Captain Pam and boat ride were awesome! The weather was beautiful, great wine, snacks and amazing friends made this experience wonderful! read more

Watts On the Harbor Cruises - Good times! - Tours Near Me - Newport Beach, California

My friend got the 2 hour chartered Duffy boat ride on Groupon that was a great deal. You do have to pay a mandatory $60 chartering fee but since the boat ride was only $80 on Groupon, it wasn't a big deal. Captain Pam was great, we also loved her co-captain Buttons (the dog). She did come over an hour late because she apparently fell back asleep lol! Luckily we weren't in much of a hurry. We appreciated her honesty hahaha. We brought a bottle of wine and some meat and cheese board in our picnic basket. We definitely had a great time. Thank you captain Pam! read more

Pretty much the the same situation as Dustin. We agreed on one price and after the boat ride she charged me a whole different price. More than twice the original price. Then she told me she never has offered the price I was asking for. After showing her the ad that proved she did offer that price, she acted like she didn't know who I was or what I was talking about. She also added a $69 Captain fee which was never discussed but she said she charges it to everyone. Very shady. After avoiding my phone calls for several days she finally refunded a small portion. So I still ended up paying almost twice the quoted price plus a generous tip. She seems very nice and personable on the phone. But she will rip you off.I would not recommend her and I will never go back to her again. Captain Pam is a rip-off artist. read more

We scheduled with Captain Pam a month before for a Father's Day 2-hour Duffy boat ride, she was responsive and honored the Groupon I found for $99. My first Groupon purchase! She texted she'd send me a text the week before, I texted her and she responded she'll send the night before which she did. All and all it was a good experience she was funny and witty with the tea of the Newport sea ha! She waited for us for 30 minutes due to traffic so I really appreciated that. I provided the required tip of $65 cash upon arrival and she mentioned after we were exiting the tour if she wanted me to charge the card on file and I had forgotten I had given her the cash...about an hour later I realized I had handed her the $65. So I texted her but it didn't sound clear on her response if she would still be charging the card & keep the cash. I didn't fret as she did wait 30 minutes for us so I left it alone. Coming here seeing all the bad reviews I am pretty shocked and glad I didn't read them beforehand because I likely wouldn't have booked. My experience was good, my girls had a great time as did I. I'm sad for those that had negative experiences. read more

See all

It was a pleasure meeting Captain Pam and her dog, Buttons. Her duffy was very cute and well kept. We've rented Duffy boats before but it was so nice to visit with friends without having to worry about driving around. It was a wonderful experience and highly recommend her. read more

Unapologetically unethical business. Avoid at all costs. Bait & switch pricing practices resulting in a 2/3 price increase. When declined Captain Pam charged my card card anyway. read more

Captain Pam isn't an ethical business person. We bought a voucher on Groupon booked her services. Captain Pam was very illusive with the detains until days before our trip. 2 1/2 hours before our trip she canceled due to rain. We pleaded for her to reconsider because rain forecast was in our favor she refused. Captain Pam meanwhile redeemed our voucher. We asked her to inform Groupon that our Voucher wasn't used. Captain Pam refuses. Her comment was it's only $100.00 is theft!!! Don't do business with her!!! read more

UPDATE: only refunded half and still refusing to answer the phone or acknowledge her error regarding our confirmed time. Starts out great with text/phone communication and charges us then says states a stardard tip will be expected. Texted yesterday for exact directions and received but with a different time. Sent a text showing she confirmed the agreed upon time to which she responded "I only have 1 opening." Not asking for a new reservation just to honor what was agreed on. Then sent a nasty text about 29 ridiculous texts and to use my phone and call in capital letters. Very unprofessional. Trying to get refund, 2 calls and messages and no response. Now finally answered and says she will see what she can do and blamed me for rescheduling initially over a month ago. Trying to get a refund now as I can't imagine enjoying a bday with this person. read more

See all

This was my second time booking with Pam. We had a great time! 7 of us brought food and beverage aboard and just relaxed while Captain Pam drove the boat and gave us some Newport Bay history. I will say that 6 would fit more comfortably than 7, but that was us asking to bring an extra person. read more

Watts On the Harbor Cruises - Tours Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Captain Pam was amazing! My friends and I booked a 2 hour Duffy ride and she was a great communicator regarding the reservation, where to meet and was an amazing captain and guide. I would wholeheartedly recommend and book again with her! read more

Contacted me to let me know we never set anything up and she never took my card information. No acknowledgement of the fact that we spoke on the phone and when I called a week ago now to get the address she said I see you name on my schedule, I'll text you tonight?! The AUDACITY to lie to my face??? I have reported this business to the BBB. read more

Watts On the Harbor Cruises - Tours Near Me - Newport Beach, California

I don't know what all the bad reviews are about, Pam was sweet and extremely knowledgeable! A great tour and we really enjoyed our time.. would definitely go again and recommend:) it was a great family day on the water even with my 10month old baby who LOVED her dog button read more

