Public splashes out on Jeanie trip

LESS than a handful of seats are left on the Jeanie Johnston famine replica ship that sails to the US later this year.

It’s an expensive way of travelling to the States but the public has been happy to splash out and only three places are left on board.

For a plum 10,000 you can join 29 other guests and 11 crew members on the 16 million ship.

However, the majority of paying sailors are going to row in with the crew and this will bring the cost down to 3,500 per person. Just four passengers will travel in luxury after purchasing the first-class 10,000 ticket.

“We’re delighted with the response especially given that the decision to sail was made very recently. There were many people who were just waiting for the opportunity to jump aboard,” Jeanie Johnston company secretary, Brendan Dineen, said.

Jaunts around Ireland that include a three-day stint on Jeanie when she sails from Dublin to Belfast this week, and a journey from Belfast to Waterford are all sold out. These trips set passengers back 1,000.

The serious sailing begins on February 15 when Jeanie departs from Fenit, Co Kerry and travels to Tenerife. To get on board will cost 5,000 for a plush seat, but if you’re willing to assist the crew you can travel for 2,500. Just four free places are left for this trip. Then the big voyage between Tenerife and the USA gets underway when the 550-tonne Kerry-made ship leaves the Spanish island on March 13.

Some of the bookings for the 35-day American adventure have come from a number of the 12 people who paid 12,000 for a similar voyage first scheduled for 2000. They were refunded after Jeanie ran millions over budget and the planned US trip was put on hold for more than two years.

The ship will be open to visitors in Waterford from January 24, before returning to Fenit in early February for the final preparations before her long-awaited departure to the US. The first port of call in America still has yet to be selected.