Before the NYC Ferry, it was not expected to hear it said that transportation (challenging anywhere, but especially in NYC) could be enjoyable in and of itself. Pleasant crews, clean vessels and professional service is kind of a unicorn. Not on these ferries. I almost envy them. Riding around this iconic harbor and it’s environs might become tedious but it doesn’t show. I would and suggest them and their service to everyone.
App Keeps Asking for Name on CC When There Isn’t a Section for It
Not sure why this app is on the store. I can’t buy tickets with my cc. I emailed support four days ago with screenshots of the problem and they never got back to me. So maybe someone will listen here? I am iOS 15. I downloaded the app on Wed. When I go to buy tickets I go to Select Payments. Then Manage Payments. I add my cc info. Pressed purchase. I get an error message that says I have to go back and add the name on the credit card. Cool. There is one problem though...There is no category for entering the name on the card. I wrote to Support and heard back from them that day. I supplied screenshots of the walkthrough. I thought this may be an app bug, so I force quit the app and ran it again. Nothing. I reinstalled the app. Still no Name on Card category. I am assuming this might be a database issue on their end. I had to buy my tickets from my desktop. This little bug kind of defeats the purpose of having an app to buy tickets. Please fix this.
The staff at the pier advises everyone waiting on the queue to activate tickets ahead of the ride before the ferry even arrives. Main issue with this is they cannot guarantee spots on the boat and we got bounced twice on the busy weekends unable to get onboard and then got told we have to wait 30-60 minutes for the next weekend ride because there are no refunds once the tickets get activated on the app. I call this misinformation or potentially borderline scam. Better wait till the ferry arrives before activating and do it at the gate before scanning to board to avoid overcharge and missed paid rides. I get that the window to travel on the ticket is 2 hours, but if one needs to get to destination on particular time then they need to look for alternative means of transport to get to the destination without option to “wait for the next boat” which may arrive too late or worse - be full as well.
The behind-the-scenes functionality of the app is fine, mostly. But the user interface/experience is probably the worst in the entire App Store. It’s pretty clear that nobody programming this thing has ever tried to use it in real life. It should be used in UI/UX courses as an example of how to do everything wrong. Just mind-blowingly incompetent. Please, just fire the entire UI/UX team and hire someone else — anyone else. Here’s just one example of the hundreds of failures: suppose you have one ticket already bought, but you want to buy another so that two of you can board the ferry. You can’t. Literally everything is like that in this app. Ask yourself: “What is the obvious, most helpful way to implement some particular feature?” And you can be sure they did it some terrible other way.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND: If you had a ferry that serviced specifically Midtown/Williamsburg/south Williamsburg and a separate ferry for Midtown/Dumbo/S. Street Seaport…. you’d have more people interested in taking the ferry!?! I take the ferry everyday from 34th in midtown to Williamsburg and often times wait up to an hour to board as 4 boats pull in/told we’re at capacity…. And have to wait. The North Brooklyn ferry line is ALWAYS 10 times longer than any other regional waiting line. North Brooklyn wait line time is 3xs that of anyone boarding to go to Astoria or elsewhere. North Brooklyn residents would love to take the ferry over the train but everyone knows it’s not reliable! Save time, shorten routes, separate the routes and I promise you you will make more money and make everything 10xs more efficient. Accommodate all the residents along the north Brooklyn shoreline with its ever expanding high rise after high rise new development going up each year…. Food for thought. Look forward to the ferry come fall when half the crowd is scared off by the coming of cold weather!
If one is already familiar with this ferry system, and/or NYC, the app is great for buying tickets and having them scanned. For a newcomer or tourist, though, there are some crucial things missing. It would be extremely helpful to have a visual map of the entire system, for example, and I think that would be very easy to include. Otherwise the routes and stops are just a list of names, without any way of easily locating them in the real world.
First off the app is very efficient and convenient. Haven’t had issues (yet). Now, Being that I live in the Bronx I really appreciate the addition of ferry service and I hope and investment into more services(docks) in the are mulled over—I’d say best areas I’d say are Riverdale, Co-op city/Pelham Bay, and City Island or Pelham Manor. Also adding services that Serve Both Bronx and Brooklyn or Bronx and Queen or both would be absolutely tremendous.
All is just wonderful. Only one thing!!! The app doesn’t have real live schedule. It doesn’t tell you if a ferry is late, so you get to the pier at the time scheduled but it won’t tell you it’s late. A bummer cause one can be sometimes waiting half an hour or more not knowing if it will come or not. Other than that, better than trains or buses. There could be more routes.
Love the app a lot never had any issues with payment it’s never really glitched or gave me any sorts of problems the bar scanner thing works every time. All the other features are cool too u can stay updated for any incoming ferries and check on the times of departure etc and where you can go on the map.
New to riding the ferry. But the app has its pros & cons (in my opinion). Can be somewhat hard to follow the schedules, doesn’t really answer all especially for new customers. I wish there were more detailed on the ins/outs of the process of reading the ferry schedule and shuttle bus. So far I enjoy riding the ferry into 34th St. Way peaceful than riding smelly, congested, delayed trains. Sad that the ticket price is now $4. Wish I knew about the ferry sooner!
