Yup, that's our January tradition of opening up to summer reservations for both Nantucke and Martha’s Vineyard, our big opening days for the summer season.
— Sean Driscoll, Communications Director, Steamship Authority
Island Ferries Suggest Solid Season Ahead
The annual kick off summer ferry bookings began - summer can't be far behind, can it?
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13 February 2026 – HYANNIS, MA – Even in the deep of winter, small flickers of the summer season remind us spring is on its way – including the annual opening of summer ferry reservations.
On January 27 and February 3, the Steamship Authority opened summer reservations to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, respectively – and first day results suggest a strong but level summer season ahead.
“Yup, that’s our January tradition of opening up to summer reservations for both Nantucke and Martha’s Vineyard, our big opening days for the summer season,” said Sean Driscoll, Communications Director of the Steamship Authority.
How many reservations did the Authority book?
On the summer-in-January kick off day, the Authority processed 6,747 Nantucket reservation transactions representing more than $4.1 million in revenue, which represents a slight drop of 7% from 2025.
On its February Martha’s Vineyard kickoff day, it processed 23,014 reservation transactions representing nearly $7.3 million revenue, which was virtually identical to 2025 numbers.
These figures suggest a level but solid summer season ahead and confirm last year’s return to pre-COVID trends.
Did the ferry keep running over the winter?
The Steamship Authority, a quasi public agency, runs ferries to and from the Islands year round, representing a vital link for people who live and work there. Despite the snow and cold, this winter has seen few stoppages – Driscoll says winter’s powerful wind usually lie behind winter delays, and cancellations and so far this winter winds have been relatively mild despite the cold and snow.
As part of its public role, it also enables summer reservations for transport trucks and year round residents to happen in advance of the full summer opening day. This ensures grocery stores have food shipments booked, for example, and
Does the ferry still have reservations?
As expected, by the end of the summer launch day, most summer weekends as well as peak holidays like the Fourth of July have been booked for car travel at prime times. However reservations remains mid-week and in less peak travel house.
What is the new reservation system?
This year also represents the last year on the current reservation system. Publicity about the new system and initial deployment may be underway, but Driscoll points out that the changeover won’t be happening during the peak season. Repeat, the reservation system won’t be changing for summer 2026.
“We’ll be doing a lot of behinds the scene work over the summer,” said Driscoll, “but nothing that is going to debut until the fall at the earliest.”
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