The cost will remain unchanged, priced at £10 for foot passengers and £50 for vehicle deposits.

Confirmation of sailings and fares will be sent out towards the end of 2018, with final balance payments due during February 2019. Any bookings which are not paid in full will be put back on sale the following month.

Last year, the Steam Packet Company completed more than 5,000 provisional bookings in just 10 hours, a substantial increase on the 3,500 handled on the same day in 2016, and demand is expected to be extremely high again this year, so additional staff will again be brought in to assist.

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company Chief Executive Mark Woodward said:

‘Last year we announced the date that provisional bookings were to open to give fans as much time as possible to plan.

‘Traditionally, provisional bookings for the following year’s TT have opened during TT Practice Week, but this is a time when our staff are already very busy so we have brought the date forward a week earlier than normal.

‘Demand to visit the TT remains strong, so we expect our website and phone lines to be very busy on 21st May. We will have additional staff but would ask for the public’s patience as we deal with the high volume of customer inquiries.’

So far this is my worst experience of trying to book.

Website has crashed, as usual, so it's the phone/redial routine.

"The number you have called has not been recognised" is the most common message. A few engaged tones and a few unobtainable tones and two "the other caller has hung up".

Frustrated!

Having, in the past few years, queued for up to and over 5 hours at the Douglas booking office and then not got the sailings I wanted, I was a bit worried about booking on-line for 2019 a week earlier than usual.

However, I tried online at 08:30 got the exact sailings I wanted after a very nerve wracking 15 minutes.

Phew!

Good luck to everyone with their bookings

Same #### as every other year. I’ve been pressing redial for 50 minutes, bored of this.

It's an absolute joke this, 55 minutes now, almost triple the amount of time I've had to wait in the past, I thought they were getting more staff.

Definately worst its been in years. Supposed to start at 8:30 but m8 of mine booked done and dusted online by 8:15.

We got 4 different peaple trying to get through and no one can get through. Liverpool office line as just gone dead.
They way things are going I wouldn't be surprised if they sell a load of to corporate packages and leave the likes of us to fight over what's left

I think I'll leave it for today I'm only going over on foot anyway so it's easier to get a booking, it's too nice to sit on the phone all morning. Even the website is offline now.

Ill give em another hour then the grand and a half a piece we usually spend can be used to go to French motogp instead.

the worst I've ever known, just booked now, Sat morning return to heysham already full!
I believe the phones have crashed on the Island as well, don't know if thats related or not.
Does this mean far more people are trying to book?
or the systems have gotten worse?

Almost booked online. Selected sailings and lounge seats then it crashed!

Still trying!

Thats why they started booking early cos they have cut back and are using a ZX81 for the booking system.

2 hours of constant redial, still nothing. Pathetic.

Two hours and getting nowhere on phone or online.

I can see me not going next year.... Worst I've experienced

What's the feeling of booking a standby ticket?

Do small groups on standby generally get on?

Is there any truth to the claims that no phones in Douglas are working?

All done, just got through on phone. sailings I'm happy with...... Epic wait but it's done

Just booked, no Senior but we get the Superbike race so happy. I was only on hold for 5 minutes which was better than usual.
Keep trying everyone, you forget the pain once it’s booked.

My girlfriend has taken over from me and still can't get through, it has never taken more than 20 minutes in the past, nearly 3 HOURS now and still nothing.