Awful experience- not enough places to sit, had to stand/lean for 4 hours if you wanted to be above deck; below deck can't see out the portals. Food was terrible, and not enough to eat. Crew ignored people openly smoking on non-smoking vessel and the bar overserved - many passengers very drunk. Cruise was too long and the worst part is once you're on board there's no escape. read more

Saw a deal on Groupon from Nautical Adventures that advertised a dinner buffet cruise around the Toronto Harbourfront and decided to try it out. I highly recommend people go even without the Groupon as it was a great experience. Our cruise was on an old time schooner called the "Empire Sandy", a lovely ship that dates back to the second world war. We set sail at around 7:30 pm and they started us off with some appetizers that consisted of corn chips, salsa, fried beans and celery/carrots with dip. There's room on the ship up top to hang out and enjoy the view as well as a formal dining area below deck. The cruise was about an hour in at around 8:30 pm before dinner was served (it's a very late dinner so make sure to eat a bit beforehand!). Dinner consisted of potato salad, rice, coleslaw, chicken and ribs. No complaints on the food as it was cooked extremely well by the crew. A dessert table was also included but was not served until the tail end of the cruise, they provided us with fresh fruit, carrot cake, brownies and cheese cake. The cruise itself was amazing. It offered a very unique view of the city where you could see the city light up at night. The atmosphere was very family friendly with couples and families young and old enjoying the ride. The crew was very helpful and really added to the experience too, everything went smoothly and they even fired off a cannon for us. There is also an on board DJ and dance floor if you choose to enjoy that. A few recommendations if you do want to give it a try, make sure you wear casual wear as it could get uncomfortable standing around for roughly 4 hours. There are also certain dates available for the dinner cruise from the website so you have to make sure you book before hand (at least a week before the cruise). read more

See all

Sad to say I was really disappointed. I gave this an extra star because the boat the Empire Sandy really is magnificent. I regularly go running along the water and admire this beautiful boat and was stoked to see a Summer Solstice Cruise available on Groupon which was the day after my 10 year anniversary! Not being from Toronto, but having lived here for a year I was excited to go on a romantic dinner cruise and perhaps admire the view from Lake Ontario and cruise to some areas that we have not yet seen! I figured that 4 hours would be plenty of time to get out and about and see some great new sites. So disappointed. Being a cruise, many of which I have been on before I really expected to go somewhere! After putting up all the sails I was excited.... then we very VERY slowly sailed out 1-2km stopped and sat there. THE.ENTIRE.TIME. Before sailing back in a snails pace. We sat in the one spot for what must have been at least 3 hours! That is not a cruise! The food. Started out well - cheese and crackers and dip to choose on the table, decided I should slow down as I was starving when I saw the hors doeuvres come out. I got one prawn - just one and one piece of salmon on a cracker. That was it. No more food was offered our way. The meals was advertised as a buffet, but was really just a selection of 4 salads plus ONE piece of roast beef - you didn't get to selected your meat, it was handed to you so you didn't take more than one piece. Same with dessert - Four cake selections which looked awesome - but they were handed out by staff advising you got ONE piece of ONE cake. I had fully saved myself up for an amazing meal and was STARVING. Just glad I ate a bunch of cheese and crackers at the start! The music. Oh my god the music! I am all for variety. I know I won't like everything that gets played - but country music..... for AT LEAST the first 3 hours - god help me I wanted to jump! Honestly overall it was boring. The scenery (the sunset over the city) and the boat were the only positive, but that only goes so far - I didn't get to see anything new. There was no cruise. My partner was so bored and I felt horrid for buying a crappy anniversary present. read more

A nightmare from start to the bitter end - deceiving advertising The huge line-up at the start should have given it away, but once on-board we were shocked to learn dining below was so cramped that it likely contravenes any safety and health regulations standards, never mind basic hospitality and decency. The soggy crackers did not qualify as hors d'oeuvre or appetizers, but rather as a warning for worse things to come. It was impossible to stay below the deck because the air quality due to the lack of ventilation was unhealthy. The ship never sailed, the two sails that were put up were for decor only - see photo below. Evidently, the concern for the cost of fuel must have taken us at most 2 km down and then back to port - this was NOT a cruise! Dinner on a small plates after waiting was 1 star, and the portion was child-size - when I requested a bit more, I was told "you have to leave food for the other passangers". Later on, the same happened with the dessert, an interminable line-up to get a thin slice of something supposed to be cheese cake, but I wouldn't call it food. People bundled close to the exit for the last hour, including us, anxious to escape the nightmare. After fighting our way to get off they even had audacity to ask for tips - really? In a single word - SHAME... read more

