The Colonial Belle has been providing Erie Canal tour boat cruises from mid-May through October since 1989. Come aboard in Fairport, NY, just 20 minutes from Rochester, NY. The Colonial Belle's narrated tour will familiarize you with the rich history and many traditional landmarks along the scenic Erie Canal traveling west between Fairport and Pittsford.
Our three-hour cruise includes lock passage at Canal Park in Pittsford, located at Clover St. and Jefferson Rd. We offer a variety of cruises open to the public and can customize your private event. We are pleased to provide our own beverage service and catering by various local restaurants. Please note: Day to day cruises CANNOT be booked online.
Our three-hour cruise includes lock passage at Canal Park in Pittsford, located at Clover St. and Jefferson Rd. We offer a variety of cruises open to the public and can customize your private event. We are pleased to provide our own beverage service and catering by various local restaurants. Please note: Day to day cruises CANNOT be booked online.
Services
The Colonial Belle is the largest tour boat operating on the historic Erie Canal. Our vessel is U.S. Coast Guard certified to carry 149 passengers with a fully accessible enclosed lower deck and an upper open-air deck. The enclosed first deck offers comfortable seating, a full-service bar and two restrooms.
For a memorable experience, treat your clients, customers or associates to an exclusive charter boat cruise. Our goal is to see that you and your guests have a wonderful time. Choose from our regular menus or let us arrange for special catering. Our fully stocked bar offers a wide variety of beverages.
Where do I park? Public parking is available in Packett's Landing, with access to stairs to the dock. There are handicapped parking spaces at the east end of the parking lot, where there is easy access to the dock. Is the Colonial Belle handicapped accessible? We are handicapped accessible on the lower deck.
The Erie Canal is an artificial inland waterway that extends from Lake Erie, at Buffalo, New York, to the Hudson River, near Albany, New York. The Erie Canal forms a branch of the New York State Canal System, a network of canals established in 1903. Plans for a waterway that would link the Great Lakes with the eastern seaboard were developed as early as 1783, but the projected waterway received little popular support.
Reviews (19)
Mike S.
Aug 29, 2021
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Kenneth Clark
Aug 17, 2021
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Starting your way in Fairport on the Erie Canal, the Colonial Belle is a beautiful tour, with gracious hosts. Been on 3 separate tours, all 3 hours long, with coworkers. Always a relaxing evening with a little history lesson of you listen. Fun to wave at everyone on the canal and watch the local rowers. Can get a little cold, pending time of year, so be prepared for the elements.
Jeff Allen
Aug 05, 2021
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Matthew Krais
Jul 17, 2021
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MiniJellal
Jul 14, 2021
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Steve Carey
Sep 29, 2020
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Richard R.
May 04, 2019
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Jude T.
Aug 12, 2018
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If you want a boat ride on the Canal, this is a nice cruise with bar and bathrooms. If you want ANY history or information about the Canal, even when it was built, anything....look elsewhere. We thought we were getting a TOUR. What we got was a very nice (I do mean it was very nice) boat ride. Not what I was told when I booked. I was told we'd hear the history and a bit about the canal. Nada. Not a word.
Debby B.
Jul 22, 2018
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Four of us took the 3 hour cruise yesterday. It could have been a good experience if Captain Steve remembered to bring his personality with him. We received minimal information regarding the locks or the canal. All he talked about was the low bridges and we should remain sitting. We were on the top deck and barely heard him. When we asked him a question, he was actually rude. He said "I just said that". The first mate Andrew was wonderful and sat down with us at the end of the cruise and explained everything. The captain can make or break this cruise and Steve was definitely a
Joann W.
Jun 30, 2018
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We were to sail on the Belle twice within one week. On Sunday, for a private party, the boat did not sail due to engine issues. On Thursday, for a murder mystery dinner cruise with friends, the boat did not sail because of generator problems. Each time service and food were excellent and the staff professional and attentive. Before we use the coupon for the complimentary cruise, we will definitely call ahead shortly before the departure time to make sure we will actually cruise.
Amanda L.
Jun 20, 2018
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Dorothy R.
Sep 22, 2017
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Ginny M.
Aug 17, 2017
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Great cruise! We did the 3 hour lock tour starting at 2:30 and ending punctually at 5:30pm. We sat on the upper deck near the front of the boat. The captain was a young woman who was informative on the history of the Erie Canal, the towns that we passed through and the fascinating history of the Colonial Belle herself! She was also quite entertaining and funny!
