Travellers heading from North Sydney, N.S., to Newfoundland without a ferry reservation may experience lengthy waits.

The Marine Atlantic ferry service is running at full capacity on the North Sydney to Port aux Basques, N.L., route.

"We are ready to take a ferry and no ferry for a week," said visitor Tony Fairfield.

Fairfield, who's from Amos, Que., came East last week. He intended to have a motorcycle holiday in Newfoundland but arrived in North Sydney without a ferry reservation.

He's been told the next available space is Aug. 6, late next week.

Marine Atlantic spokesperson Tara Laing explained this is the busiest time of the year for the ferry service.

"We actually increased our number of crossings for the summer of 2010, but based upon our models and that, we knew that we were going [to have a] capacity challenge," Laing said.

"That's what we're seeing."

Even passengers with reservations, however, have been experiencing delays because of a recent breakdown of one of the vessels.

Boom for tourism business

The delays have been helping to create more business in North Sydney and area.

"The hotels, the restaurants, just the local tourism itself - it's brought people into our community that we see that would not probably have stopped over," said Julie MacKinnon, who manages the North Star Inn.

Travel advisories on the Marine Atlantic website list the changes to upcoming crossings.

Ferry officials said travellers without reservations can still sometimes secure space due to cancellations.

Frustration for truckers

Meanwhile, some truckers remain so angered by the new reservation system that they've threatened to protest at the two ferry terminals.

Truckers used to board the ferry on a first-come, first-served basis but have had to book ahead since March.

Small trucking companies say they can't get timely reservations under this new system because bigger companies have been block-booking ahead and cancelling at the last minute.

Marine Atlantic has warned service interruptions won't be tolerated and protesters could be refused service for a period of time.