Irish Ferries: Outbound and inbound trip to France were both cancelled

Fol20

Hi Guys,

My outbound ferry to France was cancelled due to technical reasons and i had to push out my trip by a few days. Likewise last night my inbound trip has now also been cancelled due to operational problems, and i will now have to come earlier than expected yet again. Do i have any come back on this terrible customer service? Its my first time using them however after seeing how poor and unreliable they are, I will never use them again. Their running an absolutely terrible unreliable service. No wonder many dont use them!

ScouseMouse

I am not sure if you have any comeback but I think your post is quite strange.

What part of the cancelled trip is "terrible customer service"? Did they tell you accept it or get lost?

Something has happened and they had to cancel the ferry. I am not sure I would want to be on that ferry if it broke down and had to be towed home. Maybe it should have sailed and hoped for the best?

What did they do to you that is "terrible customer service"?

ScouseMouse

This is what their website says at irishferries.com



Every effort is made to maintain advertised schedules but sailing times can sometimes be disrupted due to technical, operational or weather related issues.

If your sailing is cancelled we will do everything possible to transfer you onto the next available Irish Ferries sailing. If you would prefer not to travel on the next available sailing please contact us and we will be happy to arrange an alternative date for you.

When making your booking please provide us with a contact number (ideally your mobile phone number) and we will endeavour to make contact with you in the event of any major disruption.


What did they do to you?

schemingbohemia

You have rights similar to Airline Passengers: From here:
http://ec.europa.eu/ireland/the_eu_and_you/faq/bus-ferry-and-rail-travel/index_en.htm#2

If I travel by ferry, do I have similar rights to airline passengers?

In late 2012, Regulation 1177/2010 came into effect to protect passengers when travelling by sea and inland water-way were introduced through the operation of a set of minimum rights in the European Union. From 31st December 2012, passengers travelling by sea and inland waterways in the EU, and in particular disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, will benefit from similar rights to those passengers travelling by air or by train. These new rights include:
■adequate and accessible information for all passengers before and during their journey, as well as general information about their rights in terminals and on board ships;
■adequate assistance such as snacks, meals, refreshments and, where necessary, accommodation up to three nights, with a financial coverage up to €80 per night in case of cancellation or delay at departure of more than 90 minutes;
■guaranteed choice between reimbursement or re-routing in case of cancellation or delay at departure of more than 90 minutes;
■compensation, between 25% and 50% of the ticket price, in situations of delay at arrival;
■non-discriminatory treatment and specific, free-of-charge, assistance for disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, both at port terminals and on board ships, as well as financial compensation for loss of or damage to their mobility equipment;
■mechanisms to handle passenger complaints to be put in place by carriers and terminal operators;
■appointment of independent national bodies in charge of enforcing the regulation, where appropriate, through the application of penalties.

Fol20

superscouse wrote: »

What did they do to you?

When my ferry to France was cancelled, the person i dealt with on their customer service phone line wasn't not very friendly or helpful.

I received a phonecall from a girl today in relation to the cancellation of the return trip. She gave me a 200e voucher for Irish Ferries( mind you i dont know if i would ever use it as i dont trust the company to live up to their travel dates) and i will now be returning home 2 days earlier.

The girl that i dealt it today was courteous and helpful however i wouldnt use the company again.

Taking time off work and having something like this happen to you isn't very pleasant!

Fol20

schemingbohemia wrote: »

You have rights similar to Airline Passengers: From here:
http://ec.europa.eu/ireland/the_eu_and_you/faq/bus-ferry-and-rail-travel/index_en.htm#2

If I travel by ferry, do I have similar rights to airline passengers?

In late 2012, Regulation 1177/2010 came into effect to protect passengers when travelling by sea and inland water-way were introduced through the operation of a set of minimum rights in the European Union. From 31st December 2012, passengers travelling by sea and inland waterways in the EU, and in particular disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, will benefit from similar rights to those passengers travelling by air or by train. These new rights include:
■adequate and accessible information for all passengers before and during their journey, as well as general information about their rights in terminals and on board ships;
■adequate assistance such as snacks, meals, refreshments and, where necessary, accommodation up to three nights, with a financial coverage up to €80 per night in case of cancellation or delay at departure of more than 90 minutes;
■guaranteed choice between reimbursement or re-routing in case of cancellation or delay at departure of more than 90 minutes;
■compensation, between 25% and 50% of the ticket price, in situations of delay at arrival;
■non-discriminatory treatment and specific, free-of-charge, assistance for disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility, both at port terminals and on board ships, as well as financial compensation for loss of or damage to their mobility equipment;
■mechanisms to handle passenger complaints to be put in place by carriers and terminal operators;
■appointment of independent national bodies in charge of enforcing the regulation, where appropriate, through the application of penalties.

I received a 200e voucher and a return ferry with a different company. Im leaving 2 days earlier though as a result of their issue. Is this fair or should they have given me more. I highly doubt ill use the voucher as i dont want to use holidays again and have some of my holidays screwed again.

L1011

Ferries get cancelled, particularly in winter. You've just been exceptionally unlucky to have both of them affected. Check to see if what they've given you meets the EU regulations and I wouldn't be overly worried about using them again. If you've any reason to go Dublin-Holyhead the worst case scenario there is generally a 6 hour move and that should be about 4 or less with the new schedule now. Also the chances of the cruise ferries (Ulysses/Epsilon) being cancelled is close to nil too. Other option is to see if the voucher is resaleable.

ScouseMouse

Fol20 wrote: »

When my ferry to France was cancelled, the person i dealt with on their customer service phone line wasn't not very friendly or helpful.

