Ferry problems, need advice!

Hi-

We are very late planning a trip to the Vineyard and are having problems w/ferry tickets. One of the weeks we%26#39;re looking at we can only get on the wait list going both ways. My husband is very concerned about spending all this money on a house and not having a guarantee of getting there. The other house we%26#39;re looking at the owner has tickets that she%26#39;ll give us, but when I called the Steamship Authority they said that we aren%26#39;t guaranteed to get on w/someone else%26#39;s tickets. I also have booked my own tickets for those days at horrible times and have requested the wait list. Most of the house owners I%26#39;ve talked to have said they have no problem going standby, but from the steamship authority website it says there is no standby on weekends in the summer. So I%26#39;m totally confused on what to do. We loved the Vineyard and would love to go back. I%26#39;m worried if I wait too long to make a decision the few houses still available will be gone. We%26#39;re thinking of just throwing in the towel and going to the Cape to avoid the ferry issue, but I know nothing about the Cape, so that%26#39;s a whole other issue! I%26#39;d love any advice from any Vineyard experts! Thanks so much!

Ferry problems, need advice!

check the high speed ferry out of New Bedford I am not sure if availabilty is any better.

www.fastferry.com

Ferry problems, need advice!

There is also a new fast ferry out of North Kingston (just outside Providence), Rhode Island

http://www.vineyardfastferry.com

But, none of the fast ferry services take vehicles; am I correct in thinking you%26#39;re looking for a car reservation?

yes, we do need to take a car. so I%26#39;m guessing that eliminates the other poster%26#39;s suggestion as well?

Even if the tickets you%26#39;ve booked are at horrible times at least you%26#39;ve got them and perhaps you can get to Woods Hole earlier and try and get in a stand-by line. If that doesn%26#39;t work then at least you do have tickets.

Personally, I much prefer the Cape and am quite happy to do a day trip to the islands from time to time. Without a car!! Lots of info on this forum about the Cape, maybe give it a try this time.

I live on MV and your booking is not late. Maybe you just want to get to the island on certain day and the certain time.

IF I were you, I would try this.

1.Change your booking hour to totally different time whenever available for the date you want to travel. Normally earlist is always available.

2, Then show up at least 2-4 hours early to the parking area. It is really the first come-first served. If you show up around 6-7pm and still want to get on the ferry as a stand-by, no chance.

3. Leave your car overnight in the nearby carpark and rebook your ferry ticket for the next morning. And, there is a taxi-van service either from Oak Bluffs or Vineyard Haven. If you are walk-up passenger the ticket can be purchased at $6 each way. And one of you should return to bring your car back the next morning.

4. I think if you can follow no.2 I said here, you will be likely to be on the ferry on the same night most likely.

Good luck and don%26#39;t panic:)

I forgot to mention that you can book the ticket for other dates and still show up early and follow no. 2 as I wrote above.

You CANNOT use someone else%26#39;s ticket on the date you are traveling as it has something to do with the security reason too.

If it were you alone or you %26amp; your husband, I%26#39;d say ';oh what the hey.'; But since I now know from your other post that you%26#39;ll be traveling with a 1--year-old, I think the stand-by routine or arriving at the dock hours early has the potential for being a nightmare... or at least for getting your vacation off to a lousy start :-(

scmom,

I had friends come over to the island last summer, the last week in July. They drove from Ohio and did not have ferry tickets. I told them to not sweat it. You can book your ticket up to an hour prior to departure. It was a Saturday, they got what they wanted. What wasn%26#39;t available three weeks prior, was suddenly available! To return, they booked a terrible time. It was all that was left. On the day of departure (another Saturday), they continued to phone, speaking with the reservation office and finally something opened up and they got the time they wanted. I would say, don%26#39;t stress, it will work out. Book the house you want, go on the wait list and phone frequently and politely to find the time you need. People cancel and the Steamship always leaves slots open. They have to for emergencies. Stand-by during the summer was eliminated a few years ago.

Worst case senario, pack an necessity bag, leave your husband with the car to bring over later, take the baby and forge ahead on the ferry, take a taxi to the rental and relax in comfort. Remember, it%26#39;s vacation and it%26#39;s time to relax, not stress. Enjoy!

If the homeowner has what is called a ';transferable ticket';, you can use it. However all transfer requests have to be in by May 1, which has passed.