We're here to help in the event of a sailing cancellation or significant service disruption. Find information below about what happens if you have already checked in for your sailing or if your reserved sailing is cancelled on or before your day of travel.
I checked in at the terminal and my sailing was cancelled
We will make every effort to load you on the next available sailing where space is available.
Customers with a booking on the next scheduled departure will be loaded in advance of customers from the cancelled sailing. If we are unable to load you on the next available sailing, you will be loaded based on the order of arrival at the terminal.
For customers travelling from Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) to Nanaimo (Departure Bay), we will make every effort to load you onto the next available sailing where space is available. You may be directed to leave the terminal, make a new booking and return within the check-in window of your new booking due to the reduced vehicle capacity at the terminal during the ongoing construction work.
If we can not accommodate you on the next sailing, you will automatically be issued a refund and directed to leave the terminal.
My sailing was cancelled and I decided not to travel
If you choose not to travel, return to the ticket booth to check out of the terminal. Your fares and any booking fees will be automatically refunded to your original form of payment after you check out. Any changes made to your booking at the terminal will also be automatically refunded, with the exception of cash or cash equivalent transactions, which need to be processed by a ticket agent at the terminal.
If your sailing is cancelled and you have a return booking you will no longer be able to use, call 1-888-BC FERRY (223-3779) and we will cancel your booking and refund your fares and booking fees.
Refunds for cancelled bookings
As noted above if you choose not to travel, return to the ticket booth to check out of the terminal. Your fares and any booking fees will be automatically refunded to your original form of payment after you check out. If your sailing is cancelled before you arrive at the terminal, any bookings that cannot be moved to a different sailing later in the day will be cancelled and automatically refunded. Any booking fares and fees will be refunded to your original form of payment. It can take between 5–7 business days for the refund to appear on your credit card statement.
My booked sailing was cancelled before I checked in at the terminal
If you are travelling on a bookable route, we will make every effort to move your booking to an alternate sailing, later in the day (close to the time of your original booking), based on space availability. This will occur at no cost to you, regardless of the fare you paid. Future sailings may have limited bookable space due to previous bookings.
If your booking is moved to a different sailing, you will be notified. If we are not able to move your booking, you will be notified in advance that your booking has been cancelled, your fares and any booking fees will be refunded to your original form of payment.
If you choose to travel without a booking on a later sailing, you can purchase an At Terminal fare* and you will be boarded on the next available sailing based on deck space availability and order of arrival at the terminal.
If your sailing is cancelled and you have a return booking you will no longer be able to use, call 1-888-BC FERRY (223-3779) and we will cancel your booking and refund your fares and booking fees.
* Customers travelling with a vehicle from Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) to Nanaimo (Departure Bay) must book and pay in advance, so no At Terminal fare is available. If you have a booking for travel from Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) to Nanaimo (Departure Bay), we will be in contact to let you know if we are able to fit you on an alternate sailing later in the day.
If you were notified that your booking is cancelled in advance of checking in, you will automatically be issued a refund. If you still wish to travel, you may make a new booking.
My sailing was cancelled and I am travelling as a foot passenger without my vehicle which has been left behind at a location where I do not reside
If your sailing is cancelled for reasons within our control and you choose to travel as a foot passenger on board a water taxi provided by BC Ferries, or if you arrange alternate travel without your vehicle, we will reimburse reasonable parking expenses and future travel on BC Ferries to retrieve your vehicle once our regular service has resumed.
Parking expenses are eligible for reimbursement up until the day after service resumes, in order to provide time for you to travel. Itemized receipts and travel tickets are required. Contact us for information on how to submit your itemized receipts, travel ticket and booking confirmation number. You can also mail them to:
BC Ferries Attn:
Customer Relations
Suite 500-1321 Blanshard Street
Victoria, BC V8W 0B7
We will make every effort to move your booking to a different sailing later in the day (close to the time of your original booking) based on deck space availability at no cost to you, regardless of the fare you paid. Sailings later in the day may have limited bookable space due to existing bookings.
If your booking is moved to a different sailing, you will be notified. If we are not able to move your booking, you will be notified in advance that your booking has been cancelled and your fares and any booking fees will be refunded to the original form of payment.
If you choose to travel without a booking on a later sailing, you can purchase an At Terminal fare at the ticket booth and you will be boarded on the next available sailing based on deck space availability and order of arrival at the terminal.
I checked in at the terminal and my sailing was cancelled
We will make every effort to load you on the next available sailing where space is available. Customers with a booking on the next scheduled departure will be loaded in advance of customers from the cancelled sailing. If we are unable to load you on the next available sailing, you will be loaded based on the order of arrival at the terminal.
My sailing was cancelled and I decided not to travel
If you are travelling on a non-bookable route or travelling without a booking on a bookable route, you must return to the ticket booth to receive a refund for your fares before departing the terminal.
