Although the Steamship Authority (SSA) saw a small overall drop in summer reservations on the first day they were available, the number of vehicle bookings show that travelers still have a strong interest to come to the islands.
The general summer reservations opened for the Vineyard route on Feb. 3, and according to a press release from the SSA, they remained “virtually the same” from last year with 23,014 transactions, defined by the SSA as “either a one-way or a round-trip automobile reservation.” It brought in nearly $7.3 million in revenue. Last year, the ferry line saw 23,069 transactions on the general opening day.
But the Nantucket route saw a seven percent drop from last year’s sales. The general summer reservations for the Nantucket route opened on Jan. 27, and the ferry line processed 6,747 transactions, which brought in over $4.1 million in revenue. The SSA processed 7,247 transactions for the Nantucket route on opening day last year.
“The recent reservation openings show a continued, strong demand for summer travel to both Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard,” said SSA General Manager Alex Kryska in the release. “My thanks to the Authority’s IT group, system developers, and partner vendors for their months of preparation for these events, including load testing and adjusting system configurations. Following these successful opening days, we look forward to a similarly successful season of serving the travel needs of residents and visitors alike.”
Technological issues hindered the opening days of general reservations for the SSA in 2023 and 2024.
The ferry line stated that while many of the summer weekends with the most demand are at or near capacity, it encourages customers to utilize its waitlist feature to try to book times that aren’t currently available. Additionally, Island residents who are in the SSA Preferred or Excursion programs can book spaces that are reserved each day for last-minute travel needs.
Customers can still make summer reservations by phone by contacting the SSA reservation office and in person at the terminals starting at 7:30 am on Feb. 10.