Alpena Shipwreck Tours — Local services in Alpena

We were lucky, because, due to weather conditions, all tours that day besides ours were cancelled. There is a reason, involving the lake bed, why there are so many shipwrecks in the area, and as they take the tour into the exact areas known to sink ships, they take no chances on making another wreck out of the tour boat. So just be aware that if weather is even in question, like it so often is in Michigan, then you may have to reschedule on short notice. Maybe even come to Alpena with a Plan 'B'.

I'm not sure if there is a Plan 'B' in Alpena, but hopefully, you'll think of something.

As for the tour itself, we basically loved it. They took us to see three shipwrecks, of which two were visible and amazing, and the final was completely concealed by cloudy waters caused by otherwise fairly mild weather conditions which developed suddenly during our tour.

Yet, it wasn't a perfectly enjoyable experience. In one sense, our tour was overcrowded. According to regulations, the ship was not over its passenger limit, but passengers had to take turns at the viewing areas for the glass bottom and really squeeze in to even get a turn. To fix this, they should have two boats, each 2/3 to 3/4 full, instead of one boat completely full like ours was. My last criticism is that seats on the tour boat were really cheap and extremely uncomfortable. When you consider the ticket price, I think they could afford to at least have the seat backs upholstered. As it was, the seats were so bad that someone stole your seat every single time you got up, no doubt hoping that your seat was somehow less miserable than theirs. Every time it happened to me and I was forced to take another spot, I found my new seat to be just as bad as my last.

The museum is pretty neat, and if you are lucky enough to be able to go out and look at some wrecks, you will be thrilled by...

My husband and I took this tour while in the area for the long holiday weekend, and the tour was not sold out - plenty of room! We learned a lot of information from our tour guide when we could actually hear her (it’s loud on the boat). The Captain was very genial and kind. We had one young guy who was new, and he struggled to communicate with the Captain over the radio to position the boat well over the shipwrecks without a lot of back and forth, resulting in several kiddos getting seasick and making me a little nauseous during that part. He was new, though, so we know he’s still learning!

We only were able to see two wrecks due to murky water at one spot. It wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be, but it wasn’t a terrible way to spend an afternoon on a boat! It was most enjoyable sitting at the stern of the boat when in motion. There are bathrooms onboard. Definitely be sure to switch between the lower deck and top deck at each wreck- you see more sometimes from above! If you do not own polarized sunglasses, I highly recommend them for this trip so you can see better through the water.

If you have very young children, be advised: it’s a long trip to be stuck on a boat, and it’s not very thrilling for little kids. If you have an antsy kid like my youngest, I wouldn’t...

Wonderful crew, very engaging with the patrons and they went out of their way to make sure everyone onboard saw each vessel. During our trip, the Alpena draw bridge wouldn’t open. The crew worked diligently to keep patrons up to date. When it was finally resolved and we headed back in, lighting stuck and disabled the bridge again. We were significantly delayed. During this time, Andrew used the time to talk about Alpena history, pointed out wildlife and answered patrons questions. When we returned to shore, the crew arranged a different location to dock and provided ground transportation to our vehicles. I was SO IMPRESSED BY their professionalism. I was also grateful to see how they attended to the older patrons getting off the boat. It was an amazing day. The crew worked so well together; they conveyed such a “vibe” of teamwork and confidence that my family never felt unsafe or uncomfortable. We truly loved our day on the lake and cannot thank Captain Matt, James, and Andrew for creating wonderful memories my kids will talk...