The bathroom facilities were clean and accessible. The lower deck had a full bar and the staff was very accommodating with a frozen Pina Colada for me and an Oreo ice cream shake for my son. Snacks there too.
Overall, it was a very comfortable
The bathroom facilities were clean and accessible. The lower deck had a full bar and the staff was very accommodating with a frozen Pina Colada for me and an Oreo ice cream shake for my son. Snacks there too.
Overall, it was a very comfortable
Patchy G.
Jun 21, 2017
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Took a large group there, lovely boat, office staff is nice. The boat driver and safety Nut captain sucks most of the joy out of the trip with his awful rambling. Here is a tip -no one on the night booze cruise cares about the history of the bridges- just drive the boat and let people drink. Also, I witnessed the staff tackle a 7 year old girl who was barely 3 feet tall. I got the safety but the way they handled that was ridiculous. The girl couldn't have hit the bridge if she was jumping off of a step stool. If someone ever tackled my kid like that I would probably toss them off the boat
Jon B.
Sep 20, 2016
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Met a friend Sunday for the 1 1/2 hour afternoon canal cruise as we thought it would be a fun thing to try. Ticketing was easy, boarding & getting drinks easy too, overall a fun time. The boat is kind of old, and really didn't seem too clean, but for $10.00 a ticket, oh well. The captain was entertaining & knowledgeable, the speakers are kind of old, but I could understand what he was saying. Overall I would do it again if I had a couple of hours to kill and was in the area, plus when you get off the boat there's several restaurants in walking distance to grab a bite.
K. N.
Aug 20, 2016
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Don't do it to yourself. Took a group of 8 to the Themed Night Cruise (Parrot Head Night). Few issues :
1. Rude Staff
2. Understaffed Bar
3. Speakers so poor, music cant be heard anywhere except right in front of the musician.
4. Billed as a Party - it was a jailbreak from the Senior Center. Almost no one under 70.
5. Not encouraged to have fun, Capt and staff encourage everyone to sit down (and not just at the low bridges).
6. The entertainment was so uninspired, it wouldn't even classify as background music. This guy had zero energy.
8 tickets = $275. Drinks = $125 Food
1. Rude Staff
2. Understaffed Bar
3. Speakers so poor, music cant be heard anywhere except right in front of the musician.
4. Billed as a Party - it was a jailbreak from the Senior Center. Almost no one under 70.
5. Not encouraged to have fun, Capt and staff encourage everyone to sit down (and not just at the low bridges).
6. The entertainment was so uninspired, it wouldn't even classify as background music. This guy had zero energy.
8 tickets = $275. Drinks = $125 Food
Ed F.
Jul 31, 2016
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Took the noon, 1.5 hour Sunday cruise. The staff there were competent and nice.
The problem was the sound system. On a cruise which features narration and historic info about the canal, you'd think they'd invest in speakers that do not distort the sound. We thought maybe it was just the speakers we were sitting next to, but as we moved throughout the boat--up and downstairs--we couldn't find any clear speakers. All were garbled, staticky, and tinny. Very disappointed with that aspect of the trip.
The problem was the sound system. On a cruise which features narration and historic info about the canal, you'd think they'd invest in speakers that do not distort the sound. We thought maybe it was just the speakers we were sitting next to, but as we moved throughout the boat--up and downstairs--we couldn't find any clear speakers. All were garbled, staticky, and tinny. Very disappointed with that aspect of the trip.
Dave H.
Sep 06, 2015
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If you go on this try to go at night there is not alot of air in the lower cabin where they serve dinner. The gentleman that sat beside me was sweating so bad he took his shirt off.The company needs more fans or knock out the windows so air can flow threw the lower deck.The food was ok nothing great.
Hannah G.
Aug 07, 2015
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Had an absolute awful experience today. Signed up for the murder mystery cruise weeks in advance and even called to confirm. We got there to pick up our tickets before boarding time and they had no record of our order. The two women there were practically useless and did nothing to remedy the situation other than to suggest either we go on the cruise anyway (without the dinner we paid for, which was $50) or to get tickets to a Jimmy Buffet cruise in a few weeks instead. I was so disappointed and frustrated we eventually left the office and watched $150 sail away.