The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry

The ferry is fine in that it gets you across the Long Island Sound without hitting an iceberg or sinking, which is the bare minimum you would expect from a ferry company. But the reservations system is maddeningly awful. Actually when I say «reservation system» I am grossly overstating its abilities, since it is unable to (a) make reservations and (b) is not a system. The website doesn’t allow you to make reservations and when you call the reservations center you get put on hold and then kicked off after waiting 45 minutes or longer. Once you’re actually able get a reservationist on the line they’re perfectly friendly and tremendously apologetic because they realize what a hideous mess they’re representing. My suggestion: If you’re able to drive instead of taking the ferry, you’ll wear down your tires a bit more but your nerves will be the happier for it.

Special thanks to Rick R. and Daniel P. for helping me change my tickets this morning. They were extremely professional and helpful. Overall, a great experience on the ferry!

What a pain trying to find the entrance at night. The signs in Bridgeport are off and not correct, I had to take a secret walkway to get to the ferry. My GPS was going wild, make a u turn, you’re in the water, shaddup!
Once onboard, the ship interior is nice. I recommend playing cards if your traveling with a group to make the time pass at night.
We don’t do this in Port Jefferson to travelers, fix the damn signs!

This past week I had to opportunity to travel to Port Jefferson and spend a couple days on Long Island. I have never been to Bridgeport before or taken the ferry over to Port Jeff. Being a single woman and reading all the reviews on Bridgeport I was a bit leery to travel from the parking garages to the ferry. I parked in the Imperial /​Holiday Inn parking garage and was given instructions on how to get to the ferry by the attendant. It turned out to be a very easy walk about a block-​and-​a-​half to the ferry. Being a walk-​on all you have to do is wait at the sign walk down to the ferry at the right time board the ferry and then you pay on the boat. The ride itself was smooth and easy. You can bring a book magazine or newspaper. You can also use their free Wi-​Fi. They do have elevators but they don’t always have them in use so be prepared to carry your luggage up those stairs. The people are friendly and they will offer to help you out. There is a wonderful snack bar if you need one and the seats are pretty comfortable you can get a table by the window if you’d like. When you get over to Port Jefferson it is lovely. The parking lot is free and right there. Getting on and off the ferry is quite easy. The stairs you board on are the stairs you leave on. Coming back from Long Island and getting off in Bridgeport was easy as well. The walk back to the parking lot was no problem. The extra bonus that I didn’t know about was that you get a discount at the parking garage for taking the ferry, all you need to do is show your receipt! I am writing this review as a woman who do this again in a heartbeat. But I definitely would only do this in the daylight hours. If I had read this review before I went I would have no trepidation. All in all it was a wonderful experience.

This review is for Unilocalers and Unilocal themselves. I just went on this site to get the address because I have to pick up my daughter there Saturday. The ferry company is listed as being in Bridgeport, N.Y.which confused me since I thought it was Connecticut. I believe there is no Bridgeport, N.Y.I called the toll free number and the customer service person Jill told me that the listing was wrong and it should be Bridgeport, Ct. Other than that, I picked her up there a few months ago and waited in the parking lot and had no issues so I was a happy first timer.

My boyfriend and I drove to Bridgeport to catch a ferry to port Jeff. We thought they would have overnight parking but they only provide a same-​day, rocky, narrow lot which fits about 40 cars if that. The on crew person said to park at the imperial lot across the way for overnight parking. We finally found it after driving around and it had a sign saying ferry parking. This lot was the sketchiest lot I have ever been to and did not feel safe leaving my car there but had no other choice since we were on a deadline.
Having no overnight parking is truly a huge mistake. People will not feel comfortable leaving their car in an undesirable lot and will decide to drive to LI instead of the overpriced ticket to port Jeff.
I will always drive from now on that’s for sure…

We took the Ferry from Bridgeport, CT to Port Jefferson, NY (Long Island) in order to visit a friend who recently moved to a nearby town. The trip was mostly good. We parked at the commuter lot (Watch out! Bridgeport signage can be confusing and sometimes obsolete) and took the shuttle over to the departure point (You can walk to and from the commuter lot, but be aware that the walking area is very narrow). We sat out by the water and waited for the Ferry to arrive. It pulled in right about on-​time, and let off all of the car and foot traffic before allowing any new passengers on. We went inside, bought breakfast at the snack bar (pricey but very god), and then went up top to sit in the fresh air. (The other levels are air conditioned/​heated, but the weather was perfect to sit outside.) The ride over was very pleasant — the only downside was the thrum of the engines can be jarring or even deafening in the wrong place, but you can usually move a dozen feet to your right or left to alleviate it.
We arrived in New York on-​time and we hit the only major problem of the trip — direction from the crew. The crew really assumes that you already know where to go and how. We crossed the ship half a dozen times trying to figure out where the foot traffic leaves the boat. It is unmarked and not obvious. We asked the crew but they rolled eyes and pointed vaguely toward one end of the boat. Eventually we followed «Zen Navigation» (thanks, Dirk Gently!) and just followed someone else who seemed to know where they were going. The exit was at the foot of one of the stairwells and was easy once a crew member showed up to let us out.
Please be aware ticketing is a bit counterintuitive, also. You buy a ticket on the ferry when you get there (if you reserved a spot online, you still must check in!), then you just hold onto the ticket until the VERY END of the voyage, when you hand the ticket to a crew member on the way off the boat. DO NOT throw away or lose your ticket during the ride, or you might be asked to pay twice.

Okay I know they are pricey at $ 70 one way for a car, driver and passenger but it beats driving around and through the nightmare NYC bridges and highways. Very organized loading and unloading. Get on board sit back relax and have a little breakfast and enjoy the cruise.

