‘Condor, you ruined my holiday,’ says Millie, 10

The ferry company ran into trouble on Friday, when Liberation left Guernsey for Jersey, only to have to turn back due to technical difficulties.

Passengers have taken to social media to vent their frustrations over the service.

Among them was Clare Wherry’s upset 10-year-old daughter, Millie. She wrote to Condor about her experience.

‘You have ruined so many people’s holidays. Mine included,’ she wrote.

‘You need to find out a way to apologise to your customers and give them options as to save their holidays while you still can.’

A Condor Ferries’ spokesman apologised for the disruption over the weekend, which was caused by a technical issue with the on-board systems.

‘We contacted all customers to ensure they were aware of the changes to our schedule and did everything we could to re-instate our customers’ journeys as quickly as possible,’ he said.

‘We recognise this caused inconvenience to our customers’ travel plans and can only apologise for the disruption caused.’

Passenger Bridget Aegerter expected to travel on the Poole 4.35pm crossing from Guernsey on Friday. She said what happened was a fiasco.

‘We arrived in our car at the vehicle check in at 3.15pm, expecting to travel to Poole for our summer holiday,’ she said.

‘After two hours of not moving and nobody telling us anything, people started getting out of their cars, trying to find out what was going on. The departure time had long come and gone, and yet no announcement was made or information given.

‘Eventually, one Condor Ferries employee marched past all the cars, totally ignoring all the people trying to call out to him asking him what was going on.’

She said the staff were either refusing to give any information away or else they just did not have any.

‘Some people were being told one thing, other people something totally contradictory,’ she said.

‘Either way it was completely unacceptable.’

She added that Condor staff had been rude when asked what was happening, which led to the staff telling the crowds of people that had formed to query what was going on, that the more of them that came up to ask what was going on, the longer it would take.

‘I might expect this sort of debacle in somewhere like India, but not in Guernsey,’ she added.

‘I understand that these events happen, but the way it was handled was an absolute travesty. You simply can’t keep hundreds of people queued up in a heated situation like that for hours and refuse to give any information whatsoever, or else employ sarcasm and rudeness when they politely ask what is happening. Condor Ferries is a disgrace and an embarrassment to the islands.

‘It’s high time something was done about the monopoly they hold over us, with absolutely no regard for the people whose money keeps them going.’