Delays and Disruptions

We understand travel disruptions can be frustrating, but passenger and crew safety is our highest priority, and decisions to cancel, delay, or amend sailings are not taken lightly. 

We always try to give services the best possible chance to go ahead. Decisions are often taken close to sailing times to allow for the most up to date information on weather conditions and other factors to be taken into account. 

Our team is dedicated to making sure that every passenger is looked after, and that disruptions are minimised wherever possible. 

To ensure you have all the information you need if you sailing does get delayed or cancelled, here’s a guide on what you should do: 

1. Stay Up To Date

Our teams will keep you informed regularly on any potential disruption to your sailings via text and/or email. 

Information on our sailings is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week on our Latest Sailings page on our website or you can phone the reservations team on 01624 645745.

In the event of a cancellation or delay in departure we will inform you of the situation as soon as we are able and no later than 30 minutes after the scheduled time of departure. We will advise of the revised estimated departure and arrival time as soon as information is available to us. 

We encourage all passengers to make sure contact details are up to date when booking to ensure sailing information is communicated efficiently.

2. Our Teams Will Advise On Options

Adverse weather or prevailing tidal conditions that can affect sailing schedules are beyond our control, but if a delay or cancellation is due to the weather or tidal conditions, our teams will help with:

• Rebooking: Our staff will help with rebooking onto the next available crossing, either later the same day or on a different day.
• Refunds: If a sailing on which you are booked is cancelled, you will be entitled to a full refund. In the event of a cancellation or delay to a sailing in excess of 90 minutes beyond the scheduled departure, whereby the delay or cancellation voids the reason for travel (day trips etc), we will fully refund the unused portion of the ticket within 7 days and, where appropriate provide a return service to the first point of departure. 
• Refreshments: Where there is a delay in excess of 90 minutes, we will provide (if such facilities are reasonably available) free of charge snacks, meals or refreshments in consideration of and in relation to the waiting time. 

• Advice on alternative travel arrangements:

Should a delay or cancellation of our service cause you to miss an onward connection, we shall make every effort to advise you of alternative travel arrangements. However, we are not responsible for any additional onward transport costs incurred by the delay or cancellation.

Where any delay or cancellation is not caused by weather conditions or extraordinary circumstances, in addition to the above, our teams will help with: 

• Overnight accommodation: If a sailing delay or cancellation requires you to stay an extra night or longer to those originally planned, we will offer adequate accommodation free of charge. The total cost of accommodation (excluding transport) will be limited to Euro 80 per passenger per night (or sterling equivalent) for a maximum of 3 nights. 

Where a sailing has a delayed arrival that is not caused by weather conditions or extraordinary circumstances, our staff will help with:

• Compensation: In compliance with EU Regulation 1177/2010, we will provide 25% compensation of the ticket price (for that leg of the journey) when requested and if the delay is at least 1 hour for a scheduled journey time of up to four hours and at least two hours for crossings over 4 hours but not more than 8 hours.  If the delay exceeds double the time set out, then the compensation provided will be 50% of the ticket price (for that leg of the journey). Unfortunately, we are not able to provide the assistance or re-routing, reimbursement and compensation outlined above for stand-by passengers or those with open tickets where the sailing departure time has not been reserved.

3. Get Travel Insurance

We would encourage all passengers to get travel insurance and check their policy covers ferry travel disruption. Many travel insurance plans provide compensation for travel disruptions, including refunds for unused accommodations or additional transport costs. We would like to remind everyone to read our Terms and Conditions and Conditions of Carriage when booking sailings to make sure you have the appropriate insurances for travelling. 

4. Take The Time to Read Our Policies 

Ahead of booking travel with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, we encourage all passengers to ensure they have read and agree to our Terms and Conditions, Conditions of Carriage, and Passenger Charter, where you can learn more about our commitment to you as a passenger. 

5. Stay Calm and Patient

While a delay or cancellation is inconvenient and frustrating, we would ask all our passengers to stay calm and patient. Our staff are usually working hard to accommodate passengers and provide alternatives as best as we can, so cooperating with them can help things run more smoothly.

6.Communicate with Your Destination

If you had plans at your destination—such as a hotel stay, car rental, or event—inform them about the delay or cancellation. Many service providers are understanding about travel disruptions and may offer flexibility with reservations or bookings.

7. We Value Your Feedback

We welcome constructive feedback from our passengers. Please bring any issues to the attention of our staff on board or ashore so that they can be quickly addressed. 

If you wish to bring feedback about our service please e-mail us at [email protected]  or write to us at Passenger Services, Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Limited, Imperial Buildings, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2BY. 

You can also complete one of our passenger feedback forms which are available onboard our vessels.