Schooners Alliance & Serenity

My young daughters and I were on vacation and went on the 2 pm cruise. We had a great afternoon! It was a nice trip down river and the crew was very nice and explained everything they were doing. Both girls enjoyed listening and watching the sails go up and down and learing about the schooner. It was a great introduction to sailing for them. THANKS we had wonderful time.

great fun, great crew even with out the sunset!

When you are under motor power for half of the time, it kinda takes away from "sailing". The trip doesn't cover much territory. I'm glad we did it and we'll nevr do it again.

I took my first sailboat ride with my husband and two friends. The ride was delightful-quiet, interesting, and smooth. The city was picturesque and the nearby restaurant food was tasty. I would thoroughly recommend this excursion to anyone.

My wife and I have lived in the local area for more than 15 years and only wished we had taken the sunset cruise years earlier. We celebrated our 25th anniversary and it couldn't have had a more enjoyable event. The Captain made the cruise very pleasant and all the more worth while as he answered all our questions about the ship, local history and even let me take the helm while underway! I would recommend the sunset cruise to any couple who wants a romantic sunset evening together while having a very good time with the Captian and crew. Excellent time with pictures to last a lifetime. Thank you for the cannon salute, it topped our evening!

The only draw back is the seating. There were not enough places to sit, so 3 of us in our party of 5 had to sit on the floor of the boat, and could only see to the sides of the boat. Could not see forward or to the rear.

If you're looking for a rustic two-hour cruise during which you might learn a bit about both basic sailing and local history of Yorktown, you're in luck. A bonus is that the crew are very knowledgeable and their enthusiasm for sailing shows. If desired, you can participate in hoisting the sails. Heck, I even learned how to identify a Schooner among other boats finally. Just don't expect plush accommodations or dinner while onboard The Alliance. There is only a cash bar with some snacks offered. Still, for only thirty-five bucks a pop, your expectations should already be tempered. The ship sails out of Yorktown three times daily so you can probably find a time that suits you. We went at 6:30pm and conditions in late June were fabulous.

Our 11am-1pm sail was under light wind on a warm day, and we didn't get to see any dolphins, osprey or pelicans, so the sail was slower and less eventful than we'd hoped for. On the other hand, the rain in the forecast didn't show up, and the hundreds of jellyfish were a sight we hadn't expected. Greg and the crew were welcoming, patiently answered a slew of questions while pointing out points of interest along the shore, and gave us a chance to help out with setting the sails. Highly recommended.

My wife and I took the "Alliance" schooner sail trip and had a great time. We were on vacation for (2) weeks and this day was really one of our days we scheduled not to do to much except relax.. We ended up looking online for some relaxing things to do and came across an add about the sailing Yorktown. The weather was perfect and the sea breeze was awesome. The two young girls who were working the deck were very pleasant and knowledgeable, and I also spoke with the captain who was also very friendly and knowledgeable. We were really able to relax sitting along the side of the ship and just take in the sights and we went below once for a soda and some snacks. Another thing we found surprising was we ended up having a very nice conversation on board with a young woman from England who was on vacation and a very nice husband and wife from Toronto who were also on vacation. We vacation in Virginia yearly but this was our first time taking the Sail Yorktown even though we have been to Yorktown in the past. On our next trip though we will take a sail again. We also each bought a souvenir t-shirt of the Alliance for around $17.00 which I felt was fair and reasonable. Thanks for the enjoyable event, and we will definitely do it again.

My husband and I have wanted to go sailing for quite some time now. It was our first time on a boat and we cant wait to go again. We went on fathers day so it was good fun for the whole family. The crew was awesome and it was a perfect day to be on the water. I am sure we will be doing another sail in the future.

It was a beautiful Fall Day, had waitted for several months for the trip. Then we were over run by unrully, unattended small screaming children. Several people thought they would fall over board. They day was a waste of money and time.

Me and my wife scheduled this as our initial activity on our recent trip to Williamsburg Va. We were intially supposed to go on the cruise on Friday June 10th. We had to reschedule due to a bad storm that came through the area. That was fine. We ended up doing the Ghost of Williamsburg tour that night instead of Saturday, and rescheduling the cruise for Saturday June 11th. Again, even though we went out we were only on the water for an hour of a two hour cruise due to weather. Now I realize that no one can control what mother nature does, but we could have been given a free t-shirt, key chain or something considering that we got screwed out of an hour on a cruise that was supposed to last 2 hours. I feel like me and my wife paid $70 for a 2 hr cruise and got cheated out of $35.

We had a wonderful time on our cruise. From the moment we were greeted at the gangplank until we were wished well as we left the crew was helpful, friendly, and enthusiastic. All of the many questions asked were answered with knowledge and respect for the questioner. The friendly atmosphere left us wishing for a longer time spent on the Alliance.

Beautiful boat and it was exciting to actually help raise the sails!! Great friendly crew and setting off the cannon at sunset was quite an experience. Wish a drink or some kind of snack was included but the beer and snacks for sale on board weren't too bad of a price. Met some local couples that were enjoying the cruise for the first time and we all bonded while popping a bottle of champagne. Will def do it again on our next trip to Yorktown!!

The sailing ship left the dock and the crew put up sails on four masts. The cruise was entirely under sail except for leaving and arriving at the dock. It was cold on the evening we sailed, but an overall relaxing event. If you're looking for adventure, this is probably not the activity for you. But is you would like to experience a nice romantic evening without stress, this is it.