Interislander Ferry — Local services in North Island

Do not use! Completely unprofessional and disorganised bunch. Woeful communications and lack of care/attention for customers.

We found out the day before we were due to travel that our scheduled ferry had a mechanical issue and that it we would be rescheduled to another time which "is likely to be more than 24 hours after the original sailing time". No other information provided and we didn't hear anything until well past 10pm - that's less than 15 hours from when we were originally scheduled to depart (also we would have had to check-in at least 1 hour before that). We tried calling their customer service number before that but just reached automated messages saying we need to wait until we receive a rescheduled sailing before we can talk to them about it. We were driving halfway across the north island that day, so we really didn't have much choice in terms of seeing someone at their terminal in Wellington either. After 5pm when we arrived in Wellington, their offices were closed and we couldn't get hold of anyone for more information.

This is an absolutely awful experience when we had subsequent accommodation and tours booked on the other side of the crossing. We didn't know what day/time we would be rescheduled for, so didn't know which follow-on bookings we should keep or cancel and whether we needed to book accommodation in Wellington for the next day or two. All other ferry crossings were sold out for the next two days so it wasn't a clear choice to just cancel+refund and book onto a difference crossing. In the end, it turns out they rescheduled us onto an evening ferry crossing the next day. By this point, since we hadn't heard anything, we had no choice but to book accommodation for the next day (as their initial email suggested it would take 24 hours+) and we had booked another ferry crossing in 3 days time to have some certainty in crossing at all - as the ferry crossing for the next 2 days were all sold out. All of this would've been unnecessary if they just contacted us earlier! We then had to cancel these bookings and spend hours dealing with customer service trying to get a refund for the unnecessary bookings.

When we did get to our rescheduled crossing, despite turning up 2 hours early, we were stuck sitting in our cars waiting to board right up to the time of departure and the departure ended up being was 30mins late! At one point many cars ended up stuck idling their engines for 30-60mins as we were waiting in front of the boarding ramp but had no information on what was going on.

In the end, we went from our original schedule of arriving at 4:30pm to arriving at 00:30am the next day. We lost 8+ hours of our day and not a single apology offered - either for the initial cancelled crossing or for the 30mins delay to the rescheduled one! Further to this, we lost our day time crossing where we would have seen the beautiful coastal area around Picton as we arrived. Instead we arrive in darkness, tired and weary and contend with a late check-in at the hotel where the staff might be asleep by the time we arrive.

Just to top it off, food and services on board were also poor quality and overpriced too - but maybe that can...

We took the Interislander ferry from Picton on the south island to Wellington on the north island with our rental car.

You need to arrive at least an hour before your departure time, and check-in. We actually arrived 1 hour, 45 minutes early and we had 10 cars in front of us, so I would suggest that you plan to arrive early. Check-in was quick and easy--the check-in lady was super nice. She then told us which line in which we should park our car. There are toilet facilities in the parking lot which are available to use.

We began loading about 45 minutes before our scheduled departure. Loading was handled very efficiently and pretty quick considering the amount of vehicles which were on the cruise. Once there, you are told to lock your car, take everything with you that you might want during the cruise, and go up to the various lounges.

We paid extra for the premium lounge on the 5th floor, and we were glad that we did so. The premium lounge is a smaller venue and reserved for adults only, and includes your food and beverages, including alcoholic beverages. We had morning breakfast snacks (two types of mini-croissants, two types of mini-quiches, fresh fruit, cheese & crackers, coffee, tea and juices as well as water or soda) as we were getting ready to leave, and during the first half hour of the cruise. We were then served lunch about an hour and a half into the cruise. Lunch consisted of chicken on skewers, pork bao buns, Moroccan chicken drumsticks, and two types of salads. All of the food was good quality and served at the correct temperature. Once the ship was underway, you could order from the bar--beer and wine (not sure if cocktails were available). The steward in the premium lounge did a great job getting the food out and coming around to tell everyone when lunch was ready. He also came around and picked up plates and glasses as people finished with them. He was courteous, friendly and efficient!

The premium lounge was very quiet--several people took naps, while others were working on their laptops, and others read a book or watched the beautiful scenery go by.

We went up to the upper deck until we left the Prince Charlotte Sound; and had some beautiful views during that time. After that, we continued to have a great view from the windows in the premium lounge.

Although it was extremely windy, we really did not feel much movement inside the ferry--only a little rocking motion every once in a while.

You cannot access your vehicle during the cruise, unless you have an animal that you left in your vehicle. Those people had the option to be escorted to their vehicles once during the cruise to check on their pets.

The cruise took just under 3 hours, 30 minutes and was a most enjoyable way to get from the south island to the north island--much more enjoyable than being crammed into a small airplane seat, and you can take all of your stuff with you and just leave it in your vehicle.

We would wholeheartedly recommend the Interislander Ferry if you are going between the two main islands of...

ABSOLUTELY HARD NO!!!!!!!!! I would not use this company if it was the LAST OPTION ON EARTH. I would swim the crossing before giving any money to this company. I purchased ferry tickets for a November 2024 sailing. They were "non-refundable" tickets, and Interislander Ferry company uses every conceivable twist on interpretation of that policy to steal from consumers.

I bought my tickets 6 months in advance. 2 months prior to the ferry crossing they emailed me to tell me that my ferry crossing had been cancelled and I had been re-booked on a different crossing that didn't leave for 2.5 hours later. I emailed them back immediately, politely, and asked for a refund given that the new sailing time did not work for our itinerary and because they had chosen (a business decision) not to sail the booked sailing that I purchased. THEY REFUSED. Listen - I completely understand when a transportation company doesn't provide refunds on non-refundable fares for things that are out of their control - a weather issue, a mechanical issue, a worker strike issue, etc. As a seasoned traveler I have had to deal with ALL of those situations and just chalk it up as part of the fun (headache) of traveling. But this is not a situation that is out of the company's control. Nor was the offered alternative "reasonable" (an argument that seems to be their gotcha). A booking 2.5 hours later is 20% of my waking day during a vacation!

They made a business decision not to provide the service I purchased and are now refusing to refund my money. I have gone back and forth with the company via email 6 times and escalated the issue to 3 different people and they still refuse to do anything about it other than offer me to rebook for another time within a year. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New Zealand. They know that many people are in this same situation, and therefore I believe they count on that fact to steal money from international consumers via their ludicrous non-refundable policies that traps the consumer in a no-win situation if the company decides they don't feel like honoring their side of the deal.

BE WARNED!!!!! Given how their policy is written and interpreted by them, in theory they NEVER have to actually provide the ferry service to get you across the channel, so long as they notify you and provide you some alternative, which could go on in perpetuity forever.

SHAME ON...