Cross Sound Ferry

This is what you would expect. They employees are good at loading people up in an organized way and getting out on time. It’s about 80 minutes from New London to Orient, NY. The boats vary in size and I would definitely try to avoid a smaller one if you tend to get seasick, because you will feel the waves. It’s also a good idea to bring a coat or sweater to hang out on the deck as it tends to be less stuffy than indoors. We loved being on the ferry during a beautiful setset. Also, we drove a car on and understandably you’re not allowed to go back to your car during the trip, so bring whatever you may need. There was no wi-​fi!
They have bathrooms that are not the best, but suitable. Also a snack bar with beer available, and I believe some ferries have separate bars.
We traveled yesterday, on Fathers day and they gave my boyfriend a ticket for a free drink in celebration. He’s not a father but we found it hilarious and a very nice touch!

For the convenience I love the ferry. It doesn’t make our personal drive all that faster but having someone else transport us to the island or back is way way easier.
Generally a smooth ride and even on the few bumpy ones we’ve never had a bad experience.
They know what they are doing and everything is run efficiently and on time.
They offer snacks and drinks for purchase.
My only real complaint is I cannot figure out their prices. We have their frequent rewards card program thing and have paid everything from $ 20 a trip with the car to $ 70 just depending on the day. Or even the time. I understand price changes on holidays and such but there does not seem to be a method.

We passed several wineries but it was a rainy day so we didn’t stop. the ride was smooth. We got a hot drink, salted pretzel and the ride saved time and miles, good shortcut an hour north of my bro then to de boarded in Connecticut.

Ferry services don’t generally create a lot of wiggle room for this reviewer, as I regard them as strictly utilitarian. But, thanks to some lovely geography and long summer days, you get far more than your transportation money buys you when crossing Long Island Sound from the tip of L.I. to the eastern end of Connecticut.
The views are lovely, even if the most prominent one between destinations is of the notorious Plum Island. But seen from afar, it looks quite idyllic rather than the Northeast’s answer to the Island of Dr. Moreau.
But what makes the trip special is the top deck. If you happen to travel on the sunset express (it’s not really called that, but the name fits), while the boat is lightly filled, make sure you spend the 75 minutes on the exposed upper deck. The breezes on even the most sweltering of days are wonderful and the colors of the sun setting over land on the east coast (an unusual sight) can range from startlingly beautiful to startlingly beautifuler.
Peace, serenity and nature’s spectacle courtesy of Long Island mass transit. A sweeter deal you’ll rarely find.

I love this ferry. The bar is awesome and I love the trip out east with the one lane traffic and farms. It really is a great car ride, ferry ride and on to the casinos. Great job here!

It all started as a lark when my wife and I went up to Massachusetts to visit my youngest daughter at college. I was trying to think of a way to get the most of the return trip, and take the opportunity for a little touring. To make a long story short, I came across the Cross Sound Ferry from New London to Orient Point and that would be perfect, as neither my wife nor I had ever been to Long Island! We booked by phone in the car while we were still in Rhode Island, and both the 3pm and the 4pm sailings were both booked, so I booked the 5pm sailing, though we had hoped for an earlier trip. When we got to the New London terminal, though, the 3pm ferry was just about ready to leave, and they «squeezed» us aboard the 3pm sailing! We were ecstatic! And, of course, the ferry ride itself was efficient, pleasant, and scenic! Worked out perfectly!

These guys know their stuff, very quick and efficient. Awesome to watch! Crew members are friendly and go out of their way to answer questions. So inexpensive and convenient :)

Comfortable, clean and convenient way to steer clear of bridge and tunnel traffic and to break up a trip to New England. Best grilled cheese around says my brother.

So, some idiot left his dog in the hot car in July with the windows opened a crack and the ferry staff was good enough to track him down and reprimand!
What a terrific time-​saving endeavor to avoid the dreaded L.I.E. traffic when travelling to the tip of the North or South Fork. The larger boats have a restaurant and an adorable bar, with good brews on tap. I had a delicious Greenport Ale with a grilled Swiss on whole wheat– that was one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever! Reasonable too. They sell Tate’s chocolate chip cookies for less than you will find in the Hamptons.
The best part for me was the scenic ride past many light houses, and some good birding. The price of a ticket is well worth it to be on a ferry in the cool breeze, rather than stuck in traffic for an hour. I only wish that there was more shade to sit in on deck.

I live in Boston and my older brother lives on Long Island with his family. They have lived there for 6 years. I have taken Cross Sound Ferry countless times to visit and it is always a smooth, stress free ride. YES you have to show early (thanks dad for always drilling that into our travel agendas) because they pull out of the dock RIGHT on time which my family and I appreciate (we have a baby waiting to be spoiled!). All the workers run the direction of you in your vehicle like a well oiled machine. I would not travel to Long Island any other way! We will continue to use Cross Sound Ferry, you can find us at the bar which is a treat!

