Today, Europe’s leading ferry operator DFDS and marine conservation charity ORCA, enter their 13th year in partnership, as the 2019 ORCA season begins.
The partnership sees on board ORCA marine wildlife experts engage with DFDS passengers to educate them about the diverse marine life and conservation work undertaken in British waters. Conservation talks, marine wildlife spotting sessions and wildlife-related games are offered to passengers of all ages, free of charge.
Until 27 September, ORCA’s dedicated team of Marine Wildlife Officers will be on-board select DFDS Newcastle-Amsterdam crossings, and from 5 June to 8 September select Newhaven-Dieppe crossings.*
Steve Jones, Head of Partnerships at ORCA said, “We, at ORCA, are all looking forward to enjoying a 13th season with DFDS. We’re hoping to engage with even more passengers than during last year’s record-breaking season, which saw over 35,100 passengers take part in the ORCA education programme on-board. There is such a fantastic array of wildlife to be enjoyed on Britain’s coastline and we can’t wait to showcase it to passengers.”
Naomi Thornton from DFDS said, “We are thrilled to have ORCA’s team of Marine Wildlife Officers back on-board. We’ve now enjoyed 12 years working with the ORCA team on our Newcastle-Amsterdam route and are delighted to be extending this marine wildlife watching service to passengers on-board our Newhaven-Dieppe route, for the second year running. We look forward to seeing the ORCA team’s findings across both routes this summer.”
The 2018 season saw the opening of a brand new ORCA Wildlife Centre on board DFDS’ King Seaways ship, where 35,100 passengers engaged with the on-board programme. These passengers were treated to more than 2,000 marine wildlife sightings, including 902 harbour porpoises, 30 bottlenose dolphins, 74 minke whales, 225 grey seals, and 652 acrobatic white-beaked dolphins.
DFDS offers daily sailings between Newcastle-Amsterdam – a two night mini-cruise is available from £84pp for two or £54pp for four. While on board, passengers can enjoy delicious fine dining in the North Sea Bistro, as well as an unlimited international selection, serving over 60 dishes from around the world in Explorer’s Kitchen. Other on-board facilities include a shop, a casino, two cinema screens, showing the latest blockbuster movies and a kid’s club to keep children entertained.
DFDS also offer multiple daily sailings between Newhaven-Dieppe, available from £75pp for two. On-board facilities include a family friendly self-service restaurant offering a variety of hot and cold snacks and main courses as well as the Beachy Head Bar, a split-level lounge providing stunning sea views. There is also a dedicated soft play area for young children to enjoy whilst older kids can take advantage of the video games available.
ORCA activities open to all passengers, at no extra cost. For more information or to book a crossing visit: www.dfds.co.uk
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Notes to Editors
*ORCA activities available onboard King Seaways Newcastle to Amsterdam 17.00pm BST departure and Amsterdam to Newcastle 17:30 CET departure.
*ORCA activities available Wednesday-Sunday on Newhaven to Dieppe 17.30pm BST departure and Dieppe to Newhaven 12.30pm CET departure.
*ORCA digital wildlife presentations are also available for Dutch, German and French speaking passengers onboard King Seaways, Newcastle to Amsterdam crossings.
For further press information, please contact:
Elsa Findlay/Charlotte Wright/Arabella Halfhide/Katie Raby
T : +44 (0)20 3440 8930
E : [email protected]
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.
