Ferry delay - is there any redress?

Brie

OK not a flight but instead a ferry crossing to Ireland.

We had booked a return ferry from Holyhead to Dublin with Stena. It was a 9 am sailing so we ensure we had overnight accommodation near the docks so we could be there on time. Stena then changed the sailing time to 10 am which was fine by us.

Then the 10 am was cancelled the day before and we were rebooked on the 4 pm ferry. This messed our plans for dinner, hotel etc in Ireland but we did some rearranging so it wouldn't be a fuss. Got to the dock at 2 to ensure we were near the front of the queue on and could easily drive on to our hotel. 4 pm came and went and we were left with a single message to say there were technical issues and departure was delayed. At about 5:30 we were told that the crossing had been cancelled and there was nothing they could do to help us.

We were specifically told there was no Stena office or booking desk available and there was no room on a later Irish Ferries boat that they could switch us to. Turns out these were both untrue - there is a booking desk at the terminal and in fact Irish Ferries was busily taking bookings from others such as ourselves. So we booked on to that. When we discovered the Stena booking office at the terminal they agreed to cancel our booking for a full refund but then sent us a confirmation email about the 4 pm sailing going as planned - 2 hours after it had been cancelled.

Later we discovered by accident that Stena had agreed free dinner/coffees/snacks for everyone that was sticking around for a later sailing (which as far as I know never went) - not sure why we didn't get a message about this as an option.

Turns out that the technical problem that Stena had was that their boat had hit the quay and couldn't move on its own to make way for any other boats. That had the knock on effect that our 7:30 pm booking with Irish Ferries didn't leave until 11 pm. We got to Dublin about 2:30 am and to our hotel at 4:30. Not a very restful night as a result.

So - is there something that Stena should have done automatically for us? Is there any rule about excessive delays to departures/arrivals?

At this point I'm happy to have managed the crossing eventually and am not out to gouge anyone and harp on endlessly about compensation. I have no way currently of checking whether we will actually get a refund from from Stena as they appear to have rebooked us on to another crossing and I haven't yet figured out a way to contact them to verify what is happening about this. (no phone to call them and no email address that I can find, I didn't do the booking so not on my account so can't contact them online).

So just checking what to do - i expect if they don't refund us I will try the credit card reclaim route but hope it doesn't come to that.

Woodstok2000

Check the stena terms here:

https://www.stenaline.co.uk/legal/terms-of-business

Specifically:

Without losing the right to transport, you may request compensation from us if you are facing a delay in arrival at
your destination port as set out in your e-ticket and reservation advice. The minimum level of compensation shall be
25% of the ticket price paid for that leg of the journey for a delay of a least:
6.6.1 one hour in case of a scheduled journey of up to four hours;
6.6.2 two hours in case of a scheduled journey of more than four hours, but not exceeding eight hours;
6.6.3 three hours in case of a scheduled journey of more than eight hours, but not exceeding twenty four hours;
or
6.6.4 six hours in case of a scheduled journey of more than 24 hours.
6.7 If the delay exceeds double the time set out in section 6.6 above the compensation shall be 50% of the ticket price
for that leg of your journey.
6.8 Where you hold a combined ticket for an outward and return journey (a combined ticket is when there is one price
for an outward and return ticket, rather than two individual prices for each journey leg) compensation under
sections 6.6 and 6.7 above shall be calculated in relation to 50% of price paid for the combined ticket.
6.9 The compensation payable in sections 6.6 to 6.8 above shall be paid in the form of vouchers unless you request
payment in cash.
6.10 Assistance in the event of cancelled or delayed departure, re-routing and reimbursement and compensation off the
ticket price in the event of delay in arrival will not apply if you have an open ticket as long as the time of departure is
not specified or where you were informed of the cancellation or delay before purchase of your ticket or if the
cancellation or delay is caused by your fault

Grumpy_chap

I can't help with the detail but I am rather surprised that anyone present at a ferry port terminal and told their ferry would not go doesn't wander over to the terminal building to use the facilities and then see the booking desks.