Booking Conditions
This site (the ‘Site’) compares prices and timetables for ferry journeys and allows you to book journeys. The Site is owned By Ferrynav and Powered by Direct Ferries Limited.
1. Application
These Booking Conditions apply to all passenger bookings made for ferry, through this Site or through our call centres, and replace all previous conditions. In these Booking Conditions: ‘You’ means the person making the booking; ‘Customer’ means each of the people for whom the booking is made, which may (but not necessarily) include You; ‘Services’ means the services offered by us, which include a ferry journey search service, a price comparison service and a booking service.
We may change these Booking Conditions from time to time, but any changes will not apply to any bookings that you have already made. You should save the Booking Conditions that apply when making a booking so that you can refer to them at a later date.
2. Parties
We do not ourselves operate any ferry as such services are provided by the ferry operators (‘Operator(s)’). We operate a booking platform which enables you to search and book ferry journeys provided by Operators.
When you make a booking for a ferry, we act as an agent for the Operators except in relation to certain ferry services where we act as your agent in relation to searching and booking the ferry services. Where we act as your agent, you appoint us to source and where relevant book the ferry as your agent on your behalf and you are our principal. In both cases (whether we act as your agent or the Operator’s agent) this means that you will be entering into a contract with the relevant ferry Operator, which will be the party responsible for providing the ferry to you and you will be bound by the Operator Terms upon receipt of your confirmation advice note (for which see section 8 below).
Any booking that you make through our Site for ferry is made subject to: (i) these Booking Conditions, which set out the terms on which we provide our Services to you; and (ii) the terms of the Operators of the ferry , which set out the terms on which the ferry is provided to you by the Operators (‘Operator Terms’). The Operator Terms are made available to you before any booking is completed . You are responsible for familiarising yourself with the Operator Terms. In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between these Booking Conditions and the Operator Terms, the Operator Terms prevail.
The person who makes a booking using this Site or our call centre must have authority to make any booking on behalf of any other Customer. In making a booking, you confirm that each Customer agrees to be bound by these Booking Conditions. The person who makes a booking is responsible for his or her activities on our Site, and safeguarding any personal information provided, including passwords, names, passport and travel details. The person who makes the booking must ensure that all information provided by him or her is complete and accurate.
3. Fares and General Information
Fares are based on vehicle type (if any), the number of passengers, route(s), travel dates and times. Your booking may require Customers to depart and/or return at or within specified dates and times. If Customers do not adhere to such specified dates and times, they may be refused travel and/or have their booking specification and accommodation changed, and/or be subject to additional charges. In particular, the benefit of any promotional rates may be lost and full fares charged. Additional charges as contemplated in this paragraph may be debited to the credit or debit card that you used when making a booking, without further reference to you.
Vehicle and passenger space and on-board accommodation are subject to availability and may not always be available. Promotional fares are subject to additional special conditions including a general condition that if any portion of the itinerary is not used, we or the Operator reserves the right to apply additional charges to you. We have the right to vary all displayed fares including where Operators change their fares (including, but not limited to, for reasons of currency fluctuations, oil prices, changes in law) at any time until a booking is confirmed. If the price of your booking changes between placement of the order and confirmation, we will proceed to confirm the booking if the price has decreased (and only charge you the actual price), but we will contact you for instructions if the price has increased.
Items such as roof boxes/bike racks or any other items attached to a vehicle not forming part of the vehicle body will be charged an additional fee.
Not all of the Operators have facilities to accept bookings for people with disabilities or reduced mobility. Enquiries should be made at the time of booking whether the Operator has the facilities that any Customer requires.
4. Departure Schedules
All departure/arrival times are estimated by the Operator and are given as local times – please refer to your booking confirmation for details. You are advised to check with the Operator for any changes prior to commencing your journey. Sailing schedules may be interrupted and/or crossing times extended or cancelled due to adverse weather conditions and/or tidal conditions and/or other circumstances.
It may be necessary to use alternative ships or points of departure or arrival on any sailing or to change/withdraw the facilities/services available for various operational, technical or scheduling reasons.
