Post by Ferryman on Jul 22, 2006 21:32:56 GMT -8
For people who aren't interested in rants, don't bother reading this topic. But sorry, the heat from today has gotten to my head, and I need to vent a bit...
This topic is obviously about the Reservation system with the Ferries. I think it's the biggest scam ever. Why do I say that? Reasons being, based on personal experience:
April 2006- I sat in the lineup just outside of Horseshoe Bay, at the top of the hill for 2 hours (Meters away from the toll booth). I watched the sailing I came to travel on, and the sailing right after that, leave. The sailing I came for was an extra sailing on the Queen of Esquimalt. But like I said, I missed it. After the Cowichan had left for the 5:00pm sailing, the toll booth line started to move again. I eventually made it into the terminal by 6:45, and was parked 5 cars away from the front of the whole lineup. Queen of Oak Bay was in berth for the 7:00pm sailing, and was half loaded already, but the loading paused once I arrived to the spot just a few car lengths away from the Ferry. I thought, "This looks promising, I might actually make the 3rd Ferry that has arrived, since I had arrived. By about 6:55pm, I looked in my rear view, and saw a line of cars going down the lane beside the lane I was in. That row of cars filled the rest of the Ferry, and the Ferry closed its doors and pulled out of the terminal immediately. I swear, a riot almost broke out in front of me, with the people who were even closer to the Ferry. People were getting out of their cars, and yelling every bad word in the dictionary, every which way to all of the terminal attendants. We all had been waiting for the same length of time, and it seemed like people who had just arrived at the terminal, were allowed to board the Ferry just minutes before it left. Talk about good service! Those three sailings were in fact, full of people who had made reservations, without even giving any consideration to the general public who just want to get from Point A, to Point B, as simple as possible, like myself. I eventually was able to board the very last sailing, Queen of Cowichans 9:00pm back to Departure Bay, but jut barely made it too!
Why should I have to pay MORE money than I already have, to guarantee that I will board the Ferry I came to take?
It just doesn't seem right to me somehow. What happened to, "First come, First Serve"...?
The reason why I brought this up, is because my Parents and I plan to take Route 2 to Nanaimo tomorrow. Reservations are closed on 90% of the sailings, and the leftover sailings are at the worst times. I know that just because it's all booked up, doesn't mean there isn't any space left. We just don't want to get stuck in a huge lineup. Route 1 is suprisingly looking like our best bet, but driving all of the way out to Tsawwassen, and then driving from Victoria to Duncan/Ladysmith/Nanaimo area to go camping, is at least another 2 and a half hours of driving or so, compared to just taking Route 2...
I have a feeling it's going to be a long day tomorrow...
This topic is obviously about the Reservation system with the Ferries. I think it's the biggest scam ever. Why do I say that? Reasons being, based on personal experience:
April 2006- I sat in the lineup just outside of Horseshoe Bay, at the top of the hill for 2 hours (Meters away from the toll booth). I watched the sailing I came to travel on, and the sailing right after that, leave. The sailing I came for was an extra sailing on the Queen of Esquimalt. But like I said, I missed it. After the Cowichan had left for the 5:00pm sailing, the toll booth line started to move again. I eventually made it into the terminal by 6:45, and was parked 5 cars away from the front of the whole lineup. Queen of Oak Bay was in berth for the 7:00pm sailing, and was half loaded already, but the loading paused once I arrived to the spot just a few car lengths away from the Ferry. I thought, "This looks promising, I might actually make the 3rd Ferry that has arrived, since I had arrived. By about 6:55pm, I looked in my rear view, and saw a line of cars going down the lane beside the lane I was in. That row of cars filled the rest of the Ferry, and the Ferry closed its doors and pulled out of the terminal immediately. I swear, a riot almost broke out in front of me, with the people who were even closer to the Ferry. People were getting out of their cars, and yelling every bad word in the dictionary, every which way to all of the terminal attendants. We all had been waiting for the same length of time, and it seemed like people who had just arrived at the terminal, were allowed to board the Ferry just minutes before it left. Talk about good service! Those three sailings were in fact, full of people who had made reservations, without even giving any consideration to the general public who just want to get from Point A, to Point B, as simple as possible, like myself. I eventually was able to board the very last sailing, Queen of Cowichans 9:00pm back to Departure Bay, but jut barely made it too!
Why should I have to pay MORE money than I already have, to guarantee that I will board the Ferry I came to take?
It just doesn't seem right to me somehow. What happened to, "First come, First Serve"...?
The reason why I brought this up, is because my Parents and I plan to take Route 2 to Nanaimo tomorrow. Reservations are closed on 90% of the sailings, and the leftover sailings are at the worst times. I know that just because it's all booked up, doesn't mean there isn't any space left. We just don't want to get stuck in a huge lineup. Route 1 is suprisingly looking like our best bet, but driving all of the way out to Tsawwassen, and then driving from Victoria to Duncan/Ladysmith/Nanaimo area to go camping, is at least another 2 and a half hours of driving or so, compared to just taking Route 2...
I have a feeling it's going to be a long day tomorrow...
