Traverse Tall Ship Co

Although we were running because traffic the staff waited for us. The sail ride was a very nice experience! The crew and captain were absolute gems. Everyone was so friendly!

Great experience, smooth sailing time on vessel to time off. Captain Brett, Kyle made us feel welcome, great ride. Beautiful boat. Will repeat trip, but make next trip longer. Thanks, Dave, Vicki, Lisa all smiles!

One of the best things we have ever done! Captain Brett was great! Amazing experience and learned a lot from Captain Brett. Highly recommend this to everyone.

We decided to try something new while in Traverse City so we choose the tall ship excursion! We stopped at the ticket booth and they had some tickets available for the Moomer’s afternoon trip. You go out from 3:00 — 5:00 and have ice cream from Moomer’s during the trip! The ship is beautiful and you are able to walk around above and below deck. The crew are considerate and helpful! The captain even lets people take turns helping to steer the ship. The kitchen, below deck, is really neat to see with its wood-​burning oven and actual ice-​box! It was a really fun way to spend an afternoon.
As with any tourist attraction, it is pricey. around $ 50 per person, depending on which time you get to go but its not like you do it everyday.

What do you do when your parents make their first visit to your brand-​new state and you want to make sure they leave in awe of your new home? You take them on a Manitou Tall Ship tour with Traverse Tall Ship Co. We went on a Thursday, which meant it doubled as a wine-​tasting.
Not much is better than cruising around the breathtaking West Bay with delicious wine (Thank you, Left Foot Charley!), excellent food (Thank you, Silver Swan!), and great personalities ranging from interesting fellow boat guests to the hilarious wine tasting expert and the great crew!
The experience was for my parents, and they loved every second, but HomeBoy and I walked off the Manitou overflowing with love and pride in our new home city, as well as a new favorite local winery AND restaurant to try!
Everyone should check out the multitude of options Traverse Tall Ship Co offers. I’m pretty certain it will be difficult to be disappointed!
OH! I almost forgot. My mother forgot to bring her sunglasses and the gentleman at the ticket booth (he also drove the van to the ship— so sorry I can’t remember his name!) very earnestly offered his sunglasses to her to wear for the evening. My dad and HomeBoy were already headed to a corner store to buy her a cheap pair, but we were all completely amazed by the level of care he had. He didn’t even hesitate to offer his sunglasses to a complete stranger and tried to convince her to take them when she turned him down. Love these people!

Had an amazing time with Brett and Kyle. My group of 6 loved the sunset sail in Grand Traverse Bay, complete with wine, drinks, snacks, and ice cream. Brett and Kyle are very friendly and funny, and make a great team. Will absolutely book again, this is a must-​do in Traverse City.

Sailing Yacht Scout — AWESOME!!!
4 of us took a 3 hour sunset cruise the other evening with Captain Brett and Kyle. Terrific experience sailing out around Power Island. Brett and Kyle were strictly business with a very fun and funny edge, making the sail even more memorable.
We brought dinner and drinks, and were treated with Moomer’s ice cream for dessert.
First class experience from beginning to end. Highly recommend and we’d certainly do it again.

We will always remember the Manitou ship we enjoyed towards the tail end of our 1-​year wedding anniversary trip to TC. Friendly folks. Staff that play the violin with heavenly finesse. Some ice cream (or lunch depending on what you sign up for), and a fair price. This is a nice activity, especially towards the end of your trip. Very relaxing and also really cool to check the ship out. My wife and I chatted with a few folks, bought a couple beers and wines, and just enjoyed the scenery cruising in the Traverse City bay. Just a heads up that you park across the street from where you board, and get on a bus they provide, which is essentially there to help you cross the street. For young couples this may seem a hassle, but for families with small children, this ends up being a nice feature. There is nothing exhilarating about this ride, but it does make for a quiet, peaceful, scenic ride on the bay in what is probably one of the most classic and tallest sailboats to still cruise around here. Two thumbs up!

Next time, a longer trip!
For years we’ve been told by a friend to sail with Cheyenne at Tall Ship (on the Schooner Manitou). This year, I booked a two-​hour entertainment cruise for my husband and my sister and her husband. It was an easy drive into town, and the check-​in kiosk and shuttle are easy to find, as they share a parking lot with the Children’s Museum.
Everything went off without a hitch– audience participation was recommended in hoisting the sails. We received a dollar drink ticket (which pays for a soda, or part of a better drink) with each ticket to ride, and ended up winning a prize in the raffle– a jigsaw puzzle of one of the local monuments. Kind of fun for a rainy day.
We enjoyed a really great musical group (Songs of the Lakes?) who had been together over 30 years, and had perfect pitch and synchronicity in playing Irish-​Great lakes fusion folksy music. Really fun stuff, and all the staff and the musicians worked as one.
We will be back someday, maybe for the Moomers cruise, or a true sunset cruise. Thank you, Brendan, Brett, and crew!

I felt like this was a fun family activity. It might just be that I love to be out on the water. It was neat how the captain or first mate allowed passengers to take turns steering, though all the while keeping the group on course. Somewhat pricey, voyage length was just right for you to get a taste and leave you wanting more (the tall ship is also sometimes hired out for weekends/​short trips for private parties), good marketing for them. Good times overall, plus I met another alum of the university of california on the ship, which was random.

Pricey, short in duration, conditions vary (sometimes the captain will barely take you out of the harbor, other times you are far out in the bay), touristy, tall ships themselves are well maintained and attractive, staff is friendly, a pleasant experience. only reason for docking them as many stars as I did was the price and the cruise duration, a