Questions about Bookings

The amendment fee is lower online, than by other methods, which reflects the self-service element of amending in this way. However, there are still internal costs associated with online amendments.

Our Standard tickets can be amended for free online.

Our amendment fees have remained the same for a number of years. The increased fee is due to the higher costs associated with the administration of amendments.

Our Standard tickets can be amended for free or refunded up to 24 hours before the scheduled sailing with only a £5.00 cancellation charge, making Standard the ideal choice for customers whose plans may change after booking.

Tickets changed from an Economy ticket to a Standard ticket are non-refundable.

That’s OK. You can update the passenger numbers for free if you’ve booked a Standard or Economy ticket.

If you are driving a car or a van, you won’t be charged. Motorcycles are also exempt.

The only vehicles to be charged will be the oldest and most polluting ones – taxis, private hire vehicles and older buses, coaches and lorries (HGVs).

The charging zone boundary can be seen at www.wightlink.co.uk/caz.  Unfortunately, if your vehicle is subject to the charge there is no route you can take to avoid the zone when leaving the Wightlink’s terminal.

You may wish to consider travelling by Wightlink’s Lymington-Yarmouth route instead.

Smaller motorhomes look likely to be treated as vans and won’t be charged. Larger motorhomes, on the scale of lorries, may be charged.

You should enter the registration number on Portsmouth City Council’s website to find out: www.travel.portsmouth.gov.uk/schemes/charging-clean-air-zone

If you are driving a car or a van, you won’t be charged. Motorcycles are also exempt.

The only vehicles to be charged will be the older taxis, private hire vehicles, buses, coaches and lorries (HGVs).

The charge will be £10 a day for older taxis and Private Hire Vehicles, and £50 a day for older HGVs, buses and coaches.

You will only be charged once per day no matter how many trips into the zone you make.

The charge won’t be issued automatically, so you’ll need to be aware if your vehicle is subject to the charge and pay it online within the payment window. You won’t receive a notification or reminder to tell you that you’ve driven through the zone in a vehicle that qualifies for the charge and need to make payment.

If you are driving a car or a van, you won’t be charged.

The only vehicles to be charged will be the older taxis, private hire vehicles, buses, coaches and lorries (HGVs). Motorcycles are also exempt.

You can find out if you’ll be affected by putting your registration number into this website: www.travel.portsmouth.gov.uk/schemes/charging-clean-air-zone

Portsmouth City Council was identified by the UK government as one of over 60 local authorities with air pollution levels higher than legal limits. It was told to make improvements as soon as possible.

The council believes that a package of measure that don’t involve charging measures, even with the natural reduction in polluting vehicles over time, won’t be enough to achieve the necessary level of improvement in air quality. Therefore, the UK government has required the council to implement a charging Clean Air Zone.

Portsmouth City Council is introducing the Clean Air Zone as some areas of the city centre have levels of pollutants, like nitrogen dioxide, that are likely to remain above safe legal limits unless action is taken now.

Standard Tickets, if cancelled up to 24 hours before the scheduled sailing time, will be refunded less a £5.00 cancellation fee.

Our Economy Tickets, any Standard Tickets cancelled within 24hrs and tickets paid in full or in part with Tesco Clubcard Reward Partner Codes are non-refundable.

Booking fees and amendment fees are non-refundable.

You can request your refund by completing our online form here or by contacting our Contact Centre with your Booking Reference Number.

Refunds can take up to 28 days to show on your bank statement.

You must contact your holiday provider direct to make amendments to your travel arrangements. They will then contact us to authorise the amendments. If the amendment is within 2 hours of your scheduled sailing time, and your holiday provider is not available, we will do our best to help you make any requested changes subject to availability and restrictions. If there are any additional costs, payment will be required in full when amending before the booking can be secured.

Don’t worry! If you booked with us directly you can correct any errors within one hour of the booking being created by going online to ‘My Bookings’, selecting the correct booking and click ‘Modify’ for free.

If you change your sailing time or travel details, then the new booking may cost more than your original Standard or Economy ticket. Any increase in cost must be paid when you change your booking.

Standard tickets are then free to amend.

Economy tickets can then be amended online for a £15.00 amendment fee.

If you prefer, you can complete the Booking Enquiry Form, call our Contact Centre or visit our Customer Service Point at the port and let us sort it out for you. Standard tickets are free to amend. Economy tickets will be charged a £25.00 amendment fee.

