Passenger assistance

Sometimes you might need an extra helping hand when travelling with us. If you or a member of your group should need assistance, we will do our very best to help.

In this section you will find information on:

what to expect when you travel with us.
how to gain assistance before, during and at the end of your journey, should you require it.

Use the headings below to guide you to the information you might need.

Preparing to travel
Before you travel
Your journey with Caledonian MacBrayne
Travel disruptions
Emergency evacuations
Onward travel
Feedback

Preparing to travel

What to expect at our ports

The location and nature of the ferry network means that our ports can vary from unstaffed slipways to ports with a small port office, or a larger ferry terminal. You can use our port guide to find out what to expect at each location, for example, if a slipway or port is unstaffed.

Familiarisation visits

Perhaps a familiarisation visit to a port would be beneficial for you or a member of your party. Please call our Customer Engagement Centre 72 hours or more before your journey to make arrangements.

Hearing impaired customers

Some of our ports have hearing loop systems. You can check what facilities and support is available via our port pages.

Vision impaired customers

The service information we provide is written. You can opt to notification of any disruptions by route provided in RNIB large text font.

Stay up to date with our services

We provide accurate, consistent and up to date information on our sailings and service. You can access this information by:

checking the service status of your sailing on our website
following @CalMac_Updates on Twitter
subscribing to our text alerts service. It will tell you about any disruptions. Find out more about how to sign up here.

Before you travel

You can purchase a ticket online.

Buy tickets

You can view sailing times on our timetable pages.

Please remember to tell us about any assistance you may require when you book your ticket online. You can also do this by contacting our Customer Engagement Centre. The team there will also be happy to help you with booking a ticket.

If you are entitled to a form of travel concession, you can find out more on the specific entitlements in our concession FAQ.

Please tell us about what assistance you need as soon as possible, ideally as soon as you have booked your ticket. Call our Customer Engagement Centre to tell us about your needs.

Check our port and fleet pages to understand more about our facilities.

Talk to us about:

lift access
assistance to get you to your seat on board the ferry (where this service exists)
wheelchair assistance
additional space you may need to access to your vehicle for the driver/passengers, or access to the boot for equipment.We need to use available deck space as efficiently as possible, which can result in cars being packed tightly with limited space around vehicles. If we know about your requirements in advance, we can better plan your position on the car deck. Space is limited, but we will do our best with the space that we have
whether you use a mobility aid.Access to our vessels varies. We can help advise you on the best way to board, where you can stow your equipment and anything else you need to be aware of to make your journey as comfortable as possible
information on concessionary travel
how to purchase tickets
general information about your journey with us.

Talk to us about:

lift access
assistance to get you to your seat on board the ferry (where this service exists)
wheelchair assistance
additional space you may need to access to your vehicle for the driver / passengers, or access to the boot for equipment. We need to use available deck space as efficiently as possible, which can result in cars being packed tightly with limited space around vehicles. If we know about your requirements in advance, we can better plan your position on the car deck. Space is limited, but we will do our best with the space that we have
whether you use a mobility aid. Access to our vessels varies. We can help advise you on the best way to board, where you can stow your equipment and anything else you need to be aware of to make your journey as comfortable as possible
information on concessionary travel
how to purchase tickets
general information about your journey with us.

To help you plan, you can check the access statements for each of the vessels on our network and the facilities available at our ports.

Your journey with Caledonian MacBrayne

Our staff work hard each day to make your journey as safe, comfortable and as stress free as possible. They are here to help you. If you need assistance – please speak to them at the port, or on board.

Assistance – foot passengers

If you are travelling as a foot passenger and need assistance to board the ferry, please let us know when you book your ticket, or contact our Customer Engagement Centre 48 hours or more prior to your journey. This will help us make sure someone is available to assist you. 

When you speak to our team, they’ll tell you:

the location of the Assistance Assembly Point at the port of departure.
details on when you will need to arrive at the port. It may be that you will need to arrive earlier than the published check in time.
to let a member of staff know that you have arranged assistance. They’ll let the assigned staff member know you’ve arrived. They’ll help you board first, with your luggage/equipment, using the route that’s most appropriate for you. On some ferries, a member of vessel staff may continue your boarding to a seat or area as requested.

Assistance – vehicle drivers/passengers

If you are travelling by vehicle and need assistance to board the ferry, please let us know when you book your ticket, or contact our Customer Engagement Centre 48 hours or more prior to your journey. This will help us make sure someone is available to assist you. Vehicle spaces within easy reach of the ferry’s lift are limited, so it’s best to reserve this when you book your ticket.

When you arrive at the port:

please let our port staff know that you have requested assistance. You can do this at check-in, at the ticket kiosk, or to the member of staff who is marshalling in the vehicle lane.
tell us about the support you need. For example, if you have a hearing impairment – we load the ferry by voice and hand signals and make on board safety announcements using an audio system.
activate your vehicle hazard warning lights while you wait in the car lane and when driving onto the vessel. This helps our staff to easily identify you and make sure you are provided with the support you require.

If you’ve not been able to request assistance in advance:

please speak with our staff at the port when you arrive, or as you board the ferry so we can help you. If we are unable to provide a space close to a lift, you may need to board as a foot passenger, and your car will be loaded by one of the team.
If you require assistance to board as a foot passenger, a member of the team will help you.
If there is no passenger access system, it may be that you will access the ferry over the vehicle deck, with the assistance of our team.

