As much as the FFXIV1.0 boat ride gave a sense of distance between Limsa's port to Vesper Bay, it didn't have anything particularly special on the ride itself.
You could craft on the boat, and fish I think, but there wasn't anything exclusive on the boat,... unless if you consider talking to a few NPCs as being worthy content.

Even with the instant travel for ferry and airship, the transition cutscene becomes a nuisance for some people, which is why there's the option to auto-skip cutscenes.

Point being, is they would have to design something for the ride, not just to have the ride for the sake of having it.
Though, it doesn't seem like it's coming anytime soon.

Just the general sense of exploration feels dead to me in this game.