Frequently asked questions

You can book on-line, by telephone or through any of our offices. Bookings made by telephone or in person at our ports and offices will include a service fee of €15/£10 for motorist bookings or €5/£5 for foot / cyclist / motorcycle and sail rail bookings.

Passenger information required to make a booking:

When travelling from 21 December 2019, new legislation comes into effect to enhance existing safety rules and standards for ships which requires extra information for passengers travelling on board all passenger ships in European waters:

Full name, Gender, Nationality (as per passport), Date of Birth and any special needs / reduced mobility requirements

Currency:

Fares are priced in the currency of the port of departure. The first port of departure determines the currency in which the booking is priced,

• Euro for a departure from Ireland to France
• Euro for a departure from France to Ireland
• Euro for a departure from Ireland to Britain
• Sterling for a departure from Britain to Ireland.

Contact us:

If you require assistance in making a booking, here is a list of our contact telephone numbers, frequently used email addresses, as well as the addresses of our walk-in offices.

Administrative dues & service fees:

Administrative dues are per booking and are applied on an each way basis as follows:

Ireland – Britain routes (motorist booking):

• Adult €5.00 / £4.00
• Child (4-15 years) €2.50 / £2.00

Ireland – Britain routes (foot / cyclist / motorcycle booking):

• Adult €2.00 / £1.50
• Child (4-15 years) €1.00 / £0.75

Ireland – France routes (motorist booking):

• Adult €5.00
• Child (4-15 years) €2.50

Ireland – France routes (foot / cyclist booking):

• Adult €2.00
• Child (4-15 years) €1.00 

Service Fee

Bookings made by telephone or in person at our ports and offices will include a service fee per booking of €15 / £10 for motorist or holiday bookings or €5 / £4 for foot / cyclist or motorcycle bookings. NOTE: Charges, administrative fees & dues are fixed amounts and are excluded from discounts and promotional offers.

What is the Environmental charge / IMO Sulphur Directive & European Union’s Emissions Trading System?

In line with the ambition to make the shipping industry more environmentally friendly and to reduce harmful air emissions, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO - the regulatory authority for international shipping) has implemented EU Directive EU 2016/802, to deliver a significant reduction in the sulphur content of the fuel oil used by ships, with a cap of 0.5% sulphur in the fuel or equivalent solutions.

Furthermore, since January 2024, the European Union has implemented the Emissions Trading System (ETS), designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions effectively while encouraging sustainable practices. It sets a cap on the total amount of CO2 that can be emitted by participating companies and covers CO2 emissions from all large ships entering EU ports and therefore will impact all Irish Ferries journeys from this date.

Irish Ferries Environmental charge contributes to the cost of compliance to meet the IMO 2020 sulphur directive and the European Union Emissions Trading System (ETS). The fee is a fixed amount as follows (each way):

Ireland – France route (all bookings):

• Adult €11.00
• Child (4-15 years) €5.50
• Vehicle charge (including motorbikes) €62 – for travel from Jan 2025

Irish Sea routes (motorist booking):

• Adult €4.00 / £4.00
• Child (4-15 years) €2.00 / £2.00
• Vehicle charge (including motorbikes) €16/£14 – for travel from February 2025

Irish Sea routes (foot / cyclist / booking):

• Adult €1.50 / £1.50
• Child (4-15 years) €1.50 / £1.50

Dover Calais route (motorist booking):

• Vehicle charge (including motorbikes) £4/€4 - travel from 1 Jan 2025

NOTE: Charges, administrative fees & dues are fixed amounts and are excluded from discounts and promotional offers.

We have a range of fares - choose from our Economy fares for the best value, or if your plans may change, book our Flexi our Flexi+ fares.  And for extra comfort, our Flexi+ fares include the comfort of our Club Class lounge.

Terms & Conditions:

Fare types:

• Different fare types can be selected for the outward and return journeys where available.
• Flexi or Flexi+ fare must be selected at the time of booking. It is not possible to add this fare type after the booking is made.
• Flexi+ fare is not available on Ireland-France route (Dublin – Cherbourg), nor on ships where Club Class is not offered.

How to Amend / Cancel Bookings:

• Bookings made directly with Irish Ferries can be amended and managed online before outbound travel by logging into your account – click here. For bookings where travel has commenced, please contact Irish Ferries.
• Changes for bookings made with an agent or 3rd party need to be made with them - please contact them directly.

