CalMac Omdömen 

Calmac crew save the day!!!

Sometimes something happens in life that renews faith in humanity. We crossed from Oban to Castlebay on the 2 Aug, and our hire car broke down (almost catching fire) on the car deck while waiting to drive off on Barra. The CalMac crew were there in seconds dealing efficiently with a high stress situation, kept everyone incredibly safe, made the car safe, and helped all the other cars off the car deck in a very calm and controlled manner. They looked out for our children, turning what could have been a frightening experience for them into one that was an adventure. They stayed with us for three hours, way past their shift, until it was clear the AA were not going to arrive. They made sure we had wheels to reach accommodation for the night. What could have been a very unpleasant few days on Barra was turned into a wonderful holiday thanks to the entire crew that rallied around to help us. I don’t have all the names, but the following crew members were at the forefront of the rescue effort: Scottie McGillivray (Chief Engineer), Paul Metheson (Second Engineer), Andrew Cassady (Chief Mate), Niall Mackinnon (2nd Mate), Kenny Mackenzie (CPO), Ross Chalmers (deck trainee), Jonathan Macloed (QM), Nicola McAnna (AB), Moran White (AB), Luke Millar (AB), Neil Mackenzie (Bosun), and Ewan Campbell (EWR). Apologies if I missed someone. We sincerely hope that all the above receive handsome bonuses for going way beyond the call of duty, and saving our holiday from disaster!!! We feel blessed to have experienced the best of Scottish hospitality.

⭐☆☆☆☆
Extremely disappointing experience with Caledonian MacBrayne. Our ferry sailing was cancelled, yet we were never notified. We only found out ourselves, completely disrupting our trip.
We were later told they couldn't contact us because no mobile number was on the booking, but no attempt was made to reach us by email, and no alternative travel options were offered.
To make matters worse, they take your money when you book, then after cancelling your trip you're simply told to wait 5–7 days for a refund. No support, no solutions, just inconvenience.
If you rely on your booking, be aware that you could be left stranded with no proactive communication. A very poor customer experience from start to finish.

My Friend and I travelled from Ardrossan to Brodick Ferry today 23/07 and the service provided by various members of staff was exceptional . My friend who only has 20% vision was taking care of by the members of staff by offering wheelchair assistance but he preferred to walk onboard but on the return journey a member of staff took him to the seats on the walkway to wait until the passengers had left and then guided us on to the boat and place us in a position to make sure we were first to disembark Superb servicve

Absolutely dreadful website. Obviously designed by someone who doesn't travel on ferries. Does not recognise my vehicle details and therefore cannot book a ferry. Atrocious.

Staff were helpful and friendly
Booking easily changed
Catering good
Plenty of seating

Had excellent customer service from the man working in the cafe on the 14:00 sailing from Stornoway to Ullapool on the 13/6/26. He was so friendly and helpful when I spilt a bunch of coffee down myself

I had to make some changes to ferry times and locations at the last minute and the staff in Ullapool and Craignure were so helpful and Immediately made the changes. Great friendly staff and do look after their customers. The staff at all ports were friendly and cheerful. The vessels while being old were always spotlessly clean. I have seen comments about cancellations, late times, etc. Personally, I never experienced any of those issues, always on time. Keep up the good work. Booking process is simple.

Shocking too many passengers and not enough seats, can't even get food because the sitting area for eating is full people not even eating, absolute joke!!!

Armadale to Mallaig, wonderful experience. Friendly staff especially Rod Burney and the girls in the office. Smooth, clear instructions

A truly horrible experience. We turned up at Uig for our crossing to Tarbert on 22 May 2026; the first thing we noticed was that dogs are not allowed in the terminal. We then discovered that the counter was unmanned. Not a great welcome to passengers. Our return to Uig from Tarbert was hideous; a fabulous fortnight spent in the Outer Hebrides ruined by shouty, aggressive and bullying staff. We were the last but one vehicle to drive onto, what we subsequently discovered, was a rising car deck. We were given less than a minute to get out of the car which was virtually impossible due to the lack of space either side of the car doors and get our dog from the rear seat plus the belongings we needed for both him and ourselves. A shouting match ensued between myself and the staff member who was telling me to get off the deck as it was about to be raised. There was no advance warning of this ridiculous deck and to be given less than a minute to struggle out of the car, with dog, was unreasonable. A senior member of staff did come and apologise after we complained and we thank him for that. He was professional and kind. But the staff, 2 in particular (you know who you are), were thugs and bullies who should not be customer-facing as they have anger issues. The staff on board are generally unfriendly to pet owners; we are not wanted in reality and are confined to a grotty area on one side of the ship which is open to all passengers walking around. Pet owners do not have that luxury. The Leverburgh to Berneray crossing was a complete contrast to the Uig Tarbert crossing; staff were friendly and helpful. Some of the Calmac staff ought to get a job with M&S or John Lewis and there they may learn how to interact with customers. But I doubt whether either institution would employ such awful people - thankfully.

The website is useless - it asks to sign in, but that is impossible ("error" message)
Phoning is hopeless, the queues are enormous (presumably because the website doesn't work.
Disaster

We were traveling from south Wales to Craignure on the Isle of Mull our ticket for the ferry was with a motor home which was booked months in advance . We arrived at Oban the day before we were due to cross ,only to be told our ferry was cancelled. We then had to drive to Corran and get the ferry to Ardgour . From there had to to drive to Lochaline to get the ferry to fishnish then from there had to drive to Craignure. There is no Compensation for the extra costs incurred by me for traveling the extra distance in my motorhome and ferry crossings. What a risky service these Ferries are. We will never rely on Calmac ferries again,they completely ruined the holiday.We do not recommend the use of Calmac ferries as part of your holidays as you just may not get there. and may cost you more than you anticipated if you do .Stay on the mainland recommended. Seems this is quite common.

