Nova Star not worth Nova Scotia investment, says disappointed customer

A Gaspereau woman says sailing aboard the Nova Star ferry was anything but smooth. 

M.J. McMaster got on board with her daughter, Mattie, on July 24. The pair were returning home after Mattie had finished her studies at Auburn University in Alabama. 

In her opinion, the Nova Star ferry is not worth the $30 million the provincial government has invested.

"No, absolutely not," says McMaster. "I'm disappointed."

McMaster says she paid $540 for the crossing from Portland to Yarmouth. That included seats for the two women, the fee for the car as well as a kennel fee.

"When we were planning this trip it seemed like a good idea to maybe not be in the car all the time — to take a break from driving."

But McMaster says she and her daughter were disappointed with everything on board, starting with the kennel.

"We assumed that the kennel would be a nice separate room with proper accommodation for the animals. But the kennel is, in fact, a series of wire cages that are fastened on the wall at the front end of the ship in the vehicle area," she said. 

"It was evident that the area had not been cleaned since the last passengers had picked up their pets."

She also says there was no evidence anyone would be checking on the animals in the meantime.

"The only crew that are down there are the people that park the cars."

'The cost is totally prohibitive'

McMaster says the trip was uncomfortable and unpleasant for her and her daughter as well. 

"We knew that we were going to be in an area which is called the 'seating area'. We didn't rent a cabin because the cost is totally prohibitive," she said.

"It would have cost us in excess of $1,200 for an inside cabin which does not have a view of the water. So we chose the seating area."

The lights weren`t dimmed, McMaster said, adding that when they asked for pillows to go along with blankets, they were told "absolutely not." 

"People in the seating area aren't given that sort of a luxury," she said.

McMaster says another disappointment was the high price of food and drink on board. She says she paid more than seven dollars for a coffee and a muffin the next morning.

All apologies

Danny Morton, the director of cruise marketing and business development for Nova Star Cruises, apologized on behalf of the company to McMaster.

"I'm really sorry that she had a negative experience aboard Nova Star," Morton said. 

"We really have been receiving accolades about the services on board this year. I mean, I've been with the service since the beginning.  We're doing surveys. We've got comment cards at the front desk. We're logging when we hear complaints. We're following up."

Morton says he hasn't heard negative feedback about the kennel services before.

"Our kennel procedures are outlined on the webpage and on our guest contract tickets. I know she was disappointed that they couldn't go visit the pet during the crossing but it is purely safety reasons."

Morton says the company will investigate whether there was a cleaning problem that day. 

He also says it's standard procedure for the lights to get dimmed in the seating area and for guests to be given blankets and pillows. He's going to check whether there was a mistake that night.

As far as food prices go, Morton says he thinks the prices are fair and on par with other food purveyors.

On Thursday, Morton says he will follow-up with M.J. McMaster by phone.

McMaster has passed along her feedback to Nova Scotia's minister of transportation. She says Geoff MacLellan wrote back right away and told her a decision is coming soon about which company will run the ferry next year.