Pets, cars, parakeets and kids are all welcomed on this most convenient way to cross the sound. Looking for luxury accommodations? Charter a yacht! This boat is the equivalent of the uptown A train. Dingy atmosphere and food so poor in quality my dog wouldn’t eat their bagel & egg cooked by the onboard «chef». High prices, poor food and old hardware aside, nothing beats this boat when heading to Provincetown from Long Island.

When I lived on Long Island which was basically my whole life (1975 – 2012) I would go out of Orient Point to go to my timeshare in Cape Cod Massachusetts or if we were going further up north from that point.
** if you are traveling to go to say Mohegan Sun… After years of trips back & forth. Make sure you try to stick to it. I advise you always making a reservation. Especially in the summer time obviously if you’re bringing a car /​SUV. If you’re walking on that’s not needed. When heading to Mohegan Sun Casino if you go out of Orient they will shuttle you at a cost or you can get decent taxi car rides to and from. when we’ve taken our own vehicle up we’ve gone out of Port Jeff BC a shorter & cheaper ride. U don’t have 2 deal w/​one-​way Riverhead traffic!!! After LIE ends U exit on 2 lanes heading each direction of basically dead slow traffic. Anytime of the year due to the fact that the area out there was so underdeveloped 4 decades & then all of the sudden they decide to over develop it can’t widen roads due 2 many pre existing establishments /​houses. What would normally take maybe 30 minutes tops will take at least 1hf. will now take @least– 1 & ½ + GUARANTEED! When you find the exit to get off of this horrible slow traffic its one lane each way all the way to the ferry. If you get behind somebody who drives like Grandma Moses you will miss your factory. And the next one might be booked already and they can’t guarantee that you’re getting on it you’ll have to wait standby and you’re screwed this is why if you’re going out of orient you seriously need to leave your house about 3 hours early if it normally takes you an hour to get there because you never know what’s going to happen. May be out of a dozen times 1 — 2 weeks actually didn’t go through a nightmare getting there. It’s definitely mentally healthy or go out of Port Jeff. Also when we go out of Port Jeff we stay in the car & sleep relax no problems but it orient they made an issue out of it I don’t know why. Meanwhile since living on Shoreline of CT now we go in & o ut of Port Jeff basically monthly +/​-​& haven’t used Orient since 2012 summer.
Have timeshares on the Cape since 2003. A few years back (2008)I had a family emergency & I headed home from the New London location that brings U into Orient. I had had a reservation on the ferry to head home around 6 p.m. on Friday /​Saturday. Early that morning maybe 6 a.m. I got a message to come home where I was on the Cape was about 4 hours to the ferry if you didnt hit a huge chunk of traffic. I immediately called & moved up reservation. From timeshare in the Dennis /​Yarmouth area approx. 4 hrs. no traffic. I was on road by 8−9am made GREAT time + weekend traffic a little less since I’m not working on the bridge which made it worse at that time on the Cape. I forgot to ferry maybe 4 — 5 hours early they couldn’t guarantee me getting on any very early even though they were told of my issue they spoke to people to confirm it’s you that I wasn’t just making up a story to get home. I could not drive that since I never made that drive before it would have been out of the way and there was no GPS I have no idea how the heck I was going to be getting home. Left sitting 2 sweat my a** off in my SUV in August… HOURS! It was actually easier I found out through a mutual friend /​family member who is coming home for the same reason they actually decided to leave the New London location hop on I 95 and continue to Bridgeport and take the ferry and support Jeff they got home maybe 3 — 4 hours B4 me! I got on a ferry after waiting 2 & ½ hrs. + small ferry one they add during the summer I think it holds tops 20 — 30 automobiles. I was in the bathroom getting sick. When we got to orient it took over an hour to get from orient up to the main road there in Riverhead by the 711. That was when I was able to find out the other people got home ahead of me in Port Jeff already and we’re arriving at our home base destination. I figured shouldn’t be so bad normally hour tops heading into Patchogue know it took me another 2 hours to get home it was the worst day of my life and I honestly think that was the last time I myself probably went out of Orient by myself alone… Would rather be in the car with more flexibility to hop on I 95 Montauk Highway /​Boston Post Road stop and eat or go in a store and have that 90 minutes I’m driving give her take then having to wait for a ferry or be on the ferry that could be a horrific ride making me vomit and a nightmare.

Awful customer service. Arrived 10 minutes before my ferry = late. As a loyal customer, yet some who does not NEED to take this ferry (I take it for the pleasant ride). I would expect better service.
Using some of my hour long wait on a Sunday night to write this. As someone who values his time YOU JUST LOST A CUSTOMER.

