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Major boost for Irish parents as huge travel firm vows ‘kids go free' – but there's a catch

Major boost for Irish parents as huge travel firm vows ‘kids go free' – but there's a catch

The Irish Sun07-05-2025

FERRY company Stena Line has announced kids can travel for free - until January next year.
A report recently found 42 per cent of
1
Stena Line has announced kids can travel for free until January next year
Credit: PR Handout
The Legal & General's Family Holiday Report also found that almost a third said they now have a real focus on money-saving measures due to
But the largest ferry operator on the Irish Sea, with routes to Scotland, England, Wales and the French port of Cherbourg, says the Kids Go Free offer applies to all Economy and Flexi motorist fares on the Irish Sea until January 5, 2026.
The routes included are:
The offer is applicable to travel in either direction on the above routes, e.g. from Dublin to Holyhead and from Holyhead to Dublin.
Read more in Travel
However, your trip must be booked before August 31, with the offer applying to kids aged 0 to 15.
Prices start from €175 per car, with one adult, and kids go free.
Use the offer code KIDS when prompted in the booking process online.
Stena Line has around 40 vessels running 20 routes in Northern
Most read in News Travel
The Swedish-owned ferry firm added: "Younger passengers can enjoy Happy World play areas, games zones, an interactive POD lounge on crossings between Belfast and Cairnryan and free movie lounges.
"For the grown-ups, the relaxation begins the moment you step on board with the Pure Nordic Spa (available on the Belfast to Cairnryan route and the Rosslare to Cherbourg route), Taste Restaurant, bars, and excellent shopping all available.
"And with pet-friendly travel on Stena Line routes you can even bring your four-legged friend.
"For cost-conscious passengers travelling on the Dublin to Holyhead crossing and the Rosslare to Fishguard crossing, you can take advantage of Duty-Free savings on a wealth of products, including alcohol, cosmetics, fragrances, gifts, and confectionery."
For more information visit
Meanwhile, take a look inside the
The Swedish-owned ships depart from
The trip is an ideal way to stock up on goodies without breaking the bank, as shoppers can buy items tax-free and duty-free in international waters.
The round trip takes about nine hours, with a 3.5-hour journey there and back and a two-hour stopover in the seaside town of Holyhead.
And the ideal way to spend the trip is in the comfort of one of the two lounges on board, which can be added to your ticket.
Both car and foot passengers are welcome in the eight-floor areas, and the Irish Sun recently had the chance to check them out.
To enter the Hygge lounge or the Stena Plus lounge, we were given cards with a code that serves as a passcode to the lounge door.
The newest addition to the ship is the Hygge lounge, inspired by and named after the
The space is designed to create a relaxing atmosphere ideal for work or just some peace and quiet while on the crossing.
It features glass wall windows offering a stunning sea view and rows and rows of reclining leather seats.

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Some people liken it to a credit card because, just like cards, BNPL is generally a relatively small, unsecured loan with minimal baggage attached. And, like a credit card, if you're smart in the way you use it, it won't cost you anything extra. In fact it can become simply another tool you have to manage your finances and expenses. But, like a credit card, BNPL does create an additional cost if you don't make your repayments in time. It could go from being free to very expensive, very quickly. And if you completely lose control of the debt, it could become a major problem for you. In the case of Klarna, it does warn customers that missed payments may incur a late fee – and it also reserves the right to pass on your bill to a debt collector, which obviously could get messy fast. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the company is more inclined to just write the debt off – certainly if it's small – and then block the user from being able to borrow anything else from them. 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Of course the internet has had great fun with this too – with tonnes of memes based around what people feel is the absurdity of the situation. There are lots of references to The Big Short and Wolf of Wall Street in there, talk about Taco Bell Credit Default Swaps, and one tweet saying 'it's 2026 and I have defaulted on my burrito debt' But all that aside, finance experts feel that - if borrowing money to pay for an everyday luxury like a coffee or a pizza, and maybe even groceries, is now attractive or necessary for a lot of consumers - then there is something fundamentally wrong with the system. And things are probably only going to get worse. Are Klarna even making money on all of this? No – not at the moment at least. In fact their losses have grown considerably recently. It posted quarterly results last month, which showed that its revenue and customer base was growing – but so too was the number of customers that were defaulting on their loans. 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