Block Island Express

I have mixed feelings about the Block Island Express. Our first experience was amazing– I think it was opening weekend-​, we had lots of space to find seating, bloody marys onboard were on point, and they had Guinness Blonde on tap, which I’ve never even heard of! The boat was clean, bathrooms were stocked, and the ride was smooth and fast.
Last weekend, we had a very different experience. The boat was so packed, people were leaning against doors and walls just to stay supported, bathrooms were a mess, the ride was bumpy, and the drinks were sloppy. I was irritated that they had sold the ferry so packed that I among with many others, had to sit on the floor. Nobody was going through the cabin to see how many people had taken up seating space with extra cargo instead of stowing it, so the people farther back in line had no choice but to stand and bounce around with the crashing of the waves, or sit of the sticky, dirty floor.
Yes, the ferry ride is just a little over an hour, and then you’re in picturesque and wonderful block island, but after along day or long weekend of vacationing, the Express really needs to up the services on the shuttle for weary and probably sunburned passengers. If there was another way, I’d probably take it. I’ll be giving them one more shot before the season is over, but for now, ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ chance of having a bad time.

Ticket system is stupid; buy ticket online get to ferry, bad parking situations, stand in a mile long line to exchange your one piece of paper for many tickets both ways (environmentally wrong) walk twenty feet to ticket taker give tickets get on boat. Delayed departure expenses that are unnessesary driving up ferry prices. Typical New England slow stupid and cost ineffective

Things to make your trip on the Block Island Express more enjoyable
*Reserve your tickets before hand but know that you STILL NEED A TICKET. Meaning don’t think you can reserve your ticket and roll up with 5 minutes left to board, you might be kicked to the next scheduled ferry. Plan accordingly
*Reserve your tickets beforehand because there are LIMITED NUMBER OF BICYCLE SLOTS. Nothing worse then showing up, bike in hand, only to be told you are SOL. Plan accordingly.
*Remember when you reserve your ticket there is a separate charge for your person and your bike. Again — nothing worse then showing up, bike in hand, only to be told you are SOL
*Ferry crossing time is about an hour. They do have televisions downstairs to help pass the time or if you are more inclined — outdoor (limited seating) awaits.
*Cars are not allowed on the ferry but this is great — it gets you where you need to go in under an hour. If you were to take one of the ferries that allows autos — it might be a bit cheaper BUT those taking the Block Island Express will already be on the island while you are still traveling over the Long Island Sound.
*If you cannot wait an hour (or rushed to make your ferry time), Block Island Express does have a snack bar, with adult beverage options.
*Seats (pretty comfortable) and tables are available for patrons to relax during the ride.
*The parking lot does get full fast (the harbor handles several different ferry companies) but there is parking in a lot across the street. There is probably street parking but I did not have time to investigate.
*On both our out going and return trip — we were pleasantly surprised that despite the number of people, the ferry always left on time and the crew was always pleasant, regardless of whether it was early in the morning or late at night.

Things you can do on the Block Island Ferry:
–Get there early, and wait in a parking lot.
–Get there late and almost (or completely) miss your ferry, because at some point you said «oh we’ve got plenty of time, let’s stop at PLACE and get (in retrospect) this UNNECESSARY ITEM.»
–Sit on the bottom, the top, or somewhere outside. In my experiences, the bottom is quiet, the top is less so, and the outside has no roof.
–Eat, drink, and drink/​eat some more. The bar has reasonably priced (for a boat) food and drink items.
–Have quiet conversations with friends and family.
–Have loud, obnoxious, unwanted conversations with everyone around you.
–Enjoy sun and sea breeze in your face/​hair/​everything.
–Enjoy the luxury of a very abnormally large (for a boat) bathroom. Even with all the people, the lines only really ever exist right when everyone gets on (in my experience). I can safely bet that «you can pee on the boat» has been said fairly often.
–Watch the beastly motors do their thing from the back. High speed is high speed thanks to these guys.
–Sleep.
–Not sleep.
Things you cannot do on the Block Island Ferry:
–Kayak in tandem.
–Waterski.
–Influence its speed, direction, or time of departure/​arrival.
–Bring your car or any vehicle whatsoever.
–Host a rave.
–Be the captain.
Things that will happen regardless of how much you fight, kick, and/​or scream:
–Loss (or super slow crawl) of cell service. It’s not international waters or anything, but cell towers can only reach so far.
–You will end up in CT or RI. There are no other options. Ever.
–You might get a drink, they will fill it high. You will either almost spill, definitely spill, or not spill it.
Enjoy your day on BI /​Welcome back to CT!

