BC Ferries expects a very busy Thanksgiving long weekend, especially on the Vancouver (Tsawwassen) – Victoria (Swartz Bay) route, as the Spirit of Vancouver Island remains out of service for repairs until further notice.
BC Ferries will provide four-ship service between Vancouver (Tsawwassen) and Victoria (Swartz Bay) over the weekend, however capacity will be reduced as a smaller Coastal Class vessel (310 vehicles and 1604 passengers and crew) subs in for the larger Spirit Class vessel (358 vehicles and 2100 passengers and crew).
What Customers Need To Know
• Limited bookings available on the Vancouver (Tsawwassen) – Victoria (Swartz Bay) route, BC Ferries’ most popular.
• Customers without bookings on this route should prepare for sailing waits.
• Customers with bookings on affected sailings are being contacted by BC Ferries’ Customer Care team to be moved to other sailings, where possible. Customers with bookings who cannot be accommodated on alternate sailings will be fully refunded.
• New sailings have been added to the schedule at various times.
• Where space is available, customers can travel between Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island on alternate routes:
o West Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) – Nanaimo (Departure Bay)
o Vancouver (Tsawwassen) – Nanaimo (Duke Point)
Historically, the most popular travel times are Thursday and Friday afternoon, and Saturday morning for traffic moving from Vancouver (Tsawwassen and Horseshoe Bay) to Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.
The most popular travel day of the long weekend will be Thanksgiving Monday, with traffic sailing from the Nanaimo (Departure Bay), Victoria (Swartz Bay) and the Sunshine Coast (Langdale).
