Express-shopping in 3 hours ? Maybe "Dagbladet" need the money from announces from DFDS and can not criticize... .
From my side DFDS offers generally "very few value for very much money" on both her last "cruise-routes".
- oldest ferries, will be in use 45 years (!) as written in the new annual report
- extrem slowly speed - mostly only ca. 17 knots, the most other ferry-companies (Color, Viking, Tallink, Silja, Brittany etc.) are operating faster
- extrem high prices onboard for food and drinks
- very high ticket-prices, just for exampel:
6-nights-cruise with COSTA FAVOLOSA from Copenhagen inklusive all meals all day and tipps-money for 286,50 per person if 2 people book a 2-beds inside cabin IP with double-bed (f.ex. via kreuzfahrtberater.de) 21.9.-27.9. (via Warnemünde and Stockholm back to Copenhagen).
11,7qm cabin IP with TV-screen etc.
https://itravelcdn.com/enhance/images/9b2068b9-cb81-457a-ab06-8dac6bf57258_1_1_800_800.jpg
This Costa ship is from 2011, much bigger and better and more modern than the DFDS ships.
DFDS-price 2 nights mini-cruise 21.9. COP-OSLO, 22.9. OSLO-COP Mini-Cruise only with cheapest breakfast and cheapest dinner (booked time needed !) on both ways in a 8qm 2 pers. bunk-bed inside-cabin (1 person must sleep on the upper bed) = 167,40 per person ! And the DFDS ship is 28 or 33 years old and offers much less things and attractions onboard than Costa. And you can use only CIRCA 3,5 hours in Oslo... . Also other 2-nights-minicruises with f.ex. Viking Line or Silja Line/Tallink are much much cheaper ! So if we take the 2-nights-DFDS price x 3 = the 6 nights of Costa it would be then 502,20 per person - for much less time on land, much less meals onboard, much less attractions onboard, much smaller cabin with bunk-bed instead of double-bed.
So in fact DFDS just takes so much money as possible with so much less costs (f.ex. slowly speed = less fuel costs) as possible with her last (Amsterdam - Newcastle is not better or cheaper but more older ships) very old 4 "cruise-ferries". Why they do not operate with 20 or 21 knots ? THIS would means really more time in Oslo or Copenhagen, but then DFDS would earn less money because of higher fuel costs. Because of the check-in-times etc. the people has with the new timetable only 4 hours or less on land - and the big shopping-areas are not side by side at the terminals, so in fact there will not be more than really circa 3 hours for shopping possible.
DFDS is really not interested in modern attractive Pax-oriented-ferries, so it would be better then to sell this operation-unit f.ex. to Viking or Tallink or Brittany or Eckerö or Finnlines or to another better ferry-company which has more modern ships (from 2025 f.ex. the oldest Brittany-ferry is from 2002), cheaper prices and faster speed - and where cruise-ferries are more welcome and desired - and not only are tolerated until they are 45 years (!) old... . You can directly feel the DFDS strategy "so long we can earn money with these old ferries we will hold them". There is still no change from the times when other DFDS-routes (as f.ex. from Göteborg, Hamburg, Harwich or Esbjerg) was closed.
And generally i am missing really improvements, upgrades of the DFDS routes. What is now in 20ies really better for the people than in the 90ies ? F.ex. look to the new Superstar-ferries from Finnlines - really MUCH bigger PAX-capacity also and MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE than the to replace ferries ! Many other ferry-routes today with much faster ferries and shorter traveltimes. F.ex. Oslo-Frederikshavn-Copenhagen-Rostock would be very attractive for many new customer-groups with 2 new XXL-Cruise-Ro-Pax-ferries (similar as Viking Glory but with 3 truck-decks = 4500 lm and a little bit faster) operating with ca. 22/23/24 knots (Circa 16:30 Oslo, 23:30 Fred., 7:00 Cop., 12:00 Rostock - 16:00 Rostock, 21:00/22:00 Cop., 3:00 Fred., 10:00 Oslo). This would be MUCH MUCH BETTER, much more time in Oslo and Copenhagen for cruise-pople and a lot of complete new possibilities to/from Germany. And not "freight or Pax" - but both together and both with big capacities.
But instead of this DFDS is planning with 2 new "green" Hydrogen-ferries from circa 2032/34 with less Pax capacity (only max. 1800) than today and the focus is on "green" technology only. But also then in the 30ies - nothing will be faster or really better for the people... . And to be more "green" - this is normal to operate with so less emissions as possible - this is nothing special and it is no improvement-point for the people.