We do not accept liability howsoever arising for any costs or inconvenience caused as a result of such circumstances, but we will try to notify you, if practical, using the contact details provided by you at the time of booking. The Operator Terms apply to any liability of the Operator in such circumstances.
5. Animals
The carriage of animals is only permitted if the Customer notifies us before making the booking. Any such carriage must be in accordance with any relevant legal requirements and the requirements of the Operator. A charge may be made for the carriage of any animals, and further conditions may be imposed. Please seek advice from your vet or the appropriate authority before making a booking. You are legally responsible for the animals and wholly responsible for obtaining any necessary documents, consents and permission.
6. Freight and Commercial Passenger Vehicles
Special conditions and tariffs apply to the carriage of freight and commercial passenger vehicles. The definition of what constitutes a freight vehicle and whether any special tariff applies is determined by the Operator in each case.
By way of guidance only, vehicles exceeding 6.5 metres in length, specifically constructed or adapted for the carriage of freight, whether carrying goods or not, are subject to special tariffs, as are any vehicles of other specification but which are carrying merchandise or travelling for a commercial purpose. In the event that a vehicle is booked as a car or private vehicle, but is determined by the Operator to be a freight vehicle, the full tariff rate will be charged and/or carriage will be refused without refund. For further information on freight tariffs and rates, please contact our freight department on (+44) 01473 370 915.
Commercial passenger vehicles exceeding 6.5 metres in length and constructed or adapted to carry 8 or more passengers and/or not classified as a private car by the ferry Operator may be subject to a different tariff. In the event that the vehicle is booked as a car or private vehicle, but is found to be a commercial passenger vehicle the full tariff will be charged and/or carriage will be refused without refund.
7. Hazardous Materials
Neither we nor the Operators will accept bookings for vehicles that are carrying dangerous or hazardous materials, including in certain circumstances vehicles powered by LPG. In certain circumstances written permission may be obtained from the Operator, but such permission may be subject to additional charges and conditions. You are responsible to the Operator for the carriage of such materials, whether declared or undeclared. In the event that you seek to carry undeclared dangerous/hazardous materials, carriage may be refused without refund.
8. Confirmation and Payment
Unless you have set up a credit account with us, you must pay for each booking at the time of booking, before a confirmation is issued. Payment can be made by credit card or debit card. Corporate/Commercial cards are subject to a 2% surcharge. Consumer credit cards issued by banks located outside the EEA are subject to a 2% surcharge.
When you contact us to make a booking, and have made full payment for all Customers covered by the booking, we will issue a confirmation advice note that sets out the details of your reservation and provides other information on the basis of the information that you have provided. The contract between you and the Operator(s) will only be formed once the confirmation advice note has been issued to you. If you have not received the confirmation advice note from us within 24 hours of making your booking, you should contact our customer services team through our online contact form.
We shall be under no obligation to issue a confirmation advice note after you have placed a booking with us if an issue arises which we reasonably conclude means that we are no longer able to confirm the booking. We will not issue such a confirmation if we discover an error in the pricing of the journey or if the journey is no longer available. If, for any reason, we are unable to confirm your booking, we will inform you of this and not process your booking further. We will then arrange for you to be refunded any part of the booking you have already paid, unless you decide to use that payment towards a different booking.
You agree that the data that we store in our information systems (or those of our service providers) constitutes proof of your booking and its details. If payment is made by debit or credit card the amount or balance due will be taken from that card at the time of booking.
Depending on the type of ticket selected and the number of passengers (and consequently the value of the ticket), a service fee will be added to the cost of the ticket. This will be displayed before you confirm the booking.
9. Cancellation
If the ticket purchased permits cancellation then the booking may be cancelled and cancellation fees will be charged in accordance with these Booking Conditions and the Operator Terms. Promotional or special offer tickets may not be refundable and you should check the Operator Terms and with us at the time of booking to understand whether additional conditions are attached to your ticket that may result in no refund being available.
Any cancellation by you will incur the following cancellation fee, plus any charges levied by the Operator.