Let us know. If your vehicle is a different size to the vehicle booked you can amend the details online, by using the Wightlink App for free if you have booked a Standard ticket or for an amendment fee if you have booked an Economy ticket. If you call our Contact Centre or visit our Customer Service Point at the port, we will be happy to amend the booking but there will be an amendment fee for Economy tickets.

Remember to check your vehicle size as there may be additional costs. Visit our Vehicle Size guide for full details.

That’s OK. If you’re booking online just add TBC in the Vehicle Registration field. You can update the details free of charge online or by calling our Contact Centre.

Yes, click ‘Add booking’, then enter the booking number and the last name of the lead passenger on the booking.

If you need to amend your sailing for any reason, it’s easy to do.

You can change your booking online, by using the Wightlink App, by calling our Contact Centre or by visiting our Customer Service Point at the port up to an hour before your sailing time. Standard tickets are free to amend.

Economy tickets can be amended online or by using the Wightlink App with a £15.00 amendment fee and a £25.00 amendment fee using our Contact Centre or Customer Service Point at the port.

If you change your sailing time or travel details, then the new booking may cost more than your original Standard or Economy ticket. Any increase in cost must be paid when you change your booking.

If you’ve booked your travel through a holiday provider, you must contact them directly to make any changes to your booking. However, if it is less than two hours till your sailing and your holiday provider is not available then we will do our best to help.

Any requested change is subject to space being available and the booking restrictions of your ticket.

Children 12 and over may travel on our ferries and FastCats unaccompanied by an adult but we may ask for proof of age at the port.

If proof of age cannot be provided, we may refuse travel until an adult is able to accompany them.

E-Bikes are not permitted in our on board lounges and should be stowed on the car decks of our car ferries or the bike store on the FastCats as per our current practice where they can easily be monitored by our deck patrols and CCTV.

Bikes are free of charge to take on board but must be booked in advance due to limited space when you buy a foot passenger ticket.

Electric bikes are fully legal in the UK and built to recognised safety standards. There is a lack of legislation and testing of Lithium-ion batteries on personally owned small e-vehicles. There is also a growing number of reports from local and national fire services of fires caused by the batteries on this type of vehicle.

This ban will remain in place until there is better understanding and legislation of their use.

E-bikes, electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters are not affected by the ban as they are legally approved for use in the UK.  E-bikes, like all bicycles, are not permitted in the lounge’s onboard ferries.

No. These electric vehicles are exempt as they are fully legal in the UK and are built to recognised safety standards and less prone to being modified. However, we do not allow these vehicles to be charged inside our customer buildings or on board our ships and E-bikes, like all bicycles, are not permitted in the lounge’s onboard ferries.

We don’t allow any small e-vehicles to travel on our ships or enter our customer buildings due to the growing number of reports from local and national fire services of fires caused by the batteries on this type of vehicle.

This is because there is a lack of legislation and testing of the lithium-ion batteries used on non-approved vehicles. The batteries on these vehicles also tend to be situated under the board where users stand on e-scooters and e-skateboards, which makes them more susceptible to damage from hitting kerbs or other surfaces.

This ban will remain in place until there is better understanding and legislation of their use.

E-bikes, electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters are not affected by the ban as they are legally approved for use in the UK.  E-bikes, like all bicycles, are not permitted in the lounges onboard ferries.

That’s OK. You can update the passenger numbers for free if you’ve booked a Standard or Economy ticket.

We have introduced Customer Service Points at each of our ports, where you will be able to purchase and amend tickets as you would have previously at our ticket offices. However, you will still need to apply for Season Tickets and Multilink Passes online.

Any payments made at our Customer Service Points will need to be by card as we are no longer accepting cash.

Bookings and amendments fees may be charged at Customer Service Points.

You can add a new card by choosing ‘Pay by card and save it for next time’ when paying. You can’t update old card information, but you can remove cards you no longer use by updating your details.

If infants aged 4 and under are travelling with you they travel for free but must be included on your ticket – we need to make sure we count everyone travelling.

Children aged 5-15 years travel at the child rate.

Children must be 12 or over to travel unaccompanied on our ferries and FastCats and may be asked for proof of age. If your child is under 12 then a responsible adult must be with them at all times.

We offer several convenient ways for you to book a sailing with us.

You can book in advance online free of charge, or, for a £5.00 Booking Fee for Economy tickets, for vehicles only, you can call our Contact Centre.

