Northumberland Ferries Ltd.

Northumberland Ferries Ltd.

Northumberland Ferries Ltd.
4
About
Discover a regional tradition on a voyage across the beautiful Northumberland Strait with Northumberland Ferries. This 75-minute ferry trip between Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island and Caribou, Nova Scotia offers a variety of onboard amenities and services tailored to the Maritime experience. From aboard the MV Confederation, spend less time behind the wheel and more time taking in the beauty of the Atlantic coast, listening to live music, savoring local flavors, and catching up over a cup of hot coffee.
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  • Deborahjune
    Toronto, Canada729 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Very Enjoyable Trip
    We would highly recommend taking the ferry over to PEI one way and then taking the bridge back across. The ferry is a wonderful tranquil way to see sites from the open water. You only pay for one way so its a great bargain too. Very peaceful. The ship was on time and the crew were great.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written October 14, 2023
  • eVe 🇸🇬🇸🇬🇸🇬
    Singapore, Singapore1,268 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Peaceful Ride from Woods Islands to Pictou
    Together with our coach, we rode on the Northumberland Ferry from Wood Islands to Pictou. The 75 minutes ride was tranquil and we stood throughout watching the sunset 🌇 and time passed by. Met a few passengers with their lovely dogs 🐕 🐕 🐕. The roll on roll off ferry ⛴️ was huge but surprisingly not very crowded. We enjoyed the ride!
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written October 17, 2023
  • Foodange
    Manchester, United Kingdom4,169 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Comfortable Crossing
    Good visitor centre after checking in for the crossing but only leaflets were ‘Welcome to PEI’, just as we were leaving …. and nothing at all about Nova Scotia, where we were headed. No coffee machine either but you can buy coke. Saw yet another lighthouse from the ferry and realised we would have had chance to visit. Very efficient ticketing and boarding, really smooth crossing too on a comfortable ship.
    Visited September 2023
    Traveled as a couple
    Written November 14, 2023
  • fauxpaw2
    Lethbridge, Canada147 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    A nice Ferry trip
    We took the Ferry at Caribou Nova Scotia to Wood Islands PEI. You don't have to pay for it when you go to the island but you need to pay when you leave PEI. We took the confederation Bridge back and paid before we got on the bridge. The ferry was fine and comfortable. They had some trouble getting our car on the upper deck area out and delayed us 45 minutes. Still we had a good experience and will do this again.
    Visited May 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 17, 2024
  • Brian E
    Santa Rosa, California477 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Easy easy easy!
    If this is your first time taking the PEI ferry, let me assure you that they have made incredibly easy to get on board with your car. They are extremely well organized and efficient. Once parked, head upstairs to the upper decks either to enjoy the view or to grab something to eat at their quite large cafeteria. Given how busy summer travel is in the Maritimes, you would be wise to book your voyage in advance.
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled with friends
    Written June 21, 2024
  • paris_visitors
    9 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Nice trip June 2024
    We travelled both ways in late June 2024. The Confederation is the older ferry but perfectly comfortable and plenty of outdoor space to see the sights. Lunch menu was both varied and very reasonable. We returned on the newer ferry. It was very nice and very smooth. Much newer interior but less outdoor viewing space and less varied lunch menu. We were not aware of 'paying only one way' and had to suffer the long telephone wait time to get refunded for our double payments (we had booked and paid for two separate one way routes). Pleasant staff at check-in and on board. Would recommend.
    Visited June 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written June 24, 2024
  • Keith M
    Cambridge, Canada96 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Pleasurable and organized trip between PEI & NS.
    Took the ferry both ways and it was such a smooth, safe, organized and pleasurable experience. Online booking is a breeze, just give confirmation # at booth and on you go. Lots of comfy seats, table and chairs, snack bar too. On way back to PEI there was a female duo singing and playing guitars for the riders, great mini concert. 75 minute ride is over in a blink of an eye.
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written July 22, 2024
  • TrailTrekker15
    Tallahassee, Florida5,461 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great Alternative to the Bridge
    We decided to take the Northumberland Ferry to Nova Scotia instead of a second trip across the Confederation Bridge. Either way we were going to have to pay $50 for the bridge or about $90 for the Ferry. My recommendation is if you are traveling to PEI from the west, take the bridge to the island and leave by the ferry to experience both and save the most money. The Ferry was close to our bed and breakfast and gave us much better views of the coastline than the bridge than the bridge would. We were unable to book ahead (highly recommend booking ahead); however, we decided to take a chance on getting on anyway. Fortunately we were able to make it. The ferry itself has a cafeteria on board as well and indoor/outdoor seating. It was a memorable part of our trip to eastern Canada.
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written August 17, 2024
  • empathology
    Rotterdam, The Netherlands617 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    An alternative to the bridge to PEI
    The ferry is a pleasant though unremarkable route to/from PEI - the only other driving route being the bridge of course. We went in over the bridge and back via the ferry since it put us closer to Cape Breton and as such, it probably worked out at the same price when adding bridge toll plus extra gas though no difference in the time. They take reservations which, during peak season, you should do. Other than that, a perfectly ordinary 75-minute ferry journey.
    Visited July 2024
    Traveled as a couple
    Written August 26, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles290 reviews
Excellent
122
Very good
118
Average
29
Poor
9
Terrible
12

