We went on the Sea Princess Cruise on a Sunday afternoon. It worked out wonderfully as we did not make minute to minute plans during our trip and we found this fabulous outing by boat. We really enjoyed the tour of the different islands and the stop in Little Cranberry Island with only 75 winter residents. It's entertaining and educational, the perfect combination. I highly recommend this tour when visiting the area! read more

In my opinion the real test of a tour company is how do they handle less than ideal circumstances. Our weather conditions were awful - cool and foggy. Could not see a thing and definitely no seals, eagles, mountains or other wildlife. But we did have Donna as our narrator - she was awesome. We all learned so much - she was so knowledgeable and shared lots of interesting info and fun facts. Great visit to the island. Also fog lifted a few times and we saw the beautiful aquamarine water in Somme's sound and the nesting cliffs of the Peregrine falcon. Captain Rob and Mate Jordan did a great job as well. Highly recommend. read more

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We did the sunset cruise in July 2022 and love it! For $30 this is a great option for a quick boat tour around the islands. We were able to see some osprey nests as well as some seals. Even though we went in July it got quite cold on the boat so definitely bring layers as it will get quite chilly. We were able to bring some snacks/ dinner on board and eat them while listening to the tour guide. A lot of the seats were already taken about a half hour before the tour started so if you want the premium seating closer to the tour guide and up front (with no one in front of you to get in the way of pictures) definitely get there a little early! read more

Sea Princess Cruises - Got to see seals! - Boating Near Me - Northeast Harbor, Maine

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We had a blast during our Sea Princess Cruises tour around Bar Harbor, visiting Cranberry Island and learning about the history of this gorgeous place. Our tour guide was very welcoming and friendly, and made the tour feel like a once in a lifetime experience. The tour started on time and ended on time as well. It was very affordable, and I think we got an amazing deal! Weather that day was pretty rough, but the team still made the tour enjoyable and kept us engaged. My only advice would be on clothing and seating. We did the tour in September and were not expecting it to get as cold as it did, so make sure you layer up. In terms of seating - I recommend sitting close to the tour guide, otherwise it will be very difficult to hear anything (even more so during Covid when everyone has masks). read more

My husband and I took the morning cruise yesterday and were so pleasantly surprised at what a wonderful experience it was. Mike was our narrator and he explained every little detail as we sailed along. We normally take one or two different boat tours, and I have to say we learned more with Mike than during any other tour in the past 4 years. He encouraged every passenger to introduce themselves to each other and tell a little something about themselves. He also took the time to talk with every passenger on the boat He was very knowledgable about all the different wild life we came across. We will definitely take this boat tour again. The location of the pier in Northeast Harbor is so much more relaxing than in busy Bar Harbor. The little town is a really quaint place to catch lunch or coffee and shop. The traffic is much more manageable and easy to navigate. read more

A mostly enjoyable cruise. Saw plenty of wildlife and heard interesting facts from our guide. Unfortunately there was lax enforcement of the required masks. There needs to be more of a spiel about it prior to departure and a warning to leave people on Cranberry Island if they can't comply. Otherwise, it would have been 5 stars. read more

Great time. I thought I would be bored out of my mind, but afternoon cruise was great. Our guide,Mike, was friendly, smart, and talked us thru the entire trip. This may have been the highlight of our trip to Bar Harbor. A great time! read more

Overall an enjoyable boat ride. It was a beautiful day we had out on the water. We saw seals, porpoises, osprey, & lobster boats in action-hauling in their traps. A different perspective of the coastline was appreciated after days driving in the car. A leisurely 3 hours for all ages to enjoy. I'd like to add that the narrator Winston was so sweet and the captain was very approachable as well and even let my boyfriend step into the pilot house for a chat during the tour. read more

