Above & Below: Comparative pictures of the forward A Deck main bar, taken a decade apart. The view above is taken from the Stena Hengist's final on-board guide of 1991, but is actually of the Horsa's Mercia Bar, fitted out in a burgundy red, rather than the Hengist's predominantly green Wessex Bar. That apart however, the bars were the same on both ships in terms of layout and design. This fact is amplified by the clear resemblance in the second picture taken by Richard Seville in 1999 aboard Panagia Ekatontapiliani. Whilst the area had been refurbished and reupholstered since the move to Greece, the basic design adopted after the 1986 refit remained. The semi-circular sofa-type seating layout is original.
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THE WESSEX BAR, COFFEE BAR & THE WAITER-SERVICE RESTAURANT
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The main bar on board, located forward on A Deck, was the Wessex Bar. The Motor Ship in July 1972 was lavish in its praise: "By far the most luxurious room is the Wessex Bar, decorated in an overall colour scheme of green and gold. Sumptuously carpeted throughout in shades of light and mid green, carpeting is even extended up the table supports, the bar has green-grey wrap-around chairs and semi-circular sofa-type seats clustered back-to-back in groups of four semi-circles. Rising from the centre of each group is a gold-coloured pillar with a large spherical light fitting positioned halfway down it. Small imitation marble-topped tables are included and three of the bulkheads are curtained in olive green, illuminated by hidden lighting behind the ceiling. A large attractive bar is fitted at the forward end".

The large light fixtures appear to have been removed by the mid-1980s (they are not present in the picture from that era seen above), although there was little other modification to the bar until the 1986 refit. At that stage, the area was comprehensively modernised, with clustered light fittings added and new dividing metalwork in the seating area. At the same time modifications were made to the bar counter area to enable it to serve bar food and snacks.

As built, the main bar had an adjacent small coffee lounge furnished in a bright turquoise. The purpose of this was originally to provide passengers enjoying the service of the waiter service restaurant just aft (see below) with a space to retire to for coffee, having completed their meals. This would then free up space in the relatively small restaurant space for further passengers to be served if necessary. The coffee lounge disappeared in the 1986 refit, as the bar area was extended aft. Externally, this shift saw the 'plugging' of two windows on each side of the vessel - something which still distinguishes the former Hengist and Horsa from their sister, the former Senlac.
THE WAITER-SERVICE RESTAURANT
© matt@hhvferry.com
Top: The bar as it was prior to the 1986 refit, albeit lacking the original column-mounted light fittings.
Below: An original view from the Hengist 's Wessex Bar, taken prior to the ship's entry into service in 1972. This view shows the original light fixtures with the bar servery (at the forward end) visible in the background.
Below: The bar servery as it appeared after the 1986 refit, looking across to the port side, forward.
Below: Soon after the Hellas Ferries takeover, the Panagia Ekatontapiliani (by then renamed Express Artemis) underwent a major renovation, with many of the older passenger spaces being thoroughly refitted. This was certainly the case in the main bar where the original semi-circular sofa bays were completely ripped out and brand new seating fitted throughout. This is the view looking forward/across to port on the renamed (once again) Panagia Ekatontapiliani in July 2003. The space was reserved for Distinguished Class passengers only and referred to as a Piano bar (a small piano indeed being located at the stern end although it appeared rarely used).
Below: Despite the further thorough refit, elements of the space's previous incarnation remain. This is the bar servery in a picture taken from a near-identical location to the equivalent on Hengist above. Apart from the appearance of the Greek Everest brand (as featured throughout the ship) there has been little change to the wooden panelling installed at the 1986 refit.
When the Hengist entered service in 1972, she featured a small restaurant located just aft of the forward lobby on the upper of the two main passenger decks. Sharing a galley with the cafeteria aft, it had only 48 seats, but was a pleasant and compact saloon. Fitted with a combination of burnt orange free-standing and booth seating three large windows overlooked the side promenades - as with the cafeteria, there was therefore no direct sea view, so the thin white curtains were often kept firmly shut.

Post-privatisation and with the ending of the slightly longer Oostende crossings the ships had run overnight since being introduced, Sealink decided that the waiter-service restaurant was surplus to requirements, and that the space could be better used for an additional shopping outlet (the third on board) and it consequently became a tax-free shop (as distinct from the B Deck midships Duty Free Supermarket and aft Gift Shop).

After moving to Greece, there was no need for these multiple shopping areas, so the Tax Free shop was reconverted back to a formal restaurant for distinguished class passengers.
Above: The Tax-Free shop created in the location of the former restaurant - this Sealink view is looking across to starboard. During conversion for this new role, the old restaurant's six windows were plated over in the promenades on either side; with the windows now exposed again, the weld marks for these covers are clearly visible on the ship today.
Below: Section from Hengist's original GA covering the forward part of A Deck showing the inter-relation between the main bar and its associated coffee lounge just astern, which also catered for passengers from the restaurant located across the forward lobby. The restaurant looked out onto the enclosed side promenades on either side and shared a galley with the cafeteria aft on the same deck..
Below: The Hengist's small coffee lounge, aft of the Wessex Bar featured similar booth seating but larger tables and a series of wildlife prints on the bulkheads.
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