Wightlink Isle of Wight Ferries Reviews 404

I had a 5hr operation at QA on 24th September, broken leg/multiple ligament repair. Discharged 26th Sept and told it would be quicker to arrange my own transport than wait for NHS. My daughter booked 6pm ferry to Fishbourne requesting for me to stay in the car as stated on the website. Weather good, calm crossing, not overly booked ferry. Placed at the front of the boat, all good. 5 mins into the crossing we are ordered to get of the boat, captain has refused permission. Unable to weight bare, nauseous and very tired, we explain I had 5hrs of complex surgery 2 days ago and ask what if I don't get out? The crew member says they will turn the boat round and take us off, probably banning any future travel. My daughter asks to speak to the captain which was refused. 5 mins later he comes with a wheelchair. You must get out, we refuse not wanting to undo my extensive surgery repair. My daughter politely asks to speak to the captain, again refused. Meanwhile we are half way across the Solent. 5 minutes later someone pushes a leaflet through the window saying we have been granted permission and thank you for travelling with Wightlink. So there was zero caring or compassion, more humiliating and upsetting. Does anyone ever get given permission to stay in the car? I now gather that Red Funnel operate 3 sailings a day when you can stay in the car plus they give you a discount on receipt of an appt letter. Why is Wightlink so unhelpful, it can clearly be achieved to save a much longer trip for the patient needing to go to Portsmouth

Great experience as usual except this time on my latest crossing I left my wheelchair pressure cushion on the ships wheelchair. After speaking to Amber from Wightlink she managed to locate said cushion and arrange to pick it up in Fishbourne. Brilliant. Thank you Amber you are a life saver.

My wife and I were booked onto the 13.00 hours Fishbourne, Isle of Wight, Wightlink Ferry to Portsmouth Gunwharf Quays on 12 August 2025.
As we are inexperienced ferry travellers we decided to arrive 30 minutes before "check in" opened and thanks to a friendly and very helpful vehicle Marshall named Christopher ("Chris") we managed to get on to the earlier 12.20pm ferry as an additional vehicle as it turned out there were some unused car spaces available.
This allowed my wife and I to save at least 40 minutes of our onward journey time which was greatly appreciated.
The first thing Chris asked me when I approached him to check I was in the correct vehicle lane, was "how can I help you?"
When I explained our status to Chris he immediately explained that as we had booked Priority boarding he would endeavour to get us onto the earlier ferry as an extra vehicle subject to availability.
I can see from the Wightlink Ferry reviews web pages that Wightlink don't always receive a good press from customers and so this review is posted in recognition of Chris's cheerful, positive, helpful demeanour and his impressive "customer first" attitude and focus.
Chris is without doubt a massive credit to Wightlink Ferries.

Credit where credit is due, just had a lovely young man called Hayden at Yarmouth this morning going on the 905. I’ve met him a couple of times last year asking where he’s been he tells me he’s only part-time covering in Holidaze but what an asset he used to Wightlink totally professional always got a smile on his face and forever helpful helping a old lady walk across where everyone was booking in by the booth and he got out of these station to help, respectfulness in today s society goes a very very long way for young people to have the respect for their elders in my book!
These are the type of people Wightlink should be employing full-time, unlike some of the miserable people in Portsmouth they can’t muster Smile or help or guide anyone to resolve some of their issues, Ive seen it so often , so as I say and started with credit where credit is due he’s an absolute asset to the Wightlink family and these are the type of young people that will be the future leaders in your workforce, i strongly suggest you hold onto him with both hands and do not let go.. what a charming young man forever smiling helpful and that’s why I asked his name to put this review on
Kind regards
Stephen
Multi link holder. Of several years plus.

Ran on time. Courteous staff.

Organised and good service. Shame so expensive for what it is. Prefer to sail.

An absolute and complete and utter rip off! Never again.

First time using. Got us on an earlier ferry after we arrived super early uaving not used the port before and allowing for traffic. On the return trip we wanted to leave a little later to try and make most of our last day. We rang up and a guy named Luke was absolutely brilliant and amended our booking without hesitation. Nothing extra to pay either cos it was a flat rate arrangement with Parkdean resorts.
Fully recommended.

Recently came into contact with a very rude worker on one of the boats today when travelling with my elderly mother, This worker was a short build woman with dark curly hair I simply wanted to use the customer toilets on the boat but as I walked in I was greeted with a face of vape smoke this worker seems very rude and unprofessional

Absolutely Disgusted with Wightlink!

I’ve been a loyal customer of Wightlink for 50 YEARS, and I am absolutely outraged at how they’ve treated me. Due to an hour’s traffic delay — which was completely out of my control — I arrived at the port to find that they had cancelled my ticket and forced me to pay £39 just to get home. This included a £25 ‘amendment fee’ for a process that took them less than a minute to sort out!

No flexibility, no understanding, and certainly no loyalty reward for half a century of custom. Their staff were unhelpful, treating me like an inconvenience rather than a valued customer.

