CONDOR Ferries has issued an apology to passengers after a number of travellers were left stranded in the St Helier terminal following the cancellation of a ferry to Guernsey and Poole.
The last-minute cancellation at the weekend left many travellers in the lurch – while some were able to secure hotels, those further down the queue for assistance were reportedly told there were no rooms left. Some travellers resorted to sleeping in the terminal building and many turned to social media to vent their frustration.
Condor operations director Elwyn Dop said: ‘We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to passengers following the cancellation of our high-speed sailing to the UK on Saturday from the islands.’
While passengers departing from St Peter Port were also affected, Condor was able to secure rooms for all those who needed them in Guernsey.
Mr Dop said the cancellation was caused by an engine problem on the Liberation.
‘Condor’s port teams and customer-contact centre worked tirelessly with passengers to change their plans, although it was not possible to accommodate everyone in hotels due to the short notice in peak season,’ he said.
One Poole-bound traveller told the JEP she learned of the cancellation while in her car attempting to check in for the 7.55pm sailing.
‘I was told to make my way to the terminal to either rebook or get a refund,’ said Jersey resident Kathryn Mahrer.
‘After two hours of queueing and still nowhere near the front, I finally found a member of staff to speak to and was informed there was no need to queue to get a refund. When I left the queue was out the door.’
Ms Mahrer said a lack of timely updates from Condor on what was happening led to high anxiety levels that night.
‘There were no Condor staff providing any sort of updates to the passengers in the line,’ she said. ‘The couples in front of me and behind were very stressed, as [they] were unsure whether they should book overnight accommodation in case they couldn’t be accommodated on the Clipper.’
She added: ‘There should have been three stations set up, in my opinion, one for refunds, one for immediate rebookings and one for those who were happy to travel later in the week.’
Ms Mahrer went home and returned early the next day to have her refund processed, where she said she saw piles of pizza boxes and that a breakfast station had been laid out for stranded passengers.
The experience has put her off travelling with Condor. ‘I only booked as the car hire in the UK was so expensive, I thought I would be better off taking my own car but I ended up having to book a return flight and car hire anyway. So, I am out of pocket now.’
Mr Dop said engineers worked over the weekend to ensure the Liberation would sail on schedule on this week.
