“You used to be able to get a bed onboard for about £40 for two,” said my taxi driver as we weaved through the streets of Hull. Approaching P&O Ferries’ Pride of Rotterdam, I wondered how this would compare with the ship’s latest addition.
I would be among the first passengers to try one of the 36 reclining seats in the ferry’s sleep lounge, which opened on 13 July for the 12-hour crossing to Rotterdam (the ship stops at Europoort, around 30 minutes’ drive from the city). The room was previously the ship’s second cinema, but now that more passengers watch TV or films on their phones or tablets, P&O Ferries decided it could be put to better use.
The solution was a passcode-secured sleeping area that’s an affordable option for solo travellers. With foot-passenger tickets for a lounge seat starting from £49 each way, it’s less than half the price of staying in a cabin alone (from £118 each way for a single traveller, only £20 less than if you were travelling in a pair). It’s the first time in 15 years that P&O Ferries has offered a sleep lounge on this route.
On the Hull–Rotterdam route, around a quarter of bookings are for one person. A mix of single travellers and couples have booked the sleep lounge so far, according to P&O Ferries. Only a limited number of sleep-lounge seats were released for booking on the first journey.
There are 36 seats in the lounge, which opened on 13 JulyThe route also works well as a starting point for interrailing trips. Taking the Eurostar might be a convenient option for those who live in the south of England, but getting from Hull to St Pancras by train can cost around £100. Once in the Netherlands, P&O Ferries offers a 40-minute coach shuttle service from Europoort to Rotterdam. A spokesperson for P&O Ferries said: “We know that many travellers – particularly Gen Z customers – are looking for cost-effective ways to reach Europe without having to compromise on the onboard experience.”
Lounges with reclining seats are available on other overnight ferries to continental Europe. Brittany Ferries has lounge tickets on some overnight sailings, including on the up to eight-hour journey from Portsmouth to Caen in Normandy, from £48 each way for foot passengers. DFDS has three lounges with reclining seats on its four-hour crossing from Newhaven-Dieppe. But P&O Ferries is the only operator with a lounge that requires a passcode for access.
At Hull Port, the receptionist handed me a white ticket, a border officer looked through my passport, and a security officer checked my bag. Within five minutes of arrival, I crossed onto the ship. “Welcome onboard,” said a female steward. On this route, the EU’s Entry/Exit System biometric checks take place on arrival in the Netherlands, so I avoided any queues on departure.
The ferry offers a flight-free route to Rotterdam (Photo: Getty)When I reached the sleep lounge, I tapped a code into the door’s keypad before emerging into an eight metre (26ft) by seven metre (23ft) windowless room. The gentle hum of aircon mingled with the distant rumble of an engine, much like the white noise you’d expect on a flight.
I was assigned chair seven, corresponding with a locker at the rear of the room, in which there was a blanket. The luggage storage was BYOP (bring your own padlock), but you could also buy one from reception for £5.
There were only three other passengers in the sleep lounge on my sailing, and we were spread across the room. I’m 5ft 3, so I rarely struggle for leg room, but the gap between my seat and the seat infront felt generous compared with the seat pitch on a long-haul flight.
Putting my well-cushioned seat to a quick test, the mechanisms proved simple. A righthand lever raised my legs, a lefthand lever reclined the chair. Its reading light had different brightness levels, and there were USB ports. Before getting some rest, I headed to dinner.
I skipped The Kitchen, where guests enjoyed the all-you-can-eat buffet for £28 per person. Instead, I reserved a table at The Brasserie, an à la carte restaurant on the 9th floor. Ordering a smoked salmon starter, dolloped with creme fraiche and capers, and pan-seared trout as a main, my meal came to £29.50.
Returning to the lounge, I settled in for the evening. There were Wi-Fi packages for £14.99 (an hour of free Wi-Fi was offered in public areas) but, if anyone was streaming films, they were wearing efficient headphones. The cabin was quiet and the lights had been dimmed.
The seat reclined to around the same angle you’d expect in an economy seat on a long-haul flight. The room temperature was chilled, but still warm enough for me to sleep comfortably under the blanket.
I’m usually anxious about sleeping alone in unfamiliar places, but I felt surprisingly comfortable. I noticed a security camera, and there was a uniformed guard – a retired police officer –who intermittently poked his head in throughout the night.
Initially, I was concerned that the music from a live band in the adjoining Show Bar would keep me awake, or that I might need to buy earplugs from the vending machine outside. But the schedule struck a polite balance – by midnight all was quiet.
I left the lounge briefly, walking 30 seconds to the closest toilet, and I was met with empty corridors.
The night passed quickly, and I only woke briefly a couple of times before a 7am tannoy announcement about breakfast.
While waiting for a lift, I met a freelance interpreter who was taking the ferry to a job in Amsterdam. “You used to be able to book a lounger for £18,” she said.
I couldn’t resist showing her a photograph of my seat. “You aren’t going to believe this,” I said.
I was pleased to have found a budget travel hack that would save £98 for a return journey compared with staying in a cabin. Leaving the ferry behind, I felt well-rested for a day in Rotterdam.
Booking it
The writer was a guest of P&O Ferries. Sleep-lounge tickets start from £49pp each way from Hull to Rotterdam.
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