The unexpected cancellation of the ferry from Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia has cost us over $1,000 in additional expenses, as we had to hire a driver in the middle of the night to get to Saint John, New Brunswick. The company has offered no compensation or alternative solution to help us reach Nova Scotia, despite the fact that we have multiple Airbnbs booked, transportation arranged, and flights scheduled to depart from there. When I called to ask for assistance, the representative simply said, "Oh well, we run again on Thursday." Today is Monday--waiting three days is not an option for travelers on a tight schedule. If you're counting on this ferry for transportation, be warned: you could be left completely stranded without any support. read more

Think twice before taking this ferry from Bar Harbor. It was delayed over an hour. Once you're on it, it is pleasant. Not driving has its upside. However, not sure if it's because of the holiday or what (7/4) but the dumb dumba funneling us out through Canadian customs (think 6 rows of cars thru 2 toll booths) doesn't know how to send 3 rows through one in turn . Well now we aren't sure if one booth is working as all 6 rows have to funnel through one customs booth at 9:30 at night when we all just want to get the hell to our destinations. C'mon CAT- do better!!!!! read more

We decided to try the CAT Ferry so we could cut down on driving time getting to Nova Scotia. Checking in was relatively straightforward - our passports were checked, our reservation confirmed, and we were given the declaration form to provide at Customs on the Canadian side. The car was driven into a "holding pen" from which we drove into the ferry. The on-load portion was well coordinated (not surprising since Nova Scotia uses many ferries as a matter of course) but just a bit confusing for us since we didn't know what was going on. But once we parked the car we exited and were directed to a stairwell which took us to the upper deck. Note: you cannot return to your car during the time the Ferry is at sea, so take what you need/want with you! Seating is not assigned. The front of the ship is a bit more bouncy (it's a catamaran after all) so if you're prone to seasickness, you may want to sit in the mid or aft sections. There are two cafe style places to get basic foods (sandwiches, nachos, small salads, and chips) as well as drinks. There is also a small gift shop that sells sweatshirts, hats etc along with a limited number of sundries. Trip one way takes about 5.5 hours, and is a bit boring (just water all around you). They do show movies but they pick (and they're pretty much all G-rated since there are kids everywhere). Arriving in Yarmouth, we were permitted to get back in our cars once the ferry docked. One pet peeve: folks, the staff clearly instruct passengers to NOT START their cars until told to, which is when you are driving out. Nonetheless, numerous passengers started their engines while everyone was still on the ferry - releasing carbon monoxide for no good reason. Plus some idiot in the line of cars actually put their vehicle into drive, resulting in a "love tap" that got passed all the way down the line of nearly 20 cars. Seriously? Going through Customs once off the Ferry was similar to Niagara Falls - we drove up to the booth, provided our passports and declaration form, and then were on our merry way. All in all, it was a pleasant and efficient experience, and we appreciated the time saved even for the price. I hope they keep running the CAT: our understanding is that this is the second run at providing the Maine-to-Yarmouth route, the first venture not bring successful and resulting in the Ferry shutting down for a few years. read more

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We took the ferry round trip from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth and back last Summer 2022. We will be going again this week July 2023. We found check-in efficient and well organized. We drove our car on as directed, secured a good parking spot, gathered our belongings for the time up top and found great seats with wonderful views. The food was quite acceptable. I took a guided tour of the ferry including seeing the captain's area. Fascinating! Staff was pleasant and helpful. While expensive ($800 RT for two seniors, plus our car) it is much better than the alternative of driving to St John's for the ferry to Digby. read more

C'mon -- just tell us to bring Dramamine. We would've. Never thought an expensive ferry ride would turn into a sick boat where more people got sick than not. Awful 5.5 hours of churning stomachs and vomiting happening in every corner. Boarding went well enough. Bad line management in Yarmouth meant we were literally the second-to-last car through customs, although we were not near the end of the line on the boat. Glad we booked one way only. Could've been a nice trip if they warned us of rough seas so we could've been prepared for the misery on-board. Or just sell Dramamine on-board (as your ginger tablets didn't cut it). Great staff, but can't make up for the rest of the experience.... read more

Not impressed with this service. Boarding and debarking is painfully slow, mostly due to customs. No WiFi on board, which seems kind of crazy in this day and age. So go prepared with something to do. I would also suggest bringing snacks as the food is not great and very overpriced. It was very cold. I had to buy a blanket in the gift shop because I was freezing. Also, don't sit near the children's area unless you enjoy that kind of thing.. Otherwise, a fairly easy commute with friendly staff. The seats on the back deck overlooking the water are nice, especially if you get sea sick, it does sway a lot. read more

