The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company — Local services in Town of Brookhaven

The boats leave on time and the water the boats travel on is wet. That's the good stuff. Not so good is that the staff is unfriendly and purchasing tickets through the website is a profoundly broken process. Not much better is when you call to purchase a ticket over the phone...that process takes a veeeeery long time. Emailed eTickets rarely arrive as promised. Call back to tell them that the email never arrived and you're told "we sent them, but we'll send them again." But again, no email arrives...so just give up and board with your confirmation number and hope for the best. But maybe you finally give up and drive down to the dock office to buy a ticket in person which (ummm...not including the drive) is a very quick process...except that the ticket sellers make you feel like an unwelcome and disliked intruder. The food on the boats is unhealthy. There's no WiFi on board. Overall it's a pretty good lesson in how to make a customer feel unwelcome, unappreciated, and unwanted.

Edit: just removed one star because — once again — the employees on the Port Jefferson side have proven themselves to be some of the nastiest people I’ve ever had the misfortune to interact with. 🤮

If you want to feel unwelcome, and as if you are a burden, use this ferry company. If you want to be yelled at and disrespected, use this company. If you want to be treated as if you’re stupid, and a fool, use this company. Otherwise drive out to the Orient Point Ferry.

As another other reviewer wrote: "At this point in time I'd rather blow up my unicorn pool float and paddle across Long Island Sound" than to have to deal with these nasty...

Update 2024: The bathrooms get worse and worse - the stall doors don't shut reliably, the water is ice cold, no soap and smelly. And parking on the boat - don't even get me started -- while many of the crew directing parking are kind and helpful several are just plain nasty and impatient. The couple behind us had difficulty squeezing out of their car fast enough to suit the crew member -- it was ridiculous.

Why Oh Why can't this ferry be as pleasant as the Cross Sound or Cape May to Lewes ferries?

Those ferries have pleasant places to sit both inside and outside. PtJeff ferry has one stuffy indoor area, which reeks from the kitchen, or the bar area. And outside you have to bake in the sun or sit in the rain on the roof. I understand they need space for the crew but why didn't they design comfortable shaded passenger space outside on the decks? Cross Sound and Cape May ferries have clean bathrooms with running water. The sinks in the Pt Jeff ferry loos have only given a dribble of cold water for years, many of the stall doors don't shut, and there is no air circulation (yet more stink). The answer is the Pt. Jeff Ferry doesn't actually care about its customers. They know the only other option is to drive...

Bad experience with recent trip. First, website is poor and phone service worse. Made a reservation and was charged twice on my credit card. Made three calls to "customer service" and was told each time we only charged you once. This went on for two days. I called my credit card company and there was an obvious charge two times for tickets and was credited. Ferry company still didn't take responsibility after I called a fourth time with information from bank! Second, loading and unloading yesterday was a circus. An accident waiting to happen. I have used Ferry service for 25 years and yesterday was first time cars needed to back-up out of their spaces to unload. It is those positions when you board and you go left or right and you are the first cars up front under that low overhang. Always had staff in past telling you where to go and when to stop. Yesterday, cars were put too far forward and needed to back-up and turn out to leave. Third, a few passengers questioned the weight distribution of trucks and trailers etc.. Things just didn't look right to the traveler who has used the ferry before. No one had an answer. This could be an interesting summer of ferry travel! Good luck. I am now driving around...