Our cancellation fee will vary depending on whether you cancel your booking through your ‘My Account’ portal (“Online”) or by phone and/or email (“Offline”):
For bookings cancelled Online: £10/€12 per booking (depending on the currency used for the booking).
For bookings cancelled Offline: £20/€25 (depending on the currency used for the booking).
Any payment card charges applied to bookings are not refundable. Any deposit payments for bookings are not refundable. If the Customer does not undertake the ferry journey for which the booking is made, refunds will only be made to you in accordance with the relevant Operator Terms.
Cancel For Any Reason (optional extra)
The Cancel For Any Reason terms in this section shall only apply if you have selected and paid for the option of Cancel For Any Reason during your booking.
The Cancel For Any Reason terms apply to the cancellation of the ferry travel element only by you and the terms do not extend to any other elements of the trip (e.g. hotel reservation, car hire, breakdown products, card fees, booking fees, etc.)
You must select and buy Cancel For Any Reason at the same time as the ferry booking
Cancel For Any Reason terms will only apply to the individual ferry booking it is made on
In the event you are booking multiple trips on different booking references, the option must be selected separately for each booking
Cancel For Any Reason cannot be removed from a booking [and the Cancel For Any Reason fee paid by you at the time of booking will not be refunded] at any point after purchase.
Cancellation requests must be received from you at least 48 hours prior to the sailing time. Cancel For Any Reason does not apply to any cancellations received after this point or on unused ferry bookings.
Cancellations can only be made on the full booking. It is not possible to cancel one leg of the trip only.
In the event you need to cancel your booking, please login to the ‘My Account’ section of the website.
YOU WILL BE REFUNDED THE FULL PRICE OF YOUR FERRY TICKET ONLY. Refunds will not be given in respect of your booking fee or the Cancel For Any Reason fee paid by you at the time of booking. We will also not charge you the cancellation fee set out in clause 9 above.
These Cancel For Any Reason terms only apply to cancellations requested by you. They do not apply to cancellations or changes by the Operator (or us) or due to events beyond the Operator’s or our reasonable control (for more on which see clause 14).
Ferrynav reserves the right to charge an admin fee of £100 per booking in the event multiple bookings are made to sail within a 72-hour period for the same vehicle.
Koala – Last-minute Flex – Cancel For Any Reason (optional extra)
The Cancel without reason service allows passengers to cancel their booking up to 2 hours before the outbound departure of their booking, without having to give any reason or provide any justification.
10. Amendment Fees
You may only make an amendment to a booking at the Operator’s discretion and if the Operator Terms which apply to your ticket(s) permit it. Some bookings, such as promotional or special fares, cannot be amended. Some bookings may be subject to an Operator amendment fee plus any difference between the fare that you booked and the new fare. You should check the Operator Terms and with us at the time of booking to understand whether your booking can be amended.
All amendments made by you will incur the following administration charge, plus any charges levied by the Operator. Our amendment charge will vary depending on whether you cancel the booking Online or Offline (see clause 9 for these definitions):
For amendments made Online: £10/€10 per booking (depending on the currency used for the booking).
For amendments made Offline:
If the total cost of the booking was less than £100/€100 (depending on the currency used for the booking) – £10/€10
If the total cost of the booking was more than £100/€100 (depending on the currency used for the booking) – £20/€20.
11. Check in
Latest check-in times are as stated during the booking process and also on the booking confirmation. If a Customer is not ready to board the ferry by the latest check-in time, boarding cannot be guaranteed as waiting lists may have been accepted. If a Customer has special requirements, or has received our permission to carry animals or dangerous goods, generally that Customer is expected to check in earlier as stated on the booking confirmation.
The Operator has absolute discretion as to whether or not to accept any passenger, their vehicle or luggage on board. Each Customer must have all the necessary travel documents to enter the countries which he or she intends to visit and for re-entry into the country of departure.
You are responsible for ensuring that the name on each Customer’s passport matches the name on the ticket, otherwise, the Customer may not be able to travel and any travel insurance may be invalid. If any Customer changes his or her name between the date of the booking and the date of travel (for example, following marriage), you must notify us through our online contact form.
