Travel Steamship Authority opens 2025 Nantucket ferry reservations Martha’s Vineyard reservations open Feb. 4. A Steamship Authority ferry pulled out of dock on Nantucket. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
The Steamship Authority, the largest ferry service to the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, opened summer reservations to Nantucket on Tuesday.
Travelers can make Nantucket vehicle reservations between Jan. 28 and Feb. 3 for travel between May 13 and Oct. 21. Martha’s Vineyard vehicle reservations will open Feb. 4 at 8 a.m.
Extra technical support was available on the Steamship Authority website on Tuesday morning, according to the company, which has faced technical issues on opening day over the past few years and a two-week delay over technical difficulties last year.
“To ensure the most performative and error-free experience for the traveling public during the 2025 reservation openings, the Authority’s IT Department and external vendors have been conducting increasingly demanding load tests in preparation for the upcoming reservation opening period,” wrote the Steamship Authority, in a statement. “The results of those tests show the website is capable of processing more than the peak number of reservations per minute experienced in 2024.”
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Customers were managed through a virtual waiting room where they could see both their place in line and wait time and didn’t need to refresh their browser. Going into the queue before 8 a.m. would not improve anyone’s place in line, officials noted. Everyone in the queue at 8 a.m. were randomly assigned a number and then newcomers were lined up in the order that they arrived.
When the virtual waiting room opened at 8 a.m., this reporter was 1,868th in line. There were 1,819 people ahead of me and I was informed that I had an 18 minute wait. However, the wait time was reduced fairly quickly and I was able to begin booking by 8:10 a.m., after 10 minutes. (Last year, the Nantucket Current entered the virtual waiting room at 8 a.m. and was 8,395th in line with “more than an hour” wait and the average wait time peaked just before 10:30 a.m. at about 2 hours and 20 minutes).
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Users took to the Steamship Authority’s Facebook page to comment about their experiences on Tuesday morning.
“I got my reservations today and all was quick and easy! Great job with such a busy morning!” wrote customer Sarah on the Steamship Authority’s Facebook page.
“Smooth sailing with tickets this morning! even at #4281 I was done by 8:25,” wrote customer Kristen.
“Thank you much, much better this am!” wrote customer Gina.
The Steamship Authority also began processing Nantucket route reservations made by mail on Tuesday in the order that they were received.
Summer vehicle reservations cannot be made by phone during the opening period. However, the reservation office is available to customers daily from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. to assist with login credentials such as passwords or PINs. The reservation line is 508-477-8600.
Reservations to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard may be made by phone or in-person beginning on Feb. 11.
Last year, the Authority processed 7,800 transactions by 3 p.m. on opening day and reported more than $4.2 million in revenue.
Kristi Palma Culture writer Kristi Palma is a culture writer for Boston.com, focusing on New England travel. She covers airlines, hotels, and things to do across Boston and New England. She is the author of Scenic Six, a weekly travel newsletter.
Steamship Authority opens 2025 Nantucket ferry reservations
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