What a cool experience! I asked the bartender to surprise me with something not too sweet, not too unsweet - he hit it out of the park with a New York sour. Yum! Cool spot, cool vibes. Not cheap, but if you're looking for a unique Old Town experience that's a little off the beaten path, you'll love this. read more

Tall Ship Providence - Boat Charters Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

You really have to watch the charges on your tab if you spend time at the bar. I went up for a second round and was told that my tab had been closed. It was gone from the handheld billing device. No receipt could be provided. The next day I noticed that an extra $30 had been charged to my tab without my consent. Tall Ship Providence is not responding to me about the extra charges they placed. Yes, its a nice spot with good views. The music is loud though and you won't be able to hear the people talking around you. read more

It's hard to imagine a crew of 70-ish people in the 1700's on this ship. Had a delightful time. Crew is quite knowledgeable and stayed in character the entire time. Very friendly and accommodating. The interactiveness of this adventure helped make it entertaining for the kiddo. And thankfully no one was made to walk the plank for asking too many questions, so that was good. LOL Found some of the information we were told quite fascinating. If you have history buffs in the family or just want to do something different, this is an hour well spent. Parking was easier than anticipated, too, and that's always a good thing. read more

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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. read more

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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?! read more

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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. read more

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A fun tour! They were funny, kind, and very knowledgeable. They also showed grace & patience with all the questions from our homeschool group! read more

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

Tall Ship Providence - Tall Ship Providence. - Boat Charters Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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. read more

Tall Ship Providence - Rocket Frog craft beer menu - Boat Charters Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

A visit to this reproduction vessel is a learning experience of the highest order. Much more interesting than reading about the first ships in the US Navy, this is an actual life sized floating and sailing reproduction. While it's a small vessel compared to some other tall ships, only about 70 feet, Captain John Paul Jones and his helpers spend a full hour giving you the full tour and lesions about living, sailing and fighting aboard. Hard to believe they could accommodate a full crew of 70 sailors until you take the tour yourself. A great experience for interested parties of all ages. read more

Took 9/10th grade students who were learning about the age of exploration and the science of how boats work. It was amazing! Very engaging and the team was excellent. Especially thanks to everyone who worked with us: Alex, Caroline, Jessie, Will, Ian, and the actor who played Captain John Paul Jones. They were all very professional and helpful, but more specifically very knowledgeable. read more

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!! read more

Tall Ship Providence - Boat Charters Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

My 8th grader is studying our early government in Civics this year, so we decided to take a quick field trip to do the tour of the Providence. I'm happy to report that it was delightful, informative, and a nice learning experience. John Paul Jones was very well done, and a big "Huzza" for Seaman Charlie Parker (I believe), who did an exceptional job of setting the tone from the moment we walked from the landing toward the entrance. It was an enjoyable hour that balanced learning about the ship, it's crew, and a brief step back in time. read more

This was so much fun ! If you're looking for a breather from the 21st century, a one hour tour of the Providence is perfect. Right near the best parts of Alexandria, Midshipman Alex and Captain John Paul are both interesting and funny, and very informative. This ship is part of the reason America had a navy, and learning about the period in the early stages of the Revolution was great. Highly recommend! read more

Overpriced! We paid 75 dollars to sit in a boat that offered drinks and "hors d'oeuvres", these being cheap Trader Joe's wine and Dorito chips. No music or entertainment whatsoever. It was a dockside experience so I truly have no idea what we paid for... to go sit in a boat and eat chips?? (didn't even hear the history of the boat or anything from the staff). read more

Great tour! Loved our tour guide Alex who was very interactive and with a good sense of humor make an informative tour even more engaging. Fully enjoyed it and highly recommend. read more

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. read more

Tall Ship Providence - Boat Charters Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

