Airbridge full! - Ferry to Tobago?

[Nicolas]

Hi, my wife and I are arriving to Port of Spain on the 26th of December and just found out that all the flight up to the 29th are full. We are desperate to get to Tobago as fast as possible as we will be on a long overdue honeymoon.
Any advice on using the ferry to cross? I read on the port authority website that the fast ferries are resuming activities on December 20 and should be running on the 27th (according to schedule we are landing after the only ferry scheduled for the 26th). Are reservations necessary? If yes, do you know of any agencies which could do that for us? Any other advice on how to get to Tobago as fast as possible?
Thanks for your help.

[David Watkins]

Nicolas,contact Yes tourism http://[email protected] .
David

[Nicolas]

Thanks David.
I did contact yes-tourism. They were very nice but basically are just offering me to buy a ticket for the 29th (3 days later) and said I could take a chance on stand by in case someone didn't show up. They didn't offer any advice about ferry. Anybody knows if stand y has any chance of working?
Thinking it might be easier otehrwise to just find a guest house, walk around Trinidad for the afternoon and leave with first mornign ferry the next day....

[Clyde Alleyne]

Nicolas, it is common knowledge with frequent fliers to & from Tobago that the flight reservation system often shows no seats available. So what most people who need to fly will do, is to travel on standby. Case in point: my wife went to the airport this morning at 7am, put her name on the standby list (there were 40 names ahead of her on the list!), and was still in Tobago by 11am. So if you DO want to fly, here's my advice. First, get to the airport as early as possible - earlier the better (I've gone as early as 5:30am) and make sure you get your name on the standby list. After that, its just a matter of waiting for your name to be called as each flight is closed off. Note that you MUST be there when your name is called - any non-response means that the name called is crossed off.

Net is, no seats available in the res system is not a fatal problem, as long as you're willing to go early and wait a few hours if necessary. The problem is a little worse at present since only one fast ferry is sailing since the other one is down for scheduled maintenance.
Hope this helps.
Clyde

[Clyde Alleyne]

Nicolas, I forgot to add that you will need a File Reference Number (also called PNR - passenger name record), which shows that you have a valid ticket when they call your name. You can get that by either buying a ticket online on the Caribbean Airlines web site for some future date, or having Yes Tourism buy a ticket for you. Either way you would have a valid eticket and a FRN that will allow the check-in person to issue your boarding pass if you are successful.
Clyde

[Nicolas]

Thanks Clyde,
I must say I find it amazing how helpful this website and people consulting it are.
So we land from NY/Miami at 2.30 pm which is why I am slightly worried about the stand by list. I guess I can afford taking a ticket for later date and trying stand by anyway when I get there and just take the ferry if it doesn't work.
Do any of you know of a way to buy a ferry ticket in advance? Like a travel agent I could use in Trinidad? Really want to be covered as I read ferry can also be packed/full during holiday period...

[Clyde Alleyne]

Nicolas, if you land at 2:30PM on December 26th, hopefully you will exit customs before 4PM, which gives you at least 4 flights to get standby seats to Tobago, so your chances are still good for getting to Tobago that evening. Here's another suggestion: as soon as you leave Immigration, either you or your wife should exit the customs hall and run over to the domestic Caribbean Airlines check-in counter to get your names on the standby list right away, while the other waits to collect the bags off the conveyor belt. Let the customs guys know what you are doing so they let you back into the customs hall.

You should have Yes Tourism buy the etickets in advance so you will have the File Reference Numbers for travelling standby.

Of course, this uncertainty may affect your accommodation booking and cost in case you don't make it, as there could be a no-show charge if you don't get over on the 26th.

For a Plan B, one-way tickets to Tobago via the fast ferry the next morning (27th) are only $50 TT ($6 US each) so you can also have Yes Tourism buy the tickets for you for the ferry and make arrangements for you to collect them somewhere in Trinidad if you need them. But - here's a Big BUT. There are 3 sailings to Tobago on December 27th, but the Ferry Service just told me that the only tickets available to Tobago on Dec 27th are for the 6:30AM sailing, which means that you should have the tickets purchased ASAP. Also, you would have to check in at the Port by 5:30AM. Be aware also that there is no porter service for the Ferry service, so it's best if you don't travel with more bags than you can handle yourself. If 6:30AM is too early for you, the other two sailings to Tobago will be 10:00AM and 5:00PM, but I haven't experienced the standby process for the fast ferry so I can't comment on how it works.
Hope this helps.
Clyde