Kingston 1000 Islands Cruises

The fhost cruise was very underwhelming. The " ghost" stories felt rushed and unfinished and frinks prices were astronomical. ($56 for 4 drinks)

We booked the Dinner Cruise with Premium Seats for Thanksgiving Weekend. As we are not from Kingston, we also booked a hotel and planned to make a romantic weekend out of it.

Two days before the cruise, I received a phone call from the manager who wanted to verify my tickets. During the conversation, I asked if the menu would change since it is thanksgiving and she said no, but wanted to let me know that most people order the beef and that there is no guarantee that we would get beef. I found this very odd as she sounded nervous. She then informed me that we would have the option of duck leg (have never been a duck fan), fish (we do not like fish) or some sort of pasta with ‘beyond meat”. I remained polite and mentioned to her that we had paid for a premium table and asked if she could write us down for beef and she said no, and immediately jumped into “we can cancel and refund you, which we never do” or “ we could book you at another time”. By now I was sitting in complete disbelief and asked “so are you saying there is no beef” - to which she replied “I am not saying that, but please let me know if you would like to cancel or rebook - it is up to you”. I told her I would call back as I wanted to talk to my fiancé and also check the hotel…

Because of the late notice, the hotel was unable to reimburse us. The next day, I phoned her again (after leaving several messages) and that I was on the hook for the hotel and worried by the nature of the call from the day before.and I explained to her that we couldn’t book something else because of the lack of notice to the hotel, she again said “it’s your decision”.

I did receive a refund, but this entire thing feels wrong to me.

Firstly, I feel her initial call was in hopes of getting me to cancel. This company does not offer an option to select your meal on booking, yet does not ensure guests will get the meal they want. This “cruise” is $352 for two people, so I do not think it’s unreasonable to get the meal you want. At one point in the conversation she told me that people usually want the beef, but the caterer can not offer it for all guests. Secondly, the fact that she did not care that I was already locked into a hotel booking and did not offer any help other than “it’s your choice”, I am sorry, but that is just plain gaslighting.

Fortunately we were still able to enjoy our hotel and had dinner at an incredible local restaurant that night, so the weekend was not lost. With this said, I will not rebook this company for anything in the future and will not recommend them to any of my friends. They could have done better and should do better in the future.

We went on the cruise with lunch. The food is definitely a hit or miss. I had the beef ribs, and it was very good! However my partner had the fish with corn, the fish was extremely boring and stale, and the corn had a disgusting goat smell and taste. Something definitely went wrong in the kitchen.

Great day on the boat exploring 1000 islands. Fun day even though the weather was cloudy and gloomy.

The staff were fantastic and it was extra special that the musician sang happy birthday to my friend. He followed by singing a Spanish song as well. Thank you as it meant the world to him!

Would highly recommend taking this tour!

Beautiful day on the Island Queen from the harbour in kingston. This was a 3 hour trip which i thought was going past Bolt Castle and it did not, that was a bit disappointing but nice cruise thru the Islands

Went on the 3 hours brunch cruise on Sunday July 16th on the Island Queen. If I could give 10 stars I would. It was lovely, relaxing, entertaining and educational. Russell, our guide was extremely professional and knowledgeable. My husband did have a question about the waterway depth he was unsure of. He went above and beyond and checked with the captain to get us the answer to our question. The live music was fantastic and had many passengers smiling and singing. The wait staff were prompt and professional and the food was top notch, better than most restaurants we have been to over the last several years. Great value for the price, The islands/properties were amazing to see. An extremely positive experience. Would go again in a heartbeat. Well done captain and crew.

There is no better way to spend your day, than in a cruise in Kingston on the lake. Relaxing and scenic guided boat tours. A restaurant available inside.

Great Experience. We took 3 hour tour and it was amazing. Make sure to take a jacket if you wish to sit on top deck because its cold with wind. Service is great, they arranged social distance for seating. Be there early to avoid rush and to seat where you like.

Threatening rude staff - my daughter was choking because of the unnecessarily loud announcements, I was publicly reprimanded over the tannoy for taking her outside to calm her down. Dreadful music inside - unpleasantly loud. Above all a rip off for a 50 minute circle around the bay, no view of the islands.

