15 Mar 2019
Discover the blooming Gardens of Europe
Every year, between March and May, more than one million visitors travel to see Holland in full bloom at Keukenhof Gardens, where 7 million bulbs of 800 varieties lie in what is known as the 'Garden of Europe'.
Each year, Keukenhof celebrates a different theme, and in honour of their 70th anniversary, the theme for 2019 is 'Flower Power'. Expect 1970s vibes and a giant flower mosaic portraying the theme, to attract people from across globe.
DFDS offers customers the chance to explore the Gardens of Europe with their Newcastle – Amsterdam Keukenhof Gardens mini cruise, which includes two nights on board, coach transfers to and from Keukenhof and entrance tickets to the gardens, from £141pp, based on two people sharing. Daily departures will run between 27 March and 19 May 2019.
ORCA returns to the North Sea and Western Channel routes
Wildlife charity ORCA returns to DFDS' ships this month (from 27 March), for the 13th consecutive year. During the season, which runs on the Newcastle-Amsterdam route from March until September, and on the Newhaven-Dieppe route from June to September, ORCA Wildlife Officers monitor marine life on the crossings, delivering passenger presentations about the diverse wildlife that can be spotted on the two routes.
During the 2018 season, more than 35,100 passengers engaged with the ORCA education programme on board DFDS' Newcastle-Amsterdam ship King Seaways, which is 10,000 more than in 2017 (an increase of almost 30%). In this period, passengers were treated to over 2,000 marine wildlife sightings, including 902 harbour porpoises, 30 bottlenose dolphins, 74 minke whales, 225 grey seals, and 652 acrobatic white-beaked dolphins!
ORCA wildlife officers can be found daily on board DFDS' King Seaways ship between Newcastle and Amsterdam and Tuesday – Sunday on crossings from Newhaven to Dieppe.
DFDS' newly-refreshed Lighthouse Café takes to the seas
DFDS has now finalised a complete renovation of the Lighthouse Café on board its three Eastern Channel ferries that travel between Dover and Dunkirk. The newly refurbished Lighthouse Café is phase one of the ferry operator's ongoing project to revitalise the dining options for all of DFDS' Eastern Channel ferries.
The £1.8 million re-design project began on the first ship, Dunkerque Seaways, on 7 January 2019, with all three ferries completed and back on the sea within just six weeks.
Further improvements this year will include a £180,000 investment and upgrade to the Horizon restaurants on board the Dover-Calais fleet – Côte Des Dunes & Côte Des Flandres, with work commencing early 2019.
DFDS operates a comprehensive passenger route network, including four routes from the UK to Europe via Dover-Dunkirk, Dover-Calais, Newhaven-Dieppe and Newcastle-Amsterdam. It also offers routes in Scandinavia and across the Baltic Sea, including a cruise ferry service from Copenhagen to Oslo and services from Germany to Lithuania, Sweden to Lithuania and Sweden to Estonia.
For further information, please visit dfds.co.uk.
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For further press information, please contact:
Elsa Findlay / Charlotte Wright / Arabella Halfhide / Katie Raby
Rooster PR
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About DFDS:
DFDS is Northern Europe's largest integrated shipping and logistics company, with a network of around 30 routes and 50 freight and passenger ships. DFDS prides itself on offering world-class facilities and services and the widest choice of ferry routes into northern Europe.
In the UK, the company operates passenger ferry services on routes from Dover to Calais, Dover to Dunkirk, Newcastle to Amsterdam and Newhaven to Dieppe. DFDS has been named the 'World's Leading Ferry Operator' for the last 8 years (2011-2018) as well as 'Europe's Leading Ferry Operator' (2012-18).
DFDS currently operates up to 54 sailings a day between Dover and France on its Dover-Dunkirk and Dover-Calais routes. DFDS also offers two daily sailings between Newcastle and Amsterdam.
In addition, the DFDS network includes a passenger and freight service between Newhaven to Dieppe, which has four daily sailings and is operated by Transmanche Ferries.
The ships operating on the Dover-Calais route Côte Des Dunes, Côte Des Flandres and Calais Seaways and are flagged in France. The ships operating on the Dover-Dunkirk route are the Dover Seaways, Delft Seaways and Dunkerque Seaways and are flagged in the UK.
For further information about DFDS, or to find out about the latest sailing times, fares and offers across all routes from the UK, visit www.dfds.co.uk.
