“Booked a package for Rottnest Island
Booked a package for Rottnest Island. When we got there we discovered that our booking for 2 x hop on-hop off bus tickets were missing even though they had been paid for. They also gave no option or booking offer for seniors/pensioners concession on their booking form. We only discovered we were entitled to that when we arrived at the dock to check in. ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED. Avoid booking with them”
“Ripped off for £34.99 when I cancelled even though I paid £50 extra for the Flexi option. Flexi option states Ticket is refundable, nothing about cancellation fee. Beware! Rip-off Britain once again.”
“No problem with booking, website easy to use. However, Stena Line cancelled our outbound ferry. A friend had booked directly with Stena Line, who were happy to rebook them on an alternative crossing with Irish Ferries. In our case, I contacted Direct Ferries who were not able to help in any way, and cancelled my entire booking (even though there was no issue with the return ferry). If I had booked directly with Stena Line in the first place, I would have kept my return leg and been offered an alternative for the outbound leg. Lesson learnt, will never book through Direct Ferries again.”
“Ised them in greece for first time - nightmare! Instructions incorrect leaving me and my wife nearly stranded. I should gone direct to ferry company as all would have been ok and cheaper. Very poor customer service i will not use again and certainly would not recommend.”
“I would strongly advise anyone booking through Direct Ferries to read the fine print very carefully—especially when it comes to their “cancellation cover.”
On the surface, it sounds like peace of mind. In reality, it feels misleading. If you need to cancel, they quietly deduct a £29 “admin fee” from your refund. This isn’t made clear upfront and is buried in terms most people won’t read in detail. It comes across as a clever way to still take a significant chunk of your money, even when you’ve paid extra for protection.
What’s the point of paying for cancellation cover if you’re still penalised like this?
Overall, disappointing and frustrating experience. Transparency is lacking, and I won’t be using them again.”
“Scammer like company.
They show you lower quoted to pay for amount as summary.
Then they show you same lower amount when you key in all the details of travellers and documentations.
Then they show you choice of payment mode to select AND HAD A DIFFERENT HIGHER AMOUNT OUT OF SCREEN UNLESS YOU SUDDENLY SCROLL DOWN ALL THE WAY to see if third page amount is same as first two pages or not.”
“Trying to contact and get some assistance after I was informed that I could not take booking bought but for an extra £60 or perhaps £70 I could upgrade. Still not sure if tickets valid, or if money taken from account. Tried a telephone number 08718900900 guess what number not in use. HSM”
“Tried to make a booking through their website, there was one price until i was going to proceed with payment, suddenly 8 dollar surcharge appeared. I stopped and went to the website of the service provider, where the price was correct but couldn’t make a booking cause the booking through directferry was “hanging”. No proper support to unlock it, and they keep sending me emails suggesting to “lock” this unattractive rate with surcharge. Hope the booking will expire soon as no proper support except registering through their website which I don’t need at all. Be careful.”
“I had holidays in Rome and i booked with Direct Ferries a ferry trip of Amalfi coast line , i bought train tickets and plan my trip there but when i reached there , there office was closed , no information on the site about how to contact them , 2 hours i walking like a lost person to ask people where is the office ? Where is the ferry? Any way the day was wasted and now the are not compensating me to words the train ticket , the weather on that was nice and they have excuse that because of bad weather ferry was cancelled, if so you should inform me well ahead , but you never inform me . Very poor service and not cooperative at all.”
“Booked returning ferry tix but turns out the returning leg was not booked on the Batam ferry system (even with confirmation email from directferries)! And the ferries were full on every timing. Ended up our family of 8 had to split up and waited a further 1-2hrs for the next available seats (with much help from Horizon Ferry staff)”
“They have one job, to make booking and staying on top of crossings easier. Booking was fine, their app sucks and no updates were sent out so we arrived 3 hours early to a crossing that was delayed and left outside for 2 hours with small children. App still shows the ferry sailing at the original time. No updates, no changes, useless.”
“Absolutely ridiculous, avoid using platforms like this that offer no real-time support, take no responsibility for their mistakes, and charge significantly higher prices. Booking directly at the port is cheaper, clearer, and far more reliable.”
“I booked a ferry from Vlore to Brindisi through Direct Ferries for £262.
We arrived on time, but the check-in office was closed, nobody would help, and the ferry left about an hour early. We were denied boarding through no fault of our own.
Direct Ferries refused to refund us, hiding behind the operator instead of taking any responsibility as the retailer. Their customer service simply repeated whatever the ferry company told them, even when it was provably untrue.
It’s been weeks of emails and excuses — they still have my money for a service that was never provided. Absolutely unacceptable. Avoid this company and book directly with the ferry operator instead.”
“awful experience with Direct Ferries . I change ferry tickets dates from calais -Dover.
give them plenty extra time like we can advance before ferry pay online almost full ferry ticket price it was anyway. when I came to Calais at the port they couldn’t see payment was made from direct ferries . I have to basically pay again for the new ticket. because somebody from Direct Ferries in the office could not make a payment transfer to Irish ferries that I made they had two weeks time and they couldn’t do their job. would not advise anyone to use it.”
