What's going on with the ferry system?

Submitted by chownee t3_1130vas in Washington

I'm going to San Juan Island March 26-31, and I haven't been able to reserve a spot on a ferry because the web site will only take reservations through March 25. It's been like that for the last 2 weeks that I've been trying. Does someone have the inside scoop on how bad the problem is or when I can expect to make a reservation?

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Deep_Seas_QA t1_j8nw7nl wrote

I don’t know if this is correct but I know for San Juan Islands (and some others) they have seasonal schedules and maybe they won’t let you reserve for the next season until the schedule is posted?

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WhatWouldTNGPicardDo t1_j8o20zo wrote

It's my understanding the Summer schedule isn't set yet for some routes, they are waiting to see how many ferries and crew they have before they announce the updated summer schedule which is rumored to be like 60% of the trips in 2022 due to lack of boats/crew.

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1dad1kid t1_j8q2zp5 wrote

The spring season hasn't been made available yet d/t technical issues. They tend to only allow reservations for the next season about 2 months beforehand, but it's been held up

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doktorhladnjak t1_j8pxf5p wrote

It has nothing to do with the schedules. It’s some sort of IT problem.

There’s an alert for it on the ferries site: https://wsdot.com/ferries/schedule/bulletin.aspx

> [Last Updated: Thursday, February 02, 2023 12:09 PM]

> REMINDER: Spring Vehicle Reservation Release Postponed

> The release of vehicle reservations for the Anacortes/San Juan Islands and Port Townsend Coupeville routes for travel between March 26 to June 17 remains postponed. IT staff are still working to address a technical issue with the online reservation system, and we will continue to provide updates as they become available.

> We understand the inconvenience this may cause and are working diligently to resolve the issue and provide an improved customer experience when the release is rescheduled. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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Stabbymcappleton t1_j8pm1of wrote

The cost of living within commuting distance of a Ferry Terminal is absolutely insane. The salary WSDOT pays ferry crews is abysmal. The crews also are required to have TWIC cards and a shitload of other training and certification which pretty much makes them eligible for maritime jobs paying 10x what WSDOT can pay.
The end result is that the ferry system isn’t sufficiently staffed. Also, would you like to stand in the freezing cold, pissing rain at 3am?

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Treesnthings_ t1_j8nm9tl wrote

It’s been like that for months. I’m curious as well.

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1dad1kid t1_j8q35q4 wrote

Usually it's avail 2 mos prior to the next season, but as /u/doktorhladnjak shared it has been delayed due to technical issues. They haven't given an estimate as to when it will open up.

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tsheehan82 t1_j8n9sqb wrote

ive never made a reservation in my life, the ferries run every 30 minutes

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dalethedogg t1_j8ntvnw wrote

It’s closer to every 2 hours with some gaps closer to 4 hours.

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