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    The view for most of the time in the boat.
    Robert K.

    Supposedly this is a new product but it still needs some serious work to make it a pleasant experience. This "cruise" is grossly misleading. It is not a cruise. Instead, 30+ passengers are crammed onto a very small replica ship without seating. With the picture you are led to believe this boat is lead by a person dressed as a revolutionary army captain and the boat goes by the monuments. This not the case. The boat goes 200 yards and then remains anchored for 90 minutes. Yes, the boat DOES NOT MOVE!!! It is not a cruise and literally they could charge half the price and make it a one hour thing where you basically make a small circle with the boat. You literally feel trapped when you immediately realized the ship is not going to go anywhere. There is no music, sounds, or entertainment. I would not recommend this and encourage you to read the reviews here and on Google, TripAdvisor. The negative reviews are not overreacting. If you want a nice boat ride for roughly the same price, I would recommend doing the water taxi to Georgetown and then getting a water taxi back to Alexandria.

    Tour guide Alex demonstrating gunnery duties.

    We enjoyed our half-hour long tour of the Tall Ship Providence. Even though it was a hot day, we were accommodated with air conditioning both in the ship's captain's quarters and also in the dockside educational video room. Our tour guide, Alex, along with the ship's captain, were both courteous and professional, and provided us with an interesting account of this historical vessel.

    Cute little faux cannons all along the ship. Backdrop: Woodrow Wilson Bridge.
    Jan K.

    Tall Ship Providence [TSP]. (3 stars). "Blue. Songs are like tattoos. You know I've been to sea before. Crown and anchor me. Or let me sail away!" Blue by Joni Mitchell BLUF: Nice cruise on the open Potomac River with or without adult beverages. I'll be blunt and to the point. I HAVE the HONOR and the PRIVILEGE of REPAIRING and RIDING SUBMARINES for THE BEST AND STRONGEST NAVY IN THE WORLD!!! In the Navy, we call any vessel that sits ON THE SURFACE of the water, a TARGET!! So riding "surface ships" isn't exactly thrilling to me. I don't get sea sick but it's just really weird to be on the water and actually be able to see the world without looking through a periscope!! Lol. So surreal... Needless to say, I'm QUITE JADED. I'll share my experiences of how we got to enjoy TSP's FIRST EVER wine cruise. ***Due to COVID restrictions, there was a MAX of 10 passengers. MASK UP AT ALL TIMES!!*** I had seen an article in the Alexandria visitor guide that said cruises were available until late October 2020. I asked the BF if he wanted to go. Note: The BF is a retired Navy CPO and submariner so he has a very similar view as I. Except that he did own a dive boat after serving our country and does like to go boating/sailing. He said OK. So we signed up for the Public Cruise (not the wine cruise) for $36 per person. (See the current listing of cruises and prices I posted in the "tips" area). The day came and it was windy!! We walked to the registration site with our electronic tickets (sent 1 day earlier via QR code in email and text) and waited to be called. Since we got there 45 minutes before departure, we were told we were checked in and to come back at 10 minutes to departure. We walked around the waterfront and returned at the stated time. That's when we were informed the Captain had just called OFF the cruise due to the severe weather. We were offered 2 options: 1) Refund. 2) Another day for the cruise. We chose option 2. That's when the young lady at the desk informed us that there would be a wine cruise the following weekend. It would be their first ever. We decided to sign up for the wine cruise so we had to pay for that separately at $58 per person and await the refund for the Public Cruise. Fast forward to the day of the wine cruise. Everything went smoothly. We embarked the ship and started out on our wine cruise. About 5 minutes in, after receiving our "safety brief", we were provide the Charcuterie plate (all individually portioned) from Mia's Italian Kitchen and our wine sampler from Chestnut Oak Vineyard. Note: In the future, each vineyard will have their representative on board the cruise to explain their product but unfortunately, our vineyard rep had a car accident earlier that day... The wines we tried were a nice variety. One red wine. One rosé wine. One white wine. I preferred the red wine. But I'm a red wine drinker. The charcuterie was ginormous and the lavosh was tasty, but I couldn't eat it because it's a "finger food" kind of appetizer and the table each person was given was quite small. Again, NOT the business' fault. There's only so much room for everyone. But still. I found it impossible and inconvenient to eat. Lol. I know, I know. I can eat on a sub in tight quarters... but not with this type of finger food. The BF ate his platter for the most part but left the bruschetta for later. He tried, once, to put the bruschetta on the lavosh, but it fell all over his lap. The prosciutto was salty and tasty!! OK, back to the cruise... You are allowed to sit on the upper deck if you wish. That is where we sat. Once the ship is "far enough out" the Captain will allow you to explore "below deck" to see how this boat was built. Cool trivia info: Providence was the FIRST ship authorized to serve in the Continental Navy and the FIFTH ship commissioned. Providence was also featured in Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest. The cruise is 75 minutes long. It departs the Waterfront harbor and heads towards the Washington Monument (from afar) and then turns back around and heads towards the Woodrow Wilson Bridge before mooring back at the pier. Unfortunately, due to USCG restrictions, we weren't allowed to raise the sails. BOO!! That was one of the reasons why I wanted to go on this cruise. We both agreed the cruise was nice. We would go again if we had friends wanted to go, but for us, it's one and done. Customer service was friendly and welcoming!! Tip: Get the "Key to the City" discount for $20 (valued at $60) from the Alexandria Visitor Center!! This gives you discounts to many Old Town Alexandria [OTALX] businesses including TSP!! I believe the discount for TSP is 40% off!! We didn't know that until after. Yelp is NOT really used here in OTALX and TSP promotes using and reviewing them on Trip Advisor. That's great for tourist but what about for residents?? I wouldn't use Trip Advisor to find out things in my own community?!

