Irish Ferries Reviews 

On other ferry companies I feel like, I imagine, an animal feels being transported in a truck. Irish ferries keeps some of the atmosphere of a voyage not an overpacked commuter train, You can eat in a civilised way and not by paying extra.. The booking process was the easiest compared to the other companies.

From the checking in process, I started to question the quality and service. Checking in and boarding was with minimal interaction, interest or direction. This resulted in cars going the wrong direction and a near collision boarding and disembarking.
Once on, I headed to the Pet Den as I was travelling with my dog. I have been spoilt with the Stena Pet Lounge where we have comfortable seats and decent complementary tea and coffee. Here, on Irish Ferries, there is floor space with patio furniture. I couldn't find a place to top up my dogs water bottle as the water that is in dishes on the floor looked like that had been there from the early morning sailing. There is nothing more. Nothing to mop up spills or messes or provide fresh water. There was a poo bin, but it appears to be broken with the front jammed open.
Anyway, when seated, I decided to get a Cappuccino from the machine.
£3.95 and I got a cup of light brown water. Didn't even smell of coffee.
I took it into the bar area to point out that I think the machine is empty and needs replenished.
The response was "sorry mate, nothing to do with me!".
With that, the barman turned to serve someone else.
Very disappointed. Spending £3.95 and not getting anything for it and nobody cares.
I would give 2 stars for the following reasons:
1. I got to my destination (30 mins late)
2. The boat was not overly busy.

Very disappointing customer service experience.

We arrived at Calais on time for our Irish Ferries booking and had to wait to speak to staff. We were unable to travel on our booked sailing and were offered a much later departure. An Irish Ferries employee at the port specifically advised us that, because we had not used the ferry, we should be able to receive a refund.

We therefore made alternative arrangements and paid for another ferry to get our family back to the UK.

Since then, I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to obtain the £121.99 refund. Direct Ferries, through whom the booking was made, says that only Irish Ferries can authorise the refund. Irish Ferries repeatedly tells me to go back to Direct Ferries.

I find this completely unacceptable. As a customer, I should not have to act as an intermediary between the ferry operator and its booking agent, particularly when the expectation of a refund came from an Irish Ferries employee in the first place.

I have contacted both companies several times and provided supporting information, but instead of anyone taking ownership of the issue, I continue to be passed backwards and forwards.

The most disappointing part is not even the amount involved, but the way the complaint has been handled. I would expect a company the size of Irish Ferries to investigate what happened and provide a clear decision rather than simply directing the customer elsewhere.

At present I cannot recommend their customer support based on this experience.

Awful awful awful! Even the one star is too much. Theres 300cars waiting behind us at the moment for who knows when the next ferry will arrive!

Questionable customer service -no one has any accurate information from the customer service team! In 2026, such a company should cease to exist

Good service and price. Ferry was on time, boarding was easy, everything was great.

Best experience with my two cats on board! Will always choose travel with this company! There is room for pet area improvements and hopefully this will be looked at in future! Great customer service and good value of money!

I've been travelling with Irish Ferries since I was a child. Genuinely thought they were one of the good ones. That trust is gone.

I booked a SailRail return, Holyhead-Dublin, on 12 August, paying £96.19 for a trip I'd been planning for months — my first ever solo trip, something that took me a long time to work up to. At the time of booking, no passport was required for this route, as has been the case for years under the Common Travel Area.

Two weeks later, on 26 August, with zero warning, Irish Ferries announced passengers would need a passport from 28 September — a date that falls squarely between my outbound and return sailing. I now can't use the return leg of a ticket I paid for in full, through absolutely no fault of my own.

I contacted them directly, laid out the situation clearly, and asked what they intended to do for existing customers caught by a rule change made after they'd already taken payment. Their answer: no refund, no exception, and a cheerful suggestion that I simply move my holiday dates — as if that undoes the fact that I paid for a specific service they can no longer provide as sold.

This isn't a case of me changing my mind. Irish Ferries changed the terms of the contract after taking my money and are refusing to take any responsibility for the consequences. That's not customer service, that's just keeping money for a service they can't deliver.

I'm now having to raise a formal dispute with my bank to get my own money back. A company that's been part of people's travel for generations shouldn't need a chargeback to do the right thing.

