The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune

“How would you like to be sitting back in a pontoon boat on a leisurely sightseeing tour of the clam flats, salt marshes and beaches of Ipswich and Essex while munching steamers and corn, sipping a glass of wine…Along the way, guests may see blue heron, terns, piping plovers, cormorants, snowy egrets, flocks of sea gulls and a variety of other shorebirds. On some cruises, groups might be lucky enough to catch sight of an otter, seals, white-tailed deer or a fox.

Captain Amero or one of his other licensed captains narrate the cruise, espousing local history, as well as local gossip and rumors (one tale is of the apparent sighting from Conommo Point in Essex in the late 1800s of a sea serpent in the river). The eight-mile tour includes Hog island, where the movie 'The Crucible', with Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Ryder, was filmed a couple of years ago"
—Don Staruk, Lawrence Eagle-Tribune

"There may be other ways to see the expanses of salt marshes, travel to the great barrier beaches and watch a species of bird called Greater Yellow Legs skitter in the mud flats, but none is more pleasurable than aboard the 'Essex River Queen'

Captain Courtemanche kept up a steady stream of chatter, sharing the history of the area, pointing out shore birds and sea creatures along the trip…Along the way, Mr. Courtemanche talked about the shipbuilding history of Essex, where giant schooners were built and launched. He described the countless shore birds and wildlife that live around the marshes…

Passengers get a history lesson and learn about the Annisquam Indians and Chief Masconomet, the original Massachusetts state house, and how huge blocks of ice were wrapped in marsh grasses and shipped to tropical islands..."
—Penny Morang Richards, Lawrence Eagle-Tribune