Thousand Island Cruises — Attraction in Ontario

Overbooked Experience and Disrespectful Staff – Disappointing Canada Day Outing

I’m not saying this is an organized scam — but I do believe the experience was extremely unprofessional and disappointing. My group of six (myself and five friends) purchased tickets for a Canada Day boat cruise from their website — approximately $300 in total — expecting to celebrate July 1st in a memorable way.

Unfortunately, once we boarded the boat, we found there were no available seats for us — and we were not alone. More than 30 people appeared to be standing without any seating options. When I calmly approached the captain to ask where we were supposed to sit, he dismissively pointed to the ground and said, “Here.” His tone was condescending and rude.

When I questioned this treatment, he claimed we could get a refund — which turned out to be false. Three members of our group went to the ticket office and were flatly told that refunds would not be issued. Meanwhile, the captain was about to depart even though those three were still off the boat.

This led to understandable frustration. When we resisted the boat’s departure under those conditions, the staff became aggressive. One of the crew members pushed me when I was trying to keep the boarding ramp in place, and they repeatedly threatened to call the police — which they eventually did. When the police arrived, they told us this was a “civil matter” and advised us to contact customer service.

Customer service, however, simply said refunds are not available. So here we are — sold full-price tickets, denied seats, mocked when asking reasonable questions, and then removed by police when trying to resolve the issue.

If this is a business model — overbook a boat, refuse refunds, and call the police on paying customers — it’s certainly profitable. But it’s not how respectful, customer-focused operations behave. I would strongly urge others to ask detailed questions before booking and to be cautious with...

We came once again here, as we cannot get enough of this great part of the world with it's small islands stretching between USA and Canada and yes, most surely we will come again in the future.

Although we set our base in Belleville, we were travelling returning from our 3000 km trip between PEI and Toronto and I called in advance to ensure the cruise will not be busy:

the person on the phone confirmed there were only a few people buying tickets due to being late September and asked to pay a fee higher than what we paid later on at the ticket office we noticed nowadays the ticket office is housed in a different building, where they also have a souvenir shop but no toilets. The original building is now a shop and restaurant with live music although I took pictures of the City cruises, we actually took the Thousand island boat which is laid on 2 levels: the first level with air conditioned inside and where the bar with drinks/snacks is and also toilets. The second level is not covered and a seagull travelled with us without paying any fee - Mr Bad!!!! the tour is narrated and you learn lots of things about the life on the islands, how difficult is to get the produce and how most are un-inhabited in the cold season there are still some people on the island waiving friendly or kayakers after getting the tickets and parking the car at a discounted cost in their car park, we were fortunate to be the first in line for this boat, some 30min earlier: when we were here in the past, we noticed how people were running to get the best seats which is not nice to see. Even so, near us, there was a group who kept moving in 3 different directions repeatedly to take their 'best pictures' annoying just about everybody.

Everything is very idyllic, yet every single time I get a headache, no idea why: could be the engine smell, or the heat etc.

Yet we are still going to...

Terrible Experience – Think Twice Before Booking!

six friends and I bought six tickets (around $350 total) from this company’s website to celebrate Canada Day on July 1st. We were on our way back to Toronto from a trip to the Thousand Islands and thought this cruise would be a fun way to end the holiday—but it turned out to be a huge disappointment.

As soon as we boarded the boat, we realized there were no seats available—not just for us, but for over 40 other passengers. I approached the captain politely to ask where we could sit, and instead of offering help, he mockingly pointed to the ground and said, “Here.” When I questioned this, he told me we could “just get a refund”—which turned out to be a lie.

Three people from our group went to the office to request a refund, but were told it wasn’t possible. Meanwhile, the captain tried to depart the dock—even though our three group members were still off the boat. When we protested, the crew became aggressive. One of them pushed me, and they kept yelling at us to get off the boat, threatening to call the police.

Eventually, the police arrived. They told us they couldn’t intervene and that we should speak with customer service. We did—but customer service coldly repeated that no refunds were available.

Only after a police officer personally accompanied us to the cruise office and asked the staff to show where on the ticket or website it says seating is not guaranteed, did they finally agree to issue a refund—because it wasn’t written anywhere.

It’s completely unreasonable to expect people—including seniors and children—to stand on a boat for three hours in 31°C heat with no warning and no seating.

This was a frustrating, humiliating, and totally unprofessional experience. I strongly advise others to stay away from...