I am going to start out to say that before arrival, I was very hungry so I could enjoy the crabs and was a little but hangry.
Okay... here we go with the review. Hubby booked the event for us to travel on the paddleboat which was booked for June 11th, but he received a voice message a few nights before to advise the ride was postponed without any reason or warning. Hubby made arrangements to reschedule for June 18th.
It took us about less 2 hours with a little traffic to arrive. There was plenty of parking. I had to immediately relieve myself and did find outdoor restrooms available. Sadly I did not check the utilities prior, and had to quickly go, but to find out the water was not turned on. There was no way to flush or wash my hands but thank God I keep wipes and hand sanitizer on me. I felt embarrassed to leave the bathroom in it's condition. I did advise a staff member who happened to be walking by. She apologized, but I was still embarrassed.
We walked up the pier/dock to the boat. We were unsure which boat was ours. Moments later, a staff member advised us to please be patient while they were unloading and reloading another boat due to technical difficulties. Some guests were happy with the delay, since they were running late.
We were technically to board at 12pm, I think we finally able to board about after 12:30 or so. We gave our names and we advised that we were on the bottom deck, 2nd table to the right. The reservation was for us to be on the top deck, no accommodation given. Once on board and inside we began to search the table but we never found our name on either of the tables or neither side. We even checked on the upper deck, but it was fully booked for a private party. This is where I was beginning to loose my patience and cool.
We then walked back outside to advise we could not find the said table in question and no one seem to have a clue on what was happening. So we then went back inside since the check in person was busy checking everyone else in. We sat down at a table in the back not even set up. Everyone else was being catered to, had cole slaw awaiting and drinks being served. Several staff members did seem concerned, but it still took several minutes before anyone dealt with us and figured out where we were to sit.
The boat is in dire need of some upgrades. Our table was wobbly and you see the wall paper was coming undone, grease stains along the walls, as well as food stains right near me. Even the drapes could use some TLC. Hubby showed me the email or messages from the staff when rescheduling and was offered a few comp drinks, but we were unable to deal with it, so no birthday drink for me. There is only bar for the entire boat, so the entire party drop upstairs came down for drinks and were standing everywhere and even putting there back ends near our small table. Hubby ended up moving closer to the window side of the table to avoid being bumped by the lively party.
Once we started to take sail, the staff began to serve us appetizers. Each guest was served a bowl of cole slaw, then one ear of corn per guest!! Thank God hubby doesn't eat corn on the cob. And they were serves at warm temperatures, but the crab seasoning was delicious on top of the corn. Then we were served crab soup and fried chicken and fried clams. The chicken was salty and hard to eat, but hubby ate around the skin. We didn't care for the clams since they were overcooked and not edible to enjoy.
The staff came around and cleared the each table to make way for the crabs. We wished there were other food options for people who may not eat crabs. But a staff did give hubby another bowl of soup. The male crabs were very heavy and seasoned well. For dessert, we had cheesecake, which was good and we were able to get another slice.
I appreciate the staff for giving me some sliced lemons so that I can wash my hands. Warning, the restrooms are very small and please be careful when you are at the sink, since the door is directly near the sink and you can be easily hit by the door if no one is aware. I kept the door ajar to avoid being hit.
The boat did stop a few times to board a few late comers and to bring additional food items for the party guests.
Overall, we might do it again just for the crabs. We did cruise around for about 3 hrs and saw some nice houses near the water. read more