A First Onboard Experience

My name is Paul, I’m your friendly neighbourhood copywriter & one of the latest additions to the DFDS Seaways marketing team!

What does that entail? Well, to put it simply, you know all of the text you see on our web pages, leaflets and advertisements? That’s my job.

As soon as I joined the team, I could tell it was going to be a great fit. I enjoyed meeting all of my new colleagues and hearing what their respective skills and abilities were, but when my new boss called me into his office to inform me that I would have to travel to Amsterdam on one of our cruise ferries in order to learn about the DFDS Seaways customer experience, I knew I had struck it lucky. “Well…” I said, hiding my grin, “if you insist”.

Now, I consider myself pretty well-travelled, but my only experience of sea crossing was sleeping on the deck of a rickety ferry from Croatia to Italy during one of the most relentlessly epic thunderstorms I have ever witnessed. Needless to say, I was hoping for something a little bit different this time…

I have always been a fan of the phrase “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey” and nowhere is this more true than on a DFDS Seaways ferry crossing. As soon as my friend and I boarded, we were spoiled for choice with a range of facilities and amenities available to us. While crossing overnight to Amsterdam we were able to enjoy steaks, served still sizzling to us, have a few drinks and enjoy some live music in the onboard bars and lounges. Our cabin even had television, radio and a free mini bar, along with comfortable beds and a sizable bathroom.

The next morning we arrived and, after a short coach transfer from the port, were ready to explore the Dutch capital. I’ve been to Amsterdam before and I absolutely love the place. There are few cities in the world which combine the exciting, modern feel of a capital with the charm and beauty of a small, European city quite as well as Amsterdam.

We chose to spend the day relaxing, recovering from our fun on the ferry by sampling some Dutch cuisine and enjoying stroopwafels, coffee and a few Heinekens by the canals, but Amsterdam truly has something for every tourist. Art fans can check out works from the Dutch Masters at the Rijksmuseum or Schuttersgallerij, or over 200 paintings at the Van Gogh Museum. History buffs will be moved by the ever-poignant Anne Frank House and foodies will love sampling traditional Dutch meals, or taking in something new and exotic from Amsterdam’s cosmopolitan range of restaurants.

Once we were back on the ferry, we had to fight the urge to get steaks for dinner again and decided to taste the 7 Seas all-you-can-eat buffet and its 80 dishes from all over the world. The range was incredible, suitable for all ages, tastes and diets, I won’t tell you how many times we went back up for more…

To put it in plain English, our Newcastle-Amsterdam route is an affordable and convenient way to travel to one of Europe’s most interesting cities. Whether you choose the mini cruise or hotel break offer, or simply take your car across the North Sea and enjoy the freedom of the open road, what you can guarantee is that your time spent crossing will be comfortable and fun, and just as memorable as any other part of your trip!