I’d toured round Boston by trolley, I’d toured round Boston on foot, and now it was time to tour Boston by boat. The Boston Harbor Sightseeing Cruise was the perfect choice because it departs regularly throughout the day, includes entertaining commentary and has a snack bar on board in case you get peckish – or need something to settle your stomach.
I arrived early for my 1pm departure and swapped my Xperience Days confirmation for a Boston Harbor Cruise ticket, then headed down the pier to Gate 2 where friendly staff scanned the barcode and welcomed me on board. So far it was smooth sailing! Taking a seat on the top deck, the guide gave us a quick safety briefing before we set off along the South Boston shoreline.
Boston is mostly man-made land so the original coast would have been much further in, but the growing shipping industry meant the city was extended to accommodate countless piers and wharfs that are still in use today. We sailed past the unique-looking Institute Of Contemporary Art, Fort Independence, and of course Boston Logan International Airport. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t too great further out to sea, meaning most of the structures were just ghostly shadows looming over us. That said, our guide was cheerful enough and amused us all with facts about what we would be seeing if the visibility had been better – I’ll just have to come back another day!
The sun started to come out just as I found my sea legs, so I wandered round the boat checking out the various rooms, and chatting to a few passengers. I was surprised at how few tourists were on board, in fact two parties I spoke to were Bostonians celebrating a birthday with a boat cruise, so clearly this experience is one for locals as much as visitors. We sailed under the Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge (named after the 1938 Mayor because he was the only person to oppose the construction of it) up the Mystic River, taking in views of the Bunker Hill Monument before circling back around.
Passing by more impressive condos, we were treated with a fantastic view of the USS Constitution before docking back at Long Wharf, after 90 minutes of sightseeing. The Boston Harbor Sightseeing Cruise is a great way to see a lot of Boston in a short space of time, at a very reasonable price. It’s also a great way to celebrate a birthday if you have one coming up!