CalMac Reviews 

Faced with stressful uncertainty over when & how we’d travel to, from & around the Outer Hebrides, we gave up trying to plan our 12 day break on the water and opted to stay on the mainland. The positive aspect of the saga was the friendly approach of the customer service team on the phone - almost all the price of two bookings was refunded

The government and people running Calmac should be ashamed! The staff at ticketing to harbour to crew are absolutely amazing and are the one's that REALLY keep this company afloat. Please be kind to them, they do their best and will bend over backwards to help. Big shout out to everyone who got me on to an earlier ferry from Lochmaddy today, top guys 👍👍👍

Watch out motorhomes!! The booking website will pre populate your vehicle details and then when you arrive to travel they will sting you for an extra £30 !! And threaten no travel. This is what happened to us on Arran. We got over fine from Ardrossan but coming back ohhh nooo suddenly we lied about the van length even though they populated the details off the vehicle reg???? To get back over of course we had to pay extra what a con. Beware make sure you double check what's put in dont trust robbing CalMac !!!

We were on the crossing from Ullapool-Stornaway on 29/3/26 the 1130 sailing. Everything on time, weather was horrible but the crossing went ahead regardless. The Captain told us in advance that it would be choppy and it was but we felt completely safe and comfortable. This was only my 2nd time on a ferry and unfortunately I have no sea legs so I would like to thank John (sorry didn’t get his 2nd name) he helped me upstairs with my hot drinks and was very polite and understanding.

Rang Calmac to amend a ferry booking and the lady (Molly ?) was friendly, professional, polite, helpful. There may well be issues with mechanical faults on vessels, weather issues, delays & disruptions, etc etc but none of these relate to the staff, who without fail have always offered us a genuine 5***** service

Scotland takes the gold!!! Number 1 worst travel service in the world. So far cancelled and re routed 3/5 of our trips !! To random other locations 3+ hours drive away thank YOU CalMac for the stress and headache during a holiday xx

The design of the website is awful. Why is trying to book a van onto a ferry so difficult?

Exellent . Recent trip from Oban to Mull and back 12/3/26 . I found the booking office staff to be helpful . Once i boarded the ferry to Mull . I also found the crew to be highly Professional . I also tried the food onboard i highly recommend the steak pie . Thank you Calmac for making my day . Despite the weather .

Could this possibly be the worst run ferry company on the planet? I feel sorry for the staff who have to take the brunt of the complaints. Blame lies solely on the cowards hiding in the background making everyone who relies on these services a nightmare.

Was on the Brodick ferry to Troon today 7.40 Wednesday 4/3/2026 MV Alfred. Must have dropped my wallet I would like to thank the crew member who handed it in to the Troon office.Person who took my call was very helpful as were the staff at Troon terminal.They are good people in the world thank you so much

Ive never been to the Hebrides but having spoken to a lady at Calmac who took great trouble to explain the routes and my options I now know how to move forward. Thank you!

Al easy booking, fast on time

Website is proper junk, if you go back you lose everything ......rubbish

Ferries used on Dunoon Gourock run are not suitable for winter or even mildest windy conditions. Cancellation of service happens too regularly.
Total lack of customer focused approach, not by those at ferry terminal who have to face passengers but from decision makers who remain hidden.
Tonight passengers getting off train at 12 minutes past hour watched as bus to Western Ferries departed at 15 minutes past. "We have to keep to timetable".
A timetable which appears to run for the convenience of CalMac, certainly not it's customers.
It is clear the aim is to deter customers from using the service in order to run it down even further.

We drove onto the ferry and were told to go left by one person then right by another, then left AGAIN by another who then insulted my father's driving abilities in a very offensive manner while making it to be my father's fault.

Yet again Im trying to book a ferry to Mull (where I live) several days in advance and there isn't a single vehicle space available on the day I need to travel, or indeed for the next 4 days after that. It's a disgustingly poor level of service for island residents, and it only ever seems to get worse year by year.

Due to inadequately designed steep landing ramp I damaged my trailer on 22th September 2025 in Oban. Damage vehicle case was open. Communication with the relevant department is awfully slow. On the ship the crew gives you the laminated card with tel. number that is no longer in use. Eventually got hold of a guy called Barry Bryceland who waited full 21 working days to complete ,,investigation,,. Compensation of £12.99 was granted. Then left for 10 days holiday giving me a email address of his colleague David Gill to speak with in his absence. Guess what? His colleague David never got back to me. It is 19th November 2025 when writing this review. Already opened investigation with an organization called RESOLVE UK and I am taking the case to Citizen Advice, or will even try Police if RESOLVE UK won`t help. Absolutely unbelievable what a travelers has to go through to receive compensation for a vehicle damage caused by the company. I urge any traveler who find themselves in same situation not to give up because it seems that CalMac probes how determined you are. Don`t give up.

The utter contempt with which this company’s staff treat paying customers is almost awe inspiring.

Following a cancellation of the beleaguered Brodick to Ardrossan route, I was informed that I had been booked on the next crossing three hours later. I rang the customer service line to see if I could cross on the earlier sailing, putting up with the full minute of robot script read out to you when you call. I was then lied to about the fullness of said ferry and the number of people in the standby queue (43, I was told, but it would be a struggle to fit 43 people in the four cars in front of us when we got there!). The only reason we made it onto the earlier ferry was ignoring the customer service rep and going to queue anyway. The staff member checking tickets at the car queue even managed some snarky remarks to rub salt into the wound. Almost comically poor service.

The broken ferries I get, stuff happens sometimes, and they hardly have the most modern fleet. I could even stomach the disaster around Ardrossan port with a little persuasion.

Their attitude to those of us who dare to want to use their services, however, is abysmal.

Will I use them again? Sure. What else am I going to do, swim?

Wednesday 3.15pm 22 October,Calmac waiting room at Wemyss Bay.40 minute wait for next ferry.Large TV for passengers on wall?? Not working?Asked politely if it could be switched on.Tried but to no avail.Calmac Manageress,very apologetic, came to explain that when working,will ONLY show adverts,nothing else, as Calmac make money for this.Calmac,are greatly subsidised by Scottish Taxpayers money yet cannot even bother to think about Customer Care.Reverse of ticket gives tel.no to contact.This number plays taped message redirecting you to another number or website.Other number gets call centre style operator who cannot help and tells you you must email any comments/complaints to them.They just do not want any direct contact from their customers.Their staff are generally excellent,their Board want changing.

The entrance to the ferry is dreadful. Almost everyone has a pull along bag and it is impossible to take up the gangplank. My bag was very heavy and because I couldn't pull it up I struggled and another passenger had to help me. Can't understand why on such a lovely ship with great food and helpful staff they would have done this. How am I going to manage this without help. Ridiculous!!!