
Look forward to a trip on one of the new boats!!
What a great sight! It will be even greater for me when I see the ship in Calais, and manage to sail on her and ‘Pirit of Britain’ on the same day.
It would be much easier to read your blog if the printing was black and not “light” grey or blue
I look forward to travelling on the “Spirit of Britain”
Read the write up in Ships Monthly