I went for a cruise with my family during the air show in Toronto last September.  We had a fabulous day but it was extra special for my three year old son who loves airplanes and boats!  This was his first time on a boat.  One of the crew came up to us during the cruise and asked if my son would like to meet the Captain.  The Captain was very friendly, posing for photos with my son and letting him hold/steer the wheel.   The ship even had Empire Sandy hats and tee-shirts available for purchase in children sizes!  Will be back again for a cruise soon! read more

Empire Sandy Cruises - Boat Charters Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I sailed on the Empire Sandy for a Fireworks Cruise on July 19. A group of my friends got together and wanted to do something fun and different! The ships is truly incredible! I have never been on a boat like that before and all of my friends were really impressed with how cool the experience was. Once the sails went up and the sun started to set I almost forgot where I was. We took a ton of great photos with the sunset and skyline in the background. I must say the food was good and the buffet had lots to choose from. We had some veggies and dip and cheese and crackers when we first arrived. A little bit later they came around with some shrimp and another appetizer with smoked salmon. The dinner was Roast Beef with hot potatoes and gravy and a few different salads. I had a slice of carrot cake for dessert that was delish! They seemed to be feeding us from the moment we got on the boat right up until we got off when they handed out chocolate dipped strawberries. The ship cruised around in the harbour and then out on the Lake for the sunset. Later in the night we went back into the harbour where the fireworks were. The fireworks display was a nice ending to the cruise! It was the perfect thing to do for a summer night in the city. We all had such an amazing time and will be back again! read more

Worked for the company, thought it would be a great job for the summer to gain experience. Unfortunately one of the managers was extremely unprofessional, ignored my messages & e-mails and I was made out to seem like a bad staff member and wasn't scheduled for the rest of the season. The situation was not properly dealt with, I did enjoy the other crew I worked with, the meals were nice and the music was not the greatest.... For a company not to try to solve the issue in a positive light & ensure one of the crew was okay just goes to show how they deal with issues, you would think they would deal with any problems in a proper manner, especially if said staff member a) enjoyed the job, b) was good at the work but what can you do :) read more

I never write reviews because life is too important usually but for this I make the exception! In fact I'm still on this trip, stone cold sober and hey I find some time on my hands. Food, simply awful and if you get excited about getting a little raffle ticket as you board don't be, it's just your ticket to rock on up to bharf-et. Due to the over indulgent numbers I think we had five waves of 'dinner is served'. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't a safety hazard, we were told to move back from the front seating area by about 3 metres so they could move the sails, then it was a further 5 metres which was too late at this point as I was smacked in the face with a rope. It was another five minutes before I could actually get out of the way because of the crowds and the fact no one could hear the staff because of the noise. I really can't express how god awful this experience was. I'm still here and want to throw myself off the boat. I even went to the gym to justify the feast...oh I needn't have bothered. You could not pay me to get back on this thing....did I mention how awful everything was??? Minus the view of the city. My best advice to you all, take a tiki cab and grab a kfc for the ride. read more

This was the absolute worst experience ever, likely magnified by the fact I purchased on Groupon. The biggest issue is that they over crowd the vessel, so the minute you get on you realize what the "deal" is and feel like the trapped sardine you now are for the next 4 1/2 hours. The food, canapes were some sweaty crackerbarrell cheese and crackers with some veg and ranch dressing, circa 1970s Tupperware party. The highly indigestible roast beef dinner, will most likely revisit you in the middle of the night with the fury of jilted ex lover you cheated on. Safety is an issue as well, between the loud music played that drowns out the instructions of the crew. My wife was struck with one of the ropes of the sail when they tried to turn the boat. The tried to clear the way but no one was able to move due to the overcrowding. Unsafe, overcrowded and disgusting. You'll pray to get off that thing as soon as you've been on it for 10 minutes. Save yourselves, spend some more money and have an experience worth having. read more