Bay State Cruise Company

Michael Glasfeld, owner of the Bay State Cruise Company, is looking forward to the new season. “After Covid, after all these challenges, I can’t believe we’re still here!” he says.

He doesn’t have a lot to worry about. Now in its 51st year, Bay State Cruise Company is a continuation of 180 years of continuous ferry service between Boston and Provincetown. Last year, as part of the special anniversary celebration, the ferry launched with the playing of a brass band “and we’ll do that again,” says Glasfeld. “There’s an excitement around being part of this tradition. In Time and the Town, Mary Heaton Vorse wrote about how the ferry sparked life anew into the town. It’s such a celebratory moment, an announcement that the season is here.”

This year the ferry will be back to its old schedule of offering weekend service through Holly Folly, extending the season for many visitors. Glasfield is pleased about that—and about other behind-the-scenes changes like a third fast ferry on hand that will be available for backup equipment. “By maintaining our equipment well, we’ve been at one hundred percent,” he says. “This will help us stay there.”

More obviously, the billion-dollar reconstruction of the pier in Boston is offering renovation for docks and passenger areas alike. But it’s not the practical details that Glasfeld emphasizes. “There’s this amazing experience we have on the ferry,” he says. “It’s the beauty of being on the edge of land and sea. There’s nothing like it.”

And this summer, it’s yours to enjoy!