Maid of the Forth — Attraction in City of Edinburgh

So firstly I’ll start off by saying I’ve lived round boats and the sea all my life, and I absolutely hate being on the sea!! My friend suggested a trip on The Maid of the Fourth ( 22nd July) to say my anxiety shot through the roof was an understatement!!! No words can explain the experience as it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! From being met in the booking office by an extremely helpful and knowledgable lady who explained the 3 trips they covered. Who suggested the 1st choice trip of 90 minutes, as she understood my fear. We had a couple of hours to wait, and she handed us a leaflet and suggested somewhere to eat. Then said when we return to stand around the side to que for boat coming in. By 14.00 the boat turned up and the sea was starting to get choppy ( but of course it was, no doubt my dad looking down getting pay back for all the years I refused to go on the Fourth with him) . By this time I was starting to feel green before I’d even boarded. Cameron was standing ready to greet everyone on board along with Andy ( Jason Stratham look a like) They were both welcoming and smiling which made me feel better. I was pleasantly surprised once on board, the boat holds I think about 250 people I read. It has padded seats down stairs which is an enclosed seating area with big windows to allow for a great view. There’s a toilet and BAR which I didn’t expect at all, and outside seating upstairs with wide stairs making it easy to negotiate. A safety PA is played straight away which I was delighted with, as I’d joked to my friend I’d be happy to have a life jacket before I’d even boarded ! To my amazement 5 minutes in to leaving there were dolphins swimming and jumping at the side of the boat obviously enjoying the waves the boat was making. I totally relaxed after that and didn’t even feel sick 😁, there was a commentary on interesting facts and pin pointing buildings which you could see from the boat, and giving you historical information. I’m not going to lie I’ve lived in Fife and Edinburgh and yet learnt a lot of information on the trip! We stopped off at Inchcolm to pick other passengers up and I was able to get some great photos from the boat. It was a smooth turnaround at the Island then we proceeded to head back. More facts about the Fourth and Edinburgh, as we were turning to head to the pier the dolphins were back and jumping out the water. Well done to the captain who docked the boat so smoothly it didn’t even bump the wall. Cameron and Jason ( sorry Andy 😆) helped us all off, there was no feeling of being hurried so they could get the next lot of passengers on. I felt safety always came first and was of high importance.

We are definitely going to pack a picnic and do the trip where you can stay on the Island and look around the Abbey. You never know my confidence might grow to go on a jazz cruise at night.

Thank you all so much for a lovely trip out and making me feel safe. I really would have given you...

Lovely boat experience and the staff on the boat we're very helpful. Nice busy spot. My daughter was in a wheelchair and the lady so called manager that works in the gift shop left me in tears😣. She refused my daghter on the boat and said there was nothing to lie her down on while we took her chair on the boat then refused to give us a refund, when i tried to explaine it says wheelchair access on the website i booked it on she told me i was a liar so i showed her on the website that it says that and she was still rude and full of attitude. I spoke with the staff on the boat and they were very friendly and helpfull and helped us with our daughter getting in and out of the boat, once on it we had a lovely cruise but when i got of the boat and went back to reception and asked the lady why she said my daughter couldint go on the boat all i got was cheek from her and i asked her if she had a issue with people with disabilities and she got up out her chair shouting at the top of her voice get out of my shop now yous arent welcome there was 2 men in the shop and i told her to calm down i wanted to talk with the manager she screamed i am the manager, my disabled non verbal daughter was extremely upset and so was my son who has autism im still in shock and cant believe how we were treated and never will go back as long as that lady works thare its so sad as mentioned everything was great apart fron this rude angry crazy manager at reception in the gift...

Booked this for a wee outing on 3rd July, we opted for the landing on inchcolm island too. The boat was boarded very fast and efficiently, staff were friendly and helpful and we left on time. We headed up the forth towards the island which took about 30mins, there were lots of things to see on route and there was plenty of information provided. The island itself is lovely, the abbey is stunning, the only downfall was the swooping seagulls, during the months of April to September they are nesting and have chicks which they are extremely protective over so if you try to pass them or get close they swoop down. The historic Scotland staff will advise on the dos and don'ts, they're also really helpful. There is a toilet on the island as well as a small gift shop, the gift shop is manned by a historic Scotland staff member although what we weren't told is that the shop closes for 10minutes when tour boats are arriving, we were due to depart on the boat that was arriving so felt our visit to the gift shop was a little rushed. After spending a couple of hours on the island exploring, it was time to leave and continue on our maid of the forth tour to see the 3 bridges. Overall, a great day and well worth doing although wouldn't recommend for wheelchairs or prams due to accessing the boat but also the island is uphill, the abbey is old stonework and stairs with...