Head Office
Level 1, Wellington Railway Station,
Bunny Street,ย Wellington 6011,
New Zealand
Customer Service
Phone: 0800 802 802
Phone: +64 4 498 3302
Phone: 0800 872467 (book Scenic train)
Phone: 04 815 9617 (Wellington Ferry Terminal)
Phone: 03 520 3235 (Picton Ferry Terminal)
Email: bookings@interislander.co.nz
Email: groups@interislander.co.nz
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Aboutย Interislander
Interislander is a road and rail ferry service in New Zealand. Operating as a subsidiary of KiwiRail, Interislander operates between Wellington in the North Island and Picton in the South Island. The Cook Strait ferry has been in service since 1962. It’s Wellington ferry has five services each day from Picton terminal on Auckland St. The three-hour ferry between Wellington and Picton is one of the most scenic experiences for travellers.
The Arrivals & Departures section on the website shows the accurate arrival and departure times and cancellations if there are any. The Cook Strait ferries include Kaitaki, Aratere and Kaiarahi. Kaitaki is the largest ferry operating in New Zealand waters and has a large restaurant, a cafe, play area, cabins and a number of lounges.
For checking in baggage, bicycle and four wheeler, you can know the procedures and details on the website. There are baggage restrictions for carry on and check-in. Large bags, backpacks and suitcases must be checked in at the terminal. Each passenger is allowed to carry on-board one bag as well.
Booking a journey can be done on the website by selecting the origin, date and passenger details. You can also choose to add vehicle or motorcycle. There are a number of fares like the Easy Change, Saver Change and Web Saver. Payment can be made using major credit cards. Travellers can choose Interislander Plus for more comfort and access to lounges and complimentary snacks. The Discounts section has details on all latest offers. If you have a booking, you can sign in to your account to view and manage booking.
If you are a frequent Interislander traveller, register for Nautical Miles to earn and redeem miles. Members enjoy a number of privileges, including extra baggage allowance.ย For more information or queries on tickets, payment, refund, lost and found items, careers/jobs, or others, reach the Interislander support.
Really so shattered with my new experience to travel Interislander, when I came aboard was totally lost, no one approached to give me guidance. I was so hungry, waited for restaurant to open and was excited about fish and chips. I got 3-4 time fried fish that was super greasy and disgusting..no lemon, no salad, no care or presentation. Nothing fresh and appealing. Poor service.
We received an email with a rescheduled booking. Now we are sailing at 8.30pm arriving in Picton at midnight. We can’t use our accomodation as we would arrive there around 2:00 or 2:30am even if we were prepared to drive , towing a caravan at night for 2 hrs at this time. The next morning (Dec 24) we’d have continued the 2 hr drive to Hanmer Springs to be with family at Xmas. As soon as I got the email, I went online to reschedule while I waited 40 minutes to get through to the customer number. Everything for 23, 22 was sold out. Not surprising as we have a car & caravan, 2 dogs. I knew there would be high demand at Xmas which is why I booked, paid early
The sailing I have been rescheduled is exactly the situation I DID NOT want to be in! We will arrive in the dark, drive an hour towing, park somewhere and sleep. The next morning we will have to drive 3 hrs. We have no choice. The email was misleading, it said I could reschedule if the new booking they gave me didn’t suit. That is untrue, it was already sold out when I got it. Well it doesn’t. To make matters worse, I had paid for a dog’s kennel and they didn’t give us one. After 2 days of phone calls, at least they have sorted a dog’s kennel. I am extremely dissatisfied, I am not getting what I booked, paid for. Unfortunately for us it is “take it or leave it” situation and I have no choice.
The very least they could’ ve done to sort out this mess is…
1) let people know earlier, so they had a chance of rebooking or going to Bluebridge.
2) Put additional staff on the customer service number. After 40 mins ( day 1) & 30 mins of waiting ( day 2) to talk to someone to sort this mess out and having to listen to the looped recording telling me ‘to go online to book instead of waiting on the phone,” frankly I wanted to scream!
No I could not sort it online, my fare was a saver & you had to reschedule by phone.
For God sake if you are going to reschedule 10,500 people 4 weeks before Xmas, at least have extra staff on the phone to help sort if out.
Not ok. Not good enough.
I am soooooo disappointed and angry right now. What a huge joke the Interislander is. We get a text the night prior to having to catch the 8.45am ferry telling us there will be 2.5 hour delay. With the knowledge that we’d get a sleep in, we went to bed and knew we didn’t need an alarm. We’d get up at leisure, finish packing and go. When we woke up, we checked the timetable for the ferry only to discover they were not 2.5hrs delayed but was in fact leaving in 40 minutes. We were told the departure time wasn’t completely accurate but we should get there asap. It took us 20 minutes to get from Porirua to the terminal. About 2 minutes out we get a phone call asking us where we were. 2 minutes away, on the bottom of Ngauranga and through the lights!
We race there, it only took literally 2 minutes, run into the terminal to be told “sorry, we have closed the doors” What the actual????
So when’s the next ferry for one person on foot? In 24 hours time! I am soooooo pissed!!! What a joke! Lesson, if you get a text saying it’s delayed, IGNORE!!! They’ll literally shut the door in your face!
Blue ridge next time.
We travelled to Picton on boxing day on the Kaitaki. I was absolutely frozen the entire boat was so cold. People were complaining and wrapping up in puffer coats. We have just boarded again to return and again freezing air blowing down. Already have heard people complaining to staff. Will never use Interislander again. We have used Bluebridge before and never experienced it being so cold. Pity to suffer such discomfort for 3 hours.
Kathryn Taylor