If you decide to travel on a sailing within the hour (Go Show) you can buy a vehicle or foot passenger ticket from our Customer Service Point or Self Service ticket machines in our Customer Building.

We always recommend you book in advance to ensure space on your chosen sailing. During holiday periods and festivals, it is essential. Also, the further in advance you book, the more likely you are to pay a lower price.

If you’re travelling by foot you can purchase a ticket on the day of travel, but we do recommend you book in advance during our busier periods.

There are several ways to pay that make booking with us easy.

Online bookings can be paid for using PayPal and credit and debit cards. If you call our Contact Centre or book at our Customer Service Point at the port , we will accept credit and debit cards.

If you want to pay in part or in full using Tesco Clubcard Reward Partner Codes you can book online using the special link from Tesco or by following the Tesco link in our Offers & Discounts section. Simply add your code in at the payment stage when requested.

Tesco Clubcard Reward Partner codes cannot be used in conjunction with any other discounted or promotional fare.

A 50p Ryde Pier supplement will be added to your ticket price if you’re travelling on our FastCat service to or from the Isle of Wight for Adults, Seniors, Students and one adult only in a Family ticket.

It’s important we know your correct vehicle size and type when booking as it may affect the ticket price. The vehicle’s size is the true maximum length and height, including any tow-bars, overhanging items and roof loads (e.g. a top box or bicycles).

Take a look at our Vehicle Guide to see which vehicle type you should book.

That’s OK. If you’re booking online just add TBC in the Vehicle Registration field. You can update the details free of charge online or by calling our Contact Centre.

Children must be 12 or over to travel unaccompanied on our ferries and FastCats and may be asked for proof of age at the port. If proof of age cannot be provided, we may refuse travel until an adult is able to accompany them.

If your child is under 12 then a responsible adult must be with them at all times.

We understand that sometimes you may need to drop younger children off or pick them up on the Island or mainland, so we offer an Escorted Child discount card.

Call us on 0333 999 7333 to get a discount card and complete the application form. You’ll need to provide proof of the birth certificate of the child you travel with and provide a passport-sized photo for the accompanying adult.

Please read the rules on the form carefully to make sure it’s the right ticket for the journeys you make. Remember, you will need to be travelling with the child (either for your outward or return journey) and the discount can only be used to make a round trip on the next sailing.

With the app, you just need to show your boarding pass to board. You don’t need to get a printed ticket.

As long as the car is no longer than 5m and no higher than 2.4m and is not towing any trailers, its fine. However, if you can change the vehicle registration online before arrival it will speed up the check in process when you arrive.

Yes, as long as you cancel at least one hour before the scheduled sailing time. Please be aware we are unable to refund Priority Boarding if you pay with Tesco Clubcard Reward Partner codes or if you fail to check in at least 30 minutes before your scheduled sailing.

Yes, you can. If you no longer need Priority Boarding, you can cancel up to one hour before your scheduled sailing time and receive the Priority Boarding refund. Please be aware we are unable to refund Priority Boarding if you pay with Tesco Clubcard Reward Partner Codes.

Sorry, no. Priority Boarding is for cars only.

Sorry, something went wrong. If you call our Contact Centre or complete the Contact Us form on our website, we will investigate as quickly as possible for you.

If you have a Multilink Vehicle Pass you can book Priority Boarding for a car up to 5m long and no higher than 2.4m high and without any trailers but you will need to pay the Priority Boarding fare separately, not from your pass.

Not at the moment. You can book Accessible Travel & Customer Assistance or Priority Boarding, but not both.

You can use your Blue Badge discount to purchase your ticket, but the discount will not be applied to the Priority Boarding price.

No. Discounts on ticket prices will not be applied to the Priority Boarding price.

Priority Boarding is available to customers booking travel directly with Wightlink online or by calling our Contact Centre and travelling in a car no longer than 5m and no higher than 2.4m and is not towing any trailers.

Priority Boarding is not currently available to customers booking ferry travel with, or through a holiday or accommodation provider.

There are several ways to pay that make booking with us easy.

If you pay online or choose to call our Contact Centre, we will accept credit and debit cards

You can also use Tesco Clubcard Reward Partner Codes or customer service vouchers. Please be aware we are unable to refund Priority Boarding if you pay with Tesco Clubcard Voucher Codes

We recommend you book Priority Boarding in advance as the number of spaces available is limited on each sailing.

