After COVID and hurricanes, Ship Island Excursions are set to return out of Gulfport
Access to Ship Island has mostly been limited to those who own a boat over the last two years, and now a starting date is set for Ship Island Excursions to begin ferry service to the island from the Gulfport Harbor.
“The National Park Service has assured us we’re going to be operating March 5,” said Captain Louis Skrmetta, whose family has operated Ship Island Excursions for generations.
Warm days over the Christmas holiday brought dozens of calls asking when the excursions would reopen, Skrmetta said. They already are taking online reservations.
It’s been a tough couple of years for Ship Island Excursions and the locals and tourists who enjoy spending a day on the barrier island 11 miles off the Coast, where the water in the Gulf is clear, the beaches white and the days stretch on for swimming, sunning and exploring the fort on the island.
The excursions were suspended in early 2020 at the start of the pandemic. Just before the ferry service resumed, Tropical Storm Cristobal caused damage in June 2020. They opened for a few weeks until Hurricane Zeta badly damaged the island in October 2020.
“We didn’t go out at all this last year,” he said, but now repairs are under way.
His crews went out to the island Wednesday to move kitchen equipment so the floor can be replaced, he said. The kitchen had about 8 inches of water during the storms that also tore up the cross island boardwalk. The boardwalk is almost completely restored, he said, while repairs still have to be done on the pier deck before opening day.
Ticket sales are open and are 90% online, Skrmetta said. Adult tickets for the round-trip boat ride to Ship Island start at $31 with a family package.
Ship Island Excursions continued taking passengers out on the water while Ship Island wasn’t accessible.
The 90-minute dolphin cruises to see the dolphins in the Gulfport channel proved to be very popular, he said. The dolphin cruises will resume March 11, with tickets $24 for an adult, and the Gulfport Cocktail Cruises start again in April.
This story was originally published January 7, 2022 at 7:30 AM.