Steve1
Toronto, Canada1,565 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2021
We took the ferry recently on a return to PEI for the first time in many years. I used to live on the island as a kid in the 70s, and in those days there was no bridge, only the ferries. I wanted to do the ferry as a nostalgic way of arriving and I like being on the deck and watching the island approaching, which you can't do on the bridge. I was looking forward to sharing it with friends who were with me and had never been to PEI. The experience was marred, however, by some of the most unfriendly and sour cafeteria employees I have ever seen. When we ordered seafood chowder, from the menu where it was clearly printed in large letters over the counter with other selections, the surly woman behind the counter looked at us as if we were insane. "We don't have chowder. Only chicken fingers and fries," she barked, with a look that made us think we had somehow offended her by even daring to ask for chowder. Her mask was pulled down under her nose, which kind of defeats the purpose of wearing a mask in the first place. Um, folks, if you don't have something on the menu, you might want to take it off the menu to save time. Afraid of offending her again, and not enjoying the greasy fried-food smell hovering over the counter, we moved down to some of the healathier options, which included sandwiches and salads, at least. The woman behind the cash register, wearing no mask at all, didn't even bother to look up or smile or say hello as she looked at our tray and totaled up our purchases, as if we were invisible. When I tried a "hello, how are you?" with her, she looked at me as if I had just insulted her. Perhaps she's related to the food counter lady, and they are competing to see who can be the most miserable with customers. This company needs to do some serious staff training. For starters, ladies, try at least smiling. It might make people think you enjoy your jobs. Next time, we will skip the "human contact" we were looking for on the ferry and head straight to the deck to at least enjoy the view. Unfriendly employees can't spoil that!. My friend who made the mistake of ordering chowder is still telling people how rude the ferry woman was with him. What a complete turnoff.
Written August 15, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to post a review. And, thank you for bringing your friends on a memorable and nostalgic trip onboard our ferries, we love to welcome family and friends onboard. We are sorry to hear that our food services did not live up to your expectations. We pride ourselves on offering great customer experience and we are disappointed to hear that it was not a great experience for you. Your comments will be shared with the appropriate supervisors. Our Director of Hospitality would be happy to hear from you at gleclair@nfl-bay.com or by phone at 902-394-0006. Thank you for your feedback and we hope to welcome you back onboard in the future.
Written August 24, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Scott W
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022 • Family
Frustrating experience!
Before we arrived we knew there was a chance the ferry would be full, but we took a chance and got there early at 10:15am for the noon ferry. There was maybe 5 vehicles waiting so we thought awesome, we're in. Bought a ticket at the gate and got in line, right at the front of the line. Wait until noon, ferry loads and we don't get on. Ask the staff loading why as we were here before most everyone else. She tells us we are on standby and others had reservations. Ok, that's news to us because they never told is that at the gate when we checked in!
We call the number to complain because we were told on the phone were couldn't make reservation with a trailer but other trailers that arrived later got on. They tell us the rules changed that day. So we move our standby over to a reservation for the 1:30pm ferry.
At this point we are in the 'standby' lane so we go back up to the gate to ask if we need to switch lanes. Girl at the gate gives us attitude and says they should not have given us a reservation because we have a trailer. Then she proceeds to hand us a pamplet starting trailers are not a priority. So she never gave us the pamplet when we checked in, AND never told us we were on standby. Kind of important information, don't you think? Fyi, you could be here all day and not get on any ferry as you are on standby.
Brutal. And it wasn't just us. The people in a car (no trailer) beside us were furious as they were not told either.
And to top it off, attitude from the gate girl, and not a single sorry for the miscommunication.
She blamed it on the fire in July. The fire is why you are not telling people they are on standby when they buy a ticket??

