Newport Online

May, 2008 – Captain Jeff O’Brien and the crew of Gansett Cruises announce that the company has been chosen as an “Editor’s Pick” by Newport Life Magazine, just in time to open the new cruise season mid-May.(Details www.gansettcruises.com)

Annually, the popular magazine’s readers vote for their favorite local venues on a ballot; then in a second review, Newport Life’s editorial team highlights area businesses whose products and services are noteworthy. “We are thrilled to be singled out in our second year of operations as an ‘Editor’s Pick’,” said O’Brien, the company founder and owner and a 25-year veteran of the upscale charter boat industry. Gansett’s guides are known for their excellent commentary about the sights and landmarks of the harbor and the bay – in fact, the historical articles and profiles that appear in Newport Life provide good background material for their tours.

The recognition reaffirms that Gansett Cruises clearly made an above-average impression on the tour industry in 2007 by offering its “harbor tours with a different view.” “The crew and I like to give every person the feeling you get from being a guest aboard a luxury yacht,” O’Brien said, “even though they’re only aboard for 90 minutes. We want to make the tour, the refreshments and the boat ride memorable for everyone.”

On every trip, the crew serves complementary beverages and snacks that are favorites of the local cuisine. On the morning cruises, guests have brewed coffee, tea, chilled juices, and oven-warm muffins during their tour, all complements of the Captain. Later in the day, guests have a choice of sampling a variety of items, such as Yacht Club soda, Warwick ice cream, coffee “cabinets” (a milkshake with coffee syrup), Del’s Lemonade and other “flavors of Rhode Island.” On the sunset cruises, guests are offered a free R.I. quahog state clam “Stuffie” made by the award-winning local company, Quahog Maid.

Earlier this year, the company announced that it expects the 2008 season to be exceptionally busy with three new charter contracts to provide harbor tours for the cruise ship arrivals in Newport in addition to providing private tours for the guests of the city’s premiere vacation ownership resorts.
The M/V Gansett offers five tours daily mid-May through late October, as well as private charters. The vessel is U.S.C.G. certified for 49 passengers and provides modern amenities aboard.