Cap'n Rod's Lowcountry Boat Tours — Local services in Georgetown

We were recommended to take this tour from our friend BB. She said that they were unable to use 3 tickets from last Sept. (2022) and at the time was told she could use them next season (2023), since they (BB) were not going to be back in the S.C. area the remainder of the year. When she realized we were in the area, BB was kind enough to call Cap'n Rod's to talk to them and explain that myself and husband would like to use 2 of the unused tickets. She was assured that everything was set up for us to use 2 paid for tickets. They told her to have us call and reserve our spots, that "everything was set, they have all the information."

The next day I called and the person I talked to said he would have to check with the owner as to how to designate that our ticket was paid. He would call back. After that day and no call back, I called again and he insisted I had to reserve our space with a credit card. So I believed him and gave him my numbers. The next day when we arrived for our tour, there was again some confusion as to how to now refund our card. I was assured that the owner would deal with it when we came back from the tour. So once back from the tour, Mike, the boat driver, called the owner. After a few minute conversation Mike said to the owner that he should talk to me. He didn't want to do that. More talking and finally stated that someone would call us.

The next day the owners wife, Monica calls. After "looking into the situation" she informs us that unless our friend BB has written proof that they had 3 tickets from last season, they will not honor our refund. Our friend BB does not have written proof, only the word of the person they spoke to the day of their tour in 2022 (who took down all the info) and again when talking with a person who assured her that... "everything is set". BB was kind enough to call again after our tour, and it has been 2 weeks with no call back or refund.

The tour itself was good/informative. The boat's captain, Mike was great along with our tour guide Page. That is why I give them 2 stars. I know it was my mistake to trust someone who only verbally said "everything is set" and still needed a credit card "to save our spot". Our complaint could have been remedied by the owner/person(s) on the phone originally stating that tickets cannot transfer to the next season, but there was no such conversation with us or our friend BB.

So this has left a bad taste in our mouths. We are on a fixed income and likely would not have bought tickets had we known we would have to pay. Yes, it is only $86, but it is an $86 we don't have now. All involved need to be upfront with their charges and don't say one thing and do another. Sorry this is so long. Thanks...

Booked tour that was cancelled. I appreciate the tour being cancelled since we were surrounded by a thunderstorm. I appreciate the quick refund when I requested. I’m not upset about the cancelation. I would caution anyone considering purchasing tickets about the lack of care for passengers’ safety and experience. It is important that you read this post since there isn’t anything on the website about weather cancelations. The priority was having to give up ticket prices. After days of summer storms, all weather forecasts were calling not just for rain but thunderstorms at the time of the tour. I called the day before and was told they would monitor the weather and would notify passengers by phone/email of cancelations. Based on this, even though the weather showed storms at the time of the tour, we took the hour-and-a-half drive to Georgetown. We arrived at our designated time amidst a thunderstorm. The boat captain was making plans to go get gas for the boat, while another man working on the boat was trying to get him to look at the clouds in the distance. He told him the clouds aren’t looking any better; they are dark. That was confirmed by all of the weather outlets. The captain said he thought it would be okay thirty minutes after we were to depart, even though the weather experts did not support this. The other man told him that if it’s raining they can’t get off the boat at the barrier island. The whole purpose of the tour! The captain said he knew that. Yes, the captain was willing to take a boat full of people in the middle of a storm, knowing they would not get what they paid for. Finally, the tour was cancelled, not due to safety, but because the electricity in Georgetown was out, and the captain could not get gas for the boat. Almost immediately of the captain calling “the owner”, I received an email, five minutes after arrival that the tour was cancelled. However, the email of the cancelation did not explain the safety due to the thunderstorm as the reason. Instead, it listed “moonlighting” as the reason. Yes, the unprofessionalism continued. Avoid this tour’s lack of consideration for experience, let...

The tour we went on was advertised as a 3 hour tour: "Cruise up the peaceful rivers past Plantation Mansions, abandoned rice fields, majestic old oaks, and even a ghost story or two." The total actual tour part was about 45min. The rest of the time it was silence. They did not tell any ghost stories or local lore. Most the buildings we looked at were modern or modernized. The rice fields, which is what 90% of what they talked about aren't there anymore. So you think you are looking at rice fields but you are just looking river marsh plants where the rice used to be. This all wouldn't have been to bad if the weather was ok because you could enjoy nature. However, the weather was horrible. The animals were smart enough to go somewhere to be warm. We saw an orsprey, an eagle, and a bird no one could identify. That was it for the nature watch. The cruise should have been canceled or shortened or something. If not everyone, the vast majority were miserable. It was in the 50s and forcast to be getting warmer and stay sunny. Instead about an hour before the trip it dropped to the mid 40s, got very windy, and the clouds were dark and periodically drizzling. The boat did not have roll down windows so no matter what you were wearing you were freezing. The boat had some blankets but they weren't much against the wind. A huge waste of $150/3 riders and a day of...