Where your ferry or cruise ship departure has been cancelled or delayed you have the right to be notified as soon as possible but no later than 30 minutes after the schedule time of departure as to the estimated departure and estimated arrival time.
Passenger Rights under EU Regulation 1177/2010 when travelling by sea and inland waterway
Under EU Regulation 1177/2010 you have the following rights:
Where your ferry or cruise ship has been cancelled or delayed in departure for more than 90 minutes beyond its schedule time of departure you have the right free of charge to snacks, meals or refreshments reasonable to the waiting time provided they are available or can reasonably be supplied.
Where your ferry or cruise ship has been cancelled or delayed in departure and overnight accommodation is required you have the right to be offered free of charge adequate accommodation on board or ashore if necessary and transport to and from the port terminal to your accommodation ashore. The cost of the accommodation is limited to a maximum of Euro 80 per night per passenger for up to three nights.
Where you are travelling by ferry and its expected that your ferry service will be cancelled or delayed in departure from a port terminal for more than 90 minutes you should be immediately offered by the carrier the choice between:
a) re-routing to your final destination, under comparable conditions as set out in your transport contract at the earliest opportunity at no extra cost to you;
b) re-imbursement of the ticket price and where relevant a return service free of charge to the first point of departure as set out in your transport contract at the earliest opportunity.
Your payment of the reimbursement should be made within 7 days, in cash, by electronic bank transfer, bank order or bank cheque, of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was purchased, for the parts or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made where the journey no longer serves any purpose in relation to your original travel plans.
Where your ferry is delayed in arrival at the final destination as set out in your transport contract you have the right in addition to your transport to 25% compensation of the ticket price where the delay is at least:
(a) 1 hour in the case of a scheduled journey of up to 4 hours;
(b) 2 hours in the case of a scheduled journey of more than 4 hours, but not exceeding 8 hours;
(c) 3 hours in the case of a scheduled journey of more than 8 hours, but not exceeding 24 hours; or
(d) 6 hours in the case of a scheduled journey of more than 24 hours.
If the delay exceeds double the time set out in points (a) to (d), the compensation shall be 50% of the ticket price.
Compensation shall be calculated in relation to the price which you actually paid for your delayed ferry service. Where the transport is for a return journey, compensation for delay in arrival on either the outward or the return leg shall be calculated in relation to half of the price paid for the transport by that passenger service.
You will not be entitled to any assistance or compensation if you were informed of the cancellation or delay before the purchase of your ticket or if the cancellation or delay is caused by your own fault.
You will not be entitled to any overnight accommodation where the cancellation or delay is caused by weather conditions endangering the safe operation of the ship.
You will not be entitled to any compensation where the cancellation or delay is caused by weather conditions endangering the safe operation of the ship or by extraordinary circumstances hindering the performance of your ferry service which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
If you are a passenger with an open ticket where the time of departure is not specified you will not be entitled to assistance in the event of cancelled or delayed departure, re-routing and re-imbursement in the event of cancelled or delayed departures or compensation of the ticket price in the event of delay in arrival.
If you are a disabled person or a person with reduced mobility you have the right to assistance in ports and on board ships. You should notify the carrier or the terminal operator at the time of booking or at least 48 before the assistance is required. If less than 48 hour notice is provided (unless this has been previously agreed with the carrier or terminal operator) then although the carrier and terminal operator shall endeavour to make all reasonable efforts to provide the assistance required to embark, disembark and travel on the ship, any such assistance , however, cannot be guaranteed.
If you are a disabled person or a person with reduced mobility and you hold a reservation or have a ticket for a ferry or a cruise ship and you notified the carrier at the time of reservation or advance purchase of your ticket of your specific needs with regards to accommodation, seating or services required or that you needed to bring medical equipment on board. However, you were denied embarkation on the basis of this Regulation then you and any accompanying person who was required to
travel with you because of your disability or reduced mobility shall be offered the choice between the right to reimbursement and re-routing as provided for in Annex I of the Regulation.
If you are a disabled person or a person with reduced mobility and your mobility equipment has been damaged by the carrier or terminal operator due to the fault or neglect of the carrier or terminal operator you have the right to the cost of the equipment being repaired or replaced. You also have the right in the interim to be given temporary replacement equipment which is a suitable alternative.
The above rights are subject to certain exceptions under EU Regulation 1177/2010 when travelling by sea and inland waterways full details of which can be obtained from the carrier or terminal operator.
Process for Refunds and Claims for Costs Incurred
Application for reimbursement of the cost of travel, or any other costs incurred, should be made in writing to DFDS within 2 months from the date on which the service was performed or when the services should have been performed. These applications should relate to bookings made directly with DFDS or via a travel agent or tour operator. In the case of coach passengers, any claims should be addressed to the coach operator. You should ensure that you include copies of any ticket purchased and copies of all receipts for any expenses claimed e.g. accommodation.
Contact us via email: travel.sales@dfds.com, or by post:
DFDS
Customer Relations
International Passenger Terminal
Royal Quays
North Shields
Tyne & Wear
NE29 6EE
Application and response
The Customer Relations Team will be working towards contacting you within a week of receiving your application. Within 1 month of you receiving acknowledgment of the application, we shall give notice to you that your application has been substantiated, rejected or is still being considered. We’ll email you if you have provided us with your email address, or we’ll write to you.
If you remain dissatisfied
If you are not satisfied with our response, you can ask for us to reconsider the issue. You have the option to discuss the issue with a Customer Service Team Leader and if still unresolved a Manager.
You can send your complaint to our customer service via email: uk.customercare@dfds.com. When submitting your complaint you must write your booking confirmation number in the subject line of the email and advise us of your day and evening telephone numbers. In this way we are able to investigate the matter fully and give you a proper reply as soon as possible.
Complaint handling
Within the UK, if despite our best efforts and having followed the above procedure for reporting and resolving your complaint, you feel that it has not been satisfactorily settled or if DFDS has not provided a final reply to you within 2 months from the receipt of the complaint, the complaint may then be referred to the appropriate voluntary Complaint Handling Body (CHB).
Voluntary Complaint Handling Body from 1 January 2014 is:
ABTA Ltd
E-mail: ferry@abta.co.uk
Website: www.abta.com
Address: 31 Park Street
London
SE1 9EQ
It is anticipated most complaints will be resolved at one of these stages. However, if this is not possible, the complaint may then be investigated by the National Enforcement Body (NEB), who will consider whether there has been a breach of the EU Regulation. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) will operate as the National Enforcement Body for the whole of the UK. All complaints that are upheld by the CHB involving a breach of the Regulation are to be reported to the NEB.
National Enforcement Body
The MCA is responsible for investigating whether there has been a breach of the EU Regulation in individual cases, and is required to take the measures necessary to ensure compliance with the EU Regulation. The MCA will not act on individual claims for compensation or act as an appeals body.
Any passenger complaints received directly from a passenger or passenger group under this Regulation must be referred to the operator involved in the first instance through their internal complaint procedure, unless a serious breach of the regulation is identified.
National Enforcement Body Officer, Technical Performance Section, Directorate of Maritime Safety & Standards, Maritime and Coastguard Agency,
Tel: +44 (0) 23 8032 9315
.
Fax: +44 (0) 23 8032 9251.
E-mail: neb@mcga.gov.uk
General Inquiries: infoline@mcga.gov.uk
MCA Website Address: www.dft.gov.uk/mca
Note:
We hope that you’ll never have reason to complain about any aspect of our services. However, if there is something that you’re not happy with during your holiday, whilst travelling on one of our ships or other services related there to which you have purchased via DFDS, you must report it to us or to our supplier immediately.