Watts On the Harbor Cruises - Tours Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Captain Pam is always the best! Had.a great day with the family! Pam always gives up an up to date history of Newport Harbor and the homes. Great day! read more

Very disappointed ! the boat was pretty small, it supposed to fit 6 people , but you will not be able to fit the cause besides the boat being small the lady who owns and drive the boat call herself "campitan Pam" uses and occupied 1/3 of the boat with her own stuff ( blankets, bags, ice chest ) she even BRINGS HER DOG in the boat!!!! like I said, it suppose to fit 6 people , well.. we were only 5 and we wore pretty tied cause the old lady ( 80 years old) charges for whole boat and only allow you to used half of it we were allow to bring food, drinks and music, but we were not allowed to play the music in the boat, we turned on the music and she asked us to turn it extremely down or better turn it off cause she can stand the noise. the ride most of the time was juts in same circle and very close to the beach we didn't have chance to go deeper like the other boat usually do. Oh!! almost forgot to mention very important thing, took us 30 min to get a response from the old lady. instructions were to call when we arrive and we will be giving instructions for the parking and how to get in the boat. we had to call lot times and wait 30 minutes for us to get a response from the lady. THE WORST PART WAS DEALING WITH THE LADY ACCTITUD AND MANNERS, SHE WAS EXTREMELY RUDE AND PREPOTENT . I will never rent this boat again! was such a bad experience!!!! read more

SCAM! Bought a groupon and she never showed up. When i tried to book, Pam got the dates wrong- Should've taken that as a sign. I texted her to make sure she updated the reservation, called as well but no answer. She eventually texted me back to confirm the correct date and texted me a few days before to confirm. The day of we tried to follow the instructions but we never found her. Multiple phone calls and text messages later we left. An hour after our scheduled boat ride she called me back saying it was her mistake and offered to reschedule or to refund me via zelle with a receipt. None of the receipts i gave her were good enough and she stopped replying to me. I took this up with groupon and they were able to help me but this business is not reliable. Save your time and money. read more

I've driven Duffy Boats many times. It was wonderful to have someone else drive and just kick back. The Captain, Pam knows her history and makes the experience more enjoyable. The Newport Beach harbor is truly beautiful!! read more

See all

Captain Pam was amazing. Very friendly and knowledgeable about the houses, residents and boats. Our group of 6 had an amazing day. We had lunch at Sol Cocina and walked over to the boat to meet Pam with the very clear directions she gave us. Her co-captain doggy Buttons is adorable. I would definitely do this tour again. Highly recommend read more

Watts On the Harbor Cruises - Pam and Buttons with our crew. - Tours Near Me - Newport Beach, California

See all

excellent experience, we did the 3 to 5 chauffeured Duffy ride. Pam, was awesome very knowledgeable in the area and very good at navigating the Duffy through the harbor very relaxing. She was a lot of fun and very helpful. Highly recommend this experience. read more

Very relaxing tour of the harbor and interesting history. We (grandparents, grandchildren and their parents) enjoyed Pam's tour ... can't imagine a better Duffy experience. read more

Loved our experience with Pam! We had 5 guests and food, the boat could handle that and more. She provided fun info on the rich and famous people that live on the islands. Found it fascinating info. Would use her again in a heartbeat read more

We had a great cruise for my birthday. Pam gave us good directions and we had no problem finding her. We loved her dog Button too. She is very knowledgeable about the area and is happy to give information. This was much better than driving the boat ourselves. Will definitely be back read more

We had a great time for my mom's 77th birthday outing. It was way more than just a Duffy rental. It came with Captain Pam, who was able to navigate and keep us entertained with all her knowledge of history of the harbor. It was like a wonderful tour. Captain Pam is definitely an extra added bonus! read more

PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD LISTEN TO THE ONE STAR REVIEWS!!! Pam NEVER showed up to our 2 hour boat ride experience ruining our family trip! Answered our many phone calls until one hour later AFTER our 1 hour wait for her! What a Scam of a person and business! read more

We had a fantastic time out on the harbor with Pam! I read some of the reviews on here and was a little nervous, but we did not have one negative experience the entire time. Pam gave me very clear directions about where to find the boat and she was already there when we arrived early. She had lots of interesting info about the homes and boats we passed along the way. She was friendly but not too chatty. We'll definitely ride with her again! read more

Watts On the Harbor Cruises - Tours Near Me - Newport Beach, California

See all

What a scam! I scheduled a tour for today, at 12:30pm and no one showed up. Tried to call MANY TIMES and Pam never answered the phone or replied to my texts. I sent a text to confirm the date/hour and also called. We confirmed my booking twice via phone. So disrespectful. read more

