Angry traveler says there was no notice, had to 'dig' through website to get info

TSAWWASSEN (NEWS 1130) – After a number of sailings headed for Victoria were cancelled by BC Ferries Sunday morning, the company says the cancellations are continuing into Monday morning.

“Unfortunately, the issue with one of the Queen of New Westminster’s controllable pitch propellers continues and we have cancelled its first round trip sailing on Monday, July 9, in addition to sailing cancellations previously announced today. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience experienced as a result of these cancellations,” reads a news release from BC Ferries.

“This round trip cancellation affects the 6 am departing Tsawwassen terminal and the 8 am departing Swartz Bay on Monday, July 9.”

#ServiceNotice

Due to ongoing controllable pitch prop issues #QueenofNewWest first round trip Monday am departing #Tsawwassen at 6am and #SwartzBay at 8am have been cancelled. Added info to follow in am: https://t.co/LWuUBh5f73 Check schedules here: https://t.co/hx71QUHdNA ^rd — BC Ferries (@BCFerries) July 9, 2018

The 12 p.m., 4 p.m., and 8 p.m. sailings heading to Swartz Bay and the 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. heading to Tsawwassen were all cancelled Sunday, angering passengers who say there was a lack of communication.

Warren Boden was trying to get to the 8 a.m. sailing leaving Tsawwassen, and says he was shocked to learn it was cancelled.

“They put a message on their website and thought that was all they needed, kind of like a cop out, like a ‘we did what we needed to do’,” he shares. “The communication was still poor– no one on our bus knew. Clearly the communication wasn’t good enough.”

He says it was around 7:15 a.m. when he got off the bus and hadn’t heard anything about cancellations.

“I had to literally dig on the website to look for that information. I just think BC Ferries dropped the ball and think that their method of communication was okay when clearly the message didn’t get out.”

He says BC Ferries needs to do more to alert passengers of sudden cancellations in the future. Others on social media are expressing their frustration.

One person responded directly to a BC Ferries tweet, asking “Why don’t you guys have back up ships for all these ‘mechanical issues you guys have. I’m starting to believe you guys just don’t want to run. It’s ironic how with such great mechanics you guys constantly have “mechanical issues” every other day. What a joke.”

Meantime Tessa Humphries with the organization says they were hoping they wouldn’t have to cancel so many sailings.

“There was a possibility that a fix would be determined and we wouldn’t need to cancel the remainder of the sailings. However, despite the fact that they are working very hard to fix the vessel, we do need to cancel the sailing for the remainder of the day.”

She says they apologize for the inconvenience, and they “understand the frustration” some customers are feeling. She also adds they encourage people to follow them on Twitter for the latest information, although a notice about the mass cancellations wasn’t issued on that platform until 11:51 a.m., well after their website listed a number of cancellations.

#ServiceNotice #Tsawwassen #SwartzBay #QueenofNewWestminster due to an ongoing issue w/ one of the vessel's controllable pitch propellers, we have cancelled her remaining sailings today. We regret any inconvenience this may cause: https://t.co/mE7GVaKzZI ^kn — BC Ferries (@BCFerries) July 8, 2018

For those customers arriving at the terminal with a reservation, you’re being told to check in at the Tsawwassen location to have your reservation fee refund, and then BC Ferries says customers will be “queued appropriately” on other sailings.

If you’re heading to the terminal without a reservation, arrive as early as possible and expect long delays.