Thames Clippers

Thank you for great Fathers Day present MBNA Thames Clipper. Taking my two 15 year old children and my lovely wife from North Greenwich to the London Eye to go on the Thames Speedboat Rocket for a belated 50th Bithday present was told by MBNA staff that today is free for fathers (great idea) and thank you again.

I am lucky enough to commute daily on the Clipper. It’s a beautiful journey and the perfect antidote to a busy day. The fact there’s a bar on the bigger boats may be a factor. The staff are also friendly and helpful.



I do though caveat the above! The service has begun to show signs of being run for the benefit of the service. I’d heard this anecdotally from my fellow commuters until yesterday. And then again today.



There appears to be a habit, no doubt in a desire to make up time, of sailing past piers EARLY. An example, today. My MBNA app told me I had 6 minutes til the next boat to London Bridge from Battersea Power Station. By the time I got to the top of the pier the timetable showed two minutes but I’d already watched the boat slow, mid river, and pull away as there appeared to be no one on the pontoon.



Net result, I wait another 30 minuted for the boat I sit on now. I am late. For the second time in as many days for the same reason.



Please don’t make me start taking the Tube again!

As it is the height of the tourist season and a hot Sunday, we caught the early boat and really enjoyed the trip. Staff friendly and helpful and comfortable air conditioned cabin. We added a trip on the Emirates skyline to the boat trip, well worth the £22.50 return fare.

First time I've used this transport option. Took the Clipper from Embankment to Battersea and what a great way to get there, so relaxed with great views along the way. The staff at Embankment were so friendly and helpful, making sure I caught the correct boat and great advice for timing the return trip. Definitely will be using them again in the future.

Went from London eye to Greenwich waited about 10 minutes for boat which was fine however on wanting to return the queue was very long staff not very helpful walking up and down saying probable 40minute wait for next boat !! Then ssid it wouldn’t be stopping at various piers .seemed to only let a few onto boats at a time and letting people who were not in the queue through to boat. Busy bank holiday Monday which they seemed unable to cope with.

Time table is rarely followed to be honest... here I am at 9.03 am waiting for a service that was suppose to cpme at 8.55.... getting less and less fan of this service.

I love Thames clippers, but I won’t be renewing my monthly season ticket. Loud and disruptive school parties should be made to charter a separate boat rather than disrupt a pleasant journey for every other passenger aboard. It’s also almost never on time and I’m fed up of being all the tourists at rush hour time



Signed,



Grumpy middle aged person

What’s the point of having staff that tell you to download the app and make use of the live departures feature so I don’t miss the clipper from Tower Pier to the o2 tonight for a concert - which sounds great and ideal for timing our meal at the Galleria - only to walk to the pier, have the app tell you you’ve 4 minutes to go and then see the Woolwich clipper pulling away from the pier ... and then have a different member of staff say ‘oh don’t use the app as the times are wrong’ ... now having to wait another 20 mins and miss the start of the concert - v unhappy, staff that couldn’t care and a massive waste of technology and resources - I’d like an apology, a refund and someone to sort the app out please !

More eastbound delays at Blackfriars Pier tonight. Tube or walking a better option at this time of year. The live departures feature on the app unreliable as usual so only found out after arriving at pier. New boats only go west bound. Ticket inspectors are incredibly rude and stand at the off point of the ramp rather than further up the bridge causing delays for commuters. Need some serious improvement or a competitor to start offering a better service so that commuters have some choice.

Watch out for the staff telling you to tap out with a contactless credit card. It's a scam. You have been charged the correct fare when you join the boat. When you tap out they charge a flat £8.40 fare and say the readers are TFL but the 2nd charge shows as MBNA Clipper. When you contact customer services they do nothing but keep asking what you brought onboard. Don't trust them and don't touch out on the readers

Very poor service in the evenings. Boats full before they even get to Tower. This is proving to be a completely unreliable way to commute. Apparently boats are not holding to the limited number of passengers they are letting onboard, hardly surprising one has to wait two or three boats to get on. Also poor responses to complaints. Not worth the price really.

Sadly it tourist season now and the commuter who is a loyal customer does not make it on the boat once again. I know it is hard to differentiate but their needs to be somewhat that season ticket holders do not get stuck at a pier due to everyone who gets in at Westminster or the Eye. We’re trying to get home when they are out for a day of fun. Waiting fir a boat for them is only the inconvinience of being a tourist in a crowded city, where as being a commuter it’s the difference of being able to pick your kids up or make an important appointment. Please think about this. It’s only the 5th of April and it’s only going to get worse as summer draws near!

Really disappointed. Waited 15minutes for a boat at Millbank - it clearly states that you should not tap in until you are told to board otherwise you will be asked by a staff member to tap in again. Me and my mum waited patiently and immediately after we tapped in were told there was no room on the boat. No staff member had checked others had tapped in, we had waited longer than nearly everyone at the stop, there was no queuing system and when someone else asked how long until the next boat the crew member stated 'not long, maybe 5 minutes'. On checking the timetable, it was actually 25 minutes. Will avoid in future.