Getting to and from your vehicle

On each vessel, we need to use available deck space as efficiently as possible. This can result in cars being packed tightly with limited space around vehicles.

If you need additional room for access - whether for the driver, passenger, and/or to the boot for access equipment, please tell us when you book your ticket.
You can also get in touch with our Customer Engagement Centre 48 hours or more before your journey to let us know about your request. We will always try to accommodate your request as best we can.

Boarding with a mobility aid/wheelchair

Since the design and layout of each ferry varies – it’s useful to speak with our Customer Engagement Centre to discuss your needs (48 hours or more prior to your journey). You can find more details about each ferry on our fleet page.

Things to plan:

How steep access to the vessel might be, based on local conditions.
How you will board the vessel. On our smaller vessels, all passengers board via the vehicle deck. Our port staff or crew will be able to support you if required. Make yourself known to them at the port office, ticket kiosk or to the crew.
Available space on board - especially during busy periods. If you are travelling with a motorised wheelchair, please let us know as early as you can so we can accommodate you.

Travelling with your assistance dog

Your assistance dog is very welcome within our ports and on board our ferries. We follow the Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance on assistance dogs.

Assistance dogs are often identifiable with the harness or jacket they are wearing. This is very helpful to us as it helps us to understand your dog’s role.

Help moving around on board

If you need help moving around the vessel during your journey with us, our crew will be happy to assist you:

Please let our Customer Services team know 48 hours or more prior to your journey.
We’ll be pleased to assist you within our ports and to our on-board facilities such as café, shop, viewing area and toilets. (Although we cannot support or assist you with any personal care requirements)

Help getting to your seat

If you need help to get to your seat, one of crew will be pleased to assist you.

We also have several seats for those with additional needs on each vessel. They’re available on a first come, first served basis – however, other seating is available.
If you think you might need assistance, you can let our team know when you book, or speak to our Customer Services team 48 hours or more prior to your journey.
You can also speak with our port or vessel staff to request assistance – we will do our very best to help you.

Travelling with medication

If you need medication during your journey,

please take what you will need for the duration of the crossing with you when you board the passenger area of the vessel. (If you need information on travelling with medical oxygen, you’ll find them here).
consider the possibility of unforeseen events, disruptions and delays to travel.
remember that it won’t always be possible to return to your vehicle.

Travel disruptions

At times, our services may be disrupted due to issues beyond our control.

We’ve published a guide explaining how we will look after our customers if our service is disrupted. It also details the circumstances under which compensation applies. There are large print, braille and audio versions available on request.

Below, we’ve shared further detail about how we manage disruptions and what you can expect from Caledonian MacBrayne:

Informing our customers

You’ll find full details in our sailing disruption information.
Passengers travelling by vehicle will be contacted by us if their sailing is cancelled. Please make sure you’ve provided contact details when booking your ticket, and you’ve signed up for text alerts. You can also regularly check the service status page for your route. They have all the latest information on every crossing.
Throughout the journey, we’ll make regular announcements about the crossing. If there’s any changes to planned timings or disruptions, we’ll tell you about it using the public address system. If you need to receive this information in an alternative format or in a more personalised way, please let our staff know and they will be happy to help you.

Planning ahead

Remember to take the medication you need during the journey with you when you board. Think about what you might need should your journey be disrupted or delayed. You can find out more in our medication section.
We have qualified First Aid staff in our ports and on our ferries, however we don’t carry, nor could we issue medication if you find you don’t have enough.

If you’ve requested assistance and your travel is disrupted:

If you have requested assistance 48 hours or more prior to travel, we’ll ensure you still receive the support you need on the delayed or alternative sailing.
In the event some of your journey needs to be completed by alternative means (bus / taxi etc), we’ll work to make sure we meet your needs by using accessible modes of transport. If you felt that you were unable to use the alternative options, please talk to one of our staff members so they can help you.
If we need to use a different vessel on your route so that we can continue to deliver the service, let a member of the team know that you are unfamiliar with the vessel. They’ll be able to explain the layout and the facilities if you require. Any assistance you’ve requested in advance will be provided too. You can find out more about the facilities and layout of our vessels on our fleet pages.

Emergency evacuations

Caledonian MacBrayne ferries and crew regularly participate in drills to rehearse our response in the unlikely event of an emergency. Each port and vessel has an emergency evacuation plan in place. If you require further information, please speak to a member of staff on board, or at the port.

Onward travel

Completing the next part of your journey

If you require assistance to meet your onward travel connections, please discuss this with our Customer Engagement Centre 48 hours or more prior to your journey.

Contact our Customer Engagement Centre.

Please book onward travel which allows enough time for assistance. We may need up to 60 minutes to attend to safety critical tasks following arrival into port before we can provide support.

Feedback

Help us ensure our service is as good as it can be. If you’ve recently experienced assisted travel with us, we’d really appreciate your feedback. Email: assistanceteam@calmac.co.uk.

Would you like to be involved in your Local Access Panel or Transport Scotland’s Mobility Access Committee? We work with these bodies to improve the accessibility of our services, using their feedback to influence processes. Contact Disability Equality Scotland to find out more.