DO NOT BRING YOUR DOG ON THE FERRY! We like to bring our little terrier with us when we travel in our car, and thought that it would be fun for the 3 of us to take the ferry up to Nova Scotia. We read that there were dog kennels on board, and even called to see if there was availability. Nice folks made a note on our reservation with our request. The trip is 5 1/2 hours on the water, and we wanted her to be as comfortable as possible for the lengthy voyage. We were dismayed to see that the kennel accommodations were nothing more than cages in the car hold of the ship. We ended up putting our dog's travel crate inside one of the cages to comfort her but she was clearly uncomfortable and afraid, and we felt terrible leaving her there, but we also were afraid that she might be too warm if we left her in our car, and equally ill at ease in the setting. There really was no choice but to house her there. We told one of the car attendants her name and that she was ours and hoped for the best. We weren't allowed down there for the entire trip. Our return ferry a few days later was cancelled due to weather and we were almost relieved to not have to put her through this ordeal again. We did take a shorter ferry ride instead (2+ hours) and this time left her in her crate in the car. It was stiflingly hot in the car hold on this ship ( Fundy Rose) and we found her uncomfortable and panting when we came down to drive off. Terrible experience for our poor girl. We will not do this again, even though we had a great time exploring Nova Scotia with her. read more

The Cat Ferry - Ferries Near Me - Portland, Maine

Underwhelmed. Based on the price we expected this to be fancy, but the "restaurants" were little more than snack bars, and due to some issue they were running slower than usual so we didn't arrive until 11 pm, and with the time it takes to disembark and get through customs we didn't drive away until after midnight, feeling sort of exhausted and battered, when we had felt like we were spoiling ourselves when we booked. One in our party got very seasick, so we went into the ferry office at Yarmouth to exchange our return tickets for passage on the Digby-Saint John ferry instead--wow! So much nicer, calmer seas in the Bay of Fundy than in the Gulf of Maine, lots of seating in the fresh air. We'll come back to NS but we'll do it via Digby, not Yarmouth. read more

The plusses: The ship was clean, modern, and had good food options on board. Plenty of entertainment to distract you during the trip, including movies, full bar ;), and a live band. They have a free info/concierge person on board who really got us out of a jam by doing a last minute hotel booking for us in Yarmouth after our hotel reservation was mistakenly cancelled. The minuses: Aside from the high cost which other reviewers have noted, one of the engines was out, so the trip took longer than advertised. Also, they need to do something about the inadequate waiting room in Portland. It is a grim, tiny space without enough seating for all the walk-on passengers waiting to board. Some people were sitting on the floor. We stood for 45 minutes. read more

Took the Cat Ferry from Portland Me to Yarmouth NS on 9/17/16. We were on a motorcycle trip from NJ to Cape Breton. The ferry was an excellent way to shave lots of time off our trip . It made it possible to do the trip in 6 days. Very good service on the ferry. Wore seabands on our wrists and didn't get seasick. I bought them at my local Shop Rite. Will take the ferry again . read more

The boarding process is very disappointing. Customers are told to arrive at least an hour and a half before departure. You wait in or by your car in the hot sun (no food or water available) while people who arrived an hour or more after you are asked to drive on board ahead of you. Why aren't the waiting lines organized so those who arrive first (on time!) board first? As we melt in the hot sun ... read more

So we had planned a tour of Yarmouth provided by the Cats website,3 day trip! One of the 4 engines developed trouble,so they cut the schedule and canceled our trip.They made no attempt to compensate us for anything!So we give them another try and rebook another trip ,this time Yarmouth and Digby 4 day trip!My family from NYC arrives Saturday for the Monday start of the trip,Sunday we all get notified that our trip is cancelled again,less than 24 hrs. before the trip!No attempt by the Cat company to reimburse family or offer any discount of any kind on a future trip!Also when calling and speaking to their Reps ,even though we booked the trip from them we had to explain to the Reps it was all inclusive from their website!So not a good experience and I understand it was a mechanical issue but the Cat Ferry did nothing to help the situation!! read more

The cat ferry was great! At first i felt uncomfortable being the only non-feline passenger (or crew for that matter), but soon learned my prejudices against a clowder's ability to own and operate a ferry service were unfounded. Come for the ferry ride...stay for the life lesson. read more

Reasonably priced, extremely clean ferry. We just completed a round trip from Portland-Yarmouth. We brought our own food for the trip to Canada, but had a really delicious breakfast from the cafe on the return trip. The coffee was fantastic. The staff was uniformly courteous and helpful. There's a lot of seating options, many comfortable airplane-style seats or roomy booths. Even with a ferry packed to capacity with cars, there were plenty of open seats. The customer service office was great, answering Qs about the border paperwork and providing clean blankets. There's no wifi but there are on-board computers if you're desperate. read more

We will never ride this ferry again. We were disappointed by our experience. There was literally no where to sit not inundated by tv screens with loud volume. First came news that was inappropriate for younger children, including stories of LGBTQ people "disappearing." Another upsetting story was about a refugee father who had been through terrible things being separated from his family. They then played a children's video that while appropriate was something not be experienced at high volume. Then came a Vin Diesel movie that included cursing and violence porn, including multiple scenes of mass killings at close range. In one scene VD is shooting people around a circle and checks his watch as apparently killing a large group of people is boring. When I asked the purser if he was aware of the inappropriateness of this movie for anyone who doesn't relish violence, let alone the large number of children, he refused to turn off the movie and refused to turn off any screens in any area so I could move my family. He also refused to turn off the volume in our section. Unacceptable. read more