BC Ferries Departure Bay Terminal

Advertise to try to convince people to use the ferry that don’t need to then cancel sailings on people that have no option but to use the ferry as a highway because they don’t have crew. Madness. No private company could operate like this.

Went from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo with an RV. Was quite expensive but I guess thats just how it is. Everything else was well organised and went smoothly. Was a cool experience. (We saw whales during the trip:) )

Was my very first experience! To leave Vancouver in 15 years! I was lost again with the gps but at the end it was an amazing experience!

Nice place to wait the ferry. We arrived around two hours before the departure (due to some road closures we departed from Ucluelet very soon in the morning) and we were happy to find this place: some restaurants for food and also a small shop providing some "stuff" to use during the wait, like color book for children and newspaper for adult. These is also a small playground for children, lot of seat, bathroom, everywhere cooled during the summer). If you want there are also some seat outiside with the bay view, interesting to see the arrival of the ferry or the take off of the seaplane.

Always enjoy checking out the booths inside, getting a Starbucks or Rocky Mountain chocolate. Was so pleased to get on the ferry eventhough we didn't have a reservation because there were none left.

Nice place to wait for a ferry. Outdoor playground space, plenty of washrooms, plenty of food options, place to fill your water bottle.

Wow, what consummate professionals. Without missing a beat, they repaired a broken watermain on the deck above our vehicles like true professionals. The engineering staff is to be highly commended.

We arrived for our ferry reservation at 1220 (ferry was at 1 pm). The attendant spent 13 minutes with 2 cars ahead of us. We checked in and she said "you're late" (it was 3 minutes). My husband said we've been waiting almost 15 minutes in line. Out of sheer spite, she sent us to the end of the line with cars on standby without reservations (we were unaware) so we missed our ferry. How terrible there are miserable, power-tripping, small people who have nothing better to do than try to ruin other's days! Wish there was an alternative to getting to visit my in-laws. Horrible customer service experience

Signage leading to ferry terminal is absent (or not visible from a moving car) and for some reason departure bay terminal is a block away from departure bay road and is found on Brechin instead. So, I missed the boat.

As usual. The BC Ferrie service is unacceptable. We left the dock 50 minutes late. Yes 50. Almost an hour behind schedule, without any explaination or apology. The really frustrating thing is.this is common, almost the norm. If they are running 30 minutes late they seem to feel that that is Good!

If we had another option where we could
get our vehicle over and back we would be happy to use that service.

Wish they had more food/things to do at the terminal while you wait qnd wish the walk way wasn't so long. But it serves its purpose and the town around is quaint and nice.

I found that they were not enforcing covid regulations, they made announcements to wear masks but many people were not wearing them. Due to the fact they were letting unvacinated people on board it was not safe to leave my vehicle

Clean but Unsafe! Some passengers don't use mask to protect each other from COVID 19. I said kindly to some of them to put their mask but instead I got very bad words in response. There was a First Nation person who noticed the issue and with a brief shout order them to use their mask. BC ferries workers don't care and don't enforce what they talk. No safety.

When they say be there at least 1/2 hour before departure time, they're serious
Well organized though.

Took the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay and back many times. What to say in a review? Not like there is an alternate ferry service you can take. But I guess for the most part it's ok. Usually on time. Not too many cancellation.

Make a reservation of you want to be sure you get a spot. Reservation fees are a bit expensive, but might be worth the peace of mind.

More than a church. Took in a concert on Saturday night, great sound system. Seems more like a centre for the community.

There should be commercial and non commercial sailings running side by side. Commercial drivers such as myself run a short clock and don’t have the convenience of sitting in your lots for hours on end trying to get on a ship. It’s also a federal law and fine to make us move if we run out of hours to work.

So sitting in your queue waiting to get on a ship for more than an hour, only to find you’ve missed it and need to wait for a later one is not only unfortunate it’s dangerous. 2hr sail plus wait, plus drive back through the city to an area we can safely be = Danger.

5.5hr wait to get on a ferry. And it’s not even a long weekend. Lineup in the heat of the day a mile down the street for almost 6hrs. Bc ferries C. E. O Mark Collins needs to be replaced.

Thanks BC Ferries for a more than relaxing trip and the great customer service. The interpretation program on the upper deck was really good.

Für das was es sein soll, perfekt.
Es gibt WLAN, Essen und saubere Toiletten.
Ich weiß nicht was man sonst noch von einem Fähren-Terminal erwarten will.

It's a good service and literally the only way to get to the mainland but quite pricey, but I use it frequently. If I am flying I always book my flight to avoid the ferry. But when I am travelling locally or taking my vehicle. This is the way to get where you are going.

Great service and information. Smooth rides when the weather is not super moody, designated smoking areas, cafes and giftsgop, fun zone for kids and education from the Vancouver aqaurium on board to teach people about sea life and plastic pollution. Fares have gone up over the years so they can launch thier cruise ship line!

I take the Ferry about once a week and usually into and out of Departure Bay. I don't know what other terminals are supposed to be like but the views here are beautiful. There are some shops and restaurants too which are a nice change then eating on the ferry.

BC Ferries gets lots of bad reviews, but they offer first class ferries at very reasonable prices. Where else in the world can you get the odd FREE orca sightings

Fast and efficient highly newer terminal but they still kill whales with their boats please be advised food is expensive and sometimes you can still smoke up top

I always have a great experience on the ferry.
I hear or read complaints all the times but I never hear compliments. The Ferry offers a great service and people don't realize how much work stands behind the crew members. How much training, how many hours they stand on their feet and they have to do it with s smile on their face even if they get to deal with angry customers.
Don't take the service for granted, if it stops you have no way to get to the islands and it's not sure that if it gets private will be cheaper.
Some time there is a waiting time a little longer and some time there are emergencies waits, like once my husband was on the ferry going to Swartz Bay and on the middle of the trip fell sick with kidney stones, the Captain turned the ferry back to Tsawwassen and at the dock the ambulance was waiting to bring him to the Hospital. I thank the Captain and the whole crew members that promptly helped my husband and even if that created a delay on the trip, they made the decision to turn the boat. Thank you