Wait List
Vehicle Reservation Wait List and Standby Information
Wait List Information
If you can’t get your preferred date or trip time for your upcoming ferry reservation, you can book your trip and opt to be wait listed for another travel time or date. Here is how it works:
Our vehicle reservation wait list uses a computerized search for space based on cancellations or changes. Requests are honored on a first-come, first-served basis, and changes are updated automatically. The wait list system continues to check for availability up until the date you want to travel. If your plans change, it is important to cancel your wait list request to avoid any unwanted changes or charges.
When you sign up for a wait list reservation, you will receive a wait list confirmation with the dates and times you have requested. Please check this information carefully for accuracy.
If your wait list reservation time becomes available more than one week in advance of your trip, we will notify you by either email or mail based on your preference made at the time of your reservation. Wait list reservation matches made less than a week from your travel date will be confirmed by email and telephone. Wait list reservation updates can also be viewed online; log in to your Steamship Authority account to view your upcoming trips and wait list status.
Wait list matches (either one-way or round-trip) are subject to all cancellation and change policies. If you have requested a wait list reservation, you should check your final reservation online or by phone 24 hours ahead of your travel date in case we have been unable to reach you to confirm your changes.
If you need assistance with your wait list, please call our Reservation Office at (508) 477-8600 between 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. One of our friendly reservation agents will be happy to help you!
Standby Information
The Steamship Authority accepts vehicles for standby travel on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note, that standby travel is not guaranteed.
Standby to Martha's Vineyard
On days that customers can travel on a standby basis, standby vehicles are generally boarded onto vessels after vehicles with reservations, as long as space is available, in the order of their arrival and check-in at the terminal. Exceptions are made for customers with disabilities who need to travel with their vehicles, emergency situations, disruptions in service and other unusual circumstances. Standby vehicles that are not transported by the end of the day are required to leave our property when the terminal closes for the night, and they are not given any priority for boarding the following day.
| Reservation Only Periods | ||
|---|---|---|
| From Date | To Date | Period |
On dates that do not require vehicle reservations, standby travel is available between Woods Hole and Martha's Vineyard, however space is not guaranteed.
Standby to Nantucket/Hyannis
Standby vehicles are accepted year-round for travel between Hyannis and Nantucket, though space is limited. If you desire to travel on a standby basis from Hyannis, you are required to go in person to the terminal and place your name on the standby list. If you want to travel on a standby basis from Nantucket, you may either call or go in person to the terminal to place your name on the list. At that time, you must provide all pertinent information about your vehicle.
Your name will be added to our standby list. You will receive a standby slip with your standby number and date. This standby slip contains a telephone number and website link where you can access the terminals current vehicle standby status as well as the date and time that you should be at the terminal.
Once you have a paid ticket and receive your standby slip:
Nantucket Terminal:
Unless you are informed that you should remain at the terminal for possible travel on the next scheduled trip, you must depart with your vehicle from the Nantucket Terminal. (No spaces are available to accommodate standby vehicles at that terminal, and therefore there is no physical vehicle standby line there.) You must regularly check our website at www.steamshipauthority.com/traveling_today/standby and/or call the telephone number on your standby slip to find out what time you must return to the terminal for possible travel on a standby basis. It is your responsibility to return to the terminal at the appropriate time, and your failure to do so will result in forfeiting your place and being dropped from the standby list.
Hyannis Terminal:
If the terminal is able to accommodate the parking of standby vehicles, you may leave your vehicle at the terminal. Otherwise, you must depart with your vehicle from the terminal instead of waiting there for the next available trip. You must regularly check our website at www.steamshipauthority.com/traveling_today/standby and/or call the telephone number on your standby slip to find out what time you must return to the terminal, potentially to travel on a standby basis. It is your responsibility to return to the terminal at the appropriate time, and your failure to do so will result in forfeiting your place and being dropped from the standby list.
Customers who are required to return to the terminal at a particular time are not guaranteed travel on the next scheduled trip, as we generally will require more standby customers to return to the terminal than can be accommodated on the next trip. Vehicles traveling on a standby basis are generally boarded onto vessels after vehicles with reservations, as long as space is available, in the order that they have been placed on the standby list. Exceptions are made for customers with disabilities who need to travel with their vehicles, emergency situations, disruptions in service and other unusual circumstances.