The ferry had an abundance of facilities to wile away the time including bars, eateries, cinemas, games areas to amuse the kids and a comfy lounge overlooking the shop, but we opted for a cabin to avoid the bustle of the fair weather rush. Our two bed ensuite window cabin was a bit basic, but we could have upgraded to a two bed window plus or suite to get comfy chairs, a TV and tea and coffee making facilities. To be honest a cabin is worth considering, even for a three hour crossing just for the luxury of priority boarding and not having to use the public loo’s, especially if you are blessed by a choppy crossing.
Rush hour on the M11
Once docked we waited to disembark, the curse of a priority boarding, and turned left out of the harbour to travel through the Dublin tunnel and join the M50, both of which have tolls. The M50 toll is not an issue, I paid the moderate 3.20 euros online while the hubby negotiated the nearest Ireland gets to traffic. The tunnel however is 10 euros and coins only, which must catch out more than a few freshly disembarked with a purse full of crispy euro notes. From the M50 we switched to the M11 and headed South on pristine smooth tarmac largely untroubled by other road users. God bless the Euro millions pumped into the Irish infrastructure. It will be years before the major M and N roads sees a traffic cone.