Travellers are clamouring to snap up ferry tickets for their summer holidays with bookings opening today after months of delay.
CalMac’s internet based reservation system instantly came under heavy pressure by a flood of online traffic when sailings became available for sale this morning.
Savvy bookers joined the line before the official opening time, resulting in a massive number waiting in the queue when the system went live at 7am.
But the website didn’t crash like it did in June 2020 when a similar wave of huge demand overwhelmed the system following the easing of pandemic travel restrictions after three months of stay-
Lessons learnt from that experience resulted in a queuing system being introduced for future cases of high demand.
The experience was more stressful than trying to secure coveted tickets to a Bruce Springsteen gig suggested some.
Many people in the early morning were glued to their computer for nearly two hours before getting started on their booking.
Booking telephone lines hit problems soon after they they opened at 9am.
CalMac disconnected the connections to get them fixed. They were later repaired.
The shipping operator said: “Due to a technical issue our phonelines will be down for a short period while our technical teams work to resolve this as soon as possible. We will provide an update as soon as the issue is resolved. Thank you for your patience
People posted their mixed reactions on social media.
A Glasgow resident commented: “Thanks for bumping (me) out of queue on website -
One person said: “I’m now in your daft queuing system and having to watch my email to make sure I don’t miss my 15 minute window to make my bookings.”
Another posted: “I’ve called and been cut off four times already! Busy busy! Can’t wait to get booked up.”
Someone else finally got their my turn to book after 3300 but “it’s frozen and not letting me book. Took one hour off work to book it.”
An early bird who set her alarm for half past six to join the online queue had a “fifty minute wait but I managed to book the crossings I wanted for June.”
An Inverness resident was not impressed: “This system is not user friendly. I waited ages for my turn in the queue then could only book one ferry. Tried to get another one booked and got bumped out of the queue.”
Others were delighted with the way things worked.
One person praised CalMac: “Great system. Super efficient. Well done to all involved.”
A satisfied passenger said: “Your queue system worked great! I was in line with over 3,000 ahead of me and still was able to get to the website in one hour. Bought tickets for our trip from Uig-
Another highlighted: “I quickly made six bookings without any hassle this morning. Thank you CalMac.”
A happy traveller posted: “Great system, I successfully made the five bookings I needed in my 15 min time slot, after only a 45 minute wait.”
A regular island tourist queried: “Why has CalMac gotten so busy this last couple of years? It's a genuine question, not a sarcastic one. Apart from TMF and HebCelt, I've never had to queue or anything in previous years. Just curious. Or have many more people now discovered just how stunning the islands are?”
Angus MacNeil MP urged CalMac: “Don't let all sailings fill up months in advance -
CalMac said: “As expected and due to demand, our phones and website are busy today. Where possible, please do book your travel via our website calmac.co.uk where a queue system is in operation.”
Access to online reservations is being managed by a queue system applied at periods of high demand.
People are assigned a place in the queue automatically.
Booking confirmations may take up to 24 hours to reach your inbox. If you have an online account, your booking will be available to view immediately.
Ticket prices remain the same as last year’s with the Scottish Government underwriting a fares’ freeze until the start of the winter timetable.
CalMac phone line hits fault as thousands rush to book sailings
20 January 2023
