Dive-in Theater with Acadia National Park Ranger

What an enjoyable time! Great concept- an informative tour of the surrounding area and a scuba divers view of the ocean below. The kids were glued to the screen when Diver Ed was diving and then they got to hold everything he found! To top it off- his 2 newfs kept everyone company on board...We would definitely recommend this trip! (I rarely write reviews when asked, however, I feel this trip is a must for those in the area!)

Great experience Very interesting and informative mixed with a lot of fun! Would highly recomend this trip. The kids on this trip really had a good time and every one was given the opertunity to participate in hands on activities.

Diver Ed and his family genuinely care that each of the passengers has a good time. The warm feeling from the family was great. They made sure that every person in the boat touched each and every item collected from the ocean. Very nice! Here are some comments from my children (5 year old twins) "I liked how he (Ed) held the sealife animals so that it would not hurt them. He was very careful." "I liked seeing the animals -- the lobster, the sand dollars, the crabs and sea stars." "I liked touching the horse mussell." "I liked seeing Diver Ed on the screen collecting the animals and putting them in the bag from the ocean floor." My nine year old also thoroughly enjoyed the program. She was able to ask many questions and get answers from Ranger Tony, Diver Ed and Captain Evil. The quality of the underwater camera is excellent. During our trip we also saw some bald eagles... which was pretty awesome. We saw them flying around. We saw a seagull chase a bald eagle. We also saw a bald eagle catch a fish/bird from the water surface. Totally cool! Ranger Tony was excellent. His observations were informative and educational. Thank you everyone for a truly memorable experience.

My family (4 adults and 1 child) had a blast on this trip. My 6 y.o. was mesmerized by the live video of Diver Ed and kept saying, "I can't believe there's all this commotion under the boat!" The experience opened her imagination up to what is in the ocean (as opposed to what children often think--mermaids, monsters, etc.). Diver Ed was wonderfully entertaining and his wife (I think she was his wife) was a great tour guide of the sea life we saw. The park ranger knew the area very well and taught us a lot about the birds and geography and geology of the bay. We loved seeing the bald eagle feeding a juvenile. A great trip. Well worth the cost. I'd recommend it to anyone, adults and children.

The Dive-In Theater Cruise was one of the best parts of our vacation. The whole family was able to enjoy and participate in the cruise. Diver Ed brings the ocean floor to you for you to see. We were able to see and touch lobsters, several types of crabs, sea urchins, several varieties of sea stars, sand dollars, and a sea cucumber. We also saw seals and bald eagles on the way to the dive site. The crew even took the time to pick out a piece of plastic from the water so no harm would come to any sea creature. They truly have a love for the ocean and all animal life.

My family thoroughly enjoyed every bit of the trip! It was a great mix of above water and below water exploration, sprinkled with humor throughout. Diver Ed, his wife "Capt. Evil" and Eleanor the Ranger worked together like a fine-oiled machine to make this an outstanding adventure for my wife and I, as well as keeping my 11 year old son captivated. The "3 hour tour" was a highlight of our trip to Acadia! Thanks, Diver Ed, Capt. Evil, and Eleanor!

In Oregon similar tours are done in Newport (Yaquina Bay) and in Coos Bay. Two additional ideas are used,:a tow line collection of phytoplankton which is then placed under microscope and projected on the screen; and a throw a trap over to catch a crab (e.g. a lobster). The Diver Ed sound, collection, video, light, projection on the screen was truly unique and very interesting. the pictures of the sea cucumberes sucking in their fan arms to harvest the phytoplankton I had never seen before. The eagle catching and consuming the duck was totally absorbing and having the extra binoculars available was most helpful. the show and tell with critter handling and the diving buddy were all cute and kid centered and held the little girl's interst, I think. Having a park ranger on board (Elinore)was a very good cooperative effort -- I think we might have had a bit more wetlands-Frenchmans Bay interaction explanation to tie Acadia more closely to what's hapening in the National Park with what's happening in the bay. I would have liked to hear a little more sophistication about why the water is 10 degrees warmer now than in the past at comparable times (climate change? Labraror currents? Iceland melts? how do these things work?) I was also ianterested in why there are so many lobsters -- no cod? fished out Georges Bank? Cod mutatating from 150 lbs apiece to 15 lbs?) I am also very appreciative of the comments received from Aliese Felton, Jill Weber and others about the cood citizenship of Diver Ed and Captain Evil and their contribution to the Desert Island community. Thanks.

I was pleasantly surprised buy this trip. Great information from Diver Ed and the National Park Ranger.

four star if you do one boat trip, do this one.

This was the best cruise we have been on. The captain and crew were very informative and very interesting. It was a great learning experience..