The boat cruise was beautiful and the meal was delicious. Our wait staff was attentive and professional.
The one note of difference was the bartender who spent time maskless, talking about how he worked the previous 7 days, discussed who had posted what on social media and how he spent one recent shift arguing via text with a girl, until one waitstaff asked him to wear his mask.
Everything else was fantastic and I would recommend this company and tour wholeheartedly.

Lovely boat ride.guide was very knowledgeable. No food but popcorn to purchase which was extremely over priced!

I booked this tour with my teenage children expecting loads of history, interesting facts and valuable commentary. There was virtually none - instead a gentleman played a portable piano (bless him) and chatted through songs a la Tony Bennett. This may be fine for some, but if you’re looking for substance RUN AWAY. Comically terrible. Hell on water.

Great cruise overall. The captain was funny and informed everyone about the sights along the way.

I booked the 3hr cruise for my wife and I for this past Monday and it was quite disappointing and some what depressing to be honest. First off, we were told that we couldn't bring food or drinks on to the boat eg.lunch. So we ate beforehand. The scary part was that the restaurant that we bought lunch at said we shouldn't have booked the Kingston cruise and we should have driven half hour up the 401 to Gananoque for a far better experience.

When we boarded the boat several people had pre packed lunches and snacks in backpacks and nobody questioned anyone.

The Covid protocols on the boat were a joke and provided little to no protection inside, yet outside on the upper deck, with open air, they had limited seating and didn't rope off the proper rows to avoid crowding. It was a pathetic attempt.

The entertainment was a guitarist who for the first two hours played the worst slowest elevator music ever. It was so dry and boring. I had never heard any of the songs. The last hour he seemed to kick it up a few notches and played good tunes!

The bar tender lady doubled as the "tour guide" / "narrorator" and simply read from a prepared script. She was so dry and stumbled on her words and even read ahead of schedule, telling us about islands or sites we had yet to see. Then.continued to apologize throughout the script for her errors. I felt embarrassed for her.

I was so glad when it was over and would never recomend anyone taking this cruise. Go up to the Gananoque!

The cruise was nice and clean. But 3 hours seems very long. However, the cruise announcements was very slow, we can barely hear it. Even though you are onboard for 3 hours you want be exploring much. You have to see everything from very far sight. It’s one time go thing we won’t visit again.

This Cruise is very expensive compare to the other cruises which are boarding outside of Kingston. If you drive 15 min out of town you can save 10 to 15 dollars per person
The crew is very rude and not accommodative at all. The boat is old and chairs are dirty

Horrible experience. The cruise staffs were so rude and we were made to sit together despite not being a family. Instead of going with this cruise there are many other cruise lines that are much cheaper and nicer.

Amazing experience. We were group of 10! Enjoyed every moment of those 3Hrs. The cruise staff is really helpful. Also the cruise is very clean. Overall, big thumbs up!

The crew were very friendly and helped me to get my stroller on and off the boat. We did the 1 hour cruise which was the perfect length for 2 young kids.

Overall we had a positive and fun experience on the sunset cruise. That being said, $9.20 for 1 can of twisted tea is highway robbery.

The front-line staff are friendly, so I don't have any issue with them. I am disappointed with the company. On the website, it clearly shows that $50 per person with live entertainment and FIVE COURSE DINNER. When we went on the cruise, THERE WAS NO DINNER. DRINKS & SNACKS ARE NOT INCLUDED and people had to buy expensive snacks/drinks from them if they wanted to eat/drink. Why are you lying, @1000islandcruises? I need an answer. If you guys are planning to take this cruise, bring your own food & drinks.