Priority boarding can be booked for cars up to 5 metres in length and 2.24 metres in height and on sailings between 07:00 and 19:00. You’ll need to check in on time (at least 30 minutes before your scheduled sailing) to ensure your priority spot on board.

If you choose to travel on an alternate sailing to the one booked, Priority Boarding may not be offered, and the Priority Boarding cost will not be refunded.

Unfortunately, Priority Boarding is not available on cars with trailers of any kind

You can also make your booking as normal and then call our Contact Centre on 0333 999 7333 Monday to Friday 9am-6pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am-5pm or, if you have a Business Pass, you can all the Sales Team on 02392 855 260.

You can enjoy Priority Boarding on most of our car ferries on our Portsmouth- Fishbourne route.

When booking online you’ll get the option to add Priority Boarding to each leg of your journey, if it’s available.

Priority boarding can be booked for cars up to 5 metres in length and 2.24 metres in height and on sailings between 07:00 and 19:00. You’ll need to check in on time (at least 30 minutes before your scheduled sailing) to ensure your priority spot on board.

Unfortunately, Priority Boarding is not available on cars with trailers of any kind

You can also make your booking as normal and then call our Contact Centre on 0333 999 7333 Monday to Friday 9am-6pm and Saturday and Sunday 9am-5pm or, if you have a Business Pass, you can all the Sales Team on 02392 855 260.

The service will be available between 07.00-19.00 on most of our Portsmouth-Fishbourne car ferries.

If you choose to travel on an alternate sailing to the one booked, Priority Boarding may not be offered, and the Priority Boarding cost will not be refunded.

Priority Boarding is a new service that allows you to be one of the first cars on and/or off our car ferries. It’s available on most of our car ferries on our Portsmouth to Fishbourne route.

Priority boarding can be booked for cars up to 5 metres in length and 2.24 metres in height and on sailings between 07:00 and 19:00. You’ll need to check in on time (at least 30 minutes before your scheduled sailing) to ensure your priority spot on board.

If you choose to travel on an alternate sailing to the one booked, Priority Boarding may not be offered, and the Priority Boarding cost will not be refunded.

Unfortunately, Priority Boarding is not available on cars with trailers of any kind.

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is a Government tax initiative designed to reduce carbon emissions. The UK ETS requires entities that exceed a certain emissions threshold to purchase allowances for each tonne of CO2 emitted. Whilst we fully support the drive to decarbonisation, due to grid constraints and the absence of electrical power supply at our ports, there is no viable alternative for Wightlink to upgrade to fully electric vessels that are ETS compliant.  We have lobbied the Government extensively regarding this fact.

From 1 July 2026, the ETS scheme will be extended to include larger domestic maritime vessels, including some ferries operating on UK routes. Ferries on our Portsmouth-Fishbourne route fall within the scope of the scheme, so we must pay the Government for the emissions they produce.

The ETS levy is applied across all ferries on our Portsmouth-Fishbourne route as we operate our ferries interchangeably across services, with most sailings undertaken by Victoria of Wight and St Clare, both of which fall within the ETS levy criteria.

Despite our intense lobbying over the last 18 months to the Government regarding the ETS, no exemption has been provided for ferries serving the Isle of Wight.  This has included working with the Chamber of Shipping, writing to the Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Decarbonisation, joint representation to Government with Isle of Wight Chamber and more than 35 local business, direct engagement with local IOW MP’s and raising issues through parliamentary routes, including Prime Ministers Questions.

Whilst we fully support the drive to decarbonisation, due to grid constraints and the absence of electrical power supply at our ports, there is no viable alternative for Wightlink to upgrade to fully electric vessels that are ETS compliant.

Therefore, the imposition of the ETS levy is an additional tax on the business, which needs to be funded. Every effort has been made to keep the ETS levy as low as possible for customers and applied fairly based on vehicle size, whilst ensuring that this additional cost is recovered.

Each single crossing will be charged by vehicle type:

• Motorcycles and scooters – £1.25 per crossing
• Vehicles up to and including 5 metres in length – £1.50 per crossing
• Vehicles over 5 metres in length, including freight vehicles, coaches, motorhomes, minibuses and horseboxes – £1.75 per crossing. VAT may be applied for some vehicles.

The ETS levy will appear as a separate line item on your booking. The levy is based on the length of the vehicle you book. Any extras added to your booking — such as a trailer or extra space at the rear of the vehicle to allow a wheelchair ramp — will not affect the levy charge. Only a change in the actual vehicle length will affect the levy amount applied.

