Irish Ferries Reviews 

The way they dealt with a previous problem/complaint.without fuss, and by taking action to resolve the problem. I have just travelled with them again with my wife, who is Blind and disabled and the service was exemplarily

Paid by ticket Online, took money, got reservation, then I came to port , took cash again… shit company .

Because I used to live in Ireland I have travelled with Irish ferries many time over the years.
But now I appalled about their treatment of young calves.
Irish ferries needs to update their policies.

If it was possible I would leave zero stars..
This company export live baby calves to France. They are standing for an 18 hour journey. No food or water. Completely dehydrated. Only to end up at torturous abbatoirs. No other company will take them so why are Irish ferries still doing it. Pure greed. It is unethical and inhumane. STOP

0 star – Irish Ferries’ booking system showed £0, but I was still charged £57

I had already paid £100 for my booking.

When I later amended the booking through the Irish Ferries website, I went through the entire amendment process and the system clearly showed £0 / no further payment due to complete the amendment.

I have a full screen recording of the process showing exactly what their website displayed.

Despite this, I ultimately paid a further £57 to complete the amendment and secure my sailing.

I complained to Irish Ferries and they eventually admitted there had been a problem with the amendment not saving correctly in their system. They then told me that the correct additional charge should have been £37 and agreed to refund the £20 difference.

The £20 refund still hasn't been received.

What has never been properly explained is the fundamental discrepancy:

I had already paid £100 for the booking.
The amendment screen showed no further payment was due.
I then paid £57.
Irish Ferries subsequently said £37 was the correct additional charge.

I've provided Irish Ferries with the complete screen recording showing what their own customer-facing system displayed, yet they have failed to properly explain why it showed nothing further was due.

I've repeatedly tried to resolve this directly with them. Their own correspondence acknowledges there was a problem with their booking system, they've confirmed a £20 refund, and yet they've now stopped responding to my follow-up correspondence.

I've therefore had to involve my bank in disputing the transaction and have now issued a Letter Before Claim.

At this point, it's not simply about the £20 refund. It's about the complete lack of accountability when a company's own booking system fails and the customer is then left trying to make sense of conflicting figures.

£100 already paid.
£0 additional payment shown as due.
£57 subsequently paid.
£37 later claimed to be correct.
£20 refund promised.
No refund received.
No satisfactory explanation.
Now a Letter Before Claim.

I've used Irish Ferries before, but this experience has seriously damaged my confidence in the company.

I would still like Irish Ferries to explain why its own website told me that no further payment was due, why I subsequently paid £57, and why it now says £37 was the correct amount.

Disgusting heartless company who transport terrified baby calves for hours and hours with no care and no water. These babies should still be with their mothers but these monsters don't care about innocents AVOID AVOID AVOID.

1 STAR – TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE AT CALAIS. I WOULD NOT USE IRISH FERRIES AGAIN.

We were booked on the 18:20 Calais–Dover sailing on 6 September 2026.
Our Google Timeline shows that we arrived at the Port of Calais ferry entrance at approximately 17:23. We were allowed to proceed and then spent a very long time in the port/control queues because vehicles were being checked extremely slowly.
Nobody warned us that we were going to miss our ferry. Nobody attempted to help us through or told us to make alternative arrangements while there was still time.
After spending almost an hour going through the required process, at approximately 18:16 – just FOUR MINUTES before our scheduled departure – we were told that the ferry was closed and we could not board.
We were then told we would have to wait until the 20:40 sailing, despite the fact that the delay occurred while we were already going through the port procedures.
The most frustrating part was the complete lack of communication. Had somebody told us earlier that we would not make the 18:20 sailing, we could have immediately arranged another crossing instead of wasting all that time.
I have timestamped photographs, our 18:20 sailing documentation and Google Timeline evidence showing when we arrived and how long we were at the port.
We were travelling with our child and needed to return to the UK because I have work the following morning. Being told simply to wait for a much later ferry is completely unacceptable.
Based on this experience, I would not choose Irish Ferries again.