Good food, staff was incredibly friendly, loved the music. Amazing and unique night out - worth every penny. Very reasonable for a 3 hour night out on the water. Hoping to do this trip every summer now

Went on the 3 hour lunch cruise with my wife for our anniversary. Definitely not worth the money. After boarding it took our waitress almost half an hour to come take our drink order, then another 10 or so minutes for them to arrive. At the point our drink order was taken, every other table had ordered and received their drinks. My wife's wine glass had stuff floating in it so we asked for another. Finally after another 10/15 minutes she got her wine. Charcuterie board that was part of our 'premium' ticket was skimpy and had clearly been sitting out for a while. I didn't eat my salad since I tried to pick out all the parts that had gone bad and wilted, but I finally gave up after I had removed half my salad.
Waitress didn't write down our order when she took it, and brought my wife fish instead of the veggie burger she ordered. So I ate my lunch while it was warm, and she didn't get her food until after I had finished.
My wife doesn't drink a lot of wine so isn't up on all the flavour profiles and thought her wine tasted a bit off from what she had ordered, but it was still OK so she drank it and ordered another glass. Our waitress said she felt bad so the second glass was on the house. When we read the bill, we noticed she definitely got the wrong wine as well which is why my wife thought it tasted odd.
I ordered a coffee to have with my dessert, and it was stone cold. The dessert cheesecake was good though.
Wait staff came around before the bills came and were asking that we tip based on the cost of our tickets in total, not on just our drinks we ordered. Something about that seemed a bit off to me.
Views were nice, but not enough to make up for everything else.

Would not recommend the expensive lunch cruise. Just get one of the normal tickets and bring your own food or get some snacks from the canteen on the first deck.

I took my grandsons on the 1 hour discovery cruise. It was very informative, but a great trip too. My 3 boys loved it. The Captain was fantastic. My 2 1/2 year old grandson even enjoyed it.

We really enjoyed this relaxing cruise. Views were lovely, dinner and service were excellent. There was an ongoing commentary, but on the dinner deck -2nd level- the noise of the boat makes it impossible to hear. Later in the cruise we could hear a solo entertainer singing on lower deck. For those who are not physically able to go up a flight of stairs, and they are very steep stairs, I did overhear the crew offering to serve a patron dinner on the lower - water level - deck. This is also the level the washrooms are on.
They could easily turn this into a 2-2.5 hour cruise, we felt 3 hours was a bit too long.
I'd recommend this to friends for a twist on dinner out.

Took the sunset cruise on the Island Queen boat. Was on the upper deck and it was a wonderful experience. At 1.5 hours it was just the right amount of time on board. The captain was very friendly as were the girls who served at the 2 bars and also provided very upbeat commentary about some historical sites. Once we settled in, on came the yacht rock channel (sirius xm radio) and we enjoyed the view. Seating was ok as we sat up front on the right facing seats. I wouldn't advise that if you're looking for a quite spot as everyone storms upfront to take pictures which made our "date night" of peace away from the kids a little less than we hoped for lol. After about 45 mins people finally stopped crowding us and we enjoyed a bit of peace for the last half of the cruise. So, enjoy a bench seat.maybe near the back if you don't want people standing all around you There is a seat on the top deck right in front of the captions control room looking forward. The lower deck is at water level and has window seats with tables which is quite if you don't want to be outside. All and all it was a memorable experience and would recommend this. P. S if you want a good seat you should arrive early as you have to line up to board. First on gets the best seat choices as they are not reserved when you buy your tickets.

It was a really cool 1h cruise (especially during restrictions for Covid-19). They found a way to adapt the ship for us to keep our distance between other people and accomodate us to keep the good part of the view outside. The only problem was the speaker sound from one of a guide was to low to listen from outside so we lost a part of the speech.

The trip, music and staff were great! The food.it spoilt the experience. The salad was stale. Lettuce leaves were not fresh. We ordered 3 different items: none tasted good. The kids could not even eat the burger! We ended up buying pop corn and snacks
from the first floor to substitute for lunch.

I'd repeat the tour.but I will never book the lunch cruise.

Last time boat was late 10 mintues they said sorry, but yesterday we reached 2 mintuea late and we requested before reaching but staff said its our fix time we can't wait for u guys.we waste our money $350.

I am really impress and I can say great place for family getaway. Amazing cruise experience. We had a great fun time, relaxing together with the kids. Two thumbs up for this experience.

I was so excited for this trip, but it was not that great. The employees were great and the way they explain everything was perfect. But it was not the excited.

