Explorer Charter Cruise Lines

“Captain Tom” runs this business under quite a few names. Many (but not all) reviews are from friends and family or outdated. My review is recent. Dozens of people keep trying to comment on Facebook when he does ads, but admins only want to see the positive and keep removing anything negative. In early 2020, we booked a trip that was cancelled due to covid, even though boating was perfectly safe and allowed by the time of our trip date. In September of 2020, Captain Tom posted what looked like a drunken rant on the Caseville Facebook page that made me glad our trip got cancelled. I think you can see other legitimate reviews on that topic on Facebook. Turns out this guy is super prejudice and political. Remember he goes by a several different company names. On our call and on Facebook, he also mentioned how he cared about the environment. The boat probably pollutes more than all other boats in the marina put together. Somebody on Yelp mentioned the paint. It’s probably the cheapest most polluting boat paint you can buy. Very high VOC’s if you know what those are. He cleans with chemicals that kill fish, alewives and more. The chemicals he cleans with are also known to decimate the whitefish population. Again, all while “being an environmentalist”. It does look like a good time, but also something very shady and based on his rant, I wouldn’t trust him. Most importantly, that Facebook rant should make many feel unsafe.

We booked a sunset cruise with Captain Tom on a Tuesday afternoon. He was very accommodating. We arrived at his location. This year it happens to be his house. He has a nicely restored 1949 naval 50ft boat on his dock in his backyard. We arrived a bit early. He took the time to talk to us and tell us about himself and his experiences. At 7pm we boarded and took off. He showed us a couple canals and then took us out towards North Island to watch the sun set beyond the waters horizon. Beautiful night for it.nIts a very relaxing atmosphere. We were told to bring anything we want, i.e. Snacks, drinks, whatever.nThis was a 2 hour boat ride. Well worth the $40 per person.nI would recommend anyone looking for a sunset boat ride. Give Tom a call. You won't be disappointed.

We called earlier in the week and reserved 3 spots. Upon our arrival (20 minutes early) the boat was packed. There was no way we were going to spend $120 to sit inside and not see anything (there were only 6 tiny portholes). We drove a long distance for nothing and Captain Tom couldn't have cared less. I would have paid a lot more money for a less crowded boat and a pleasant experience. Captain Tom needs to change his horrible business practices.

Wouldn’t hesitate to go again. Can’t think of a negative thing to say. Enjoyable!

Fun boat ride great history stories awesome Island to explore fantastic dinner. Most amazing sunset on Lake Huron.