Andy had this this sent through in the last few days from LD, it may be of some use, it would seem they are running a ryanair/stelios type operation.
Many thanks for registering your interest in the new LD Lines Portsmouth to Le Havre ferry service which will commence operations on October 3 2005.
Initially the service will be based on a daily sailing in each direction departing Le Havre at 1700 arriving Portsmouth at 2130 and departing Portsmouth at 2300 arriving Le Havre at 0730 the following morning.
As I am sure you will appreciate it has taken a huge effort to put the operation together in a very short timescale to provide a continuity of service between the 2 ports.
One of the biggest challenges was to find a suitable ship and although the Norman Spirit is perfectly suited to provide a reliable year round service, it will not be possible to have all the onboard facilities available for the first few weeks of sailing.
The service is positioned as a low cost no frills operation with a simple pricing structure based on a one way crossing i.e. a return is twice the single price.
Pricing is seasonally banded and will also be demand driven to provide customers with travel options and allow us to provide competitive prices.
Onboard accommodation will focus mainly on good quality economy and club class reclining seats with a limited number of 1 and 4 berth cabins.
As the Norman Spirit has most recently been operating on the short sea ferry route, cabin and seating accommodation was very limited when we acquired the vessel.
There will not therefore be any reclining seats for the first week or so of sailings whilst we wait for the new ones to be manufactured and installed. We hope you will bear with us during this start up phase as the refurbishment takes place.
We will regularly monitor accommodation usage to see if additional cabins are required.
Reservations can be made by visiting
www.ldlines.co.uk