I boarded the Heart of The Islands 3 hour cruise and I must say I was very disappointed. The beer selection was extremely limited! They offered live entertainment but the performer only played music from his era (1960s to 1970s). Not everyone on the boat wanted to listen to his performance which lasted majority of the cruise! The performer did offer to take song requests but only from his era which I thought was hilarious. There was poor supervision of the boat in terms of covid 19 rules because people on the lower decks pretty much stayed at the top deck for majority of the cruise. Many times these adults had to be constantly reminded on loud speaker to put on their mask. These same adults children kept running up and down the stairs playing tag or hide and go seek which is a safety hazard. There was even people sitting on metal containers that I think contained something that would be used in the event there was an emergency. The good thing was this tour offered views of all the islands on the Canadian side but other than that, the value wasn't up to par. I have been on better cruises in Brockville that offered a shorter cruise time, more alcohol variety and peace and quite (all you heard the entire cruise was your thoughts, the birds and the lake splashing), better management of all on board and were reasonably priced for admission. I wouldn't go back on the 3 hour cruise for sure!

Nice cruise. We got the 1h trip and it worth every minute. It goes only through summmer houses but the landscape is really nice. They play a recording explaining in detail all the places we passed through. Recommended.

Really unfair to charge an enfant the price of the adult and insist on that. Had to loss my ticket for my child as the capacity is now less and the crews were impolite with us

If you are affraid of getting Covid 19, please just avoid this cruise. I took a 3-hour cruise yesterday (July 2021). I was there with a group of 27 people. They were anything but respectful of the other passengers. They kept getting closer and closer to me, they did not wear a mask, and at one point, they turned on a very loud Bluetooth speaker, and just put it in the uper deck, where I was. They were so loud and unpleasant, I spend my time trying to focus on the cruise, to listen to the guided tour and to ignore them. I could not. It was the most stressfull exprience I could think of. I ended up going to the lower deck towards the end of the cruise. Exhausted, stressed, miserable. I talked to 2 members of the staff who appologised and were very nice. The problem is, this should NOT happen. The company should enforce Ontario's Health Safety measures. The rules where not clear enough for them. At one point, the captain explained that they could remove their masks only if they were seating. But they kept removing them, not keepting their distances, and nobody from the staff was there to monitore their behaviour. I do not recommend this. I will now write a formal complain to the company. I will keep you posted if they say something about their actions.
The 1000 islands are beautiful though.

Boring
We only saw the one island. Then we saw the kingston harbour which all that i can see from my hotel. We paid for something i can see from my balcony or i can walk to it.

I don’t recommend the cruise. You not going to really see anything

After a very long time, loved walking around the area and saw the ice rink, kiddos wanted to go but didn't bring skates. Maybe next time.

I loved the Islands cruise in a clean, beautiful summer day. The tour guides will be happy to share historical and fun facts relates to the 1000 islands. From the history of a timber industry tycoon who invented an ingenious way to transport timber to Quebec using the St Lawrence river, to the myth of the creation of the islands as paradise on Earth, to the mysterious stories related to notorious prisoners in one f Canada[s most famous prisons. And if you are not a big of history, you can still enjoy the beautiful views from the boats, the breeze that relieves the summer heat. It's a must see in this town of Ontario, once the capital of the country!

J'écris ce message en français pour que vous puissiez mieux me comprendre. Nous n'avons pas trop aimé la croisière sur le St Laurent alors que nous nous faisions un plaisir de la faire. Ils nous avaient dit au début qu'ils feraient des commentaires en français de temps en temps, mais nous n'avons jamais rien entendu dans cette langue. Comme avec le trolley de la veille les commentaires étaient beaucoup trop longs, et beaucoup trop fort pour que la promenade soit aussi un moment un agréable. La croisière dure trois heures mais je pense que nous n'avons eu qu'une bonne demie heure de beau spectacle une fois que le bateau est arrivé près des petites îles. Avant cela nous ne faisions que naviguer sans rien voir d'intéressant. Beaucoup de monde, mais cela ne nous a pas dérangé. Une fois de plus BEAUCOUP TROP BRUYANT. Les canadiens et les nord-américains savent-ils parler sans crier? Nous avons eu le même problème dans les restaurants. Dans ce cas le voyage devient une fatigue et non un plaisir.

