I recently had the pleasure of taking my daughter and niece out for an afternoon on the Fame. Our first impression of the staff came when I walked up to the ticketing booth. Much to my surprise, Melissa, who was manning the booth, knew my name and said hello. I'm sure it was because she was engaged with the list of reservations but, to me, it was a true bit of Salem Magic. I was stunned and I called her The Magic Lady for the rest of the time we were with her. She couldn't have been sweeter or more welcoming.
Once we boarded The Fame, Captain Mike and his crew (John and Parker), got us involved with getting the ship underway. We had a chance to furl the sails and to use the tiller to steer her. It was a lot of fun and had us calling each other 'Captain'. All three crew members were very informative and engaging, telling us about the history of the ship as well as the history of the harbor. 'Nice' doesn't go far enough to compliment all three men.
The ship itself was beautiful, seventy feet long and probably fifteen feet wide. It was very comfortable and, although you knew you were on a boat, it never felt rough or unsafe.
Overall, the tour took about 90 minutes and we enjoyed every one of them. Even my fifteen-year-old niece, who expected to be bored, came away from the ship with a huge smile and a remark that she was wrong about the tour.
For us, it was a five-star trip.