I received a phonecall from a girl today in relation to the cancellation of the return trip. She gave me a 200e voucher for Irish Ferries( mind you i dont know if i would ever use it as i dont trust the company to live up to their travel dates) and i will now be returning home 2 days earlier.

The girl that i dealt it today was courteous and helpful however i wouldnt use the company again.

Taking time off work and having something like this happen to you isn't very pleasant!

So what you are saying is, they cancelled the ferry for some reason, put you on another ferry, and gave you a 200 euro voucher to use on a future sailing?

Sorry but I dont think that is bad service at all. These things happen. God knows what caused it. It could have been a safety, mechanical or even a financial issue. We dont know, but what would you prefer them to have done?

I dont travel irish ferries if I can help it since they shafted me at Dublin port once, I travel up to ten times a year and got Stena Gold status, thats Irish Ferries loss, but on this one, I have to disagree.

As for the voucher you got, if you dont want it, see if it can be transferred. I bought three hundred euros worth of their vouchers last week on adverts.ie. as I am thinking about a french trip this year.

If you can sell it and dont want it, do sell it, I will be watching

Fol20

superscouse wrote: »

So what you are saying is, they cancelled the ferry for some reason, put you on another ferry, and gave you a 200 euro voucher to use on a future sailing?

Sorry but I dont think that is bad service at all. These things happen. God knows what caused it. It could have been a safety, mechanical or even a financial issue. We dont know, but what would you prefer them to have done?

I dont travel irish ferries if I can help it since they shafted me at Dublin port once, I travel up to ten times a year and got Stena Gold status, thats Irish Ferries loss, but on this one, I have to disagree.

As for the voucher you got, if you dont want it, see if it can be transferred. I bought three hundred euros worth of their vouchers last week on adverts.ie. as I am thinking about a french trip this year.

If you can sell it and dont want it, do sell it, I will be watching

When i only have a set amount of holidays a year and when i book a holiday i usually expect to go on the dates i booked. I would understand if one of them was cancelled, however having both dates cancelled is not acceptable in this day and age.

ScouseMouse

It is acceptable if its a safety issue or similar. Sh** happens. Its a very long journey and if something happens to the ferry and it cannot go, its not really possible to conjure up another ferry at short notice.

Aerlingus did this to me flying back from Newark NJ, many a moon ago.
It was a real kick in the proverbials at the time for personal reasons. They gave me a 100 quid voucher and another plane some hours later.

We are not talking planes here, they can be hired in relatively quickly, we are talking ships. They don't come as easy.

I see what you are saying about limited holidays and you have a very fair point, but something happened and you were very unlucky. Have a go at them, see if they up their voucher or something, but you have already said you have no confidence in them so may never travel with them again.

I still think you are being unreasonable and while rightly grieved, you are going over the top. Poor customer service? I don't think so.

What would you have liked them to do?

dudara

Unfortunately, that's the risk you take when traveling by ferry, particularly in the winter months. Rough seas, high winds means that the ferry won't sail as planned (and rightly so). It sucks when you're the one hit by delays, particularly twice, but this could have been the case with any ferry company.

caycro

I've just been talking to Irish Ferries about their December Cherbourg sailings. They were advised yesterday that the ferries for 8, 9, 10, 11 Dec have been cancelled for operational reasons - she confirmed that this has nothing to do with weather. They are currently taking bookings for 13 Dec but she was very clear to point out that they cannot guarantee whether this ferry will sail or may well be cancelled too. I'm not taking the risk of missing Christmas in Ireland for an 'operational reason' !! Celtic Ferries must be thrilled, their bookings are way up :-)

Fol20

caycro wrote: »

I've just been talking to Irish Ferries about their December Cherbourg sailings. They were advised yesterday that the ferries for 8, 9, 10, 11 Dec have been cancelled for operational reasons - she confirmed that this has nothing to do with weather. They are currently taking bookings for 13 Dec but she was very clear to point out that they cannot guarantee whether this ferry will sail or may well be cancelled too. I'm not taking the risk of missing Christmas in Ireland for an 'operational reason' !! Celtic Ferries must be thrilled, their bookings are way up :-)

Yea i was told it was for operational reasons as well. Likewise my trip out to France 3 weeks ago was for the same reason. Im going home with Celtic Ferries as well.

munchkin_utd

caycro wrote: »

I've just been talking to Irish Ferries about their December Cherbourg sailings. They were advised yesterday that the ferries for 8, 9, 10, 11 Dec have been cancelled for operational reasons - she confirmed that this has nothing to do with weather. They are currently taking bookings for 13 Dec but she was very clear to point out that they cannot guarantee whether this ferry will sail or may well be cancelled too. I'm not taking the risk of missing Christmas in Ireland for an 'operational reason' !! Celtic Ferries must be thrilled, their bookings are way up :-)

the operational reason is that the Oscar Wilde is running the Dublin Holyhead route till the 11th, when previously it was only penciled in for being there till the 7th or 8th. (go check the dublin-holyhead bookings and you'll see)

and the reason it is doing that is aparantly Irish Ferries got new slots on the route BUT they had to run a certain number of services in order to secure the slots. And the only option was to pull a number of sailings to France in order to get in the requisite runs between Dublin and Holyhead.
And from the looks of it, the canceled sailings due to the weather are hampering their hamstering of runs and possibly delaying the incoming ship to boot?

The replacement ship (for Dublin-Holyhead) is en route and approaching the straights of Gibraltar (see live map here:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/details/ships/247297100) so when it gets to Dublin the Oscar Wilde can go to do the France route again for the last few days of service before the christmas break.