    Tall Ship Providence.

    Fun and interesting tour lead by engaging guides. If you're in Old Town, check it out!

    Rocket Frog craft beer menu
    Grendel C.

    While here for a quick weekend trip we booked the tall ship Providence to see the sights from the water and enjoy a craft beer tasting. I would NOT recommend this excursion as the crew wasn't pleasant or customer focused, for $60.00 you received 4 - 3'oz pours of beer. Sigh...offer the customers 1 can. It was like being trapped on a old ship with nothing, no music, no fun, no customer service, nothing. Do yourselves a favor and look for other excursions.

    We took the tour and now going to book a cruise. Great staff, really knowledgeable and awesome ship. Don't hesitate to book and enjoy a bit of history here at the Wharf!!

    Excellent vessel. The crew is informative and fun! My buddy Phil is a deckhand and took me and my friends out on a tour. So fun! They sell adult beverages out of a cooler. Great way to spend a sunny afternoon.

    A great view from the upper deck

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    10 months ago

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    6 years ago

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    Clair S.

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    2 years ago

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    Will D.

    We're so glad you had a wonderful time! Thank you for coming aboard!

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    3 years ago

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    Will D.

    Thanks Betty! We're glad you had a lovely time!

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    5 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    Will D.

    Thanks for coming out!

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    4 years ago

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    4 years ago

    really enjoyed both my excursions on this ship. lovely views and a pleasant couple hours on the water!

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    Ask the Community - Tall Ship Providence

    Review Highlights - Tall Ship Providence

    Especially thanks to everyone who worked with us: Alex, Caroline, Jessie, Will, Ian, and the actor who played Captain John Paul Jones.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    Potomac Paddle Club - Navy Yard - Nats Park and the Capitol

    Potomac Paddle Club - Navy Yard

    (52 reviews)

    My cousin reserved the up-to-6-passenger Tiki cruise as a local bachelorette party for me and our…read moregroup of 3 had a blast. Captain Matt not only gave us a great ride and was full of DC trivia we weren't familiar with even after 15 years of living in the DMV area - but also let my cousin do a little decorating for the occasion, and passengers can byo food and alcohol. We opted to cruise directly underneath the flight path for jets landing at DCA for a few exhilarating flyovers, then took in the Lincoln Memorial from the water. Want to play your own tunes? Connect to the onboard Bluetooth speaker. Hair getting in your face? Captain Matt has hair ties for you. Even for a short trip we felt like we had a full service experience. Perfect idea for guests in town as a new and fun way to experience the area, or for an occasion.

    Rented a boat for a graduation celebration with friends on a Tuesday at 5pm. It was a great time!…read moreWe all wished we could extend for another hour (or four). The hosts answered all our questions, we were able to connect to the speaker, and we got in a mini photo shoot on the dock during the halfway point pit stop. The ride was very peaceful but also lit when we wanted it to be! Other groups were waving from their boats, the monuments provided poppin' views/backdrops throughout the ride, and we didn't even actually haaaave to paddle the whole time! I would definitely get a group together and go out on the water with this company again! A lit DC summer experience!

    Cruisin Tikis Solomons Island - Tiki boat on the dock

    Cruisin Tikis Solomons Island

    (4 reviews)

    We recently did a 2-hour Tiki cruise for my mom's birthday, and had such a great time! The boat…read moredeparts from a bar/restaurant on the water so there's plenty of parking and you can grab a drink or a bite (and use the bathrooms--there's none on the boat) before or after. The boat itself is literally a round, floating tiki bar on the water. It holds up to 6 people plus the captain. You can bring your own drinks (recommend taking a page out of our book and bringing a pitcher of pre-made painkillers with you for the ride!) and snacks, and they provide water and drinking ice. You can also connect to bluetooth speakers to play your own music. Our captain was great, he chatted with us throughout the ride, pointing out wildlife and sharing little tidbits about the landmarks and history of the area as we cruised around. As you'd expect this thing doesn't move very quickly, but it made for a really relaxing ride with plenty of time to check out the views, enjoy a few drinks, and gawk at all the houses and boats along the shore. We went around 6:30pm and it was perfect for beating the heat and catching some sunset. Would totally do this again for a special occasion or with out of town visitors!

    Relaxing and fun! Two hours on the water with a nice breeze, despite the blazing heat, was chill…read moreand just enough time. My husband and I were with two other couples/family and every one of us loved it. The skipper Jim was friendly and knowledgeable about the area. We brought a couple of adult beverages, leis, and snacks, and we had an instant floating luau!

    Tall Ship Providence - boatcharters - Updated May 2026

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