A reader contacted us after what sounded like a distressing interaction with Brittany Ferries when she tried to book a holiday for family members, one of whom has Multiple Sclerosis. Before she shared the bad news story, however, she shared a positive one.
She and her wife booked a 10-day holiday in northern France in September 2025 for her wife’s parents, one of whom uses a wheelchair and requires the use of a personal hoist to transfer from the chair to bed and to use the bathroom. She feels she can no longer take flights, so the ferry was an excellent and convenient alternative, our reader writes.
“We booked an accessible cabin with Brittany Ferries, as it met all of my mother-in-law’s requirements. Brittany Ferries were very helpful and followed up with a number of emails and telephone calls to ensure that all of the arrangements were correct and sufficient for her needs,” the mail continues.
As our reader’s father-in-law is his wife’s carer, “he is fully familiar and at ease with using the hoist, and required no assistance from Brittany Ferries staff for the duration of both voyages, bar ensuring that there was adequate space left behind their accessible vehicle on the parking deck”, our reader writes.
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So away the family went, from Cork to Roscoff and back on two Brittany Ferries sailings, and they had a “fantastic” holiday.
In fact, it was such a success, that our reader’s in-laws said they would like to go away again in May 2026 for 19 days.
The same ferry was duly booked along with an accessible campsite last November, and the ferry booking was confirmed by Brittany Ferries by email on the same date.
“This was subsequently followed up with a call from a Brittany Ferries agent on November 20th to confirm the booking details and requirements, and an updated booking confirmation was received after that call. Therefore, the booking was essentially confirmed three times by Brittany Ferries.”
Just before Christmas, however, our reader’s wife got an email from Brittany Ferries “informing her that the company can no longer ‘permit the use of passenger hoists’ (both personal and any hoists requiring crew assistance) on board their ships, and that their crew ‘cannot be reasonably expected to provide any assistance that may be required for the use of a hoist’”.
The reader says the email also gave other reasons why personal hoists were no longer permitted.
‘If a plane can accommodate [my mother-in-law, a wheelchair user] , how can a ferry company say that they cannot?’
— Reader, on Brittany Ferries
She wrote that Brittany had said “the structural layout of their vessels, coupled with the likelihood of movement of the ship at sea, means they are unable to guarantee the stability, secure positioning, or safe operation of hoists in cabins or public areas”. The company told her that “in the unlikely event of evacuation, we do not have the operational resilience or knowledge to operate or accommodate hoists” in a way that would comply with its safety obligations.
Our reader points out that the family “were due to travel on the Amorique, a ship they already travelled on in September without incident and in which the ‘structural layout’ was ideal for [her mother-in-law’s] needs. Secondly, her hoist was only used in the cabin, by her husband, and therefore the assistance of crew members was never, and would never, be required.
“Finally, I believe the second [point] is a complete ‘cop out’ by the company. They are admitting that their crew are not adequately trained to assist persons using a hoist in the case of an emergency, and it appears they have absolutely no intention of bettering their practices to ensure that people with serious disabilities can continue to travel with them. I also wonder if this policy will start to be applied to people requiring the use of a transfer board, thus limiting travel for a large number of persons with disabilities?”
She says she has looked up EU regulations and they say that the ferry company must “prove it is impossible to accommodate” her mother-in-law and “must prove that the design of the ship and/or port infrastructure is not adequate (this is simply not the case as we travelled on the same ship, from the same ports in September), and the impossibility must relate to safety requirements or operational feasibility in reality. I do not believe this is the case either. We believe they simply have no interest in investing money in staff training and in preparing new procedures.”
She says she has contacted both Irish Ferries and Stena Line and asked whether they could accommodate hoists, and both confirmed it would be no issue. “Another interesting point to note, which we believe is relevant, is that airlines allowed Mary to travel with them, despite being unable to walk or leave a seat without either a hoist or being physically lifted. She only opted to stop flying as it was embarrassing and uncomfortable for her. If a plane can accommodate her, how can a ferry company say that they cannot?”
We contacted Brittany Ferries to see what it had to say.
In a statement, it said: “Brittany Ferries cannot comment on an individual case, as the customer has not given us permission to do so... in general terms Brittany Ferries appreciates the disappointment a change of policy in relation to hoists may cause.
“It was not a decision taken lightly, but followed a safety review focused on emergency evacuation scenarios. This concluded that safe and operationally feasible use of hoists cannot be guaranteed in those conditions on our vessels. The change in policy is based on maritime safety obligations in the event of an emergency, not convenience or for commercial reasons. Where hoist use cannot be accommodated safely, customers are entitled to a full refund.
“Brittany Ferries cannot comment on the safety assessments and decisions of other transport operators,” the statement concludes.