Watts On the Harbor Cruises - Tours Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Such a beautiful day at Newport Harbor. My crew and I had an amazing time on the Duffy. Pam was a great driver and very knowledgeable guide. Can't say enough about the excellent service. Will definitely ride again with Watts on the Harbor Cruises!!! read more

See all

Listen to the other low rates reviews- this place is a scam. Like many others, i used a groupon voucher to get a 2 hour boat ride. It was fun overall and our captain pat was really nice. However, she was super eager to get us all off even before the boat ride ended. We had it until 5pm and 10 min left we were already on the dock and she told us we could just chill in the boat until 5pm which we thought was kind of strange? I handed her tip $$ to which she said the minimum tip was $50... WHAT. I was so confused because no one had told me there was a required tip amount? And when i asked her she thought i was already aware to which i wasnt. And today, i got a call that the groupon voucher was expired when the date on it clearly says expires october of 22- 4 months from now! Ive been on many duffy boats before but never had a complication like this. read more

Unfortunately, my experience the second time around was not nearly as pleasant. We had booked a cruise with another family in advance. My friend and her daughters ended up getting very sick and letting me know the morning of. I texted Captain Pam around 8:30am as soon as I heard from my friend. Our cruise was scheduled for 3-5pm that day. I was apologetic and explained the situation and asked if we could reschedule for the following weekend. I understand it's not ideal to cancel the day of, but people get sick. She was very curt and said she was all booked and then charged my credit card $50 without letting me know. I got a message saying my credit card had been declined because an incorrect security code had been entered. It was her. She sent me another rude text telling me to remove the security block. I venmoed her the $50 to get her off my back. Definitely won't be using this company again! Too bad, her dog was really cute. Rude woman, though. read more

This was our first time on the Duffy harbor Tour with Pam. Booking and Confirmation, with many informative conversations, was handled perfectly. Pam provided interesting tidbits along the way, and, did not provide a running commentary, which was very welcome, in order to facilitate conversation with the 6 of us. Too many times the tour guide just talks and talks, and one can't have a conversation. All of the items Pam talked about were perfectly timed! In spite of the fact that the information states that soft drinks are provided, Pam did tell us upfront during booking that she no longer provides this. That wasn't an issue since our friends brought Sangria and other refreshments. Pam did provided dip with carrots and crackers. With the food brought by our friends, we had plenty to eat during the 2 hours. Recommend that you bring additional snacks. The weather was beautiful, the tour was great, Pam was very cordial, and bottom line, we will book another tour in the future!! read more

My husband and I work a lot and decided to take a Monday off to spend it with out two young kids. I decided to purchase a 2 hour chauffeured Newport Harbor Duffy boat cruise and prepaid online. At first, it appeared as a good deal however, no one showed up, we waited for over 1 hour with our 3 and 4 year old, who were very excited at first and disappointed at the end. As we waited I called them several times however, no one ever answered the phone. Pam had sent me a confirmation text the night before, which I had confirmed. By far the worst service I have ever experienced!! I would give this business negative reviews if it was possible!!! read more

OK... we did not read the reviews before we booked and that was an obvious mistake. This lady is so rude you will not believe. We booked and got confirmation but when on our way, we got a text that it was confirmed for the day after? When confronting her with the fact we have the confirmation to proof it was confirmed for today, she became so combative and basically told us tough luck....when reading the reviews it's clear we didn't miss anything and there are so many nice and great operators in Newport. read more

Would not recommend. Captain Pam was not welcoming, made it clear after we showed up that she did not have a mask and would not be wearing a mask, we had to wipe down the surfaces ourselves with wipes we happened to have with us, she took up so much of the boat (along with her dog) that it felt like we were intruding her personal space. She played her own music (didn't offer to let us play ours), and seemed racist (only spoke up to ask us where we were from), didn't give us a "tour"-- was surprised to read in other reviews that she shared info about the area and homes on other tours. She didn't offer any snacks, food, or even a can of soda, although she had no problem eating the food we brought for ourselves. Overall a very awkward experience with a terrible host. read more

The harbor cruise with Captain Pam was wonderful! Two of my best friends were visiting from out of state and, the first activity planned was the harbor cruise. She is so knowledgeable about Newport Beach and the history. I really appreciated that living in this area all my life and learned so much. She is a great captain and gave us space to visit amongst each other. We brought our lunch and wine on the boat. So enjoyed not having to drive the duffy boat myself. Will definitely book Pam our next outing! The pick up location was convenient and easy to find the duffy boat. She had everything ready to go. read more

