If your ferry is delayed or has been cancelled

If you are travelling on a ferry departing from the UK, on ferries which operate, to, from or within EU countries and your ferry operator expects your departure to be delayed, the operator should inform you as soon as possible. If this is on the day of travel, you should be informed no later than 30 minutes after your scheduled time of departure.

You have a number of rights under EU Regulations

The rights of ferry passengers under EU laws have been adopted into UK law following our exit from the EU. Depending on the length of the delay, you should be provided with free snacks, meals and refreshments in relation to the waiting time, or a hot meal when delayed over 8 hours, even if the reason for the delay is bad weather.

If your journey is delayed or cancelled and an overnight stay becomes necessary, the ferry operator must offer you accommodation free of charge, if possible, either on board the ship or ashore.

The ferry operator is also free to look at other options, such as asking you to go home, or to make your own arrangements and offering to reimburse your expenses. The ferry operator may limit accommodation costs to €80 (approximately £66) per night per passenger for a maximum of three nights.

However, no overnight accommodation has to be offered, or costs reimbursed, where the delay is caused by weather conditions endangering the safe operation of the ferry.

Passengers with a disability or reduced mobility are entitled to assistance at all stages of the journey. All types of disabilities are covered including hidden disabilities such as learning disabilities, autism and hearing loss. You may have reduced mobility because of their age, an illness or a temporary injury, for example a broken arm or leg.

In addition to the above, you may also be entitled to compensation of up to 50% of your ticket price, for that part of the affected journey, depending on the length of the journey and the extent of the delay.

However, this compensation isn’t payable where the delay was caused by weather conditions endangering the safe operation of the ferry or by extraordinary and unavoidable circumstances (outside of the control of the ferry operator) that hindered the sailing.

How we can help

We can help you work out whether you might be entitled to compensation. We’ll talk you through your options and how best to approach the ferry operator or the booking agent.

Perhaps you’ve already tried to get a refund from the ferry operator and were unsuccessful. If so, we can tell you if you should be due that refund, or compensation, and advise you on next steps. If the ferry operator still refuses to cooperate, we can explain how you may be able to escalate the issue to a dispute resolution service. We’ll:

• listen to the problem and explain what your rights are
• talk you through the different ways you might be able to resolve the situation
• help you understand what steps you can take to get the refund or compensation you’re entitled to