Queen of Oak Bay resumes service with upgraded pet and guest areas

BC Ferries’ Queen of Oak Bay has returned to service after a three-quarter-life upgrade at the Canadian ferry operator’s in-house fleet maintenance unit in Richmond, British Columbia.

Originally built in 1981, the vessels features a steering gear system, an upgraded bridge area and refurbished passenger areas. Engineers expanded the Passages Giftshop with changing rooms, completely refreshed the Coast Café Express and added a family room, more power outlets with USB ports and an induction loop hearing system for passengers with hearing impairments.

After receiving feedback from customers travelling with pets, BC Ferries has also worked with the Society of British Columbia Veterinarians and the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association to improve the onboard pet area. It now features kennels so passengers can leave their pets in a safe place, as well as radiant heating, benches for passengers, and new PA speakers to ensure passengers can her important safety announcements.

“We recognise the importance of comfort and amenities for our customers travelling with pets, so we undertook a review of all our pet areas to identify the improvements needed and make them a priority during refit season,” said Corrine Storey, BC Ferries’ vice president of customer services. “These new upgrades will improve the travel experience not only for our customers, but for our furry friends as well.”

Further upgrades to pet areas are planned for the other ships in the fleet, with recent upgrades on the Coastal Renaissance, Queen of Alberni and Queen of Cowichan. The Queen of New Westminster, Queen of Cumberland, Spirit of Vancouver Island and Spirit of British Columbia will have upgraded pet areas by the end of spring.