This boat rocks. I don’t mean that in the literal sense. I mean it in an absolute groovy sense. It’s a real champ. Compared to the slow poke auto ferries it’s a kick-​ass speed demon. Its dual catamaran shaped hull slices through the waves like a hot knife through butter.
OK maybe it doesn’t exactly travel at light speed and it does take one hour fifteen minutes to reach Block Island, but that’s really not bad. Like I said the auto ferries are much slower. So that extra couple hours saved by taking this ferry could be used as extra time on the beach. By the way Block Island has some of the best beaches in all of New England.
I think that other guy who criticized the crew must have been on another boat. My God, what did he do to have the police escort him off? Police? Sheesh, it’s shocking to hear he’s a New Yorker *rolls eyes*. The crew I experienced were nothing but professional and extremely helpful. My boat almost departed without me, but the crew went out of their way to find me a parking space and get me on board quickly.
Fees are approximately $ 20 – 25 each way and bringing your bike on board is an extra $ 10 each way. I recommend bringing your own bicycle because I heard the rental bikes on the island are expensive and they’re in crappy condition. You don’t necessarily have to peddle very far on the island to reach a beach. Approximately a half mile north of town lies a very nice state beach. If you don’t want to walk or peddle, taxi’s are available on the island too.
Be sure to make online reservations because the popular times get booked up early. Even with an online reservation you’ll still need to pick up your boarding pass at the booth at the foot of the ramp.
My only question is «Where’s the WiFi on board?»

Things are crazy here in the summer. Big surprise — we aren’t the only ones looking to get to BI on a sunny summer Saturday.
Please note your online reservation and print out is not a boarding pass so go to the ticket booth to get your official «tickets.»
The queue for the ferry starts early and wraps through the parking lot and around as you wait to get on the ferry — even for the the ferries during the day. You’ll get through it, it’s just a little hot, sunny and dusty.
Trust the sign when you pull in and it tells you the lot is flu and just head straight to the parking garage: $ 15 for a whole day on weekends… or the Shoreline East New London stop is truly a hop, skip and a jump from the ferry.
It’s quick and painless. Once they start loading the ferry the process moved pretty quickly. So choose what works for you — parking or train, and get ready to spend some time in the sun waiting in the ferry. I was fine but a head a lotta kids complaining of their little heads burning up. Pack a hat. Sure, you’re gonna buy one on the island but bring one for the hot, dusty line in the parking lot.

The express ferry is a great way for you and your car to travel. It’s not a luxury cruise line so don’t expect everything to be super clean, but they have a bar and the ability to serve food during the 1.5 hour transit to and from Long Island. I didn’t eat or drink, but the food that people around me were eating didn’t look poisonous and the beers looked cold. I’m looking forward to taking my family on this ferry ride because it really is a cool experience and the scenery is beautiful. I’m a fan.

This is the coolest and fastest way to travel to Block Island. The express is a very unique boat and it is an experience just to ride it, let alone exploring Block Island.
The ferry has two levels of comfortable seats, some booths and an external deck out back for the adventurous. You’ll find a few tv’s inside as well if the scenery outside isn’t your thing.
The concession stand is what you would expect, look for a variety of baked goods, some hot dogs (nathans!) and plenty of beverages. Prices are decent.
My family and I had no trouble on our round trip adventure and found the staff both on shore and off to be efficient and helpful.

If i can give them NO STAR or Negative 100, i will do so. This company provides ferry service to Block island. Unfortunately they are the only ferry in Connecticut that I can take to Block island. Because of this monopoly, their manager and employees are NOT trained, extremely rude and arrogant. I have visited many places in New England, never met a company like this. If they don’t like you, they will get police and yell at you to get out of THEIR PRIVATE property, even you get their ferry seat confirmation and do nothing wrong. They don’t treat customers like they are supposed to. I bet their slogan is «Take it or leave it, we are the only on in CT». I will skip this company at any cost.