Tsawwassen — Local services in Delta

My experience with BC Ferries has always been wonderful. Recently, I took the ferry from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo. I had booked my ticket and, as required, arrived at the terminal 30 minutes early to check in.

At the check-in point, the staff asked if I had propane. I said no, but explained that I had small hot-pot style canisters, brand new and purchased from a store. The staff told me I could not bring them, not even one, because they were butane.

I admitted I wasn’t very familiar with these terms, but offered to hand them over to the staff for disposal. The staff replied no, and told me I must immediately turn around and leave to dispose of them myself.

I explained that the ferry was about to depart, I had a reservation, and I was traveling with two adults and two children. I asked if my family could board first while I stayed behind to deal with the items. The staff still said no, and insisted I turn around.

To be honest, I was shocked by the inflexible way this was handled. I declared the items honestly. They were brand new, unused, and I was not trying to hide them. I wonder if there could be a better solution in situations like this.

For example, at airport customs, if passengers bring restricted items (liquids, power banks, lighters—items that also contain gas), the staff confiscate them for safety. The passenger still travels, and the flow of boarding is not disrupted.

At ferry terminals, there is a high volume of people and vehicles, and not everyone is familiar with dangerous goods rules. If someone declares honestly, but the items cannot be taken on board, could BC Ferries consider providing a way to safely collect and dispose of them, instead of requiring the passenger to turn around and miss the sailing?

The terminals are often far away, and leaving to dispose of items takes a long time and causes significant disruption. In my case, I was left with the feeling that honesty and compliance were not rewarded, but penalized. This is why I felt shocked and mind blowing.

I truly appreciate BC Ferries’ focus on safety and understand the risks involved. At the same time, I hope the process could be improved to handle such situations more smoothly for passengers who...

I take the ferry each week for work from the Tsawwassen and Duke point terminals. I catch the 10:45pm as to give myself a full day on each end. I arrive 30 mins before my reservation which is an hour before sailing. Once loaded I set an alarm for 1:40 hours, lean back the chair and sleep. It's EXTREMELY frustrating when the giant electric screen at the terminal says the sailing is on schedule when it's hours behind. And to top it off, roughly 1 in 100 ticket booth staff will inform me if a ferry is behind schedule and the vast majority of the time there are zero announcements or they come a few hours later once the delayed ferry is near the terminal. If I know the ferry is behind, I can set an alarm in the parking lot and get a couple more hours of precious sleep instead of fighting sleep so I'm not that guy holding up the line. During my work week on the mainland I'm up at 6:00am so sleep is important. When that pipe burst during the cold snap same deal, sitting in a cold vehicle at Horseshoe Bay with a screen saying it's on schedule when it was delayed a couple hours with one announcement just before it arrived. What's so hard about sending an email out to let your passengers stay in the loop? Why do airlines text and email me if there is a 5 minute delay and you guys can't update the screen or make a simple announcement? Why after commuting weekly for 2.5 years (and weekly dive trips previous to that) and filling out that survey at the end of my reservation countless times has nothing changed? I've given you guys 10 of thousands of my hard earned money over the years, I've filled out you're survey, and clearly you still don't appreciate me as a passenger. My family is/was in the airline industry. I understand medical emergencies, mechanicals and unforseen circumstances can cause delays, that's okay. What's not okay with me, and I'm sure fellow passengers, is next to zero communication when they occur. You guys earned this one star. The views on the ferry are phenomenal but you don't get credit for...

I have been travelling for work at this terminal and Swartz Bay terminal in Victoria once a week for the last 2 years and have had so many unpleasant experiences that outweigh any good (if not average) ones. The amount of times the ferry doesn't sail on time (not due to mechanical failures but due to poor loading arrangements) is ridiculous. Today is a Tuesday which is typically not very busy unless it's near a holiday which today it isn't but even with the extra sailings during summer there is still a 1 sailing wait (on top of that there is a mechanical failure with the next sailing leaving more than 6 full lanes of traffic waiting) I know it's not their fault that it is so busy I'm just recommending if you travel any day during summer that you reserve a spot and arrive 30-60 mins before your scheduled sailing (otherwise it is not honoured). Don't expect any wifi on the ferry, it's there but does not work at all. Also expect the employees to misjudge your vehicles height and put you on the lower deck where there is no cell service despite telling them you fit on the upper deck as you have ridden every ferry along the Victoria and Nanaimo routes and have fit on the upper deck before. The last complaint I have about BC Ferries is the prices off and onboard. The price to get just you and your vehicle one way across is over $70 and food onboard is just a glorified Triple-Os where they charge you more for the same food because it's "on board"

Rated 2 stars because the terminal is nice and fairly well renovated with some nice shops and...