Midday on the Potomac, and the threat of tropical dancing looms aboard the Odyssey tour boat. The ship's pair of glass-enclosed dining rooms are bustling with lunch-cruise passengers. Couples. Seniors groups. Bands of co-workers bonding over Cosmopolitans. All is seemingly calm. And then, just as the folks in the front dining room are polishing off their desserts, the house band breaks into "Hot, Hot, Hot." You don't have to be the ship's captain to know what's coming next.
Four women spring from their seats and try to start the conga line. They're young, energetic, smiling. They've got the right stuff. But their efforts -- so promising at first -- soon fizzle like Julie and Gopher's "Love Boat" fling. Nobody wants to join in, so the line pulls into the pits after a single lap around the room. The women trudge back to their seats, spirits on the wane. It could be that this ship needs a guest appearance by Charo.
Christina Sobran, right, teaches passenger Micky Dedajic, 14, how to steer a dory.
(Sarah L. Voisin - The Washington Post)
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The band plays on as the Odyssey continues its journey up the Potomac. Sleek and low to the water, the boat looks like a giant eel gliding along the river's surface. Its atrium-style dining rooms can host up to 600 passengers during daily lunch and dinner excursions, with a prime feature being the panoramic views served up by the city.
The Lincoln Memorial comes into sight off the starboard side. In the distance, the Washington Monument and Capitol dome bathe in the afternoon sun. It's a mild day, and the sky provides a rich, blue backdrop. Forget Charo. The city has crashed the party. Passengers are skipping the dance floor to step onto the ship's deck. Some pose for photos along the railing. Others drape their arms around loved ones while the boat sneaks under Memorial Bridge.
The view of Washington from mid-Potomac is probably one of the most intimate to be found. It's like sneaking up on the city while it naps. The quiet perspective is only heightened by the fact that boat traffic on the Potomac is light. Even better, the city's internally combusted pulse is far enough away to be silenced; often, the only traffic in sight is a group of ducks who have their own conga line working near the shore.
Assuming you don't have a vessel of your own tied up at the river, a boat tour is one of the best ways to glimpse the city from the heart of the Potomac. Besides lunch and dinner cruises, the flotilla of touring choices includes sunset sailing excursions and kayaking expeditions. There's even a surf-and-turf romp aboard a World-War-II-era amphibious military vehicle known as a Duck. Prices for these trips run like the tide, low ($8) to high ($80). So once you've considered the options mapped out below, all that's left is to break out the cruise wear and head for the docks.
CRUISE SHIPS
Back in the Odyssey's front dining room, they've found their party boy. He's 75 years old, and he's wearing Rockports and a Golden Bear golf shirt. Surrounded by five much younger women, the silver fox is putting on a dancing display worthy of an Ensure commercial. His moves are equal parts Arthur Murray and Ricky Martin, but he's actually making it work. His fellow passengers cheer with conviction, finally letting it slip their minds that it's the middle of a workday. The party has begun.
Anyone who finds his heart thumping at the sight of a cruise ship commercial would probably get a kick out of a lunch or dinner cruise on the Potomac. The outings offer a taste of cruise-ship dining and merriment but without the prospect of retiring to sleeping quarters the size of a Chevy Blazer. You get on the boat, enjoy yourself for a few hours and then step ashore. Port of call: your own bedroom.
Three companies shove off for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch cruises on the Potomac. Odyssey Cruises and Spirit Cruises drop anchor in Southwest Washington, while Potomac Party Cruises dock in Old Town Alexandria. Like the Odyssey, the Potomac Party Cruises ship, Nina's Dandy, has the low-slung lines of a Parisian touring boat. The Spirit, on the other hand, is reminiscent of a gleaming Palm Beach yacht.
All of the boats are climate controlled and outfitted with dance floors and large windows. The Spirit stages a "retro" rock 'n' roll floor show complete with organized limbo contest. As for scenery, each vessel charts a course that provides stellar views of the monuments, the Kennedy Center and Georgetown.
It's hard to argue that the city doesn't show itself best under the stars. But if there's a downside to taking a dinner cruise it's the cost. Dinner tours, typically around three hours in length, run approximately $60 to $80 per person (not including alcohol). A less expensive ride is the two-hour lunch tour, which costs approximately $32 to $35 per person. Odyssey takes advantage of the midday panorama by having its captain provide narration as the boat passes notable sites. Of course if you'd rather dance, there'll be no test when the cruise ends.
SAILING
Sometimes the dine-dance-limbo mood just isn't happening. A quieter excursion is a sunset sail aboard the Potomac, a two-masted, 42-foot dory similar to those used on the river for oystering and fishing in the early part of the 20th century.
The Potomac, which was built by the Alexandria Seaport Foundation in 1995, pulls out of Old Town at 6 on Wednesday and Friday evenings for 90-minute trips. The cost is less than a cabin boy's wage: a suggested $8 donation ($4 for children) to the Seaport Foundation, a volunteer-based group that organizes programs in wooden boat building, environmental science and small boat handling.
