
The Steamship Authority is reporting a smooth opening period for summertime reservations on its Vineyard route, which has been a daunting experience for the public in the past few years.
Steamship Communications Director Sean Driscoll reported that the Steamship processed 20,965 transactions for the general opening day on Tuesday, netting roughly $6.4 million.
That’s down from last year, when the Vineyard route processed 25,020 reservations, but he noted that the 2025 numbers are still preliminary, and a full report would be available on Wednesday.
Over social media and from Steamship officials, there was optimism over improved wait times, many suggesting that they waited only a few minutes compared with prior years.
“I would attribute the success to the work that Steven Coleman, the new director of IT, has been doing,” said Jim Malkin, Martha’s Vineyard rep to the SSA board. “He’s making good progress in getting the Steamship to where it needs to get to, as evidenced by the Head Start and the general openings.”
Malkin noted that the reservations site was telling users that they would be waiting upwards of 20 minutes, but the wait ended up being only three to 10 minutes.
As in prior years, the Steamship enacted a virtual waiting room, which caused consternation during opening days, with some customers waiting for extended periods, only to be booted from their place in line.
But the Steamship, prior to the opening on the Nantucket route at the end of January, noted that it was undergoing extra load testing to make sure that it was ready for the sudden extra volume of customers looking to make summer reservations. The Nantucket Current also reported a smooth opening day last week.