The ferry was on time-both ways. You have real people available to deal with issues - thank you. Plus food!! Appreciate in particular that you ask parents not to allow children to run around. May... See more
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Review summary
Created with AI, based on recent reviews
What people talk about most
Reviews shaping this summary
Arrived Southampton earlier than booking & got straight onto ferry & had excellent breakfast. On IOW side rtn again arrived early & got straight onto ferry. Service onboard was good with great selecti... See more
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Excellent journey both ways. Quick and efficient at boarding and disembarkation. Clean and comfortable lounges to use whilst sailing. We only had drinks, so can’t comment on food options. The drinks w... See more
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Although I’m an Island resident and should know better (!) I made a silly error when booking on line which I realised only when attempting to board in East Cowes. My Southampton destination was a cr... See more
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Company details
Written by the company
We are proud to be the original Isle of Wight Ferry, with over 164 years of experience sailing between Southampton and the Isle of Wight. We aim to deliver a First-Class customer experience from start to finish and operate more than 35 crossings a day. Use our easy online booking service to secure your Vehicle Ferry spot and step aboard to enjoy a range of facilities during your crossing. Customers can enjoy our premium Signature Lounge, pet-friendly lounge, licensed bar, café and retail shop plus outdoor sun decks before arriving at your destination in just 1-hour. Foot passengers can turn up and go via our Hi-Speed Red Jet service, arriving in just 30 minutes.
Discover the Isle of Wight with Red Funnel Ferries
Written by the company
- Just 1-Hour from Southampton
- Discover the wonderfully different Isle of Wight with Red Funnel Ferries. Set sail for sandy beaches, dramatic coastlines, rolling countryside, dazzling dark skies and charming villages; the Isle of Wight packs a lot of adventure and natural beauty into its modest size. Within an hour’s drive time, you can bask on 25 different beaches, visit more than 50 attractions, and experience the UK’s favourite Island holiday destination from end to end. Not only are we the original Isle of Wight Ferry, transporting visitors between Southampton and the Isle of Wight for over 164 years, but we also offer a fantastic selection of places to stay and visit, all bookable online via our website. Book your hotel, holiday park, cottage and your attraction tickets with us, and save on your ferry travel.
Contact info
12 Bugle Street, SO14 2JY, Southampton, United Kingdom
- 02380019192
- customerservices@redfunnel.co.uk
- www.redfunnel.co.uk
4.6
Excellent
1K reviews
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This company invites their customers to review, whether positive or negative
Replied to 88% of negative reviews
Typically replies within 2 weeks
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Smooth and easy
Easy booking, swift boarding and always on time. Pleasure to travel with them
17 July 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for your review - we hope to welcome you back on board again soon.
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for your feedback - we hope to welcome you back on board again soon.
Easy to be reached
Easy to be reached, on time departure and arrival, clean ship and friendly staff!
24 June 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for your review - we hope to welcome you back on board again soon!
Great trip staff efficient and works…
Great trip staff efficient and works well
But the cost is far too high It will make me think if I want to go back IOW As the place we stayed lovely but extra cost £228 for justc2 people and car far too much
4 July 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for taking the time to leave us your feedback. I am sorry to hear that you are unhappy with our fares. We recommend checking the special offers page of our website before booking, as we frequently run promotions throughout the year. We work with many accommodation providers on the island to encourage visitors to the island, and can sometimes provide discounted rates to their guests.
A relaxing start to our holiday
Booking online was an easy, straightforward process.
Checking in was easy and both ferries left on time. Facilities/toilets were clean.
All in all it was a stress free experience.
5 July 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for your review. We are delighted to hear that you had a stress free experience with us, and we hope you enjoyed your holiday.
It was good to see one sun deck open
It was good to see one sun deck open. We have had several crossings, but this was the first time we had been able to use one. We are always impressed with the efficiency of the staff when we arrive at the kiosk and the loading and unloading procedure.
29 June 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for taking the time to leave us your review. We are happy to hear that you were able to use the sun deck and we hope to welcome you back on board again soon.
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for taking the time to leave us your feedback - we hope to welcome you back on board again soon!
Booking is easy online
Booking is easy online, we were allowed to alter our time on return crossing to an early one, only disappointment was there was no hot breakfast items available apart from drinks. Prices to use the service remain questionable.
11 July 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for taking the time to leave us your feedback. We are pleased to hear that you were able to travel earlier than planned, although I am sorry that our full hot breakfast range was not available.
We recommend checking the special offers page of our website before booking, as we frequently run promotions throughout the year. We work with many accommodation providers on the island to encourage visitors to the island, and can sometimes provide discounted rates to their guests.
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thanks for your feedback - we are happy to hear that you were able to travel earlier
Love red funnel car ferry
Love red funnel car ferry, never had a delay in 30 years of using it on out peaky holiday. The only thing I would change is the food is not very nice. I’m sure they could do better on the hot food front. I had sausage in a bap, was asked if I wanted fried onions but when it came they were like dried onion flakes, disgusting. The chips are tasteless, have never had a decent meal on the ferry. Chef pls take note. Staff are lovely though.
2 July 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for taking the time to leave us your review. We are pleased to hear that you love travelling with us, and that you have never experienced a delay is 30 years. We have recently changed our food supplier, as well as introducing new options. We hope that you find the new items to be an improvement on our previous options, however, I shall ensure that your feedback is reviewed by the appropriate teams.
Excellent customer service and ease of…
Excellent customer service and ease of amending our return journey time to an earlier slot! Good management of the onboarding of cars and equally as efficient on off loading in destination ports. Clean communal areas onboard the ferry too.
4 July 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for your feedback - we hope to welcome you back on board again soon.
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for your feedback - we hope to welcome you back on board again soon.
Total and utter chaos at Southampton
Total and utter chaos at Southampton. One ferry earlier cancelled…..absolutely no plan or organisation for the backlog
26 June 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for taking the time to leave us your review. I am sorry to hear that you were impacted by a cancellation to our services. I shall ensure that your feedback is reviewed by our operations manager for Southampton, and I apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Always been lucky with no delays and…
Always been lucky with no delays and pleasant staff. Always expensive which ever route! The online booking system works great.
3 July 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for your feedback - we hope to welcome you back on board again soon.
Easy to book
Easy to book, well organised embarkation process, lovely cruise along Southampton water and easy disembarkation at Cowes. Nice facilities on board.
27 June 2026
Great experience
Great experience. Staff professional, helpful and friendly. Good selection of food and drinks available. Dog friendly spaces. Efficient staff boarding the car on and off the ferry. Highly recommend this ferry.
3 July 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for taking the time to leave us your review. We are happy to hear that you found our staff to be helpful and we hope your dog enjoyed travelling with us.
Perfect crossing polite staff and very…
Perfect crossing polite staff and very helpful. Thank you for a great experience.
8 July 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for your feedback - we hope to welcome you back on board again soon.
Good Service
We were able to go on an earlier boat which was appreciated and had a lovely sail over to the IOW. Toilets very clean and found nice and quieter seating to have a nice cuppa before disembarking
22 June 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thanks for your review. We are pleased to hear you were able to travel earlier and that you enjoyed travelling with us.
Booking,boarding
Booking,boarding, absolutely spot on.
Services onboard
No milk so could not serve coffee
Lift not working so people struggling to get from one floor to another
7 July 2026
Reply from Red Funnel Ferries
Thank you for your feedback. I am sorry to hear that there was no milk available while on board. I shall ensure your feedback is reviewed by the relevant teams.
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