Snafu-fraught first day for new Statue of Liberty ferries (Day 1 for Hornblower)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.newyorkology.com/archives/2008/01/snafufraught_fi_1.php


On New Year's Day, the Provincetown II pulled to the Battery Park dock with plenty of time to make its 9 a.m. maiden voyage to the Statue of Liberty -- marking the end of Circle Line's half-century monopoly on the ferry service.

But not all went perfectly well on Day 1 for Hornblower Cruises, doing business here as Statue Cruises.



There was an exploding coffee pot, flooded bathrooms, and severe ticketing problems that scuttled the 9 a.m. departure, making the maiden voyage more than half an hour late.

Provincetown II docked at Liberty Island close to 10 a.m., as it was held in Manhattan awaiting the passengers with 9 a.m. reserved tickets who were stuck in the will-call line. As the potential passengers waited in the rain, it took five to 10 minutes to help each customer in the will-call line -- all people with printed confirmation numbers. (The regular lines barely moved either.)

A ferry company representative walked along the will-call line and apologized and said things aren't "normally" like this. She also reminded them they should have printed their tickets at home: "Naughty, naughty" she chided. To which two separate groups immediately replied that their ticket PDF file came up empty, an e-mail to Statue Cruises bounced as undeliverable, and then finally a phone call elicited the response that the company was having problems with AOL (although the customer wasn't using AOL.) Another will-call user said the website did not give him an option to opt-out of the audio guide purchase along with the tickets.

As the new exclusive ferry operator to Liberty and Ellis island, Statue Cruises is under contract with the National Park Service to buy all the old Circle Line ferry boats. But the two companies haven't yet agreed on a price so Statue Cruises' current fleet includes Provincetown II ("Boston Harbor's largest cruise ship with room for groups of 100 to 1100 passengers" according to the Bay State Cruise Company website,) the John James Audubon, Bay State and the Nelseco. Originally they were supposed to start service October 1 but was pushed back to January 1 amid fears there would be no boats available and the islands would have to close.

FULL story at link above.

http://www.alcatrazunion.com/