The Ferry, personnel and ride down the East River, was delightful and ‘the price was certainly right’. My grandson and I lunched, when we arrived at Wall Street, and it was well worth paying the extra fare for our return trip, as we had ‘overstayed’ the 90 minutes afforded us. Let’s have more of these ferry’s… why not La Guardia and Westchester? Continued Ferry Successes.
I love the ferry, especially in the warmer months, I take it to no particular destination, just for the beauty of the ride, the view, the cool Breeze when it’s scorching hot. I have told so many people about it, taken family and friends on rides, and am so glad that there are newer destinations, can’t wait to discover.
NYC needs to advertise its ferry service more effectively
Traveling by ferry in New York City is a wonder, but the ferries are underutilized and poorly advertised. The ferry at Brooklyn Navy Yard, for example, could be a very popular route for people based around Flushing Ave to get to the city, but hardly anyone seems to use it and even finding the ferry landing is an adventure. The MTA needs to connect the ferries to passengers more effectively and advertise the services they offer.
What can I say? You have options to enjoy the breeze and just stay comfy inside. The seats are made to make you feel at ease. It’s very convenient and not to forget it’s affordable. Thanks NYC! I am hoping the fare will not skyrocket due to all the things going on in our world today.
As I’m very glad to have the ferry service from Rockaway to Manhattan, two frustrations jump out every time I ride- 1) yielding to supposed ‘no wake zones’. Ferry slow to a crawl at several spots in the harbor delaying arrival times. Understanding the importance if this measure, the question is how come the Seastreak ferry from New Jersey will pass at full throttle as nyc slows to a crawl? Calling the nyc harbor master reveals Seastreak is in compliance and nyc ferry is wasting time- 2) why the Rockaway ferry stops in Brooklyn, BAT? The stop is eliminated for weekend leisurely beach goers, but not the weekday working commuters? Two points of inefficient frustration I for one would enjoy seeing fixed. Thank you for your consideration- Michael Gerty
really one of fhe easiest and intuitive travel apps but today the directions stopped working and it would only tell me how to walk to my destination. I assume you have been told of this bug and it will be fixed in the quickest bug release. you will never get five stars because of the 10 ticket expiration after 90 days. get rid of the bug and the expiry and we’re talking upgrade in rating.
Today was going to be a terrible day. I woke up 5 minutes past my alarm to my dog eating my blush. And then in my rush to work I spilled coffee all over my pants. Uhhhhghu, amiright. The only way this day could’ve gotten worse is if I missed the ferry. Fortunately, I made it on time to the 9 o’clock.
I don’t understand why the close or back button is in different location on different screens. Also you should be able to access your tickets in any sccreen. You shouldn’t have to back out of schedule to access your tickets.
Because the ferry exists I could have a better job near the river with a better salary; Now there is no problem with my daughter education they take the ferry to 34th Street and from there they take the bus to Baruch College. Thank You..
The old app was simple and easy to use. The main issue with the new one is that it takes way too many clicks to get to the use ticket section, not ideal when you want to quickly load a ticket when in the queue and about to board. It also does things like remember the last number of tickets you bought and so you have to unset that if you bought multiple tickets last time otherwise you end up over purchasing.
I just wish there was a way to see how many are left in the app when you buy multiple rides. I love the ride and the people on the boat are very friendly and helpful. Thank you !
I was planning on using the ferry for the first time and was not familiar with the process. The conductors at the platform were very unhelpful and not willing to wait as we downloaded this app. The app download requirement/ticket process should be made clear, made more convenient, or at the very least the people conducting the ferry should be nicer. They are making it hard for willing customers to pay their fare.
Concessions don’t have in stock items on the app. Tried to buy a Red Bull. Had to put it back because only Gatorade and water were “available” while there were 8 cans of Red Bull. Was denied the purchase, due to this. Very low or out of stock on everything. Boat was late as well, but that’s more understandable due to civilian error.
This app absolutely destroys my battery. After installing this app my battery would drain completely in about 2 hours. This happened consistently for about a week. After removing, it is back to normal. Until this is fixed I don’t recommend using the app. The app itself is useful. I like the integration with Apple Pay to purchase tickets. Also nice to view the schedule at a particular departure point.
This option to ride the ferry to work is more than a luxury but a necessity. My knees are shot and I can no longer negotiate the subway stairs. If it wasn’t for the ferry, I may have had to quite my job.
Each time I have bought a new iPhone, I have had to log in all over again using a magic link feature — no big deal. Except their tech is broken and you never receive the magic ink, no matter how many times you ask. Even when you “log in by phone,” it goes to the magic link feature (which is kind of insane). When you contact help, they tell you that you have to use a second email account to open up a new NYC Ferry account and then they’ll transfer your unified tickets there. There is no way this app and backend should be this wonky and broken.
Why do I have to sign in just to see a ferry schedule?
That’s it. Why do I have to sign in and give my email address. I just want to ride the ferry and know the schedule. You don’t have to sign in to an app to see where and when the bus is in NYC. You don’t have to sign in to see the subway map and schedule and service updates. I really don’t want or need to be tracked and advertised to. I just want to get across the river.
