A grandmother who was forced back on to land during the covid pandemic has gone back out to sea - saying she wouldn't be without her "family" on board a ferry.
Stena Line crew spend two weeks at a time on board ferries before getting two weeks off on dry land. Tina Robinson, 56, has her own "cosy" cabin with a single bed, family photos and a kettle on Edda, one of the shipping line's newest vessels.
Since launching in March 2020, the ferry has carried up to 750 passengers at a time between Liverpool and Belfast, one of the Stena Line's Irish Sea routes, which combined make up half the Swedish company's revenue.
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Although she only joined in August, Tina already feels welcomed into her "little ship family", dining with crew members on Christmas Day and gathering on the bridge for a honk of the ship's horn on New Year's Eve, with a view of the fireworks in Belfast.
Tina's son and her granddaughter Ivy visited the vessel for the first time just a day before Mother's Day. Tina, who lives in Chester for the rest of the year when not on holiday, said: "It was lovely that my family knew where exactly I was working, because it's OK going home saying, 'Oh yeah, I work on a ship and do this, do that', but they came to all of the areas and met the captain, and it was so lovely."
Hidden from the view of passengers are the staff quarters, where the day crew retires after working 12-hour shifts before swapping with the night crew. There they have cabins - from which they can see the Liverpool skyline while docked in Birkenhead - a canteen, gym, and a mess room where all crew members, including the captain, mix and relax.
The design of public areas on these newer vessels is veering towards the style of a cruise ship, with facilities aimed at improving the overall experience of passengers. Above the decks with 5km of space for vehicles are a play area and interactive screens for kids, a movie lounge and a "Hygge Lounge" for "tranquillity and peacefulness".
It also has in-built stabilisers, which help passengers prone to sea sickness, and cabins have a TV with a selection of films to keep them entertained. Some even come with a double bed and a door onto the balcony deck, and passengers can avail of a bar beneath a skylight, with an atmosphere like "a nice city centre wine bar", according to Kathryn Gallagher, the ship's 41-year-old OSS co-ordinator.
Before the pandemic, Tina worked on the P&O cruise ship Britannia, but she wasn't suited to life back on land working in cosmetics when the industry shut. She said: "Once you've got your sea legs, you've always got your sea legs."
She wasn't sure how much work she'd get when she joined Stena Line as a "flexi" worker in August last year, but straight away she was in a 'two weeks on, two weeks off' routine. Full-time crew positions are in high demand, with 1,700 people applying for 60 vacancies in the company's recruitment drive early this year.
But Tina managed to get a permanent role, and now she works in Stena Plus, a £20 per person "luxury lounge" with an array of fruit, pastries, tea and coffee, table service for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and cushioned recliners from which to watch dolphins passing by.
Although passengers can sometimes get rowdy as they start their holidays, Tina said she loves meeting the regulars, with some travelling the route twice a month, or even twice a week. This week, she gave one woman a list of when she's on duty so the passengers can know when to find her. Tina said: "I do hug people and make them feel comfortable and just check in on them."
Tina's favourite part of the last years working on Edda is "being made to feel welcome by the other crew, being made to feel like part of their family".
She said: "It's a massive thing on here, everybody just welcomes everybody. At first it's quite daunting coming on, to people who've never been on a ship. At first it can be a bit scary and you don't which area you're going to be in. And then the second time I came on, I was just like, 'Wow, yeah, I'm meant to be here'."
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