My booked sailing was cancelled before I checked in at the terminal
If you are travelling on a non-bookable route or your intended sailing is cancelled, follow us on X @BCFerries or sign up to receive service notices so you are notified of any changes to our service.
My booked sailing was cancelled before I checked in at the terminal
If you are travelling on a non-bookable route or your intended sailing is cancelled, follow us on X @BCFerries or sign up to receive service notices so you are notified of any changes to our service.
My sailing was cancelled and I am travelling as a foot passenger without my vehicle which has been left behind at a location where I do not reside
If your sailing is cancelled for reasons within our control and you choose to travel as a foot passenger on board a water taxi provided by BC Ferries, or if you arrange alternate travel without your vehicle, we will reimburse reasonable parking expenses and future travel on BC Ferries to retrieve your vehicle once our regular service has resumed.
Parking expenses are eligible for reimbursement up until the day after service resumes, in order to provide time for you to travel. Itemized receipts and travel tickets are required. Contact us for information on how to submit your itemized receipts, travel ticket and booking confirmation number. You can also mail them to:
BC Ferries Attn:
Customer Relations
Suite 500-1321 Blanshard Street
Victoria, BC V8W 0B7
If you choose to travel without a booking on a later sailing, you can purchase an At Terminal fare and you will be boarded on the next available sailing based on deck space availability and order of arrival at the terminal. You can also check service notices to see any delays or notices that may affect your travel.
While compensation is not provided for sailing cancellations that are outside of our control (e.g. weather, medical emergencies, power outages, rescue operations, natural disasters, security and law enforcement issues, terrorism/security threats, etc.), if a cancellation within our control occurs (e.g. mechanical issues, crew availability, human error) that prevents you from reaching your final booked and ticketed BC Ferries destination on the same operational day, you can submit a compensation request with your receipts to our Customer Relations department.
We provide compensation and reimbursement for reasonable gas, meal, accommodation and alternate transportation expenses that you would not have incurred otherwise.
If you incur out-of-pocket expenses due to a sailing delay or cancellation within our control, on a sailing you booked, that prevented you from reaching your ticketed BC Ferries destination on your planned operational day of travel, you may submit a request for reimbursement. This also applies for customers who have received a ticket/boarding pass at the terminal to travel on one of our non-bookable routes where alternate travel is not available.
In the event BC Ferries can accommodate you through alternate service (e.g. water taxi, standby availability on alternate routes, foot passenger space availability) reimbursement of expenses may not be available.
We review requests for reasonable expenses that qualify within our guidelines. Itemized receipts* along with tickets or refund receipts for attempted travel are required. If approved, we will provide reimbursement up to our maximum amounts, posted below, to the booked customer.
In the event of a cancellation within our control where alternative travel requires overnight parking at our terminals, we will reimburse parking expenses* from the date of the service disruption until one calendar day after service resumes, permitting you to return and recover your vehicle upon resumption of service.
* Parking expenses refer to costs incurred at a BC Ferries parking lot. Parking tickets or fines are not eligible for reimbursement.
Reimbursement is based on the distance in kilometres between your original departure and arrival terminals via alternate departure and arrival terminals.
See the automobile allowance rates from the BC Government here. We will confirm kilometers submitted using Google Maps.
In the event of a cancellation within our control where no other sailing options on the same day were provided, we will cover meal expenses as applicable (per person) up to a maximum of:
Itemized receipts are required*. Alcoholic beverages are not valid for reimbursement.
We will provide reimbursement at the lowest necessary room price proposed by the service provider, to a maximum of $200 CAD per night.
Contact us to open a compensation request, and for information about how to submit your itemized receipts*. You can also mail your receipts to:
BC Ferries Attn:
Customer Relations
Suite 500-1321 Blanshard Street
Victoria, BC V8W 0B7
Customers with bookings that are cancelled without being moved to or accommodated on an alternate sailing will be fully refunded (reservation fee and fares) and provided a complimentary voucher for future ferry travel. Customers with bookings for standard and oversize vehicles will receive one (1) BC Ferries travel voucher for a standard vehicle and driver per cancelled booking on any route between Vancouver Island and the Mainland. Customers with foot passenger bookings will receive one (1) BC Ferries Adult Passenger voucher per passenger booked.
Customers who submit their expenses, if approved, will have the standardized value of the voucher removed from their total reimbursement.
Reimbursement will be provided at the lowest logical fare proposed by the transportation provider. In rare instances where a chartered flight is required, we will reimburse up to the cost of a seat on a commercial flight that same day.
We do not reimburse expenses for cellular roaming charges, missed entertainment/sporting/excursion events, lost wages or missed connections to flights or cruises.
If you have purchased travel insurance and a sailing cancellation impacted your flight or connection to a cruise, contact us and we will provide you with confirmation of the sailing cancellation to submit to your travel insurance company.
* Itemized receipts are required to provide a documented record of the date and time the financial transaction occurred and help us confirm the expense is valid for reimbursement.