I’m not even going to bother teasing you, dragging out my answer to this – in my opinion, the Thousand Islands cruise is totally not worth doing! I have been on some pretty bad excursions during my travels, including ones on rivers such as the Mississippi River in New Orleans. But while the NOLA steamboat cruise made me kinda angry, at least I had the entertainment of a unexpected thunderstorm. The Thousand Islands cruise made me annoyed because it was so incredibly boring and for the most part, I felt like I had wasted my time and money. Read on to find out more…or not because, as I said, I don’t recommend it!
The cruises in this region start on both the Canadian side and the American side of the border – the location from which you are starting will determine which company you choose. I started from the Canadian side in Kingston; the description of my cruise included words like “lively” and “perfect”. It was anything but.
The cruise was three hours long (there is a 90-minute option) and unlike the day of the Mississippi River trip, this day was lovely. The waterway in which we traveled was the St. Lawrence River. The boat itself was roomy enough and it contained a bar and café. For much of the three hours, we were supposed to be entertained by explanations of the area’s history and great music. Instead, the narration was rarely interesting, and the live entertainment was horrifically bad.
Okay, okay. There was one positive – the scenery on the St. Lawrence River really is very pretty. Unfortunately, not three hours worth of pretty, though. Certain parts of the river are made up of small islands (i.e. this is how the area got its name); many play host to a single cottage of various sizes. Sailing through the scenic channels can be lovely, especially if you’re not used to Ontario’s landscape. However, the attractive landscape will not make up for being trapped on a boat with supremely bad music and boring narration. So, while I do not recommend the Thousand Islands boat cruse, if you do decide to go, the 90-minute cruise may be tolerable.
If you are planning a visit to Kingston, I do recommend checking out Fort Henry (extra points if you go during Halloween!) and the Kingston Penitentiary. Both are definitely worth your time and money!