The ferry itself was great, rest of the staff was good too.
But gate staff was brutal.
Why would they not give everyone on standby a printout clearly starting that, and verbally tell them to save themselves all the upset customers.
Written August 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to post a review. We are sorry that you were misinformed about the details of travelling with us. We do not sell tickets directly from the Caribou Terminal, but happily accept reservations from our toll -free number 1-877-762-7245, this team will also help you to make a reservation for your trailers. We do recommend reservations to secure space and we do allow trailers to be booked on the MV Confederation. The MV Holiday Island has been replaced by MV Saaremaa 1 and because of the configuration of this ship we cannot accept trailers or campers of certain dimensions because of the loading requirements, it becomes a case-by-case basis. We are sorry about your wait and the misunderstanding, if you are willing to connect with us directly, we would like to offer our apologies. 1-902-870-9796.
Written August 29, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jennifer S
2 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2024 • Couples
We are taking the ferry from St John to Digby. The boat is very comfortable but we have been continuously trapped listening to live music we didn’t ask for. While waiting an hour and a half in the car waiting to board there was someone loudly playing the bagpipes. You can easily tell he isn’t really playing and it is jarring for all the time you are waiting to board the boat.

Then once we boarded the boat and got underway, a woman came out and started singing and playing the guitar. It isn’t that she is too bad but no one asked for this intrusion and most people moved. We would have moved but we liked our seats,

So our strong recommendation to the ferry line is to not subject people who are a trapped audience to music we don’t want. Thank god for noise canceling head phones!
Written August 31, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kelly G
2 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Couples
DO NOT. pre pay Book your sailing to PEI if you plan to return by bridge. You will get charged both ways and the ferries service will not conform this when you call. I booked a one way at the advice of the ferry service $86 with no clear answer as to what would happen if I returned by bridge and I was charged another $50. When I spoke to Terminal Manager Dale Blue he said when he reviewed the call I was told everything. I feel this to be untrue as I don’t have a recording and I had to a number of times asked the booking agent to stop talking so I could ask my question which he couldn’t answer. This whole experience has left a sour note for future travel to PEI. On free pay to get off should be just that
Written September 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

eVe 🇸🇬🇸🇬🇸🇬
Singapore, Singapore1,268 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Couples
Together with our coach, we rode on the Northumberland Ferry from Wood Islands to Pictou. The 75 minutes ride was tranquil and we stood throughout watching the sunset 🌇 and time passed by. Met a few passengers with their lovely dogs 🐕 🐕 🐕.

The roll on roll off ferry ⛴️ was huge but surprisingly not very crowded.

We enjoyed the ride!
Written October 17, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TrailTrekker15
Tallahassee, FL5,461 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2024 • Couples
We decided to take the Northumberland Ferry to Nova Scotia instead of a second trip across the Confederation Bridge. Either way we were going to have to pay $50 for the bridge or about $90 for the Ferry. My recommendation is if you are traveling to PEI from the west, take the bridge to the island and leave by the ferry to experience both and save the most money.

The Ferry was close to our bed and breakfast and gave us much better views of the coastline than the bridge than the bridge would. We were unable to book ahead (highly recommend booking ahead); however, we decided to take a chance on getting on anyway. Fortunately we were able to make it. The ferry itself has a cafeteria on board as well and indoor/outdoor seating. It was a memorable part of our trip to eastern Canada.
Written August 17, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Bob L
1 contribution
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2024 • Solo
The ferry service has been very inconsistent and unreliable for months. I’ve had people tell me they had to wait, stuck in PEI at the terminal for 24 hours. The unreliability makes it impossible to use as a foot passenger. The bridge is an hour + away from the ferry. Someone who travels to Pictou or Antigonish now has to take a 4 hour trip instead of a 2 hour trip. The worst part is I can’t see my loved ones until the ferry opens up again.

Not to mention it’s in the constitution that islanders need a consistent and reliable way off the island. What happens if something happens to the bridge? Are we stranded????
Written October 2, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Keith M
Cambridge, Canada96 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2024 • Couples
Took the ferry both ways and it was such a smooth, safe, organized and pleasurable experience. Online booking is a breeze, just give confirmation # at booth and on you go. Lots of comfy seats, table and chairs, snack bar too. On way back to PEI there was a female duo singing and playing guitars for the riders, great mini concert. 75 minute ride is over in a blink of an eye.
Written July 22, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Davigeta
Saint Louis, MO1,126 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2023 • Couples
This ferry runs from Caribou NS to Woods Island PEI. It takes 75 minutes. This is not a luxurious ride, but quite serviceable. Seating is ok, and there was some live music played on the trip. I could feel the boat moving/rocking on the trip, but not to the point of feeling sick. Views were great.
Written September 17, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brian E
Santa Rosa, CA477 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2024 • Friends
If this is your first time taking the PEI ferry, let me assure you that they have made incredibly easy to get on board with your car. They are extremely well organized and efficient. Once parked, head upstairs to the upper decks either to enjoy the view or to grab something to eat at their quite large cafeteria. Given how busy summer travel is in the Maritimes, you would be wise to book your voyage in advance.
Written June 21, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Northumberland Ferries Ltd. - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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