Ferry riders reserving spots to San Juan Islands

Passengers looking to secure a spot aboard Washington State Ferries vessels in 2015 are sailing to success using WSF’s new vehicle reservation program, launched earlier this year.

Between Jan. 5 and Feb. 22, about half of all drivers departing from Anacortes, Friday Harbor and Orcas Island took the guesswork out of the equation by traveling with a reservation. The numbers swelled during Presidents’ Day weekend, with 75 percent of San Juan Islands-bound travelers reserving their space in advance.

“Customers with reservations experienced much shorter wait times traveling to the San Juans during Presidents’ Day weekend this year than in previous years,” said WSF Vehicle Reservations Program Manager Brian Churchwell. “Reserving a spot in advance not only guarantees a space on the ferry, it will help reduce wait times during our busy spring and summer sailing seasons.”

WSF is making 90 percent of every sailing to the islands available for vehicle reservations. Reservations are released in three, 30 percent tiers to help meet both the needs of customers planning far in advance and those making travel plans closer to their sailing date. Some unreserved space is set aside for emergency vehicles, customers with medical priority loading, and standby customers. Reservations can be made up to three hours before the published sailing time.

“We’ve seen a remarkable level of customer participation during these first few weeks,” said Assistant Secretary Lynne Griffith. “I want to thank our customers for doing their part by helping us better utilize the limited sailings to and from the San Juan Islands.”

There is no fee to make a reservation; however, customers may be charged a no-show fee if a trip on the reserved sailing or anytime within the same service day from the same terminal is not taken. Travelers have the option to cancel a reservation until 5 p.m. the day before the sailing without penalty. For more information, please visit WSF’s San Juan Islands vehicle reservations informational website.

Customers can book a vehicle reservation online or by calling 1-888-808-7977 between 4 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., seven days a week.