Website issues for Steamship Authority cause headaches for those making reservations

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, Mass. — People wanting to make summer plans to Martha’s Vineyard were met with frustration Tuesday morning when online reservations, which were set to open at 5 a.m., were unable to be made due to site problems that left people waiting for hours.

Eventually, after more than 7 hours, some people were able to make their reservations while others were left trying all day.

“I am frustrated,” said Christine Kazlauskas of Bridgewater. “I’m frustrated like every other person.”

Jonas and Christine Kazlauskas were up since 4:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, prepared to make their summer ferry reservations to Martha’s Vineyard. Instead, they were met with a travel advisory on the Steamship Authority’s home page stating they were experiencing, “unexpected issues.”

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“I’m chained to the computer, basically,” Jonas said.

Around 7 a.m. Tuesday morning, Steamship Authority tweeted the following:

The Steamship Authority's website is currently unavailable. All reservation activity is on hold until 9 a.m. EST. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide an update prior to 9 a.m.
— Steamship Authority (@SteamshipMA) January 21, 2020

“Literally, it takes all day to get these reservations done,” Christine said.

Jonas and Christine were anxiously ready to try again around noon after the Steamship Authority tweeted out that the reservations site would be ready near midday.

8:30 A.M. UPDATE: We will reopen the website for summer reservations on the Martha's Vineyard route at NOON today, Jan. 21, 2020. We thank customers for their patience.
— Steamship Authority (@SteamshipMA) January 21, 2020

“We spent thousands of dollars on a certain week in the summertime and now it’s our chore to get our cars over there,” Jonas said. “So this is where we’re stuck right now.”

But, shortly after noon, Steamship Authority tweeted that site issues were continuing.

Unfortunately, the reservation system is still not functioning properly. Our team is working diligently to resolve the issue. As soon as we are able to open up the reservations, will send out another update.
— Steamship Authority (@SteamshipMA) January 21, 2020

Another viewer told a Boston 25 News reporter that he was finally able to make a reservation for August around 12:45 p.m. after getting kicked off seven times. For Jonas and Christine, it took them until 2:30 p.m. for their reservations to be finalized.

A spokesman for the Steamship Authority told Boston 25 News around noon that some people were able to get on and, for others, it took more tries. That spokesman added that they apologized for the problems.

But to add to all of the frustrations of the day, ferry rates went up this season.

3:50 PM: The reservation issues experienced today appear to have been resolved. Summer reservations should now be able to be made. If your preferred date and time is unavailable, book another trip and use our waitlist function for your first choice.
— Steamship Authority (@SteamshipMA) January 21, 2020