$15 for an Adult Ticket for a Cruise on the Schooner "Fame" in Salem ($25 Value)
Similar deals
- Cruise aboard full-scale replica
- Learn ship's exciting history
- Beer available for purchase
- Fun summer activity
The great explorers of history rarely set out to circumnavigate the globe, more often stumbling upon new ocean routes after a wrong turn out of the gas-station parking lot. Stumble across your own place in hydro-history with today's Groupon: for $15, you get an adult ticket for a cruise on the schooner Fame (a $25 value). Trips depart from Pickering Wharf in Salem. The schooner schedules up to three trips daily from Memorial Day until September, and then sails on weekends only through Halloween.
The schooner Fame is a full-scale replica of a Salem-based ship that saw action during the War of 1812 as a privateer ship, capturing enemy trade vessels and selling off the spoils. The original Fame (crewed by the first-season cast of Fame) made more than 20 captures before it was wrecked in 1814—its spirit sails on, however, through its modern-day recreation. With an adult ticket for a cruise in hand, you'll embark on a high-seas adventure with only minimal ransacking of foreign ships. As the vessel skates along the rippling tides of Salem Sound, your seafaring guides will dole out fun facts about the original ship's crew, the War of 1812, and the sea trade that shaped the Salem area—filling passengers' minds with maritime minutiae like the New England wind fills the schooner's billowing sails. The trip lasts approximately one hour and 45 minutes.
While you deflect the salty breath of the Atlantic air with your windbreaker, kick back with a beer (available for purchase onboard), or capture the soul of the ship with a camera, just like the original Fame's crewmen did in 1812.
This Groupon is not valid for redemption for Live Music Fridays, the Gloucester Schooner Festival, or any private events.
Reviews
Five Yelpers give a ride on the schooner Fame an average of 4.5 stars:
- A unique and awesome experience! A MUST DO if you're in Salem. – En J.
- I always tell my friends if they are visiting to go on the Fame. It's a recreated privateer vessel. So if you have kids that want to pretend they are pirates (or if you are an adult that wishes to be one) this would be a perfect experience. – Lucien D.
Need to know info
About The Schooner "Fame"
Captain William Webb bellowed to his crew, "Ready the guns, hard to starboard!" as they rounded on the English ship Concord. Webb was a trader rather than a fighter, but the English had press-ganged some of his closest friends into service on their warships, stolen his livelihood, and seized dozens of Salem ships. Like many other merchants, fishermen, and shipowners, Webb and his crew outfitted whatever boats they could find to fight the English during the War of 1812, and the 70-foot Fame was no exception. The original Fame went on 11 more journeys before being wrecked in 1814 and now lives on as a luxurious home for the retired actors of The Little Mermaid.
The Fame seen around Salem today is a modern representation of that heroic ship. It was constructed from oak using the traditional methods of the early 19th century. Passengers on the ship's daily public sails relive the experience of navigating the Atlantic in a traditional, wooden, gaff-rigged schooner. The boat also plays host to weeklong camps, during which kids learn how to sail, tie essential knots, and read charts and maps before camping out for an evening of dumping tea in the ocean.