Guests have to keep in mind that a sailboat's course is at the mercy of Mother Nature. And should Mom be in one of her moods, there's no guarantee the boat will head upriver for a close-up of the monuments.
Not that anyone seems to mind on a recent Friday evening, when a northwest breeze dictates a downriver sail. After all, it's midsummer, and the sun and humidity still harbor a good bit of sizzle at 6 in the evening. Any breeze that takes the edge off the heat is a welcome one.
Twenty-eight passengers, most from the Washington area, are seated around the boat's sides as the captain, Christina Sobran, and her two-man crew raise the sails. It takes only a few seconds for the wind to pull the canvas tight and send the boat on its way. Mari Lou Livingood, the foundation's associate director, takes a seat and smiles. "We couldn't have asked for a better evening."
The tour is informative but laid-back, equal parts pleasure ride, history lesson and hands-on river education. A docent provides a brief historical background of the waters around Alexandria. And then, as the dory tacks along toward the clamor of the Wilson Bridge, Livingood hauls out her plankton nets and asks passengers to help pull in a few water samples. She fills small containers with river water and passes them around the boat, helping everyone identify the vegetation and fish eggs that have been collected.
Tall and nimble, Livingood bobs up and down to avoid the boom as it swings from side to side. She talks all the while, answering questions from kids and adults about a range of river topics: from pollution and fish population to the environmental effects of the Wilson Bridge reconstruction project.
"I would love to see more people using the Potomac," she says, "whether they're fishing, sailing or rowing. The only way you appreciate a resource is by using it, actually touching it and feeling it. And that's why I like to let people drop the plankton nets and take the samples. It's much different than sitting on the banks observing the river from afar."
She may have already converted one passenger, an 11-year-old boy who's helping Sobran steer the boat as it motors back upriver. The skipper's new little buddy is sporting a grin. Of course his parents might not be smiling when he asks for sailing lessons and a boat.
THE DUCK
If you could mate a jeep with a pontoon boat, you'd probably end up with something like the amphibious, World War II-era vehicles used on the D.C. Ducks tours. First called into action by the Army to transport supplies and personnel, the Ducks now haul sunscreened sightseers on 90-minute daytime invasions of Washington.
The land-water tour (adults $24, children $12) begins at Union Station, where riders are issued their weapons: duckbill-shaped quackers that are used to taunt the riders of landlocked tour buses as the Duck motors past them. Quackin' trash may be mean-spirited, but it builds camaraderie among the passengers and can be a lot of fun.
The street tour is a good one, cruising major stretches of Pennsylvania and Constitution avenues. The Ducks' drivers serve as captains, comedians and tour guides. They're well-informed about the sights and stocked with corny jokes that they actually manage to sell, more often than not. They also keep the passengers involved with games of presidential trivia. Perhaps most important of all, it's the captain's job to organize sneak quack attacks on unsuspecting groups along the route.
The tour hits the water at Gravely Point, just as "Take Me to the River" begins to play over the PA. In light of the Big Mouth Billy Bass proliferation, there should be a law against that joke. But all is forgiven when the captain begins to flip switches and pull levers, eventually easing the vehicle down the boat ramp. Soon the husky tone of a truck engine is replaced by the steady pomp-pomp-pomp of a boat motor. And then the captain turns and asks the question that draws the loudest response of the day: "Who wants to drive?"
TOUR BOATS, KAYAKS AND MULES
Passengers disembark the Shore Shot at Washington Harbour in Georgetown.
(Bill O'Leary - The Washington Post)
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Tour boat captain Scott Sheridan can only stand aside and watch as his ship is swarmed by a band of day campers from a local church. Decked out in matching green T-shirts, the 8- to 11-year-olds are quick to let their wishes be known. "Let's go fast!" one of them says.
Tour boats aren't known to be the swiftest vessels on the Potomac. But the 53-foot Shore Shot, which holds 99 passengers and looks like a speedboat, pushes the envelope with a top speed of around 22 knots (about 25 mph).
"At least we can stir up a breeze on a hot day," says Sheridan as he adds a little throttle for the kids.
The Shore Shot's 50-minute jaunt ($10 adults, $5 children) takes in the major sights between Georgetown and Reagan National Airport. It's one of several tour boats providing 50- to 90-minute narrated cruises out of Washington Harbour in Georgetown. The other major port of call for tour companies is Old Town Alexandria, where round-trip passage to Mount Vernon can also be booked. Cruises depart both locations on an hourly basis beginning around noon, though it's always a good idea to call ahead and check schedules. Tickets for most tours can be purchased dockside.
Sheridan is pointing out sights and quizzing the kids as he aims the Shore Shot for home. Slowing for one last glimpse of the Washington Monument, he asks if anyone knows the height of the structure. He's hit by a tidal wave of shouts, answers ranging from 20 to a million feet. Sheridan plays the "higher-lower" game until one of the children zeroes in on the correct answer of 555 feet. The clamor quickly dies, and then one kid looks up from his perch near the back of the boat. "I knew that," he says.