Amendments:

• Amendment fees to be applied depend on the fare type and are payable per sailing being changed and each time an amendment is made.
• There is no amendment fee for: changing a vehicle registration (as long as vehicle type is unchanged), changing passenger information (where passenger type is unchanged), adding/upgrading a cabin or adding club class.
• When amending a booking, there may be a difference in fare (increase or reduction) in addition to the cost of any extras chosen (additional passengers, different cabin type etc)
• No refund will be paid if the amended fare is lower than the originally booked fare. Where applicable, an amendment fee will still be charged.
• A Flexi / Flexi+ booking can be amended before departure, without fee.
• Amendments can only be accepted if completed prior to the departure time.

Flexi+ Club Class:

• Club Class lounge access as part of the Flexi+ fare is subject to availability.
• Where Club Class lounge access is unavailable, passengers may claim a travel credit refund for the Club Class cost by writing to bookings@irishferries.com, and quoting their booking reference.

Flexible Travel (Dover Calais route only):

• The provision of the flexibility to move to a different sailing to that booked without charge is available on arrival at Dover or Calais ports only.
• This provision is subject to availability at the port, and passengers should be aware that on peak travel dates, this availability may be limited.

Cancellations:

• Cancellation fees will apply based on the original departure date booked and are also dependent on the fare type booked and/or the timing of the cancellation.
• Economy Fare cancellations:
  • Dover – Calais & Irish Sea routes: 100% cancellation charge applies.
  • Ireland – France route: 100% cancellation charge of amount due applies depending on time of cancellation as follows:
    • Cancellation more than 60 days before departure: €200 (deposit) cancellation fee.
    • Cancellation less than 60 days before departure: 100% cancellation fee
• Flexi/Flexi+ cancellations:
  • Bookings made directly with Irish Ferries: Cancellation of passenger bookings before travel may claim a refund by phone or by writing to bookings@irishferries.com, and quoting their booking reference.
    • Refund method and Cancellation fees will be based on the route and timing of the cancellation request.
    • Travel Credits issued for cancellations will be for the full value of the booking (subject to timing of cancellation) and issued to the Irish Ferries account used for the original booking, and valid for use for a new booking for 12 months from the date of issue.
    • Flexi/Flexi+ bookings paid for in part/whole by a payment voucher (Irish Ferries Gift voucher, Tesco Clubcard / All 4 One etc.) where cancelled, can only be refunded as a travel credit.
  • Bookings made with agent / 3rd party:  Please contact them directly for cancellations before travel.
  • There can be no refunds for cancellations requested after the departure time.
• Cancellation rules apply to any outstanding balances.

Payment:

• Payment in full is required to secure a booking and have a transport contract.
  
  For Ireland-France route only:
  
  
• The option to pay a deposit only of €200 more than 60 days before travel is available to reserve your space and make a provisional booking.
• The full balance due will then be automatically deduced from the card used to make the booking 60 days prior to the departure date. If payment is not received, the provisional booking may be cancelled and relevant cancellation terms & conditions applied.

General:

• Promotional and sale fares may attract special terms and conditions relating to amendment and cancellation charges which will be listed on the relevant fare pages over the course of the offer booking period.
• SailRail / Rail and Sail bookings have specific terms and conditions – see further details here.
• Package holiday bookings have specific terms and conditions. Check your booking confirmation for further details or contact us on holidays@irishferries.com.

How to change your booking

Bookings made on-line with Irish Ferries 
Once you have an online account, you can change your booking on-line by logging into Your Account. Bookings cannot be changed on-line once outward travel has commenced. If you have already checked-in or have completed one leg of your journey and now wish to amend the return leg please call us for assistance. If you should encounter any problems on-line, contact us at bookings@irishferries.com or at any of our call centers.

Bookings made by telephone with Irish Ferries
If you have an online account you can change your booking on-line by logging into Your account. If you do not have an on-line account please contact us.

Bookings made via an Agent 
Bookings made via a travel agent, tour operator, or a web site other than irishferries.com cannot be changed online. You should contact your own agent.

Inclusive Packages Holidays
Changes can be made to holiday packages – subject to relevant terms & conditions. Please contact us for assistance.

• Amendment fees plus any increase in fare apply to changes to route, date or time. All changes must be made before the travel date on the original ticket has expired. Amendment fees will be charged on each occasion that the booking is amended.
• There is no amendment fee but there may be an increase in fare for changes to the number of passengers travelling on each sailing, vehicle type, updating or adding a trailer, caravan or cabin or by adding Club Class.

Amendment fee costs

Motorist bookings 
A £20/€25 fee applies every time a booking is changed. If the change applies to both the outward and return sailings then the fee is £40/€50. This fee is in addition to any increase in fare.
Sales fares may attract higher amendment fees - these will be shown in the fare rules when you make your booking online.

