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The scenery is stunning and the ship is beautiful! Autumn colours just starting to come to peak near the shores of Georgian Bay. Some great commentary to learn more about the history and sites in the area. Staff very courteous and attentive. Many safety measures in place - every other bench roped off, asking guests to use hand sanitizer when boarding and disembarking, one family/group per bench, signage posted clearly indicating mandatory mask usage and social distancing. There was an announcement made at the beginning of the cruise informing passengers of the need to wear masks while indoors or unable to social distance. As a health care professional myself, I was incredibly alarmed that this was not more strictly enforced in an enclosed space. After about the first hour, 75% of people were no longer wearing masks. It was too cold and windy to have the windows open or to be outside for long. We travelled last month to Pelee Island and it was made very clear to all passengers during the booking and boarding process that masks had to be worn (even outdoors) for the duration of the trip and anyone in violation was politely reminded of this requirement by the crew. Perhaps some greater steps need to be taken here to ensure those who are able to wear a mask do - for the entirety of the trip. Highly recommend the 3 hour cruise (maybe after we are through the pandemic though.) Thank you to the staff for all of their efforts during these exceptional times.…
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Date of experience: October 2020
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Response from Dave A, Manager at Island Queen Cruise
Responded Oct. 10, 2020
Thanks for the kind review. We are certainly doing our best with our Covid-19 protocols. Businesses have been left as the de facto enforcers of a variety of government health guidelines as they relate to the current pandemic and it is not an easy task. We are all doing our best.
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+1
I would consider this to the the quintessential Canadian travel experience if you want to experience scenery which looks like a Tom Thompson (Group of Seven) painting. It is a 3 hour cruise through the 30,000 island area of Georgian Bay, in which there are literally thousands of places where the Canadian Shield os exposed above the waterline, creating islands, most of which have accumulated wind-swept trees over the millenia. We were fortunate enough to go during the CoViD pandemic, which, due to the personal-distiancing guidelines, meant a reduced passenger load. This gave everyone lots of room to move around and take photos (I took over 200 before my battery was depleted). Due to the CoViD pandemic, the ship gets an extra cleaning between trips and staff ensure that every passenger getting on or off the ship gets their hands sprayed with a sanitizer. The only drawback is that because Parry Sound is about a 3 hour drive North of Toronto, it eats up an entire day and very few people will ever get to experience this wonderful cruise. The town of Parry Sound also has a nice selection of small restaurants, some of which have amazing views. For those interested, they even have a brew pub/restaurant called the Trestle.…
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Date of experience: September 2020
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Response from Dave A, Manager at Island Queen Cruise
Responded Sep. 20, 2020
Thanks so much for such a thorough and kind review. We very much appreciate you taking the time. We're glad you enjoyed your experience.
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The cruise was well organized, efficient with good COVID measures in place. We took the 3 hrs afternoon cruise and in reading the reviews here we had high expectations of sights/scenery. I don't know whether it's because it was not a super clear day but we were not all that impressed and thought 3 hours was a too long. Some patrons were standing/socializing/drinking and seemed that was the main reason they were on the boat. Not much the crew can do about but definitely took away from the enjoyment (and forced everyone behind to stand up as well).…
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Date of experience: August 2020
3 Helpful votes
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Response from Dave A, Manager at Island Queen Cruise
Responded Sep. 12, 2020
Thanks for the review. We're sorry the scenery didn't meet your expectations. We don't often hear that. Nonetheless, thanks for taking the tour and for taking the time to write the review.
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We took the smaller Zodiak boat on a tour to Henry's Fish and Chips Sans Souci....an hour plus trip through gorgeous scenery then a delicious lunch at Henrys on Frying Pan Island before returning to Parry Sound. Highly recommend this option!....gives you a view of many island cottages plus a great lunch.…
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Date of experience: August 2020
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Response from Dave A, Manager at Island Queen Cruise
Responded Sep. 8, 2020
Thanks for sharing your experience Sharon. We're glad you enjoyed the tour.
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We took the three hour tour yesterday and while we enjoyed the scenery and limited commentary we were disappointed with Covid 19 enforcement. Compared to the tour we took from Gravenhurst the Island Queen is very lax. There was no questionnaire or temperature check related to the Corona virus. On-board there were two announcements, one at the beginning and one at the end, reminding everyone to wear a mask if they couldn’t social distance. Every other row was tied off but that didn’t stop people from using or breaking the zip tie to use the seats. When this was pointed out to staff they didn’t seem too concerned and even when staff walked passed the breaking of social distance rules nothing was said. I would not recommend this outing to anyone concerned with the Corona virus.…
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Date of experience: August 2020
2 Helpful votes
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Response from Dave A, Manager at Island Queen Cruise
Responded Aug. 28, 2020
So sorry to hear these comments. We will do better encouraging passengers to social distance.
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