Often in a state of disrepair with rows and rows of broken seat tray tables. Fix them or get rid of them. Unreliable morning and evening service adds to journey time home. Update: every time it's been late by over 15 minutes I take away a star...

Normally a good service but not today. The app showed that ferries were still running so it's a good alternative to cancelled trains in these snowy conditions. But the 7.47am ferry couldn't dock at the pier although it tried. 8.02am ferry could dock but was too full up to take many of the waiting commuters, 8.32am ferry didnt arrive and is expected at 9.22am...(50 mins late).Not sure if it's advisable to stand on an exposed ferry pier in freezing temperatures for this length of time. Hope I can get a refund for my activated ticket (activated as I had two ferries docking in front of me). Posted by a frozen commuter....

I use the service to commute to work each day, but in the Summer months you can often wait over an hour to get on an eastbound boat in the evenings. It’s regular for two or three Clippers to go past, unable to take any more passengers because a group of 80 tourists have embarked at the previous pier. Apparently boats are being chartered to ferry passengers from cruise ships moored in Greenwich up and down the river, reducing capacity even further. The staff are great, but priority boarding should really be given to season ticket holders. Or the number of boats at peak times should be increased. Not what you’d expect when you’re paying over £1k a year for a season ticket.

I bought two tickets at a total price of £11.20 and then when the boat came along it was nearly full, only 11 people allowed on. We couldn’t go on it and couldn’t wait another half an hour so we had to get a bus otherwise we would have missed our train from Waterloo. I asked the lady on board how to get a refund and she said get it from Thames Clippers but I cannot find any way of getting a refund!!

Expensive and unreliable, as soon as it is a sunny day they can't meet demand, instead of increasing the service all they do is rudely tell you , you will have to wait. Would not recommend if you need to be somewhere by a specific time. Despite proclaiming themselves as a commuter service they are even less reliable than tfl.

Be very careful if you intend on travelling back to the centre of London after a show at the O2 !!!!

The web site states ''Boats leave North Greenwich Pier 15 -20 minutes after the event finishes, meaning you can avoid the queues for the tube.

NOT THE CASE. I left a show this week ( WWE ) before it finished in order to 'beat the rush & queues', I thought on the way that it was a bit quiet .... and now I know the reason why...there were NO BOATS travelling back to the centre of London as the last one had left before the show finished!! and the only available service was East bound... ok if you want to head in that direction!!.....NEVER AGAIN

Thank you for great Fathers Day present MBNA Thames Clipper. Taking my two 15 year old children and my lovely wife from North Greenwich to the London Eye to go on the Thames Speedboat Rocket for a belated 50th Bithday present was told by MBNA staff that today is free for fathers (great idea) and thank you again.

I am lucky enough to commute daily on the Clipper. It’s a beautiful journey and the perfect antidote to a busy day. The fact there’s a bar on the bigger boats may be a factor. The staff are also friendly and helpful.



I do though caveat the above! The service has begun to show signs of being run for the benefit of the service. I’d heard this anecdotally from my fellow commuters until yesterday. And then again today.



There appears to be a habit, no doubt in a desire to make up time, of sailing past piers EARLY. An example, today. My MBNA app told me I had 6 minutes til the next boat to London Bridge from Battersea Power Station. By the time I got to the top of the pier the timetable showed two minutes but I’d already watched the boat slow, mid river, and pull away as there appeared to be no one on the pontoon.



Net result, I wait another 30 minuted for the boat I sit on now. I am late. For the second time in as many days for the same reason.



Please don’t make me start taking the Tube again!

As it is the height of the tourist season and a hot Sunday, we caught the early boat and really enjoyed the trip. Staff friendly and helpful and comfortable air conditioned cabin. We added a trip on the Emirates skyline to the boat trip, well worth the £22.50 return fare.

First time I've used this transport option. Took the Clipper from Embankment to Battersea and what a great way to get there, so relaxed with great views along the way. The staff at Embankment were so friendly and helpful, making sure I caught the correct boat and great advice for timing the return trip. Definitely will be using them again in the future.

Went from London eye to Greenwich waited about 10 minutes for boat which was fine however on wanting to return the queue was very long staff not very helpful walking up and down saying probable 40minute wait for next boat !! Then ssid it wouldn’t be stopping at various piers .seemed to only let a few onto boats at a time and letting people who were not in the queue through to boat. Busy bank holiday Monday which they seemed unable to cope with.

Time table is rarely followed to be honest... here I am at 9.03 am waiting for a service that was suppose to cpme at 8.55.... getting less and less fan of this service.