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A highlight of our trip. The tour itself was calm and enjoyable. We were worried about sea sickness but the harbor is calm and we rarely hit waves. The guide was excellent, comical, and insightful. He guide was a retired park ranger for over thirty years, so he knew very much and could answer the majority of the questions. I would recommend sitting in the middle section as you may get some exhaust fumes in the back and not much of a view in the front. Bring a wind breaker; blankets are provided on the boat if needed. You will take about an hour ride to Little Cranberry Island and about another hour ride back. Little Cranberry has a lobster shack, church, National Park museum, and a post office where you can buy homemade ginger bread (delicious). I believe there was a bathroom on the boat, but they recommend waiting until the island. You can also watch lobster fishermen bring in the day's catches at the dock. Overall, highly recommend and would do it again. Be sure to tip! read more

Although it was a foggy day the narrator was a natural story teller and made the cruise interesting and fun. Lovely views of the less visited area of Acadia Park. Saw sea lions and osprey. Visited an isolated lobster village and the views of soms fjord was lovely. read more

You buy tickets at the visitors center and they will explain to head down the concrete dock. Its the other side of the mail boat. I cant say enough good things about this experience. History of the islands, local legends, and wildlife. This is a must do for a mount desert island trip. For the low price of 35 per person, this 2 hour cruise made my trip something truly special. I could not recommend this more. read more

Pros- The naturalist that was our guide was extremely knowledgeable and we learned a lot about the area, its species, habitats, and residents, extremely informative!! Pro- Isleford has a great restaurant on the shoreline! Seafood was fantastic. Cons- The boat seats are extraordinarily uncomfortable hard wood flat benches, my butt was hurting within 30 minutes. Con- the village where the drop you off in Isleford is very underwhelming, not much to do or see, go to the restaurant and get lobster roll or crabcake! read more

There are at least two different tours that the Sea Princess runs. One involves a Park Ranger, and I will not be reviewing that tour. I was on a tour with a "naturalist." that included a stop on Isleford Island. If I could give zero stars I would. This was an amazing waste of time. The "naturalist" knew almost nothing about nature, and barely found any of the nature that we observed, instead simply parroting what other farers noticed. They had several planned areas that they headed including a couple Osprey nests that they literally scared the bird out of, all the while wondering why the Ospreys weren't in their typical nests anymore. I wonder why? He was a fantastic bore, which put me and many other passengers to sleep. He even remarked to one of the children that people said that he was good at putting children to sleep. I guess nobody told him that he was in the informational entertainment industry! Then there was our island escapade. We stopped for 40 minutes on Isleford Island. 40 minutes of my life that I'll never get back. Between the Art gallery filled with mediocre art that you could easily get similar pieces at half the price in five different stores in Bar Harbor (!), and the closed everything else, there was nothing to do on this island. It was basically a stop designed to pad time on the tour, and preserve gas. 40 minutes of my life that I can't get back! There are so many boat tours, and I advise you to take any of them before you take this one! Save yourself the money and the time! read more

We had a beautiful day for our boat ride of 2 hrs 45 min. We took the 10:00 and there was a guide from the parks dept. She was knowledgeable about the different islands and the wildlife. We went to Islesford and experienced a totally different lifestyle that we are accustomed to. It was nice to see & the views were great. The museum is very small but the video is pretty good. We saw 3 osprey nests and lots of harbor seals. I would recommend the tour simply to get a different vantage point and see the other isles. read more

It was fun to be out on the boat! However, I was expecting to go more by the coast line to see rock formations and such. Instead, we were pretty far away. An hour of the trip was spent walking on an island. We went to the "downtown" area (the post office and the church). It was fun but not what we had in mind. No wild life besides and eagle was seen. Glad I did it but wouldn't do it again. read more

Sea Princess Cruises - The Sea Princess - Boating Near Me - Northeast Harbor, Maine

We took the 10am cruise, our park ranger is great, very knowledgeable, told us about the history and lifestyle of ME. The museum on the little cranberry island is a little disappointed, it's a tiny museum, not much to see. We saw two osprey nests, two whales, birds read more

We signed up for the morning cruise for the specific reason of wanting to take this tour with a National Park ranger. We weren't informed that our tour was just a local guide. As much as I appreciate hearing about who built which house and how old each house is, I would have much preferred the geological and wildlife history I was under the impression I was going to get. False advertising. Deeply disappointing. Also, I know the cruise advertises a stop at the Islesford Historical museum to learn about some maritime history of the area, but when the museum is closed, a 45 minute stop on the island seems a bit pointless. Wish I'd spent my money differently. read more

