The article seems to be talking mainly about a freight ferry this year (not heard that even that is happening), then who knows as regards a passenger ferry later. Sigh.
I went over in August 2010 when my Golf was new, and I didn't think it was a good business model. At first I hesitated because the price seemed extortionate, and started looking at flights. But then I thought, add up all the flights, and then hire a car in Bayreuth, it's not going to be much cheaper (if at all), and think of the convenience and the lack of luggage restrictions, and you want to take that GTi to Germany, don't you? I went back to the booking page for the ferry and refreshed it, and the new page came up with all my details still there but about a quarter of the price!
I think they had taken so few bookings they felt they had to drop the price, but what a drop! I was ready to go for it (crying a bit) at the original price, and suddenly found myself with the bargain of the century. But the overnight accommodation on the ferry was poor. You could only book a four-berth cabin, and if you were alone you still had to pay for the four berths. They were trumpeting about how you wouldn't have to share a cabin with a stranger, but I'd happily have done that to pay a single-berth price. So I took my lilo with me, and a sleeping bag, and found a corner of the seating area to sleep on. One or two other people had done similar, but most were trying to sleep in the uncomfortable seats.
Here's Prospero on the car deck.
I would certainly have been prepared to pay more than the price I eventually paid, and to pay for a single berth in a shared cabin, so they definitely missed a couple of tricks.
While I was in Bayreuth I spoke to a friend on the phone who told me that they were discontinuing passenger services on the route. I was quite upset, because I had hoped to go back. Then I believe they stopped the freight service in 2018.
I suppose Newcastle to Amsterdam is a possibility. (ETA. Having looked at the prices, maybe not, after all.)