Cost $ 67.34 to take Car and 2 adults total to New London, CT.
This was a way to avoid traffic and save time.
I am giving good review, because its nice to have this option.
If we had to drive back through NYC and take Throgg’s neck bridge, we wouldn’t have had time to visit the North Fork and all the wine tasting.
So, yes, its expensive, and yes, its not for everyone,
but this allowed us 4 hours to explore from Smithtown to Orient Point.
GPS — directions may or may not work for you.
FRIENDLY — 1) They gave great directions by phone
2) We had to ORDER our reservations by phone, but they made this easy.
3) IMPORTANT — Have pen and paper and write down, some reservations numbers
4) VERY FLEXIBLE IN TERMS OF CHANGING THE TIMES FOR US…
We origianlly booked it for 5 PM
but then worried we wouldnt make it,
they let us change to 6 PM
but then when we got there at 5:15 PM
they let us change again to take the 5:30 boat, saving us some time.
5) I can’t promise this will happen for you.
This happened on 11/​28/​and maybe that’s more of their off-​season.
But it was a nice way to avoid Thanksgiving Traffic through NYC.
6) If your driving to or from Boston, going through New London is nice, because its not that far from Foxwoods and Moheghan Sun, I think you have to take WIlliams St or Rt 31 –of course re-​do these directions with your GPS as this is from memory.
7) Was nice to go out on deck and watch as boat came in
8) Has good bathrooms and snack bar for trip.
We had our own food in car, and no problem eating that instead.
9) Can’t guarantee quiet ride!
Some kids children were VERY LOUD and obnoxious, but thats not really the fault of the ferry, more the fault of the parent
10) Parking was easy! — Just do EXACTLY as they direct you to do and you’ll be fine.
11) Leaving the boat wasn’t bad! Expected more of a mad rush to get out, but was actually pretty calm.
12) Just follow pack of cars, and its counter-​intutive, but you go away from your destination to be able to reverse direction on 95.

Nice cruise. Maybe I will take more often. More sightseeing than the port Jeff ferry and better beer selection and the brownie from the snack bar was not a prepackaged commercial thing, but rather a damned good sinful brownie. Ok small things, but yes it’s a ferry. Clean, friendly staff and it was a gorgeous late summer day today. How can it be not great

TERRIBLE Customer Service!!! Poor management and unprofessional staff. What’s the point of making a reservation ahead of time if when you get there 10 minutes early you are told you have missed the boat (which by the way is still loading vehicles) and you’re placed on the standby lane with other cars in front of you who had no reservation?! Needless to say that will be the LAST time I travel with the cross sound ferry service. If you’re reading this to decide between Cross Sound or Port Jeff ferry services, take the Port Jeff.

I live in Boston but travel on Long Island for work purposes. Sometimes it’s a pain in the ass to travel by car from the most Eastern parts of the Island, and the Cross Sound Ferry is always there to save the day.
Now, I’ve taken the ferry during the off-​season only, so I never had a difficult time getting a spot on the ferry or being stuck in traffic. During the summer season, I’d suggest getting there an hour in advance to ensure that you don’t miss your scheduled departure time. Speaking of which — they are so prompt! When they say that they are leaving at x-​time, they are leaving at the designated time. For some reason, this is always a surprise to me.
Once on the ferry, you have some comfortable seating to enjoy an hour or so of relaxation. Definitely check out their grill — the food on board is delicious! Again, very surprising!
The Cross Sound Ferry is the way to go if you’re traveling between Long Island and New England!

My mom and I were going to Mystic, CT so she booked the ferry so we didn’t have to drive on boring i95 the whole way. Driving through the North Fork was beautiful, we almost missed the boat. Once arriving they scanned our boarding pass and we were directed where to park. I got out because mom had to park on a slope on the edge so the SUV’s could fit in the inside. Unlike some of the photos by others, the boat I was on had the cars enclosed.
I was nervous because I am not a huge fan of boats, but I wore my sea sick bands and I was ok. The boat did sway a bit although the water was calm, I guess I got used to it. We sat out on the top deck the whole time because it was a beautiful day. When we docked, it was a little awkward for me because I did not know where to go, so I stood behind the cars, waiting on line with them to head out until I could hop in my moms car. I believe it was an hour and 20 mins from Orient Point to New London, Ct.

Being as familiar with the MV transportation options, I have to say, WOW — Cross Sound Ferry, you are not only impressively organized, timely and efficient, your staff is so well trained and polite I was actually taken aback. I was. Really.
The ride was a pleasure, as was the check-​in process and line-​up for getting on the boat. Un-​boarding was as much of a breeze, and the 90 minute trip was the easiest I’ve ever had on a boat. Well done!

Drive in traffic. One star.
Drink beer on ferry. Five stars.