My husband, son and I went on a sunset sail today, and the crew really made the experience amazing. We were greeted while onboarding with crew member Kris playing the accordion in the background (it created a nice ambience). From that point on, Captain Jonathan and all of the crew members went out of their way to be nice, answer questions, tell stories, and inquire what more they could do to enhance our experience. They took volunteers to help pull ropes to get the sail going, and many on the ride took them up on it! They also had drinks available for a very reasonable price, from water and soft drinks, to whiskey and prosecco - that was a nice aspect to the excursion that I was not expecting. Don't miss out on touring the Captain's quarters, and the crew's quarters below. It really gave a feel for what life was like on the ship for the Continental Navy. I highly recommend checking out Tall Ship Providence! They provide a nice experience on the Potomac for a good price. read more

Tall Ship Providence - A great view from the upper deck - Boat Charters Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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Excellent local educational experience regarding revolutionary maritime history. We reserved time for our homeschool group (grades PreK to 5th) to tour a replica of the "Providence" one of the first ships that John Paul Jones commanded during the American Revolution. The coordination via email was very responsive and amenable. Will Downing is the education director and was able to provide us with student pricing for 12 students and 6 adults, letting 2 adults attend for free. It was a dockside learning experience where we split up in two groups to learn about navigation and life below decks. After both groups swapped we then came together on the main deck to learn about mechanical advantage and knot tying. Finally everyone got a chance to take a look at the "Captain's Quarters". It was about a 2 hour event and everyone had a wonderful time learning about the different maritime subjects and had plenty of time to ask questions. We hope to go back in the spring with our small group and experience some of the sailing activities, hoisting sails, steering and learning how to sail via seaman's eye! Reserve a small group (25 or less people) experience with your students and you will not be disappointed. read more

We had a lovely night cruising down the Potomac and then watching the sails unfurl for the return trip. The captain and crew were great and very engaging. There were around a dozen other passengers and the beer tasting with a local brewer was fun. read more

We had a wonderful time sailing on the Talk Ship Providence! The entire crew were eager to share their knowledge and ensure that we had a great experience. It was such fun cruising down the Potomac under nothing but wind power! read more

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

The guys try really hard, but this was so boring. It's not for kids, they don't sail anywhere and the boat is really small. I would only recommend this to some retiree who really wants to know about history and has nothing else to do for the day. read more

This was one of the most enjoyable afternoons in memory! The staff went truly above and beyond to make it possible and pleasant. We had so much fun and learned as much as we wanted. Everyone was friendly and the cruise was comfortable, fun, and very romantic. We had a blast and can't wait to go again! read more

Do not waste your evening on this boat tour. You don't go far and the views (and SMELLS) are of NOTHING but the sewage treatment plant. There is no sailing, no music, no scenic views. We were greatly disappointed and highly advise you do not waste your time and money. read more

Extremely overpriced. You will regret. Make sure you read carefully when booking whether the experience is a cruise or a dockside experience (ours was the latter). Paid $158 for my wife and I to sit crowded in a fake historical ship to eat potato chips and drink Trader Joe's wine while the ship itself obscured views of the fireworks that were free for all to see on Alexandria's birthday. Literally zero story-telling or entertainment by the staff. If you think by going on a 'historical tall ship' you're imbibing yourself in some kind of historical experience, this ship could not be farther from that. It's a gimmick to bring more people to Alexandria's waterfront, which is pretty enough without additional tourist scams like this. Experience was supposed to be 8:30 PM to 10:30 PM; my wife and I waited from 8 PM (they told us to arrive early on the tickets) until 8:45 PM to actually board the ship. According to staff 'they had to everything up' - i.e. the row of potato chips and the coolers of cheap wine and the associated plastic cups, but this logic only flowed in their favor because at 10:30 PM sharp, they turn on bright lights and literally shout "okay, everyone off now", as though every single employee on the ship hadn't obviously been watching the clock the entire time you're there instead of entertaining the guests on board. As a new local resident, I feel even dumber for falling for it. If that sounds like money well spent or worth trying for yourself, more power to you. For all others, BUYER BEWARE. read more