I love Thames clippers, but I won’t be renewing my monthly season ticket. Loud and disruptive school parties should be made to charter a separate boat rather than disrupt a pleasant journey for every other passenger aboard. It’s also almost never on time and I’m fed up of being all the tourists at rush hour time



Signed,



Grumpy middle aged person

What’s the point of having staff that tell you to download the app and make use of the live departures feature so I don’t miss the clipper from Tower Pier to the o2 tonight for a concert - which sounds great and ideal for timing our meal at the Galleria - only to walk to the pier, have the app tell you you’ve 4 minutes to go and then see the Woolwich clipper pulling away from the pier ... and then have a different member of staff say ‘oh don’t use the app as the times are wrong’ ... now having to wait another 20 mins and miss the start of the concert - v unhappy, staff that couldn’t care and a massive waste of technology and resources - I’d like an apology, a refund and someone to sort the app out please !

More eastbound delays at Blackfriars Pier tonight. Tube or walking a better option at this time of year. The live departures feature on the app unreliable as usual so only found out after arriving at pier. New boats only go west bound. Ticket inspectors are incredibly rude and stand at the off point of the ramp rather than further up the bridge causing delays for commuters. Need some serious improvement or a competitor to start offering a better service so that commuters have some choice.

Watch out for the staff telling you to tap out with a contactless credit card. It's a scam. You have been charged the correct fare when you join the boat. When you tap out they charge a flat £8.40 fare and say the readers are TFL but the 2nd charge shows as MBNA Clipper. When you contact customer services they do nothing but keep asking what you brought onboard. Don't trust them and don't touch out on the readers

Very poor service in the evenings. Boats full before they even get to Tower. This is proving to be a completely unreliable way to commute. Apparently boats are not holding to the limited number of passengers they are letting onboard, hardly surprising one has to wait two or three boats to get on. Also poor responses to complaints. Not worth the price really.

Sadly it tourist season now and the commuter who is a loyal customer does not make it on the boat once again. I know it is hard to differentiate but their needs to be somewhat that season ticket holders do not get stuck at a pier due to everyone who gets in at Westminster or the Eye. We’re trying to get home when they are out for a day of fun. Waiting fir a boat for them is only the inconvinience of being a tourist in a crowded city, where as being a commuter it’s the difference of being able to pick your kids up or make an important appointment. Please think about this. It’s only the 5th of April and it’s only going to get worse as summer draws near!

Really disappointed. Waited 15minutes for a boat at Millbank - it clearly states that you should not tap in until you are told to board otherwise you will be asked by a staff member to tap in again. Me and my mum waited patiently and immediately after we tapped in were told there was no room on the boat. No staff member had checked others had tapped in, we had waited longer than nearly everyone at the stop, there was no queuing system and when someone else asked how long until the next boat the crew member stated 'not long, maybe 5 minutes'. On checking the timetable, it was actually 25 minutes. Will avoid in future.

Often in a state of disrepair with rows and rows of broken seat tray tables. Fix them or get rid of them. Unreliable morning and evening service adds to journey time home. Update: every time it's been late by over 15 minutes I take away a star...

Normally a good service but not today. The app showed that ferries were still running so it's a good alternative to cancelled trains in these snowy conditions. But the 7.47am ferry couldn't dock at the pier although it tried. 8.02am ferry could dock but was too full up to take many of the waiting commuters, 8.32am ferry didnt arrive and is expected at 9.22am...(50 mins late).Not sure if it's advisable to stand on an exposed ferry pier in freezing temperatures for this length of time. Hope I can get a refund for my activated ticket (activated as I had two ferries docking in front of me). Posted by a frozen commuter....

I use the service to commute to work each day, but in the Summer months you can often wait over an hour to get on an eastbound boat in the evenings. It’s regular for two or three Clippers to go past, unable to take any more passengers because a group of 80 tourists have embarked at the previous pier. Apparently boats are being chartered to ferry passengers from cruise ships moored in Greenwich up and down the river, reducing capacity even further. The staff are great, but priority boarding should really be given to season ticket holders. Or the number of boats at peak times should be increased. Not what you’d expect when you’re paying over £1k a year for a season ticket.

I bought two tickets at a total price of £11.20 and then when the boat came along it was nearly full, only 11 people allowed on. We couldn’t go on it and couldn’t wait another half an hour so we had to get a bus otherwise we would have missed our train from Waterloo. I asked the lady on board how to get a refund and she said get it from Thames Clippers but I cannot find any way of getting a refund!!

Expensive and unreliable, as soon as it is a sunny day they can't meet demand, instead of increasing the service all they do is rudely tell you , you will have to wait. Would not recommend if you need to be somewhere by a specific time. Despite proclaiming themselves as a commuter service they are even less reliable than tfl.

Be very careful if you intend on travelling back to the centre of London after a show at the O2 !!!!

The web site states ''Boats leave North Greenwich Pier 15 -20 minutes after the event finishes, meaning you can avoid the queues for the tube.

NOT THE CASE. I left a show this week ( WWE ) before it finished in order to 'beat the rush & queues', I thought on the way that it was a bit quiet .... and now I know the reason why...there were NO BOATS travelling back to the centre of London as the last one had left before the show finished!! and the only available service was East bound... ok if you want to head in that direction!!.....NEVER AGAIN