Had the pleasure of sitting at the bar with with bartenders Danny and Tommy. They were so personable and a pleasure to talk to. It made the ride that much better. Great experience. Can’t beat the Ferry!!!

This was a nice way to cross the sound from Conn to Long Island. It is a bright sunny day today. It takes about an hour to cross the sound to port Jeff. A little pricy at $ 72 for car, driver and additional passenger one way.
They have a cocktail lounge on board as well as a snack bar. Neither of which we had but I’ve heard the food isn’t all that good.
Staff was not bad at all. Not overdue friendly but not total tools either. I would use this service again to save myself the long ride around.

— Decent food (but expensive 11 $ for a veggies burger)
— Always on time
— Good staff
— helpful with parking
— When you do not have reservation they try to get you on board
Only con I can think of is.
— No one day return tickets, I think if you are returning the same day there should be a return ticket which should be a little cheaper than paying each way.

Super convenient. Great seating and the bar is a PLUS.
Bathrooms are g r o s s though. It’s too bad and should in much better condition.
5* for convenience
1.5* for bathroom — toilets flush

I arrived 1 hr and ½ early from my reservation time expecting traffic along the way from Boston on the day after Christmas. Staff was very helpful and friendly about the change in reservation. This ferry service always exceeds expectations when compared to the «other guys» from New London-​Orient.

Get here a half hour early because, despite the size of their ships, the car lines fill up fast. Once you park in a lane, the information house features a really nice waiting area and concession stand where you can have a drink if you choose and sit either inside or outside while you watch the ferry pull up. The boat has two levels above the car bay. The lower level has a concession stand, seating area, bar, and ticket booth where you must pick up a ticket. I found the ticket to be a bit steep, costing $ 74 for a driver, a car, and one passenger. The upper level is all outdoors, featuring plenty of seats and standing room to get spectacular views if the long island sound. Overall, a really nice experience and got me to where I needed to go without spending money on gas or adding mileage to my car.

— Reliable
— Clean
— Allows dogs (they provide clean water)
— Fast on/​off
— Beautiful views of FFLD Co.& LI coastline
— Solid snack bar
— Never crowded
— TV
— Bar
— indoor and outdoor seating
Port Jefferson is a great town that attracts plenty of visitors. Easy to walk to beach, kayak rentals, restaurants, spa/​hotel and shops from dock.
Taking the ferry from Bridgeport makes the journey to south & north shore pleasant. Highly recommend.

I’ve taken these ferries to Long Island and back a few times at different times of the year it doesn’t take long for the excitement to wear off these boats are old and staffed by a crew who undoubtedly are bored out of their minds, and who wouldn’t be this isn’t the merchant marines or a discount cruise and it’s no adventure. You park in the bottom of the boat and take metal stairs to the top where there are rows and rows of very uncomfortable seat filled with people with their heads stuck in their laptops and video games or you can go outside and sit on equally uncomfortable benches and smell diesel fuel.
For the price of a one way fare and as many cars that travel back and forth between Bridgeport, CT and Port Jeff, NY one would think they could upgrade these chicken crates every few years. They do have a bar and a snack bar that is always busy serving over priced food that any traveling carnival or county fair wouldn’t dare offer up, it’s awful. I recommend if you must eat bring your own.
Expect to lose cellular service about a quarter of the way out so now it’s time for a quick nap believe me the lady on the mega phone will wake you up when it’s time to march back to your car, the most exciting part of this journey is getting unloaded. Don’t try and figure out the order the cars will disembark there is no logic used. But we bare it over and over to avoid the driving around I prefer to lay the seat back crank the tunes and nap in the car you must go up to validate your reservation or pay for your passengers. They do have a website for reservations good luck it’s dysfunctional as well :-)

I’ve been traveling on the Bridgeport/​Port Jeff Ferry since I was a baby. 27 years later, I still use it when I travel from New England back home to Long Island.
It’s not as cheap as driving the long way around, through the city and along the LIE, but I love the experience of being on the open water and approaching the gorgeous shore of Port Jeff after a long time away from home.
Because it’s pricey ($ 54 each way, plus $ 16 for each additional passenger, which round-​trip is more money than I’d spend on tolls and gas) I don’t use it every time I need to go to the island, but when it’s summertime and I want to relax and reduce the risk of hitting traffic, I’ll gladly take the ferry.
Perk: full bar with reasonably-​priced drinks, the convenience of lounging around instead of stressing out in traffic, and the ferry is always on time (unlike planes and trains).

Drive in traffic — one star.
Ride on ferry and drink beer — five stars.

I’m a frequent ferry rider, and to be honest, $ 18 bucks just to walk on a freakin ferry for an hour and fifteen minutes is absolutely absurd. Those poor people that have to DRIVE onto the ferry and pay out of their tush are the ones I feel truly sorry for. Furthermore, this past May, the company implemented a $ 5 fee to park at the ferry for the day. Of course, who wants to drive around Long Island, through the city, upstate, through Connecticut, blah blah blah.
Do the impossible and please build a bridge to Connecticut!

At over $ 100 for a round trip with car, the Bridgeport to Port Jefferson ferry is no real bargain.
According to the purser, the on-​board wireless network hasn’t worked for months. The weak coffee costs more than any local Starbucks, and there’s no half and half, only Coffee-​mate (whatever that is). A small cup of lemon Italian ice is $ 3, but there’s really nothing better on a hot summer day.
Overall, the experience is tolerable, but short of enjoyable, which it could easily be with a few improvements.