12. Your responsibility
You are responsible to the Company and the Operator for fully complying with these Booking Conditions, the Operator Terms and any additional requirements imposed by the Operator or by law. You are also responsible for providing full and accurate information about your booking, including the vehicle and passengers.
13. Compulsory Law
Your booking is subject to any compulsory law or convention applicable to the ferry booking and your attention is specifically drawn to the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and Their Luggage by Sea 1974, which both imposes obligations on the carrier and limits their liability.
14. Events beyond the parties' reasonable control
If an unforeseen event occurs, which is beyond the control of the Operator, or us, and therefore could not have been avoided by us or the Operator taking all due care, and which significantly impedes the travel which has been booked, then:
You will have statutory rights which apply (including EU law on compensation in the case of delay or cancellation);
Subject to your statutory rights, the Operator’s Terms will apply including in respect of whether you have a right in such circumstances to a refund of your ferry ticket.
If the Operator’s Terms entitle you to a refund, we will pay you the refund we receive from the Operator promptly after we receive it.
If the Operator’s Terms entitle the Operator to issue you with a voucher instead of a monetary refund, we will issue you with a voucher of commensurate value to that which the Operator has issued (provided you have not received the voucher directly from the Operator).
You will not be entitled to a refund of the booking fee which you paid to us at the time of booking or the Cancel For Any Reason fee paid by you at the time of booking if you selected the Cancel For Any Reason option
An unforeseen event may include (but is not limited to) warfare, government action which prevents or restricts travel to the relevant destination, Operator failure or bankruptcy, other serious problems such as terrorism, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of a serious disease at the travel destination, pandemics or epidemics or natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes or poor weather conditions which may make it impossible to travel safely to the destination agreed in the contract
15. Our liability
The provision of the Services and the accuracy of information that we provide. We are not responsible for information not published by us, including information published on Operator websites, nor incorrect information given to us by the Operators.
Your contract for the provision of the journey will be between you and the Operator and the Operator Terms will apply. Therefore, we will not be in any way responsible for the provision or performance of the journey. We are not liable for any loss or damage that you suffer as a result of the Operator’s failure to perform the journey or its improper performance of the journey, including where this is the result of an Operator having become insolvent or otherwise having ceased trading. We will not be obliged to provide you with a refund in such circumstances. To protect against this risk, we would recommend that you take out travel insurance which includes cover for End Supplier Failure. You should read any travel insurance policy which you decide to purchase carefully so that you are fully aware of the risks which you are protected against under the policy.
If you have any queries or concerns about the journey you have booked, please contact the Operator of the journey directly.
16. Limitation of Liability
We do not limit our liability for (i) loss caused by our fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation (ii) loss arising from death or personal injury caused by our negligence; or (iii) any other loss that may not be excluded or limited by applicable law. In all other respects, we shall be liable only for losses which arise directly: (a) from our breach of a legal duty of care; or (b) are a result of our breach of these Booking Conditions, and that liability is at all times limited to a sum equivalent to twice the amount paid by you for a booking, in respect of the relevant Customer.
Claims against us for compensation are limited or excluded insofar as international treaties or other legal regulations that limit or exclude liability apply to the arrangements to be provided. Liability for sea transportation is governed by the applicable stipulations of international treaties including the Athens Convention. That treaty limits the liability of the Operator for shipping incidents and fault or negligence.
17. Complaints
You must make any complaint about the Service promptly and at the latest, within 14 days of the completion of your booking, by contacting us by post or by email to complaints@directferries.com.
You can also access the European Commission Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. This ODR platform is a means of registering your complaint with us. It will not determine how your complaint should be resolved.
If you have a complaint about something that took place during your journey, please contact the Operator directly to resolve this issue using the details set out on our Site.
18. General
These Booking Conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales. You agree that the English Courts shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine any dispute arising from the interpretation of these terms. However, you may choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if that is where you live.
If any provision (or part of a provision) of these Booking Conditions is found by any court or other authority of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that provision or part shall, to the extent required, be deemed not to form part of this agreement with you and the validity and enforceability of the other provisions shall not be affected.