If a narrated boat tour sounds a little too pedestrian, there are a couple of other choices. When you're thinking "good time on the water," two things that probably won't pop into your head are "mules" and "period costumes." Nevertheless, the duo plays an important role during the popular C&O Canal boat tours that depart from the Georgetown Visitor Center. Mules pull the boats from the towpath alongside the canal. The canal boats are like those used in the 1800s, when canal traffic was steady, if not exactly lightning quick. Park rangers wear period costumes during the one-hour tours ($8 adults, $5 children), entertaining passengers with canal history and occasional singalongs.
Those who'd rather give a mule a break might want to consider a kayak tour. Atlantic Canoe and Kayak Company in Alexandria can arrange both sunset and moonlight kayak tours on the Potomac, taking in Georgetown, the monuments and Roosevelt Island. The two- to three-hour tours ($39 to $49 per person) include equipment and instruction. No previous kayaking experience is required.
ON THE WATER
Lunch and Dinner Cruises
ODYSSEY CRUISES -- 600 Water St. SW. 800/665-0019. Web site: www.odysseycruises.com. Lunch cruises Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Jazz Brunch Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Dinner cruises seven days a week: 7-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Sunday.
SPIRIT CRUISES -- Sixth and Water streets SW. 202/554-8000. Web site: www.spiritofwashington.com. Lunch cruises Tuesday-Sunday, noon-2 p.m. Dinner cruises Tuesday-Sunday, 7-10 p.m. A second boat, the Potomac Spirit, cruises to Mount Vernon Tuesday-Sunday. The trip, departing at 9 a.m. and returning at 2:30 p.m., includes a 2 1/2-hour stopover at the estate .
POTOMAC PARTY CRUISES -- Old Town Alexandria at the pier between Prince and Duke streets. 703/683-6076. Web site: www.dandydinnerboat.com. Lunch cruises Monday-Saturday, noon-2:30 p.m.; champagne brunch on Sunday, noon-2:30 p.m. Dinner cruises seven days a week, 7-10 p.m.
Tour Boats
SHORE SHOT CRUISES -- Washington Harbour, 31st and K streets NW. 202/554-6500. Boat departs hourly between 12:40 and 8:40 p.m. for 50-minute tours. Cost is $10 adults, $5 for children 4-12. Children under 4 are free. Tickets can be purchased on the boat.
CAPITOL RIVER CRUISES -- Washington Harbour, 31st and K streets NW. 301/460-7447. Web site: www.capitolrivercruises.com. The Nightingale II departs hourly between noon and 9 for 50-minute tours. Cost is $10 per adult, $5 children 3-12. Children under 3 are free.
POTOMAC RIVERBOAT COMPANY -- Boats depart from Washington Harbour (31st and K streets NW) and Alexandria City Marina (Cameron and Union Streets). 703/548-9000. Web site: www.potomacriverboatco.com. Washington by Water monuments cruise departs from both sites and is one hour each way. Cost is $16 round trip for adults ($10 one-way), $15 round trip for seniors 60 and over ($10 one-way) and $8 for children 2-12 ($5 one-way). Children under 2 are free. The 50-minute Mount Vernon cruise departs from Old Town. Round-trip fare includes admission to Mount Vernon. Cost is $26 adults, $24 seniors 60 and over, $13 children 6-10. Children 1-5 are free. Forty-minute Alexandria by Water cruise departs Old Town. Cost is $8 adults, $7 seniors, $5 children 2-12. Children under 2 are free. Call or check Web site for daily schedules. No advance reservations.
Other Tours
ALEXANDRIA SEAPORT FOUNDATION -- 703/549-7078. The Potomac dory departs Waterfront Park, at the foot of Prince Street in Old Town, Wednesdays and Fridays at 6 p.m. for 90-minute sunset sailing tours. Reservations required. Suggested donation is $8 for adults, $4 for children 12 and under.
D.C. DUCKS -- Union Station 50 Massachusetts Ave. NE. 202/832-9800. Web site: www.dcducks.com. Vehicles leave every half-hour between 10 and 5 on weekends and 10 and 3:30 on weekdays for 90-minute land-water tour. Tickets are $24 for adults, $12 children 4-12, free for children under 4. Tickets can be purchased at the departure point in front of Union Station.
C&O CANAL BOAT RIDES -- Georgetown Visitor Center, 1057 Thomas Jefferson St. NW. 202/653-5190. Web site: www.nps.gov/choh/ One-hour canal boat rides Wednesday-Friday at 11, 1:30 and 3, Saturdays and Sundays at 11, 1:30, 3 and 4:30 p.m. Price is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5 children 4-14. Children under 4 are free..
KAYAK TOURS -- Atlantic Canoe & Kayak Company. 1201 North Royal St., Alexandria. 703/838-9072. Web site: www.atlantickayak.com. Georgetown Monuments and Bridges Tour is offered Saturdays and Sundays from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Sunset tours offered Thursdays-Sundays. Cost for both tours is $39 per person. Moonlight tours ($49 per person) can also be arranged.•
