Cross Sound Ferry at Orient Point — Local services in Town of Southold

If you're driving to/from the East End of Long Island and anywhere in New England east of Eastern CT, you need Cross Sound Ferry. Sign up for the free loyalty program and you'll be able to see cheaper fares available on certain crossings.

The service runs year-round and almost always on time. I have taken it for years and have experienced perhaps 3 or 4 significant delays (~30-minutes), each due to severe weather. On the CT side, the Amtrak station is a 3-minute walk from the dock. Amtrak is way less reliable than the ferry; keep that in mind if booking rail+ferry travel.

In fair weather, it's quite beautiful to sit on the ferry decks. It can be cool even in the summer. The service onboard is always efficient and competent. The bar sells beer and liquor (and wine? Can't remember...) and isn't overpriced. The snack bar sells freshly grilled burgers and fries, chicken tenders, soup, assorted packaged items, fruits, sandwiches etc. Food varies a bit among the fleet. At least two of the vessels have really decent short-order cooks. All vessels have much better food, for less money, than Amtrak or airlines.

Pro Tips •Walk-on passengers inevitably get on board first and tend to grab all the tables. Worse, there is a terrible habit of ferry passengers to monopolize a table meant for 4-6 passengers all to themselves or maybe just two people. If you have a passenger in your vehicle, give them their ticket and have them go wait in the walk-on line so they can get a table. •Even when the main cabin tables are taken, there are usually tables open in the bar for a few more minutes, and kids are allowed to sit there. •There are usually many dogs onboard. Of course they must be leashed, but know this ahead of time if it's an issue for you. •The crossing can occasionally be rough as the ferry transitions between the waters close to Orient Point and the more open waters near where the Long Island Sound meets the Atlantic. •If connecting from Amtrak: Any train stopped at the station will block the pedestrian crossing to/from the ferry. If one train is sitting at there, and you need to cross to get your ferry or to get your train on the other track, you won't be able to. Over the years, I've seen plenty of people miss their ferry because they got stuck on the other side of the tracks when a not-on-schedule Amtrak rolled in. Allow yourself a big buffer window if connecting from Amtrak! If you have extra time, walk away from the water and go have a drink at any of the little places...

Rarely do I write reviews but my frustration from these last two trips is getting the better of me now.

Usually this trip to and from CT/NY is rather easy. However, had a terrible experience the last couple times.

When arriving at the terminal in NY at 9:15am for 10:00am Ferry, there was a line of cars waiting to get tickets. No big deal.

However, I noticed in the front two enormous campers that were each pulling longer trailers and they were at the entry way for literally 20-30 minutes while the line behind us grew and grew.

Finally arrived at the booth to get ticket at 9:55am having sat there forever and the line essentially not moving.

Apparently they have to measure the length of the trailers. Why not make those people pull over and wait while you get the cars their tickets. Those trailers ended up being virtually on the boat last anyway!

Additionally I paid the extra $ to get on first and off first as I had an appointment I needed to make in RI for lunch with a customer.

Needless to say that didn’t happen (getting on first and off first) as I got to the ferry and the cars were already boarding. So much for that.

I had to apologize to my customer as I arrived for lunch 15 min late and we only had 40 min to eat and discuss what we needed.

I’ve done this numerous times with no issues in the past.

FINALLY I had one of the guys loading the cars yell at me for driving around other cars who decided to not pull forward.

I got into a semi heated exchange about the process this time. Not good.

Bottom line is that while I have no choice but to take the ferry and pay their rates, I will not be using the first on first off fee any longer nor will I buy food or drink to support...

Unfriendly, discourteous, and pedantic. Due to unexpected traffic I arrived at 3:52 for a 4pm ferry and had even paid extra for a priority boarding reservation a week in advance. You could see that the ferry had just started boarding but the employee at the ticket booth would not budge. If you don't get to the ticket booth exactly 10 minutes before the scheduled time he will not let you on regardless if the ferry is still boarding or running late and instead made me feel like I was some sort criminal for being 2 minutes late. Then he put me at the end of the standby lane where after sitting there for 10-15 minutes while I watched the ferry I was supposed to be on finish up boarding, I even got to watch them let 5 or 6 standby cars in front of me on, in spots that there was still plenty of time for me to have used. I ended up being forced to wait an additional 2 hours to finally get on a ferry and now without priority boarding. It was more important to him to prove some sort of point and to stroke his own ego than to have shown a little compassion and allowed for a just tiny bit of flexibility. I would suggest using the Port Jefferson ferry instead, they are a much more professional and courteous operation. Also I would definitely think twice about paying the $75 for priority boarding since it doesn't seem to offer the late arrival protection that they advertise on...