Irish ferry are abusively transporting baby animals with no care or compassion across miles and miles of sea for hours and hours in discomfort and distress. Live animal transportation is wrong and illegal

I can’t leave zero stars so they have to have one and that is with reluctance. I would never travel with this company because they choose to make money from transporting lives animals from th mainland to Ireland.

Irish Ferries you have zero ethics and morals apart from making money out of the misery and exploitation of calves who have been stolen from their mothers at birth.

Shame, shame, shame on you for what you do Irish Ferries.

Avoid travelling with this unethical company!

Wish I could give a zero score for these greedy animal abuses. Found out that they transport 4 week old calves not weened yet for 18 hours without water.
Irish Ferries copy Brittney Ferries and stop Live exports. Where is your compassion Irish Ferries? 💔

Knowing Irish Ferries transport animals has put me off using their services. Shocking!

We've used them twice in.last 2 years. Excellent trip both times weve used over the last 2 years.Great embarking an disembarking. Cabins were great value. Very punctual and we got notice about a delay and another time about requesting we arrive in goid time as the ship was busy. I also.left property on the vessel and staff were very helpful.in retrieving it and returning it. Excellent

Very nice experience, lots of places to sit and food tasty food and drink.

I purchased a ticket from Calais to Dover for August 23, 2026. While researching before buying, the 18:20 sailing was £174 and the 20:40 sailing was £80. I decided to pay an extra £94 for the 18:20 ticket just so I could get home sooner.
However, when I arrived at check-in at 17:15, they moved my booking to the 20:40 departure instead. When I asked the staff member how this was possible when my ticket was for 18:20, they rudely told me that if I didn't like it, I could leave the lane and buy a new ticket, adding that I could file a complaint later. Since I was already in line and exhausted from a long drive, I had no choice but to accept and board the 20:40 ferry.
I was made to wait an extra 2 hours and 20 minutes past my scheduled time, only to end up on the very ferry that originally cost £80—despite having paid £174.
I've been trying to resolve this for days with no success, so I wanted to share my experience. My only request was a refund for the extra £94 I was charged over the £80 fare, but I have received no solution. I do not recommend Irish Ferries to anyone. I have decided never to use them again for future crossings, and I will be advising everyone I know to avoid them as well

23.00 pm ferry turn up 1.30 then we sailed to Dover 1 hour later we ment to arrived 23.30 local time. We arrived in uk 3.30 am in the morning what nite mare

Arrived as requested with hours to spare. It is a Tuesday evening. Waited for three ferries to be cancelled and was meant to leave Calais at 7pm. There was no bad weather or extenuating citcumstances announced. Eventually got through all the passport checks by 12.30 due to no fault of ours, just delays after delays. No one available to speak to. Contact options are closed for the night. No one shared information. Not even an email or text update from Irish ferries. Hundreds of people sat with children for hours on a dock with no help at all. At 1.30am we boarded a ferry. 6 hours late. Rude staff met us on board telling children off for trying to sleep on the sofas at nearly 2am.

This is the most ridiculous and disgusting place to travel
We was waiting for the ferries 6 hours because all the time was delayed
Then we was with the dog we pay to get to pet area where all dog was together not any separate space not close space very small not enough space for all dogs , lout every one can come to see dogs
We will never use this company
This is joke

Next time I'll fly. Not a great experience our ferry to Ireland was slow taking an hour more than scheduled. Our return ferry to the UK was over an hour late setting off. I have fond memories of taking the ferry to Ireland as a child but sadly the service is too slow. Flying is much more convenient.

We have tried Irish ferries twice, the first trip outbound was fine on the return trip. The delay would’ve been about eight hours. How do we not have been put on a slightly earlier ferry? That was still two hours late! Our Ferry was still in Dover as we arrived on the alternative ferry. Today our second trip away we’ve arrived at Dover to then have our ferry bumped another two hours making our journey this afternoon incredibly late to drive to the Netherlands. Yes, they are slightly cheaper than the competition, but I don’t think it’s worth saving £20 to have such appalling timekeeping and service.