We were supposed to take the lunch cruise aboard the Island Star at 12: 30pm. We left Toronto 7: 30 am and stopped to buy a quick breakfast at onroute but as per GPS we will be arriving about 11am but as of a sudden they close the 401 highway from Napanee and has to take the side road with so much traffic. I did called them ahead in advance but they cannot do anything about it and they won't refund us the money. We arrived 1pm and spoke to the manager but they can only give us a sightseing tour that day. We are frustrated coz we came with 2 tourist with us and we don't want our trip to go to waste. They just don't care as long as they already got your money. We ended up getting the dining cruise and paid a lot of money for it. The Dining cruise is a joke! The food is ordinary and after 8pm we cannot see anything outside coz the light inside the room is reflecting on the window. What a waste of money and time.

I did the 3 hour scenic cruise with a group of 4.

I found this cruise to be overbooked. The average age demographic on the cruise was 60+ and there were quite a few people with mobility issues that needed a place to sit. I think it is unacceptable for a 3 hour cruise catering to this demographic to not provide seating for everyone on board. The band was entertaining, but there was not enough seating for people to enjoy them.

The food on board at the canteen was extremely over priced. For example, $4 for a mediocre slice of pizza. They don’t allow outside food or drink on the boat.

I found the commentary on board to be irritating and innappropriate at times, especially in regards to indigenous peoples.

The cruise itself was only interesting for about 45 minutes out of the 3 hours, as you spend most of the time travelling to and from the islands listening to irritating commentary, and only see the islands for about 45 minutes.

I would be interested to know if anyone does this tour more than once.

What a great time unwinding, relaxing and enjoying the view! Tasteful food, thoughtful service, colorful jazz band! A must go visiting Kingston!

Enjoyed this immensely, the food (lunch cruise) was excellent. This was more fun than expected, beautiful scenery, next time well do the dinner cruise

I did the 90 minutes tour which was great if you've never done it before. However, i've done the tour from Gananoque which was way better and had better views of the mansions and nicer islands.

Recent went on the 90 minute tour and it was a great time. They have chairs for people to sit in but I don't believe they had enough for everyone so I would advise you get there at least 30 minutes early. The tour itself was very smooth once the boat started moving. The audio playing was charming and informative and the views are spectacular.

We took the island star dinner cruise. It was the second time taking the cruise and we decided to get the premium seats. Food was excellent, service was great and great entertainment. It is one of the best experiences you will ever have. I highly recommend it. Regardless of the price. We plan on going again next summer.

We had a really good time. Dinner was very good! The service was great and the waitress was spot on. We were treated very respectfully.

Excellent food, gorgeous views, the most entertaining entertainment. This cruise was everything we had hoped for. Would do it again.

Highly recommended if you are in Kingston. We took the 3 hour cruise and had a great experience. My only complaint is that it was about an hour and a half until we got to the islands, it felt like most of the time we were just travelling on open waters. However, overall, it was great and I think that anyone would enjoy just being out on the water for a few hours!

Was amazed to see how beautiful was the 1000 slands. The cruise with sightseeing and dining is a must. You won' t regret it
People are very kind also.

My wife and I had a great time on the island star dinner boat cruise. We enjoyed the food and entertainment. The service was exceptional and they even surprised us with a glass of champagne for our honeymoon getaway. We couldn’t have asked for a better evening.

Whent on a dinner time cruise with my girlfriend for her 40th birthday. We had such a good time, great food, great service and Billy was awesome. Thanks for the experience!

J’ai effectué la croisière de 90 min et je dois dire que je suis un peu déçu. J’espère que celle de 3h est plus intéressante. Personnel à bord correct. Attention impossible d’apporter à bord vos boissons ou collations! L’intérêt est plus que discutable mais ça n’engage que moi.

The sunset dinner cruise was excellent. The tour around the islands, very informative. The dinner- excellent. I had the rack of lamb -awesome. Billy Bridger’s music/comedy show had everyone in stitches. We are definitely going back.

I am.working for them as a day cleaner.
Very nice company to work for.
People should take the time to say good morning.n not ne such in hurry to tell me to get off the boats cause of public is boarding after all. Ive there long enough to know. Thank you very much plus i work very hard physically hard on knees
Management is good.but not excellent with people? !
Some are peofessionals some arent at all but for most part people are ok thats my point of view here

I have always enjoyed the trips. When family or friends come to visit, I bring them on board. Fantastic service, and very entertaining. Thank you.