CalMac Reviews 

On the Ferry from Rothesay to Wymess Bay. I have to say, customer services were exceptional. Also noticed that everywhere on the ferry is absolutely spotless. Constantly being cleaned. Excellent service in every way.

Ardrossan to Brodick re routed to Troon to Brodick. As a foot passenger who had to park at Ardrossan and then get bus to Troon it adds on an extra 100 minutes to the journey between the bus to Troon and the extra 25 mins on to the ferry journey each way. Nothing offered re inconvenience. Cheaper/free parking or discounts on food/beverages on board. 2nd ferry of the day (Troon to Brodick) on the 13th Feb 2024 was around 10-15 mins late getting into Brodick (after 12.30) which meant less time on the island to do my work and get the next ferry back (13.50) turned up and was too late which meant a 4 hour wait until the next ferry at 6pm. Communication of change to Troon was extremely poor. All round very poor experience. Staff at Brodick very unhelpful.

Cal mac are absolutely shxxx.Ive tried today 12 th February to book 2 return journeys on the first day of the new booking system,it does not allow me any further than putting my car reg etc in and select the make
I should have thought that after all the delays in implementing the new system it would have worked but no this is a government (snp)run company and like everything else this government does its shxxx

Sorry to see that so many people have had problems with this company but, in the interests of balance, my experience was excellent. Booking was easy, good communications regarding weather implications, and everyone I dealt with during the return crossing Ullapool-Stornoway was polite and friendly.

Tried today to book a sailing ffor a trip from Uig on Skye to the outer Isles.

Gave up. The IT booking system was so poor. It allowed me to select outgoing date but then the screen repeatedly froze.

The Calmac operation from port management, to ship operations, to even the procurement of new boats is an utter disgrace.

Lifeline services in utter disarray and accountable to no one.

Cannot create an account . Then when trying to make a booking without an account system will not accept email address.

CalMac’s booking system is a total disgrace. Absolutely unfit for purpose. Their call centre staff admit it, but that’s no help.
They release timetables that can’t be booked. They announce sailing times but say they will change. They blame ‘changes to the system’ but have no idea when the changes will be finished.
They launch meaningless podcasts, when the money should be used to develop robust systems.
Islanders and visitors are at the mercy of these incompetents.
Fire the whole board and senior management. Change the boat procurement system, and remove any oversight control from the inept and arguably fraudulent politicians who awarded ship-building contracts to the only unqualified company on the list!
Staggering.

I've never left a review before but my experience on the CalMac website this morning left me feeling like I had to feedback.. in the hope that they give the website an overhaul.

I found the website booking system really difficult to use.. how is it possible in this day and age for a large company such as CalMac, who have so much trade, to not have a decent website?

Very difficult to navigate and find timetables, and when it came to booking, it took me far longer than it should have because I was figuring out how to work the options. Don't even try and book tickets on your phone... I had to use my laptop.

What impression does this give of Scotland to visitors from overseas? A very poor one!

I needed the lift and they parked us really well. On the way home from Arran the lift was out of use on the Isle of Arran and we said to the crew who checked us in that we needed extra room to get out of the car due to my mobility to so they parked us near the lift so I could get out of the car and I couldn’t of asked for a better customer services when travelling with CalMac my holiday over to Arran

The customer service from CalMac is great, it is not their fault that the clowns in the scottish government and Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited cannot procure ferries. The people at Calmac who run the ferries are not the same people as those at Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited who purchase (or don't) the ferries.

Since CalMac became a public company, particularly under the ‘management’ of the SNP, quality of services has declined significantly. This is, however it’s measured, the most incompetently run ferry service in Europe! There should be a legal enforcement to allow competitors to bid for new service contracts, instead the SNP have merely reinforced their monopoly on a much needed service that no one in the SNP has a clue about how to operate! CalMac can’t even operate and manage a working, user-friendly online booking system! Furthermore, on the longer routes, such as to the Outer Hebrides, the quality of service and facilities are dire, as was my recent experience getting to and from Harris. Talk to sea-going staff, and shore-based staff at HQ (as I have done), and you’ll get an idea of how frustrated they are with the clueless senior management! The SNP politician who holds the Transport Minister’s portfolio is incapable of running a bath!

Disrupting a sailing is a decision we do not take lightly because we know it will inconvenience our customers and the communities we serve. However, the safety of our customers and crew must come first. In this instance, the Master of the vessel has judged it is necessary in response to the assessment of adverse weather conditions.

Absolutely useless and a waste of money, never run when you want it. Always ruins a day

What has gone wrong at Calmac? The website and booking system are just terrible, really sad to see.

As one example - why let people select dates which can't be booked yet?

We had to stayed the night over in a guest house, because all the afternoon sailings were cancelled because of the bad weather, when actually the weather was perfect. Due to this we had to pay for the guest house and also for the train ticket for the following day, as we had bought it for the were we actually should have came back.

Shocking customer services lodged a complaint on the 30 August and they haven't replied

Booked ferry for Mull Rally on 22-08-23 to make sure I got ferries I required for 12-10-23 and 17-10-23 - CalMac cancelled both outbound and inbound ferries on 11-09-23 despite only inbound ferry being unavailable - rebooked ferries on 11-09-23 for different ferries on same dates - CalMac cancelled again on 11-10-23 - tried to rebook but no ferries available - CalMac / SNP combination must be the most incompetent combination available and I'm sorry for the people who live on islands served by CalMac / SNP

Ferries between Ardrossan and Arran are shockingly bad. Regular cancellations, staff at Ardrossan in particular completely unconcerned for their customers, and a booking system that allows you to book onto a ferry that has already been cancelled.
No help at all for stranded customers, people sleeping in their cars overnight stuck on an island because there's only one ferry working this very busy route, and not even a toilet or access to water after you're unceremoniously booted off the premises.
If you are privileged enough to be able to afford a hotel stay you may be able to claim some of that cost back - but what if you don't have that spare cash lying around?
The standby system is unworkable unless you do sleep in your car at the barrier, or get up at 6am to join an already significant queue.
Calmac clearly don't really care about their customers.
What is possibly even more worrying is that they appear to not care about their staff either, who are on the front line dealing with upset and angry people.
This service needs urgent transformation work, starting with a culture change from the top down.

Website is generally poor - the online info when we were planning our trip was 'all tickets are open tickets' - what it didn't say was that capacity for cars is limited and you might not be able to travel on the day you want unless you book well in advance.

Breaking a trip into car and foot passengers - because Iona doesn't take cars - simply ain't possible.

We took 3 years planning a trip which was meant to involve 7 ferry trips. CalMac cancelled the third “leg” on the day of travel meaning that we have had to cancel the rest of the trip as CalMac could not get us to the following ferry connections in time. Heart breaking as we had put so much into the research and organisation of it all, just to be let down by a shambles of a Company.