J&M Cruise Lines - The Sandpiper and The Glass City Pearl — Attraction in Toledo

My young family did the cruise on July 2nd for Toledo's downtown fireworks aboard the "Pearl". The ship should be named the "Failboat".

The good stuff: The view of the fireworks was spectacular (though very similar views could've been attained for FAR less time, money, and discomfort) The view of the banks of the Maumee River were nice during the cruise Free water and soda The boat didn't sink

The bad stuff: (Most of the below items would've been fine if communicated in advance) Advertised as a "dinner cruise" that started at 6:30 sharp. We waited till 6:40 so 2 late people could arrive, all while the people who could only get a seat on the west side of the ship baked in the sun. There was ZERO safety / security briefing. No idea what to do in an emergency. No idea where life jackets are if needed. This is horrific to me. Totally unprofessional. All seating was hardwood, most of which was around the outside of the boat. I'm 5'10 and the seats were so high and narrow that they cut into my hamstrings and were impossible to get comfortable on. We initially sailed west, but trains prevented the bridge from opening, so after waiting for about 10 minutes, we just turned around. What if we had gotten stuck on the other side of the tracks? The bathrooms did not have running water, and thus, no way of washing hands. There was very cheap hand-sanitizer. I would assume dinner would be served no later than 7:30. It was served at 9:00. This almost single-handedly ruined the entire experience since my whole family and everyone else aboard were all hangry. By this time, everyone had germ-infested hands and no way to wash them. We were served Marco's pizza to be eaten with our unclean hands. The food ran out. It was a dog-eat-dog environment for everything! Best views, best seats, best food, etc. Most passengers had standing room only for the fireworks. When we arrived at our fireworks location, they pulled into position instead of turning around first to face our departure direction. This means that after the fireworks, they had to turn the ship around in the dark since they didn't do it when they still had daylight. So we had to wait for most other boats to clear out before we could sail back to port and disembark. I'm no sailor, so maybe there's a reason they couldn't turn around as soon as we got to our viewing spot.

Conclusion: The entire evening was a physical and social discomfort with some fireworks at the end. All for the low low price of $80 per person. My family will never do this again. We recommend to buy your own favorite pizza, leave a couple hours early, and get a good seat by the river bank. You can save your $80 and a couple hours...

Thank you to J&M Cruise Lines, especially Captain Jim, for a memorable Maumee River cruise on Friday, June 13, 2025. My family grew up in this area and came back to honor my late father. He always loved rivers and lakes, so we searched ChatGPT and found J&M Cruise Lines. The online booking process was simple and we reserved our preferred departure time with ease.

Although the weather was cool and drizzly, the directions guided us straight to the boat. Captain Jim met us on time and welcomed us with professionalism and warmth. It was thrilling to see how much the downtown riverfront has changed since we moved away in the late 1980s. The tour exceeded all our expectations and made us forget the less-than-ideal weather.

We have one suggestion. It would help if J&M Cruise Lines provided dedicated parking for guests. Our tour began before the nearby garage opened for public parking and this made it difficult for those in our group with limited mobility to find close spots. Other than that, the experience was wonderful and Captain Jim is both an excellent captain and a knowledgeable guide.

On our next visit to town, we will definitely book another cruise with J&M Cruise Lines. They are a real asset to...

We went on a Toledo Spirits sponsored booze cruise and it was a lot of fun. The boat itself is a bit underwhelming, more a barge than a boat proper, but it was fine for what it was. The only recommendation I'd make is to take the life jackets out for cleaning - some had bird droppings hanging from them over passengers heads. That being said, the Captain and First Mate were friendly, knowledgeable, inviting, and everything you could hope for when set out to sea (ok, down the river). The ship ran well and we got some great views down the Mighty Maumee River. We did a 2 hour tour which I feel was just the right amount of time.

They do have a variety of other tours available and I think the night time sunset one might be pretty nifty. The boat capacity is 100 guests. I think we had in the 60's and that felt 'about right' to me. 100 would be pushing it. Maybe with kids it could work but I think our size was just right.

I would go on this boat and...