St. Johns River High-Tea Cruise Tour in Sanford

The boat was decorated beautifully, and so were the tables. They had American history characters in costume walking around talking to us, like Sacagawea, Statue of Liberty, Uncle Sam, Rosie the Riveter, and Amelia Earhart. They had lots of varieties of tea from which to choose, although when we asked for strawberry pomegranate, they brought plain strawberry. We had to go back and forth a couple times to get the right tea. The water was tepid, not hot, for the tea. The waitress told us it was our fault because we didn't seal the lid tight. But instead of serving us regular pots of tea or hot water, they had heavy tall thermoses that were difficult to pick up and pour, and to seal the tops. You'd think they could pour the water for us, but I guess that's asking too much. There is no clotted cream for the scones. They had super sugary white icing. They didn't have enough sandwiches on our table when we arrived. We were a table of three and they had sandwiches for two people. We immediately asked for more sandwiches. The sandwiches were all you can eat. Well, that's provided they actually bring the sandwiches. Thus started the sandwich debacle. We were told that they would bring out more sandwiches once the boat starts moving, which was shortly thereafter. So three more times, Tina the waitress comes, and each time we ask where are the sandwiches, and she said oh they're coming. Meanwhile, we noticed all the tables around us got more sandwiches about a half an hour later, and we still hadn't gotten ours, and we asked for ours before everyone else. Tina started making excuses. We told her we don't want to hear the excuses, we want our sandwiches. She became upset and wouldn't come back to our table. Fortunately a different waitress came by. However, they only brought egg salad and seafood sandwiches. We said could you please bring some of the cucumber sandwiches and the chicken sandwiches. Big surprise, we had to ask for those a few times too. So if you want to pay full price for tepid tea that you have to pour yourself, insufficient food, and sugary icing instead of clotted cream for your scones, while watching everyone else around you get served, and you want to hear bad excuses from a bad waitress, then you'll enjoy this trip. Otherwise, we say skip it.

Very disappointed in this event. The boat was uncomfortably warm. The sandwiches had a whisper of filling in each. Couldn’t identify which type of sandwich was which because all you could see was bread. Took a long time to get tea served at the TEA party! They did have a nice selection of teas. The little desserts were good. But, asked for more and never got them. The table and ship decorations were very nice. The best part was the women they had dressed as historical women (Rosie the Riveter, Amelia Earhart, and Lady Liberty). Would not do this again.

We all had an absolutely amazing time. The whole cruise was a lot of fun. There cast walked around and chatted with us, and the food/tea were great. Would definitely do this again.

This was a truly delightful experience for families. The setting was so clean and set up beautifully, the staff were exceptional and professional and the food was very good with all of the expectations of a high tea present, including a wonderful cucumber sandwich! The Queen graced the tea with her presence and her entourage as well. This was well worth the drive from Lakeland!

A little disappointing, the servers were not in the spirit of the tea and were harried. The tea which should be served first was late in coming as only one person was handing out tea bags. It was challenging getting more hot water. The food was sub par and not worth the cost of the trip. Would not recommend. It would have been nice for the “entertainers” to announce how the service would be done.

I loved everything about this experience. I will definitely do it again

It as a lovely day to be on the river. The staff was very attentive. The specialty drinks were awesome. They did use tea bags instead of loose leaf tea. Starting in May they will be having afternoon tea cruises every Friday.

We truly enjoyed our Alice in Wonderland tea. The characters interacting with us was so much. The boat is well maintained and all the little details for the tea and decor were beyond expectations. Food was great and so was the service. Everyone was so cheerful and kind. Can't wait to go again.

We had a wonderful time on the Barbara Lee for Jane Austen's 250th Birthday Tea Party. The trip on the paddle wheel boat was so fun. The tea service was great. I got to try about 8 or 9 tea types and the scones ,tea sandwiches , especially the cucumber ones,and sweet treats were yummy. Angie and Sydney(like Australia lol) were so attentive in taking care of our needs and questions. We had a wonderful time and will definitely return for more teas and other cruises. Rick was great making sure we got on and off safely. What a great crew and a Marvelous time. Thanks

I want to send a special shout out to Dee!! Who made our cruise a wonderful experience. Dee was funny, silly and ready to get down and boogie with us! The food was great and the sail was smooth. I will definitely be back to have enjoy a different theme.