Stena Line’s new Rosslare – Cherbourg cruiseferry, STENA VISION has departed Rosslare this afternoon, 24 June, on her first commercial sailing.
The vessel arrived at Rosslare on 18 June, fresh from drydock in Poland. She has spent the past week undertaking berthing trials at all Rosslare berths. STENA VISION has also been getting her onboard areas prepared for service.
Today’s sailing to Rosslare is freight-only. Departing Rosslare just after 1400, arrival in Cherbourg is scheduled for 1600 tomorrow. STENA HORIZON will also sail from Rosslare, as normal, tonight at 1645 with a 1045 French arrival tomorrow.
STENA VISION will spend the next few days at Cherbourg, including berthing trials, a port she has never visited before. Another freight-only sailing for STENA VISION is scheduled for Tuesday 27 June at 1300, with an arrival at Rosslare at 0900 on Wednesday.
Significant customer experience improvement
STENA VISION replaces the chartered Seatruck-owned roro SEATRUCK PANORAMA. The arrival of the cruiseferry doubles the number of passenger sailings per week. As well as significantly improving the driver-accompanied capacity on the route, the ship offers significantly improved facilities on the route.
In addition to a choice of eating and drinking venues, including a deck bar, STENA VISION also offers passengers a spa which includes a sauna and jacuzzi. Passengers can choose from a selection of cabins including deluxe, superior, accessible, and pet friendly cabins.
A route previously steeped in ro-paxes
The origins of the current service stem from a Pandoro (P&O) route, which began in 1993.
Following a major retreat on the P&O Ferries routes to Normandy, the Rosslare to Cherbourg route was sold to haulier-backed Celtic Link ferries in early 2005.
Stena Line acquired the Rosslare to Cherbourg route from Celtic Link Ferries in early 2014. The charter of the Visentini ropax CELTIC HORIZON continued, with the ship renamed STENA HORIZON.
The STENA VISION marks the first permanent major passenger vessel on the service and could pave the way for ships such as E-Flexer’s in the future. Both STENA ESTRID and STENA EMBLA operated some services on the route in the post-Brexit period in early 2021.
A rival operation from Irish Ferries had a history of major passenger vessels. However, towards the end of 2019, Irish Ferries announced that it was unlikely to continue operating its competing Rosslare to Cherbourg/Roscoff route. Since 2019, Irish Ferries only scheduled passenger route between Ireland and France has linked Dublin and Cherbourg.
The fleet from Pandoro to Stena Line
The table below, shows some of the major vessels that have operated on the genesis of the route. We have excluded charter cover.
| Ship | Operator | When? |
| EUROPEAN CLEARWAY/PANTHER/EUROPEAN PATHFINDER | Pandoro/P&O Irish Sea | 1993 – 2001 |
| EUROPEAN SEAFARER | P&O Irish Sea | 2001 – 2002 |
| EUROPEAN DIPLOMAT/DIPLOMAT | P&O Irish Sea/Celtic Link Ferries | 2002 – 2009 |
| NORMAN VOYAGER | Celtic Link Ferries | 2009 – 2011 |
| CELTIC HORIZON/STENA HORIZON | Celtic Link Ferries/Stena Line | 2011 – Present |
| STENA FORETELLER | Stena Line | 2021 |
| STENA ESTRID | Stena Line | 2021 |
| SEATRUCK PANORAMA | Stena Line | 2021 – 2023 |
| STENA VISION | Stena Line | 2023 – Present |