Won't be booking with them again, and I'd think very carefully before you do either.

We have traveled winter and summer on Irish Ferries for years and can’t fault it… five stars all the way …… !!

Clare from Irish Ferries provided a great set of options for our group, which was attending a large competition in Killarney, with good discounts and very flexible sailing options in terms of dates and crossings. This was much appreciated by the group so they could make the trip more of a holiday too either side of the competition.

A wonderful pleasant trip from Dublin to Cherbourg on the WB Yeats and return journey on the Isle of Inisheer. Sailings were punctual and smooth, and our family of five slept soundly in our assigned cabins. Staff were helpful and friendly on both sailings. The Club Class option on the WB Yeats surpassed our expectations and added an extra level of comfort and luxury to our journey. Would recommend travelling with Irish Ferries and will definitely book a trip onboard again. Our three girls, two teenagers and an eleven year old, enjoyed the freedom of walking around onboard, playing games and eating at the restaurants. Wi-Fi on board provided us with hassle-free Internet connection and made everyone very happy!

Traveled from Dublin too Hollyhead 17th August.
It was the late ferry so we went for food in the cafeteria.
The food had clearly been sitting there for hours.
A supposed beef stue that was solid and yellow mashed potatoes, don't think they were supposed to be yellow!, all for the price of..£16.50.
Anything else on offer was pretty much the same.
Eat before you get on the ferry..
We went hungry!!

Never again.

Very rude and unhelpful staff. We arrived on time, 2 hours before departure, yet we were made to wait 4 hours for the next ferry. Extremely disappointing service and poor customer experience. I would not recommend it.

Cafe on board. Long wait with just 2 grumpy serving staff. Coffee undrinkable - weak and tasteless.

took my dogs when I went on a tour around Europe and, as I didn't really want to leave them in the camper, it was nice to have the option of a pet lounge. Dogs could go outside when necessary, which made the crossing much better for them.

The most unpleasant experience. Having cross the channel for several times using other companies, this time decided to try Irish Ferries. Worst decision of my Hollidays. Ferry does not have cleaning standards of any other company. Got to the port 3 minutes after planned departure time, being stuck in the most ridiculous passport control in Calais for 2:20 hours to get to the port 3 minutes after and see the Ferry leaving. Next ferry was 2:40 hrs after and they left approximately 15 cars waiting when the ferry was empty. Irish ferries worker appeared 1.30hrs after to talk to customers to inform that next Ferry is delayed by 45minutes. Very rude, inappropriate towards customers people. Blaming English for the delay. I am not English but his approach was disgusting and been even blamed for their delay in passport control. Asked about transfer to other company as is identified in the website, his answer was you need to get out and do check in again. When asked about to talk to his manager started laughing and said no.
There was no water available for customers at Calais port. Been there 3.5 hours with children in the car and there was nothing around for customers.
Company does not care about any customers. Been told that ferry close gates 10 to 15 minutes before departure time even 15 other families have completed check in but not boarding.
The worst experience with Ferries ever.

Excellent service : on time, clean, great price, dogs on decks and nice staff

Despite being early to catch the ferry from Calais to Dover, we were moved onto the following ferry, 2 and a half hours later due to delays checking in. No communication at all from Irish Ferries as to why there was a delay and no water distributed despite it being one of the hottest days of the year. We were left sweltering in the car, completely in the blind to why we had to watch the ferry leave despite being on time. I asked Irish Ferries for compensation as a goodwill gesture but they refused citing customs issues out of their control - a cop out, you can still make amends to customers if you want to. If I was late to the port and had to take a later ferry, I would be charged for it. Won't be sailing with these guys again. Disappointing.

Recently we traveled twice with Irish fairies to France Both occasions could not fault them excellent customer service flexibility booking fantastic arrangements on board for pets after adisappointing journey with Brittany ferries I will definitely be using Irish ferries again

Our first time sailing as a family (instead of flying) and it was a pleasure. We were kept entertained for a few hours by walking around outdoors, on board shopping and dining. Lots of comfortable seating. Food offerings are average, and there is a very limited amount of entertainment (e.g. they have one large TV with the volume down, and one noisy play area for smaller kids). Boarding and disembarking was very straightforward. Communication from Irish Ferries was fine. Staff were very pleasant especially in Dublin Port.