Foot-passenger bookings 
A £8/€10 fee applies every time a booking is changed. If a change applies to both the outward and return sailings then the fee is £16/€20. This fee is in addition to any increase in fare.
Sales fares may attract higher amendment fees - these will be shown in the fare rules when you make your booking online.

Flexibility Option

Our Flexibility Option allows you to avoid paying booking amendment fees when changing a booking. Flexibility Option must be purchased at the time of booking. Please note that changes to bookings may still incur an increase in fare. Terms & Conditions apply see our Fare Terms FAQ for more details

For cancellation terms & conditions please see here - Fare Terms: Economy, Flexi, and Flexi+

You can pay for your booking by credit card, debit card, cash, bank draft, personal cheque, postal order or Tesco vouchers. We do not however accept American Express or Diners Club.

Secure Internet Shopping: When booking online with Irish Ferries, we offer an encrypted and secure booking system. We participate in the 'Verified by VISA' and the 'Mastercard SecureCode' schemes, to offer an additional level of protection against unauthorised use of your credit or debit card. We also comply with the Payment Services Directive and use ‘3D Secure’ for online payments and ‘Chip and Pin’ transactions for in person payments at ports.

These security measures apply to all cards so you do not need to register your credit or debit card. All you need to do is ensure that you and any authorised user have valid mobile phone numbers registered with your Bank / Card Issuer because they may send a one time passcode to verify and complete your online transaction. This passcode is not accessed, shared or stored by Irish Ferries, or by our card payment service provider. If you have any queries, please contact your bank and/or card issuer in the first instance.

Cash type payments: If paying by cash please pay directly at our Reservations or Port offices. Do not send cash through the post.

Tesco vouchers: Please contact Tesco to exchange your Clubcard Vouchers for a travel token. When booking, please choose “Use Tesco Tokens” - your token code can then be entered during the booking process when prompted. Please note that the maximum value of vouchers that can be used on the  Dover/Calais route is £150/€170 for a return journey or £75/€85 for a single journey.

Deposit: If you book online and opt to pay the deposit by card on our direct French service, the full balance due will automatically be debited from your card 60 days prior to your outward departure date.  Tesco bookings require the deposit paid in addition to using your Tesco tokens.

If payment is not received by the stated date, your booking may be cancelled and revelvant cancellation terms and conditions will be applied.

Gift cards and vouchers are a wonderful way to give someone an unusual present. One4all gift cards and vouchers may be used as part or full payment against a ferry fare.

One4all gift cards and vouchers may be purchased on-line www.one4all.ie or by calling into any post office or many retail outlets nationwide.

Please note that we currently only accept Euro One4All gift cards to a maximum of €50 per online entry transaction.

If you are sending One4all gift cards or vouchers to Irish Ferries as payment against a booking please send them by registered post to:

Contact Centre Manager,
Irish Ferries Head Office,
Alexandra Road,
Dublin 1

For FAQs on using on-line Travel Voucher click here

If you have an Irish Ferries travel voucher you may use it on any of our direct ferry services.

Online Bookings

Please make your on-line booking and pay the full amount requested. Then just forward the off-line voucher to the relevant Reservations Office. Please remember to write your "Booking Reference Number" on your off-line voucher. On receipt of the off-line voucher we will apply the deduction to your booking. The refund due will be automatically credited to you via the credit card system.

For FAQs on using on-line Travel Voucher click here

Telephone bookings and Personal Callers

Ireland/Britain Routes
Please tell our reservations staff at time of booking the value of your off-line voucher. Then send the off-line voucher to the relevant Reservations office along with your payment. Please remember to write your "Booking Reference Number" on your off-line voucher. You can also bring your voucher along to the Port if you would prefer to make your payment there.

Ireland/France Routes
Please tell our reservations staff at the time of booking the value of your off-line voucher. Then send it to the relevant Reservations office. Please remember to write your "Booking Reference Number" on your off-line voucher. Please note off-line vouchers cannot be used to pay a deposit.

Irish Ferries does not issue a ticket. There are several ways to make your travel document:

For reservations made via the Internet

You will receive an e-mail confirmation in your mailbox. You can either print this confirmation or quote the reference number of your booking.

For bookings made by phone or in person

You will receive a booking confirmation by post or email. You can either bring the posted confirmation, print the e-mail confirmation or quote the reference number of your booking.

Please note you must provide identification. See Passports-Identification for more information.