Reservations about BC Ferries
By wselent on August 21, 2006 - 10:19pm
It was a sunny weekend and my wife and I went to Saltspring Island. We left on Friday and returned on Sunday. On sunny summer weekends you expect line-ups at BC Ferries. But having to wait hours on "stand-by" while others who have reservations and arrive after
you but get on makes the waiting more aggravating. Not good for those of us who want to make semi-spontaneous decisions on when we plan to go. By the time we decided to go the reservations were already sold out. I assumed there may still be a chance for us to get on without a reservation if we got there in advance. Apparently BC Ferries allows up to 100% of the spaces available to be reserved on their routes. If they had that information clearly stated on their website we at least would be better informed on our chances.
I guess most regulars going to the gulf islands know enough to pay the extra $15 to reserve a spot. But fair weather travellers like ourselves and a few people from Alberta who couldn't predict when they would arrive were stuck waiting in stand-by purgatory.
After a few hours waiting we made it onto the pokey ferry run that stops at some other islands first before reaching Long Harbour on Saltspring. Once we arrived we had a fine time on the island. Returning back we decided to come via Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island. BC Ferries has limited runs at awkward times coming back from Long Harbour and talking to someone who travels to/from Saltspring often the rumour is that BC Ferries deliberately is giving poor service to make the case that it can shut down that route.
So we returned via Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island. Without reservations it took us 2 hours just to reach the ticket booth. Then another 2 hours of waiting before we got onto a ferry.
I understand that capacity limits cause delays. But watching other people drive by for a few hours while you are parked and waiting in the hot sun is not fun.
