Now when was the last time I been on a cruise? This is certainly the first time I had ever been on…read moreone on my own. I booked the Morning Mimosas Cruise with Gansett Cruises on Viator literally the night before I got to go. Like, it was about 9 at night and there were maybe 13 hours left before the cruise when I booked.
But spoiler alert, to say I was glad I chose to take a cruise here is a massive understatement! This will not just be a review on Yelp, but I plan to leave a review on Viator as well.
So parking is a little dicey to get to the cruise itself, but it's still very manageable, even if you're like me and have absolutely no idea what you're doing. But once I parked and finished up with Scrimshanders, I checked in and there were a lot of people who came in after I did, opening my eyes to see just how much ridership this got. Even from the docks, the view is to die for! It took me back to when I used to visit my aunt in Florida we had this harbor that eventually led straight into the Gulf of Mexico itself. I guess this marina really does come full circle since, via Narragansett Bay, this harbor takes you straight into the Atlantic Ocean!
So when it was time to board, we got Dave as our tour guide, and this guy is honestly a hoot and a peach! Knowing how to blend in humor with being a knowledgeable tour guide takes a certain kind of craft that's better than anything I could ever do, but this guy NAILS it! This cruise also helps give a sense of how beautiful Rhode Island's coasts truly are. It's a cruise I recommend everyone try at least once in their lifetimes.
The Morning Mimosa Cruise offers a complimentary mimosa or orange juice, but they do have other things you can pay for via a cash bar (I do hear they accept credit cards, but because I still had to go to Providence after this, I just stuck with the complimentary stuff). I got the mimosa, and honestly, having a mimosa on a cruise ship goes so well together, like maple syrup and waffles, or shadows and Halloween. And while the day was still on the chilly side, it was such a beautiful day for this kind of cruise.
Not only that, but there's a lot of history one can learn by going on this cruise. For example, we passed by the place where JFK had his wedding reception which Dave mentioned about. The America's Cup was raced here from 1930 to 1987, something that was mentioned on my actual boarding pass. We could see Fort Adams, and while it never really saw war itself, it was built to be a fort for the War of 1812. The bridge I used to get here to Newport was the most expensive budget of its year outside the Moon landing, and yet that bridge was built so efficiently that it was finished $1 million under budget. And yachts tend to cost eight or nine figures. It served as a window to high society that I will never be able to own, but would be so cool to imagine. Now do you have a sense as to what kind of place Newport, Rhode Island truly is?
But perhaps my favorite part of the cruise came as we were beginning to turn around to go back towards the docks. At the furthest point, there it was! Right in my line of sight. It was the Atlantic Ocean! Vast, beautiful, majestic! The kind of thing that demands nothing but respect and awe! When I see the ocean on a beautiful day like this one, there's really no beating it no matter where you are. And I was right on its doorstep, ready to say hello.
Seriously, if and when you find yourself in Newport, definitely take one of these cruises! They're unforgettable!
