PS Waverley - Taken out of service requiring new boilers (May 2019)

[Rob Lightbody]

£850,000... but another £1.5m needed to get Waverley ship-shape

https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/17887761.850-000-another-1-5m-needed-get-waverley-ship-shape/

[Rob Lightbody]

Fantastic news this morning, with the Scottish government giving £1 million.  One more QE2 story gathering on board is looking more possible!

Waverley paddle steamer appeal given £1m from Scottish government

I think they've done the right thing, but as a taxpayer I'd hope there's some conditions attached. 

Oh and if they get her going again - please don't let drunken, yobbish Stag and Hen do's ruin Saturdays - it takes away the vast majority of the days of the year when I am actually free to go on board

[tramscape]

Oh and if they get her going again - please don't let drunken, yobbish Stag and Hen do's ruin Saturdays

That would be some feat. Let's see !

Fantastic news anyway. She will survive

[cunardqueen]

  Oh and if they get her going again - please don't let drunken, yobbish Stag and Hen do's ruin Saturdays - it takes away the vast majority of the days of the year when I am actually free to go on board  

Sadly these "events" bring in a load of revenue, there is also the  flip side that it puts people off, but unless droves of people are not going because of that express reason , unless numbers are down so much that the steamer is sailing at less than capacity, then these sailing will carry on. If they could be persuaded to run a non stag/hen sailing it might be a boon for those that done care for that element of society on the open decks, But it would l fear also confirm to the company just how profitable these sailings are. 
 
I remember speaking with someone in the know on Queen Mary about their Ink Festival. It might not be what we think is best or even a good idea, but the income from the bar sales is something that simply cannot be turned down. and if the crowd take over all the cabins as well, it is a big money spinner.

We run Prosecco afternoons, im sure you know the type of thing unlimited prosecco with food , it caters for a female crowd and runs between 1-4pm , i mercifully am not there, but for that 4 hours its free flowing prosecco and a disco. The staff hate them, its a hellish mess to clear up and you run very close to licensing laws. They fill up as soon as date are mentioned and we hold about 10 a year.  For that limited time frame it brings in more revenue than a whole day wedding, and generally a whole load easier and is very easy money. And while the Prosecco genuinely is unlimited, the public have no unearthly idea how much they are actually drinking, they have this fanciful idea its many bottles, the reality is no where near, BUT for it to be efective you must keep the glasses topped up. the price per head is £40
 
 The Queen Mary do a stunning Sunday brunch, and they are forever topping up your mimosa, you do really need to tell them to stop, And like most American places they use decent orange juice  Iv always said its one of the best brunch venues out  there. You pay what l think is a cheap price for such an experience, and the "champagne" is all their own Queen Mary Labels then as you take a look over the Queen Mary in their souvenir shops , you can buy your own Queen Mary Champagne. The first time l spotted it, l was aghast at how much they were charging per bottle, But they dont really need to sell it, but its there and people do think when seeing the price just what great value they have just had, they are not seeing the vastly inflated price of the bottle . Its a great move and l always have a quiet chuckle . But then when your getting around 900 people for a brunch, the money speaks for its self.             

And people wonder why i dont drink !

[Peter Mugridge]

Good news - the appeal has reached the target; seen on Twitter.  Unfortunately I'm not on my main computer and this forum doesn't seem to take screenshots so all I can do is post the link.

Edit: I don't know why it's saying "tweet does not exist" because clicking on the link does indeed go straight to the tweet in question.

Edit 2: Thank you to Rob for fixing that issue and allowing the tweet to display properly.

https://twitter.com/islandecho/status/1207254397153099776

[Isabelle Prondzynski]

Here is a screenshot. Good news indeed!

The actual article is here :

https://www.islandecho.co.uk/paddle-steamer-waverley-saved-as-appeal-reaches-2-3million-target/

[Clydebuilt1971]

Great Christmas present for enthusiasts and those directly involved!

I dont think anyone ever thought that the target would be reached in seven months!

Looking forward to monitoring progress when she arrives at Dales Marine, Greenock during January.

Gav

[Lynda Bradford]

It was at the QE2 Story get together in May, when we visited PS Waverley for a tour that we were first made aware of the need to raise over £2million to allow the boiler work to take place and the ship to sail again.

Fantastic news that the money has been raised in such a relatively short time and that we can look forward to sailing on the Waverley next year - sounds like a good option for a QE2 Story get together

[Rob Lightbody]

Great Christmas present for enthusiasts and those directly involved!

I dont think anyone ever thought that the target would be reached in seven months!

Looking forward to monitoring progress when she arrives at Dales Marine, Greenock during January.

Gav

This is fantastic news, it really is.  I'm overjoyed and will be making immense efforts to travel on her at least once.

[tramscape]

One has to wonder, though, what  the situation would have been if the Scottish Government had not come up with half of it.

I'm not sure what specific fund this money came from, if any, but it came much more quickly than would have happened with "normal" applications for funding. I guess that the Scottish Governement's much-trumpeted "Year of Coasts and Waters" in 2020 had a lot to do with it - it would have been much damaged by Waverley's absence !

Whatever the whys and wherefores, us enthusiasts can only be glad that this particular project was treated so favourably