Horrible rip off. 10 trip tickets expire in 90 days and then disappear from your app without a trace. There should be much more clear warnings at the time of purchase, bold letters presented before your card is purchased, not a little italic bubble you click on for more information. If the metro card and the LIRR don’t even have this quick of an expiration date on fares purchased in advance, why does the NYC Ferry?
I suppose I’m in the minority given the otherwise high rating for this app, but there’s absolutely no need to gate functionality here behind a sign in. I just wanted the schedule, not a frustrating 5 stage sign-in and verification process. I completely understand the need for an account should I then choose to purchase a ticket, but this is not helpful or enjoyable if I just want information.
Consistently freezes when trying to use/buy a ticket at Wall Street
When I try to use/buy a ticket at Wall Street the app freezes. The attendants are aware of the problem since they tell people to “switch off your wifi”. This sometimes helps sometimes not. I find myself begging the staff to let me on the boat and pay on the way. It usually unfreezes halfway through the ride.
Super easy to use!! Most apps I have used have so many steps and are so slow, this app has such a great UI and it makes it so easy to buy and use my tickets!! This is how apps should be!!
The trip planner is pathetic. The app told me to walk 76 mins to the nearest ferry station and then transfer ferries. Meanwhile it’s easier to take the subway to a different ferry station and go direct. Of course Google maps doesn’t have updated ferry schedules either so it requires using both apps to piece together an itinerary. Clearly the city wants to underinvest in ferries and is making it difficult for new riders to use them.
I get routinely skipped if no one else follows the signs on where people must stand. Always find myself having to walk to the back because the workers don’t want to get everyone else mad for not following the rules. I’m getting tired of this type of treatment. We need uniformity at all platforms. I’m starting to believe my color may have to do with how versus the rest of the users.
Was forced to spend $4 per ticket (3 tickets) today via the machine at the stop rather than using my app. The app does not show any of my tickets even though I already had a few tickets and purchased 4- 10 packs trying to get the app work. I emailed the help email address and called with no response. Riding the ferry itself if amazing but the app needs serious work.
My family lives in Brooklyn nxt to one of the ferry stops and I live in The Bronx A bus and ferry stop away from family. 👵🏽Easier for me because I don’t have to go UP ⬆️ AND DOWN THE STAIRS IN THE SUBWAY. 🥰Plus its most enjoyable 😄👍🏾
The latest update removed all of my existing information. I had to set up a new account and re-enter everything. I have no way of accessing account history - thank goodness I didn’t have any unused tickets stored! Functionality has diminished as well. There’s no point in using this now - just buy a ticket at the pier and don’t run the risk of another update deleting your prepaid tickets.
Overall, a pretty good app. Simple, intuitive functionality, and nice looks. However, it used 20MB of my cell data for just buying a ticket, and displaying it twice. That’s excessive. Please reduce cell data use. Not all of us have unlimited plans.
Why is there never an announcement regarding the upcoming docking while on the ferry? Can you put it on the tv screen in the cabin? Also, the app is not the most user-friendly app. I find you can’t “go back” to a previous screen but have to start all over.
When the beach crowd start increasing, it becomes a challenge. The commuters have been voicing their opinions for years to no avail. Please bring back the second ferry so there’s 2 ferries and adequate room for everyone. Thanks
President day schedule still showed as it would be a weekday, so annoying as you have to wait almost an hour and total waisting time instead of taking a subway. Last weeks Astoria ferries were randimly cancelled without any notice during the morning. It was a nice service pre covid but I dont waste my time anymore on the ferries.
It was such an amazing lovely fast travel with great view & refreshing ambience. Thanks much for having us experienced the fast tour in our daily lives.
I love NYC Ferry and take it all over with my bike. You should try it! It’s also fun without a bike - and can be a good cheap date or excursion with visitors. It is an excellent way to stay cool and see the sights in NYC:)
I am a senior citizen who loves to walk and lives in Brooklyn. To be safer since the pandemic began, I walk to the ferry, take it to Manhattan, and then walk to my destination. I always feel a bit like I am on vacation.
Charged twice for a ticket, but never issued a ticket.
I used apple pay to complete a purchase for a ticket on the Rockaway rocket, however, the app gave an "error completing transaction" message, and never issued me a ticket. My credit card was charged not once, but twice! And there is no one I can contact to dispute/settle this charge.
Commuting made comfortable with NYC Ferry. Come see just how easy (and enjoyable) your journey can be. Here are 5 great things you can expect from the NYC Ferry app: Help NYC “go green” with paperless ticketing! Buy and use tickets directly from your phone. Take the stress out of your commute with live scheduling and real-time updates. Get ready for an adventure! Explore NYC with our end-to-end trip planner. Stay ahead of the game with push notifications for the routes that matter to YOU. Love to ride? Take advantage of our 30-day Unlimited Pass! Available in-app only. NYC Ferry (operated by Hornblower) proudly serves New Yorkers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx along the East River. Our state-of-the-art vessels offer you a better commuting experience—all for the same price as a subway ride!