I understand that companies need to run to a schedule, but life happens — a little human decency and common sense would go a long way. Other ferry services manage to accommodate unavoidable delays with a degree of compassion. Wightlink clearly does not care.

Sadly, after this appalling experience, I will be looking for alternative ways to travel. I strongly urge others to think twice before booking with Wightlink — they’ve lost my trust completely.

The website can be quite a challenge and if you wish to make a very minor amendment, as I did, it is a hopeless case. I am very surprised to see an overall Trustpilot rating for Wightlink as high as 2 stars. My advice is to look elsewhere.

Train late and catamaran pulled out with 25 people running to it tonight. 7 minutes all we asked! Public service not. Thanks Wightlink. Make living IOW a problem.

2nd time in a week catching the 5:40am passenger ferry from iow to ports. 1st ferry of the day so no option to get an earlier one. Both times ferry is 20 mins late meaning I missed my connecting train both times to London.

No updates just a screen. They don’t care and no explanation. I wouldn’t mind if other options but at 5am there is only this, they know this and they still don’t care.

Terrible company and try everything to not use them

We came to say our final goodbyes to a much loved family member on 7.June. The St Clare crew were fantastic and respectful. Even driving into the port (we came in several cars from far and wide in England and Wales) we we diverted into one lane so we could be together as a family at this poignant time. Thank you all.

Beware the Tesco Clubcard / Wightlink scam
Tesco supposedly offer double the value of your clubcard vouchers if you book Wightlink ferries with them. Yes the Tesco part of double the face value is correct, BUT. when you use the link provided, you are given an overinflated price. Yes you do save a bit, but nowhere near what is being advertised
Booked two return tickets Ryde to Portsmouth on the passenger ferry.
Price on Wightlink site £44
Price on Wightlink site using the link from Tesco Clubcard £62.80
Absolute rip off.

For what you done for us as a family today we cannot thank you enough.. staff were absolutely amazing xx thank you all xx

Wightlink is very expensive for what it offers. Unfortunately, I found the experience didn’t justify the cost. A ferry to France costs around £40, yet the much shorter Portsmouth to Fishbourne route is priced at approximately £100 one way. Given the short distance, the fare seems unreasonable. I would expect either a lower price or a significantly improved service at this rate.

Those of you who have been on the Wightlink will understand the attitude of some of the people directing cars onto the deck, not the majority, just a very small minority need to get some anger management help. Most of the time not an issue and, to be fair, I appreciate they need to be firm because some people new to the experience won't know where to go
I've always had a pleasant experience personally.

This afternoon. Directed to the left lane, I'm moving along and there is a little pigeon in my lane, so I move slightly to the middle, I'm not going to squasha pigeon. No cars next to me. No issue, or so I thought. The man who told me, no, actually the man who abruptly pointed which lane to get in, looks up the ferry and literally screams and I mean screams down the ferry at me to get back in my lane. I understand basic direction. There was a reason for it. I should have known as soon as I got on by the strict movement of the finger over to the left lane he means business. Laughable.
Anyway when I got to the top I apologised to his colleague, explained the situation and he was lovely.
To be honest there are some truly lovely members of staff on the Wightlink, they've always been very kind and polite. This man, the screaming man who absolutely lost it, must have assumed I hadn't respected his authority was an embarrassment to the company and to himself.

It was the 15:20 Portsmouth sailing. Never experienced it before.
This rating is purely based on my experience of him, however he was representing the company.

Do better pointy finger screaming man.

Just had to call Wightlink to amend a booking, to say I am shocked is an understatement.
The call was answered in much less than sixty seconds and the young woman that I spoke to could not have been more pleasant. I am afraid I did not catch her name I was expecting the usual customer service rudeness and unpleasantness but to my surprise I got above and beyond customer service and the shock "twisted my melon"! Man!
My problem was solved in less than three minutes, which in this day and age is phenomenal by usual customer services standards, well done Wightlink. My booking number is 20537244, please find my call handler, give her a big pat on the back and a pay rise, she cheered my day up.
For all you complaining about the price of this service, you have to pay for class, alternatively though, you could buy some water wings and swim, also take into account more unscrupulous owners could be charging you double!
This is between my thirtieth or fortieth time using the Isle of Wight ferry and I have not once had need to complain.

Five Stars - Smooth, Reliable, and Professional Service with Wightlink

I had a great experience travelling with Wightlink Ferries. From booking to arrival, everything was smooth and well-organised. The check-in process was quick and efficient, and the staff were friendly, professional, and genuinely helpful throughout the journey.

The ferry itself was clean, comfortable, and ran right on time. There were plenty of seating options, a well-stocked café, and a relaxed atmosphere that made the trip feel easy and enjoyable. It’s clear that Wightlink values its passengers and takes pride in offering a reliable service.

Compared to other travel options I’ve used, Wightlink stands out for its efficiency and customer care. I’ll definitely be using them again and highly recommend them for anyone travelling to or from the Isle of Wight.