Wow. Just wow... Worst service EVER. Honestly. Please scroll down and read the hidden "not recommended reviews" to understand the service here. If I could give negative stars, I would. Bought a groupon deal and was severely misled. When the tour was complete, Pam demanded we tip her $50, claiming we were bound by groupon to pay her the "full value" of the tour, $534. We got the groupon for $99 for a small Duffy boat 2-hr tour. Seriously?! There is no way that this little tour was actually worth $534. In fact, Her direct website only prices the tour at $160. The claimed $534 full value is a gimmick designed to get her the $50 tip. The "hor d'ouevres" were half a roll of ritz crackers. When we explained to Pam that gratuity is optional and we are not required to tip $50, she yelled at us and told us that she never wanted to see us again. She threw our tip back at us, and said, "If this is all you could afford, you need it more than I do." Needless to say, We gladly took our tip back. She even snatched back the business cards she handed to us seconds earlier. I am just completely shocked by the terrible service. read more

Watts On the Harbor Cruises - Here's her own website charging $160, yet she demands you tip her $50 based on a "$534 groupon value." - Tours Near Me - Newport Beach, California

One of our good friends ordered a tour package online....like two years ago. She finally got everyone in our group to agree on a date and Pam, the owner/ operator graciously extended the expiration date on the deal. We packed up sweatshirts, an ice chest full of beer, wine and champagne and some snacks and headed to Newport. A lot of places around here offer Duffy boat rentals where you drive yourself. Reviewers from other places either loved it or reported horror stories of lost deposits, crashes into other boats or simply struggling with the controls. For us, however, we loved the fact that we could sit, drink, snack and get a guided tour from Pam. She drove her boat and offered us glimpse of the entire harbor area letting us know who owned which house, how land leases work and the history behind many of the areas. She was polite, very knowledgable and knew when to just let us talk amongst ourselves. When we would point to a home, she would perk up and tell you who used to own it, who owns it now, when it was sold and how much it's worth. It really was a blast, very relaxing and a great value. With the online deal, it was $99 for two hours, divided by three couples. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday sunset with good friends. read more

See all

Pam was the worst most unprofessional rude person ever. I've had many great experience riding duffy's in Newport before but today was the worst. The person in my group that made the reservation made serval calls before going on our boat ride never once answered. She answered 30 min later being rude trying to charge a late fee when it wasn't my groups fault we were there at 3pm on time. Now she doesn't want to return our deposit when serval calls were made and she did not communicate with us. This is a scam take your your service somewhere else! read more

Had a wonderful experience. Pam and her skipper, Button were pleasant. The duffy boat was clean and the tour offered by Pam was interesting and enjoyable. We were pleased with the service. Thank you Pam. read more

Watts On the Harbor Cruises - Tours Near Me - Newport Beach, California

See all

Pam is the most demeaning, condescending person over the phone. I bought a Groupon ticket for this 2-hour cruise. She wasn't going to mention, and I had to ask - if the food was included; she said due to COVID she is not allowed to serve food or drinks but that we were welcome to bring on board what we liked. Then mentioned an additional $50 "gratuity" fee because we're riding with a licensed captain. Bitch please, your captain is supposed to be licensed, and you're not offering the full package. She asked for my card information because there is a $10 cancellation fee for a no-show. Tell me why this bitch tried to charge me for the full $50. Good thing I turned off my card, or else I would have had to catch her outside. Don't waste your time, money, or energy on this. read more

PAM IS AN UNPROFESSIONAL RENTER! She wouldn't answer our phone calls, we confirmed many times prior to the date. When the day came she would not answer her phone when we were there. She ended calling and said that she wasn't gonna be there! OKAY LET US KNOW WITH TIME. She sent someone else which is alright but LET US KNOW WITH TIME. She then proceeded to giving us a different pricing than the one previously stated. She wanted to charge more than she had said. She left everything to the last minute and had us going all over the place. She was yelling and was just very disrespectful. HORRIBLE PERSON! SO RUDE AND PLAIN MEAN. read more

We've taken 2 harbor cruises w Pam at Watts on the Harbor and the second was even better than the first! Our first was lunchtime in July and our second was a sunset cruise in November. (Sunset was GORGEOUS!!!) She is amazing, her Duffy boat cute, clean and comfy and the cruise is just perfect. It's relaxing and you get to see a side of Newport Beach you wouldn't normally get to see. The information Pam shares of the area, the boats, businesses, hotels/clubs, restaurants and homes is so interesting. The the flies by - but in a relaxing way. We found her via a Groupon and she even honored that rate for the second cruise we took! How generous is that?!?! We went in November because we had a friend from Ohio visiting. Pam called a friend at the Cannery Restaurant and got us an amazing view table, with complimentary dessert! It was a PERFECT afternoon/evening...one our visitor (and us too!) will never forget. Thank you so much, Pam! We HIGHLY recommend Pam and Watt's on the Harbor! Edited 12-8-14 Yelp removed all my photos on this review because they contained my family and friends for two cruises we took. I mean, you're right Yelp, WHY on earth would other people want to see customers having fun, what the boat looks like once inside or the views you have?! Silly me!! read more