WSDOT

Washington State Ferries is operating on alternate schedules on most routes until further notice. These changes will help offer more predictable and reliable service systemwide in the face of crewing shortages due to a global shortage of mariners that has been worsened by the pandemic. WSF will attempt to add service when possible, and will provide notifications when full service can temporarily be restored to a route.

For Thursday, Dec. 2, the following routes are operating on their alternate schedules:

• The Seattle/Bremerton route remains on one-boat service until further notice. The Chimacum is currently operating only the #2 sailings on the route’s schedule.  
• Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth: Daily two-boat schedule instead of three.

For Thursday, Dec. 2, the following routes are operating on their fall schedules:

• Anacortes/San Juan Islands: Reservations remain suspended until further notice. 
• Mukilteo/Clinton
• Seattle / Bainbridge Island Schedule 
• Edmonds / Kingston

The schedule page online shows the currently active schedules in the top section, and the inactive schedules are below.  Please note that the active schedules may change daily if service can be restored, so please be sure to monitor email alerts and check the Travel Alert Bulletins page for updates. 

Reservations for San Juan Islands Route

New reservations for travel in the San Juan Islands are unavailable until further notice.  Existing reservation holders will be loaded on a first-come, first served basis but will be prioritized over vehicles without an existing reservation.  Those passengers who need to travel standby without a reservation may encounter delays and should get to the terminal early.

Customers who choose not to travel during this time will not incur a no-show fee. 

We will continue to provide updates as they become available. Thank you for your patience and understanding while we work to provide reliable service during this challenging time.

The 8:25 a.m. sailing from Point Defiance and the 8:50 a.m. sailing from Tahlequah are cancelled due to a crewing shortage. Updates will be provided when more details become available.

The 6:20 a.m. sailing from Anacortes will be delayed at least 45 minutes due to a crewing shortage. Due to the schedule delay, the #3 Samish will go to Lopez only and return. The next available sailing from Anacortes to Friday Harbor will depart at 8:30 a.m. The 8:05 a.m. sailing from Friday Harbor is cancelled. The next departure from FH is scheduled to depart at 9:55 a.m. for Lopez and Anacortes.

The #2 vessel Puyallup will resume service with the 7:05 a.m. departure from Bainbridge following earlier cancellations due to a crewing shortage. The Puyallup will join the #1 vessel Tacoma providing two-boat service on the route.

Tidal currents will cancel one or more sailings from Port Townsend and Coupeville in December.  Please see our Tidal Cancellations table for a complete list of affected dates and departures.

On Thursday, December 2, due to tidal currents, the 5:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. sailings from Port Townsend and the 6:00  p.m. and 7:30 p.m. sailings from Coupeville are cancelled. Your alternate routes are Edmonds/Kingston and Mukilteo/Clinton.

We are postponing this week’s two-month advance release of vehicle reservations for our winter season as we continue to temporarily operate alternate service on most routes. New reservations for our Anacortes/San Juan Islands sailings are suspended until further notice. We continue to take new reservations on our Port Townsend/Coupeville route for travel through Jan. 1, 2022. We hope to announce in the coming weeks when reservations will be available for sailings on Jan. 2 and beyond.

The Anacortes/San Juan Islands route has returned to four-boat service and is operating on its usual Fall Schedule. Customers are encouraged to check the four-boat “Anacortes/San Juan Islands” sailing schedule.

Reservations will remain suspended on the route temporarily. WSF will continue closely monitoring service and crewing availability during the coming weeks and will reinstate reservations once stable and reliable service on the Fall Schedule can be maintained. Existing reservation holders will be prioritized on a first-come, first-served basis. Customers with reservations prior to switching to the alternate service schedule are encouraged to travel at their original departure time. Customers can also travel without a reservation and are encouraged to arrive 60-90 minutes early to their departing terminal.

While WSF is unable to extend the 90-day period for tickets and travel passes at this time, customers who are unable to use tickets or travel passes because of  the Alternate Service Plan may be eligible for a refund for the unused portion of their fare. All refund requests can be submitted online and need to be requested before the expiration date on the pass. Please note that it may take longer than the typical 2-3 weeks to process your request due to higher volumes.

Customers with monthly ReValue passes who have curtailed their travel should also cancel their account to avoid future payments. Multi-ride ReValue pass users should suspend their accounts to stop payments and reactivate their account when they resume travel. Any remaining rides on either pass are still valid through the expiration date after cancelling or suspending the account.

During this time, no-show fees will also be waived on the Anacortes/San Juan Islands and Port Townsend/Coupeville reservation routes until further notice. If you are unable to travel using your reservation or have to cancel your reservation at the last minute, you will not be charged a no-show fee. Please contact us if you received a no-show fee in error. And while no-show fees will automatically be waived, we ask that you please continue to cancel reservations online or by phone at 206-464-6400 if you know that you will not be traveling. This helps WSF plan for and respond to ridership needs.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this challenging time.

Face masks are now required only in indoor areas of our terminals and vessels for all riders and employees in compliance with the latest CDC guidelines. All customers inside terminals or vessels should continue to wear face coverings. However, passengers can remove their masks while outdoors on the sun deck, car deck areas of the vessel, outside waiting areas at terminals and other outdoor locations. Please remember to mask up upon reentering interior areas of boats and terminals.

Beginning on Monday, Oct. 11, a contractor for the City of Edmonds has been using one of the terminal holding lanes on State Route 104/Edmonds Way from 6 a.m. Mondays through 4:30 p.m. Thursdays for several months. Both approach lanes will be open for ferry travelers Thursday evenings through Sunday and holidays. We appreciate your support while the City of Edmonds conducts important sewer work. We will keep you informed as this continues.

All customers on the 9:30 p.m. sailing from Southworth to Fauntleroy will switch to a different vessel when they arrive in Vashon Island Friday evenings.

• Walk-on passengers will exit the vessel they arrived on and briefly wait at the Vashon terminal before re-boarding their new vessel.
• Passengers driving aboard will be directed off the boat by terminal staff and repositioned before boarding the new boat.

Once aboard, crews will then load all Fauntleroy-bound Vashon passengers before departing to West Seattle.

This adjustment allows crews more time to perform needed maintenance for the three boats assigned to the route to better avoid service disruptions.

We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience while we work to maintain our fleet.

WSF will delay the resumption of service to Sidney, British Columbia until 2022 due to the uncertainty of the reopening of the maritime border between the United States and Canada, along with continued significant crewing and vessel availability challenges.

Adding international service at this time would further stress already strained domestic service that’s affecting Washingtonians still navigating post-COVID travel.

We look forward to taking customers to the Canadian Islands again as soon as we are able.

The passenger elevator on the M/V Yakima is temporarily out of service for maintenance and repairs. The Yakima is currently running as the #2 vessel on the  Anacortes/SJs  route. Updates on a repair status will be provided when more information becomes available. We apologize for the inconvenience.

The Bremerton women's ADA restroom stall located in the terminal upstairs, is out of service until further notice. Updates will occur as more information becomes available.

Due to needed increased security, Metro Parks Tacoma has begun locking the gate to the Point Defiance Marina Lot nightly at 10:00 p.m.

Customers traveling on the 10:00 p.m. sailing from Tahlequah to Point Defiance will still be able to exit the parking lot with their vehicle after arriving. However, customers sailing on the 10:55 p.m. sailing from Tahlequah will not be able to exit the parking lot when they get to Point Defiance. If customers need access to their vehicle after the 10:00 p.m. sailing, they can park their vehicle at the Tahlequah lot.