6319 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

Coming this way, right now the 9pm is the first one with space.  And they have added a 10pm.  That's probably looking pretty hectic in the terminals.

[Bingo]

Folks got on the 8 am sailing out of Swartz Bay today without a reservation, because they watched the weather forecast. The high winds WERE predicted.

[LJ]

We were booked on the Coho this morning. I called at 0730 and asked if the 10:30 sailing would be impacted by the winds. Guy says oh no it will be fine. Got on the boat and left on time, flat seas all the way to Port Angeles. I'm glad we decided to go that way this time, otherwise would have been scrambling to change a bunch of reservations.

Go Coho.

[sebberry]

It helps that the Coho route had some of the calmest weather around this morning

 

[Coreyburger]

Coho also has two sheltered anchorages, as they go from historic harbour to constructed breakwater

[VicHockeyFan]

Coho also has two sheltered anchorages, as they go from historic harbour to constructed breakwater

 

[rjag]

Wife rolled up to the 10 sailing yesterday at 09:55 and they wouldnt let her board as they said the ticket sales were cutoff....meanwhile everyone knew this was the last sailing and it was only 70% capacity....so she went to the new mall for a while but used her Assured Card to get on the 3 as it was packed. Pretty crazy day yesterday. not the worst but the fact it was compounded being the end of a long weekend didnt help

 

Assured cards are way better than paying for reservations especially in situations like this as you can get on the first available boat guaranteed.

Edited by rjag, 14 November 2017 - 09:23 AM.

[Mike K.]

Last sailing as in before the cancellations, or of the night?

 

I think I get your timings but you mean 10AM and not the added 10PM, right?

[rjag]

Last sailing as in before the cancellations, or of the night?

 

I think I get your timings but you mean 10AM and not the added 10PM, right?

 

Hehe, yup the 10AM sailing, missed by minutes. She got the 3pm sailing which didnt leave until 3:30 due to the winds

[shoeflack]

Assured cards are way better than paying for reservations especially in situations like this as you can get on the first available boat guaranteed.

 

Definitely better than a reservation, but the premium on them is nothing to sneeze at.

 

$21 for a same-day reservation (not that it would help on a busy sailing day where reservations have been sold out for a week) versus an $80 surcharge to use the ALT.

 

Using an ALT is a 100% markup...$155 for a car and driver.

 

But man...those things are amazing. Love having them at the office. Nothing beats driving up to a three sailing wait with no reservation 20 minutes before the boat leaves with one of those in your pocket and getting on the next sailing.

[rjag]

Yup, i have used them for years. The price is nothing to sneeze at but the way I look at it, I havent paid for a reservation in the years that they have been available. I share the card with my wife and kids and between us we prob take 10 -15 round trips a year. Drive up and ask the booth if we have to use it or not and 9 x out of 10 we dont have to use it. Yesterday she had to use it. 

 

So a book of 10 is currently $1550, but you roll over the unused expired ones and that applies as a credit. Last week I rolled over 6 at $145 each so that was a $870 credit and had to pay for 4 at $150 plus the difference in the new rate. At a $17 reservation fee each way times 20 round trips we 'saved' $680 which offsets the premium because we only used the card maybe 4-5 times in 2 years

[shoeflack]

Definitely a fair assessment. I just love them because it's always so hard to predict what sailings are going to be full, and having meetings and whatnot on the mainland, you just never know what sailing you're going to be able to make anyways. Besides, I've rolled up to sailings at times that should be crazy busy and gotten right on no problem with no rez, where other times it's been a random time of day that usually is a 60% sailing and it's suddenly full so out comes the ATL. I've booked too many reservations in the past that I didn't end up needing. ALT is definitely my M.O. now.

 

They are a godsend.

[VicHockeyFan]

^^ that's TMM for this thread.

 

Too Much Math.

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 14 November 2017 - 10:43 AM.

[rjag]

^^ that's TMM for this thread.

 

Too Much Math.

 

hehe its pretty simple if you look at the fact that if you dont have to pay for a reservation ever again and you take the ferry 5-6 times a year it pays for itself because you may only have to use the card once or twice 

[VicHockeyFan]

Joe Perkins on CFAX said that the Clipper did not leave Seattle yesterday, they bused to Port Angeles.

[Mike K.]

Yeah, let Blackball clean up the vomit, I guess

[tjv]

BCF is hiring 18 casuals for their call centre. $23 something an hour.

I think it's pretty easy to see why it costs $75 for a car and driver to Vancouver.  I bet BC Ferries must do a high five every time they realize they have no competition

[Mike K.]

...or that travellers on routes 1 and 2 don't seem to mind the fact that they're subsidizing wealthy retirees who pay a fraction of what they ought to to sail to and from their gated community (islands).

[shoeflack]

I think it's pretty easy to see why it costs $75 for a car and driver to Vancouver.  I bet BC Ferries must do a high five every time they realize they have no competition

 

I think BC Ferries would love to be able to pay their front line staff less. Unfortunately for them, however, they have one of the stronger unions in the province to deal with in the BCFMWU.

 

Besides, when the core of your workforce lives in Metro Vancouver and the CRD, $23/hr ain't much.

[FirstTimeHomeCrier]

I think it's pretty easy to see why it costs $75 for a car and driver to Vancouver.  I bet BC Ferries must do a high five every time they realize they have no competition

 

They wouldn't have to pay their front-of-line staff so much or hire so many of them if there weren't so many grumpy old f***ers calling in to complain all the time.