I am genuinely hesitant to add this review because I am worried doing so will mean more people use it, making my wait time potentially longer...BUT...I would be unfair not to give credit where it is due. So...

Pre booked online for Lochaline > Fishnish >Lochaline return. I love this ferry because it forces a drive through Glencoe which is simply incredible. It also means I don't have to worry about someone sneazing on the M6 and causing an 8mile traffic jam...the ticket can be used on ANY ferry all day (rather than a specific timed booking at Oban). So I can leave in good time to get 'A' ferry but not have to drive like a nut job if traffic is bad.

Anyway...drove up on Saturday 23rd and get to Lochaline. Joined the queue and was approached by the ticket clerk (didnt get his name, but tall man, looked a bit like Steven Merchant) on the harbour. He asked to see my online ticket and said 'why have you got 2 campervans?'

I had no idea what he was talking about until he pointed out that my ticket was for 2, not 1 camper! I must have messed up somehow with the booking. I hadn't noticed at the time although I did think prices had gone up a bit! 🤣

Anyway...he didn't need to tell me I had made the mistake. He could have just left it like that and I would have been none the wiser. He refunded me the cost of the second camper. But then, he did something even better...

Whilst he was dealing with the refund, a car had pulled into the lane next to me (despite it being coned off) and put itself well ahead of my (and several other peoples) vehicle. Then a camper did the same thing.

He approached the camper and said 'you need to turn yourself around and go to the back of that queue!'

He then approached the car and said 'there is no room at the back of that queue for you now, but I know what position you should be in and you will not be going in front of any other vehicle.'

Why did that make him my 'hero of the day'?

Because we ALL had a lengthy journey. We ALL had a ferry to catch...but the rest of us were fair and waited our turn. He knew this and put things right.

Ferry crossing was also great...seen a harbour porpoise on the way over.

Totally unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. 4 hours late we got to our hotel the Dark island the staff great at almost 1.30 in the night. We had booked other hotels on other island's, unable to get due to ferry cancellations. So 3 days later we go on a ferry, but that had to turn around due to some unknown issues. Back to Black island hotel. (10 star brilliant hotel) For another night.
We managed to get back to mainland Scotland without seeing any of the islands.
we got a small refund but sadly won't be going there again.

I paid for a ticket online for my family travelling in a motorhome. Calmac's online system identifies and autofills dimensions of the vehicle when you input the registration. When I arrived at the ferry terminal the ticket officer advised I had not declared the correct dimensions on my motorhome and charged me almost the same price again on top of what I had already paid. I found him to be quite rude as if I was trying to cheat them. I contacted the Calmac Team who advise this is an error in their system and defaults to 6m instead of 6.9m and I shouldn't put the registration number in so it doesn't default. There is no way I would know this and I am unhappy that you are aware of this error in your system and have people travelling who are unaware of the extra charges they will receive once they reach the ferry port. This is unsatisfactory and this system error should be sorted or a warning given at time of booking.

A wonderful new terminal at Tarbert, opened just three years ago. Out of order signs in the gents toilet. Typical CalMac, I thought, notorious for breakdowns, cancellations and shoddy service.

On the 0720 ferry from Tarbert on the isle of Harris to Uig in Skye, I was keen to sample Caledonian Macbrayne's 'Big Scottish Breakfast. For £11.95, you choose eight items from their menu.

The famed Stornoway black pudding, Scottish Lorne sausage, portobello mushrooms et al.
All sounds absolutely yummy. Scrambled egg was not on display, but swiftly arrived, on request, from the galley.

Except whoever cooked it had completely overdone it. Not just the eggs. Everything. Plus it was lukewarm at best. Not freshly cooked as I had hoped, being among the first in the queue. Now I love my grub, but this was completely inedible, dried out, and had been cooked goodness knows how long before service.

As a former supply officer/purser at sea, I would have had strong words with any of my staff who served up such poor fare.

When Senior Catering Assistant Donna cleared my table, she was most apologetic. I asked to speak to the chief steward, but he or she was 'not up yet'. But I could speak to Duncan, the assistant, at the till.

Not at all my thing. But telling it here to warn others absolutely is.

A group of heros!
Honestly, the customer service team at Calmac have been brilliant. I feel for the team, it's not their fault the fleet is aging and not being supported properly, so dealing with disruption is becoming more common. But everyone we've spoken to have been honest, helpful and done the best they can to get us to where we need to go. Changing ferries bookings quickly and efficiently. Please be kind and friendly to the staff, they're doing their best.
Thanks guys, we really appreciate you!

5* for the CalMac crew, at the terminals, helping us on to the ferries, on the ferries and on the phones.
Despite cancelled sailings and broken down ferries, replaced vessels, we are managing to do what we set out to do. All staff I’ve interacted with have been brilliant, helpful and constantly smiling.

Its all gone to pot.

The only good thing about Calmac currently is the staff on the ground and at see. All great people working against the odds.

Our ferry home from Brodick was cancelled yesterday bringing out the worst in some passengers.

We were lucky being among the first to know (albeit finding out in the queue for the ferry) and were able to hoof it up to Lochranza and get on the next ferry there. But it added 140 miles and too much time for already exhausted children.

Its a real shame. We just cannot trust calmac these days.

Hopefully they will be compensating us for the huge diversion but we shall see.

My ferry was cancelled, and instead of offering me the next available service they came back with a date 3 weeks from now.