No, the ETS levy is only applied to vehicles.

No, the ETS levy will only apply to vehicle bookings on the Portsmouth-Fishbourne service.

The UK ETS scheme currently applies to larger domestic maritime vessels, which covers the ferries operating on our Portsmouth – Fishbourne route.

Our Portsmouth – Ryde FastCats and Wight Class ferries that run on our Lymington – Yarmouth route do not currently meet the criteria for ETS charges and so there will be no levy on these two routes.

The ETS levy will apply to bookings from 1 July 2026. It will be included in all vehicle bookings made from 6 May 2026 for travel from 1 July 2026 on our Portsmouth – Fishbourne route.

Bookings made before the 6 May 2026 to travel from 1 July 2026 and then amended, will not be charged the ETS levy.

No, the levy will only apply per vehicle per crossing.

We recommend any changes to your booking are made before travel and any outstanding balance is paid before you arrive at the port. If there is a difference in the ETS levy charge and you are due a refund, we will action this automatically without you having to contact Wightlink.

We recommend any changes to your booking are made before travel and any outstanding balance is paid before you arrive at the port. If you arrive in a vehicle longer than your booked vehicle, you will be required to pay any outstanding balance including any increase in the ETS levy charge at check in before you can travel.

You can cancel a Standard ticket up to 24 hours before the date and time of travel for a full refund, this will include the ETS levy charge too. The refund will be automatically actioned without you having to contact Wightlink.

If you cancel a standard ticket within 24 hours of the date and time of travel, we will not refund the cost of the ticket, but the ETS Levy will be refunded to you automatically without contacting Wightlink.

Economy tickets are non-refundable, but we will refund the ETS levy charge to you automatically without having to contact Wightlink if you cancel your booking.

If you’ve booked a Standard ticket and would like to cancel one leg of the journey, as long as you cancel up to 24 hours before the date and time of travel, we will refund that leg of the ticket cost and the ETS levy charge applied to that leg.

If you cancel a standard ticket or any part thereof within 24 hours of the date and time of travel, we will not refund the cost of the ticket, but the ETS Levy will be refunded to you automatically without contacting Wightlink.

Economy tickets are non-refundable, and we will not refund the cancelled leg of the journey, but we will refund the ETS levy charge to you automatically without having to contact Wightlink.

If the sailing has been cancelled due to circumstance within our control, for example, a mechanical issue and we cancel your booking, we will refund your ticket cost and the ETS levy charge to you automatically without having to contact Wightlink.

If the circumstances are beyond our control, for example, severe weather conditions, we will not issue any refunds.

Yes, the refund will be automatically refunded to you without having to contact Wightlink.

Yes, the ETS levy will be applied including any amend fees and must be paid before you travel.

Yes, the refund will be automatically refunded to you without having to contact Wightlink. Please be aware refunds may take up to 30 days to process if we experience severe disruption.

No. If the move is made by Wightlink, there will be no ETS levy to pay.

No, if you buy a Gift Voucher there will no ETS levy charged but if the person receiving the Gift Voucher makes a booking on our Portsmouth-Fishbourne route, the ETS levy will then be charged.

Yes, the ETS levy will still be charged. Tesco Partner Rewards vouchers cannot be used to pay the ETS levy charge. You will have to pay the ETS levy using a debit or credit card before travelling.

Yes, the ETS levy will still be charged on NHS discount vehicle bookings as this is a Government levy that is applied and paid to the Government.

Yes, the ETS levy will still be charged on Accessible Travel discount vehicle bookings as this is a Government levy that is applied and paid to the Government.

Yes, the ETS levy will still be charged on Sponsorship Account discount vehicle bookings as this is a Government levy that is applied and paid to the Government.

If you booked your journey before 1 July 2026 to travel after that date, and you later amend your booking, the ETS levy will be automatically applied by our system and cannot be removed at the time of amendment. However, if this applies to you, please contact us at [email protected] and we will refund the ETS levy charge.

The ETS levy is applied on all vehicle bookings on our Portsmouth-Fishbourne service. You will not be charged the ETS levy when you purchase a Multilink Book, but you will be charged each time you make a booking with your pass. This ensures that you only pay the ETS levy when you are about to travel.

The ETS levy will appear as a separate line item on your booking and must be paid before the booking is be confirmed either online or by calling the Contact Centre.