I see that Cook Strait ferry operator Bluebridge has launched an overnight accommodation
service and are promoting this as an alternative for passengers booking into a motel.
Passengers travelling on the
company's 2:30am crossing to Picton can board four hours early and go to
sleep in a special pre-booked cabin.
They will then be woken at 6am when the ship arrives at the South Island.
Bluebridge's media promotes this new service as "turning one of their ships into a motel while it is berthed in
Wellington" and saving passengers the "hassle" of having to pay
for accommodation or having to wait in their cars until just
before the ship leaves.
While an attraction to the new service may be its novelty value, budget conscious travellers will easily connect the dots that the combination of sleeping while on the move will be a cost saving.
The spartan rooms come in a single, double or four-person
configuration and all of them have their own bathroom with shower, as
well as wireless internet.
Passengers will have
to pay extra for the room, with the single costing $30, the double
costing $40 and the four-person room costing $60.
Bluebridge general manager Peter Ellison says the service will save passengers time and money.
"Passengers
can be onboard and in their cabin by midnight, allowing them six hours
to sleep, shower and eat before they arrive in Picton at 6am."
The service began this week.
