B C Ferries Corporation

What a load of shit. The BC ferries just loves to take our money and not use it to improve their services. They do nothing to accommodate large amounts of cars and people especially on the weekends (Friday’s and Sunday’s). It always takes me 8 hours to get from Vancouver and drive on and to get to Port Alberni on Vancouver island. This is a disgusting outrage. It should not take me MORE time to get from the island to Vancouver than it takes me to get to fucking Cancun. This is every single time. Today I left Port Alberni to Nanaimo which is a 1 hour drive. I left at 3:30pm and will not be on until the 9:30 boat still. So I won’t be home until 11:30. 3:30 — 11:30 is an 8 hour total travel time. And this is ONLY IF THE FERRIES DONT BREAK DOWN OR HAVE DELAYS (which only happens if you are very very fucking lucky). So please improve your services with the disgusting amount of money you charge us all. GET MORE FUCKING BOATS.

The ferry from between West Van and Nanaimo is one of the newest boats they have. It is clean most of the time except for the bathroom which often stink. The food is still bad, overpriced fast food. The smaller Sitka café is a better choice for a drink and snack. The WiFi is horrible, so hard to connect. It says it has excellent signal but with limited connectivity. They need to improve this. At least the phone companies have good signal along most of the route.

While the trip is smooth and the vessel is very clean, the lack of order in boarding and help from staff is extremely disappointing.
Line ups are chaotic with zero lanes to assist. During departure, there was no guidance especially to first time travellers where to drop off baggage. We ended up wasting 2 hours as our baggage went to another port. It would be to beneficial if BC Ferries have designated seating for efficiency and better boarding systems.

I found reviewing ferry service hard. I will give it a try. Booking can be done via internet, if it is the summer, better to reserve your place. There are many departures during the day, the mid morning one and the lunch time one seems to be full pretty fast. With a small saloon car, it cost us just under $ 111 for one way (a car and two adult passengers). I This departure terminal had a lots of services in terms of food. Some shopping like handbags and souvenirs. Once you board the ferry, you can either stay in the car or go up to the lounge. I chose to stay in the car, as the suspension of the car absorbs some of rolling in the sea, I get sea sick easy. There are drinks and food in the lounge. The crossing time is 1 hours 40 minutes. Officially you have to arrive 30 minutes before hand, but earlier you arrive for departure, the earlier you drive off upon arrival. The view approaching West Vancouver is nice. All in all is ok.

I love BC Ferry (as an American tourist) and have riden it a bunch of times, great way to transport people and cars (though expensive to do so), even saw orcas during the summer time. Love the food on board especially the crunchy chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries. Though beware the long lines!
It is so smooth you don’t even feel like you’re on a boat for a couple of hours. There are lots of facilities like children’s room, pet’s room, arcade, gift shop and decks. The boarding is easy and efficient. Beautiful views!

We were really impressed with the comfort of the boats, and the kids play areas were great, I wish they had those on the Washington ferries. The crossing was easy, once you get aboard, though the wait can be hours long. I wish the wifi had been better, it was very spotty and non-​existent in parts. Also certain parts of the boat were closed off, unfortunately. The onboard food was just okay. Be warned this is very expensive, I think we paid $ 80 each way!

Who reviews BC Ferries? I mean, seriously?
Ok, I do. Once upon a time, I slung hot dogs on these babies, making a lot of money for a student, I might add. Probably more than I make now as an educated woman. Why? It’s BC Ferries, baby!
Looks like the food has improved with real White Spot, WS that is not «quite» the same, (but I wouldn’t eat it then; why eat it now?).
In the summer, you can lie on the deck. If you are lucky, you will listen to a guy play music softly.
If you try to find a spot on the top deck, and you are unlucky, you will watch a guy pee from the aforementioned deck.
Then, if you want to pull your weight in a threatening way, you will threaten to tell the CS. (not really).
You must reserve on long w/​ends and pay extra if you drive (silly). If you’re lucky you can get on an earlier ferry.
AND if you have money, you will fly next time (like my friends did) who vowed never to take the ferries again!
But if you are unlucky, you will do it all again, next summer.

I was impressed! The terminal kiosks and eating places seem really new, nice place to pass the time while waiting for departure.
The ferry itself was VERY clean. It was huge, plenty of places to roam.

Living on Vancouver island you need the ferry, unless you are a local who never leaves and believe me I have met a few. The ferry is not cheap. I think they need to restructure the pricing and provide a frequent user discount. Better yet give a discount to island residents and charge tourists more. Although it is a pain in the ass to take it us generally a smooth ride and in nice weather it can be quite pleasant. But there is nothing better than the float plane from Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver.

Ahhhhh BC Ferries, we all LOVE to hate them lol. Last long weekend I went to the Island for a family vacation and have to say that it wasn’t a horrible experience.
The Nanaimo terminal was nice to walk around. They had a dog area which is great for the pooches! Also, they have a number of little booths that sell jewelry, natural soaps (which I purchased) and hand woven designs. You can also buy food and take a pee lol. These are important things.
What I was really impressed with was the swiftness of the staff at the location. While I was was waiting in line to get a water an older lady fainted. Before I had a chance to ask if she was ok staff from the stand were in front and getting her water, juice and emergency help. Another lady came over and she was a nurse so she was able to take over and just ensure that the older woman was ok.
Overall, my experience at the Terminal was very good. The ride home was uneventful and easy.