A great tour on a beautiful open air boat. The Sea Princess is easy to get on and off. Seating is ample and the tour was great. We found eagles, cormorants, porpoises, seals and other birds of all types. The narrator was great. He was friendly and very knowledge. He explained all about the island, the land, the animals and the geology. He even went into detail on the lobster and how it's caught. He was such an engaging person he made everything interesting and fun. read more

I did the Afternoon Cruise, 115pm - 400pm. I really enjoyed myself. I can't say I expected to do so as much as I did, but found the naturalist Bill very informative, and between he and the captain Chuck, very entertaining. The weather was good, a little choppy out near where the seals where, but well worth the rocking. The boat was comfortable and dry. The trip to Isleford on Little Cranberry was really just OK, but I did enjoy visiting the island church as recommended by Bill. Go inside - it's quite beautiful. I recommend the cruise. It's a smaller boat with a lot less people than the ones I saw coming and going in Bar Harbor. And, Northeast Harbor is a pretty little town as well. read more

The owner of the sea princess was a great narrator. He suggested to everyone on the boat ride to check out beech mountain and flying mountain we decided to view those spots after hearing his suggestions and are happy we did. You can tell by listening to him how much he loves his job and especially the area where he works. He has over 40 years of experience with the sea princess and took us to the most dazzling locations. His boat ride was my favorite and I have been on many different boat tours. Each second on the Sea Princess was a true pleasure. I want to say thank you to the narrator/boat owner. His vast knowledge of the area was much appreciated by us because we are from New Jersey and first time visitors of Maine. If we had not listened to his suggestions it is doubtful we would have had such an amazing stay. read more

We really enjoyed our cruise on the Sea Princess. The cruise starts out of Northeast Harbor, which got us to explore the rest of the island a little bit. The cruise was less expensive that the others we saw, but we felt like we got our money's worth for sure. We chose the 10 am tour with the ranger (we were concerned about the "naturalist" which another reviewer has suggested was not so great). The park ranger was friendly and engaging, and taught us a ton about the islands, park history, local wildlife, and lobstering. We saw harbor seals and lots of birds, including osprey. The stop on the island was not as entertaining as it might sound on paper, but it was interesting to see and learn about a different way of life. read more

We had a wonderful afternoon on the water. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, the. Itinerary was perfect with a short stop on a island, a view of osprey and seals and sunshine! Highly recommended. read more

If possible take the tour with the park ranger to Isleford. It is an interesting boat ride and you will see seals and a lot of bird life. There is a small National Park Service run museum on the island where you can get your National Park passport stamped. Take a leisurely stroll up through the small town on the island. read more

This was one of the best things we did during our week on MDI. The ranger who narrated our cruise was funny, interesting and super knowledgeable. Definitely worth every penny!!! read more

My family and I visit Maine almost every year, so it's important to find new activities so it gets more interesting as we grow. We googled boat tours and this was the first option. We called at 7pm and the lady on the phone was very kind and helpful in placing our recommendations and helping out with directions. (Always make reservations, it takes a minute!) We chose the 10am tour with a park ranger. (I've heard this is the one preferred over the naturalist, yet I didn't read this until after placing reservation). When we got there, we got our tickets, and got on the boat. It's a medium boat with plenty of bench seating and blankets! The ranger, Harmony, was very nice and enthusiastic especially with the younger kids. She was informative, too! We saw osprey and their nests, seals, loons, and even a porpoise! The trip to cranberry island was great too! Learning about Ashley Bryan was so interesting and creative. If you're looking for a fun day on the water, this is the place to go! read more

We stumbled on the marina at Northwest Harbor while wandering around Mount Desert Island. We ended up doing a 90 minute boat ride - it was just the right amount of time, very pretty, informative and interesting. Our guide Bill was knowledgeable and welcoming. We saw seals and osprey. Well worth the money. read more