riverboat cruise in sanford florida

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New Sanford Lunch and Dinner Now... - St Johns Rivership Company

• United States    
• Florida (FL)    
• Central Florida    
• Sanford    
• Sanford - Things to Do    
• St Johns Rivership Company

My wife and I took the four hour boat trip on the Barbara Lee, an authentic paddle wheeler. From... read more

We enjoyed our trip on the St. John's. Wonderful staff, all were friendly and gave great service... read more

New Sanford Lunch and Dinner Now Cruising! Barbara Lee!

Bye Rivership Romance Hello Barbara Lee - a true paddle wheel boat with modern amenities. Great experience for everyone. Day cruises with scenic views of the St Johns River and Evening Cruises with Live Entertainment on both. Fresh Chef prepared meals and served to your table. Full bar available. Owners of this ship are aware that some Rivership Romance Customers were left high and dry and have graciously offered to work with those customers by offering them a discount towards a cruise. This family has successfully managed cruise boats for many years and have what it takes to run a "tight" ship. For anyone looking for something fun and different experience with a date or a group, this should top the list.

The BARBARA ANN is a true paddle-wheeler operated by the St Johns Rivership Co at the same location as the old Romance. The Thanksgiving trip was fabulous.

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St Johns Rivership Co.

• Location: 433 N. Palmetto Ave. Sanford, Florida 32771
• Phone: (321) 441-3030
• Website: http://www.stjohnsrivershipco.com/

Things to do at St Johns Rivership Co.

Here's a totally different way to experience Florida,  its wildlife, its beauty, and its warmth. All while enjoying the very best in chef-prepared cuisine, live entertainment and endless hospitality in climate-controlled comfort. Family-owned and operated, the St. Johns Rivership Co. is the latest in a long line of sternwheelers that have been serving and sailing the St. Johns River for centuries. 

Did You Know?

Interesting & useful facts

Measuring 105 feet from stem to stern, the ship was built in 1986.

All enclosed decks are climate controlled by air conditioning and heating.

All narrated cruises include your choice of chef-prepared entrée, live entertainment, and endless hospitality.

Photos of St Johns Rivership Co.

News About St Johns Rivership Co.

5 Things to Know About Sea Turtle Season on the Space Coast

Florida’s Space Coast is a sea turtle’s paradise, with 72 miles of coastline, there’s plenty of space for these incredible marine animals to make their nests and…

All Aboard St Johns Rivership

Glancing out across Lake Monroe from the marina in historic Sanford you might be fooled into thinking you'd gone back in time 100 years. Making its way…

The Barbara-Lee

Welcome to the Rivership Barbara-Lee. The only authentic sternwheeler sailing the St. Johns River. Measuring 105 feet from stem to stern, the ship was built in 1986 and was extensively refurbished prior to its inaugural St. Johns cruise in 2012. Featuring ornate wrought iron railings and massive wooden paddle wheels, the five-story rivership accommodates up to 194 guests, making it ideally suited to host events of varying sizes. Plus, all enclosed decks are climate controlled by air conditioning and heating.

Grand Salon Deck

Seats 94 and features an elevated Main Stage, dance floor and well-stocked bar

Mezzanine Deck

Seats 40 and offers views of the paddlewheel and Main Stage

Lookout Deck

Seats 60 and features its own dance floor with a “lookout” through to the Main Stage.

Paddlewheel Deck

A covered open-air deck overlooking the wheels allows you to stay out of the sun while enjoying unobstructed views of the river and its wildlife.

Captain’s Deck

The topmost, open-air deck featuring benches and the captain’s steering cabin

Sip perfectly Poured Cocktails As You Stroll The Decks.

The Barbara-Lee features a well-stocked bar and a professional bartender ready to serve a glass of wine, beer or one of our Signature Cocktails. BEVERAGE MENU

Cruises & Fares

The Barbara-Lee departs from Historic Downtown Sanford almost daily. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED TO CRUISE.

All narrated cruises include your choice of chef-prepared entrée, live entertainment, and endless hospitality, as well as a well-stocked bar. Lunch cruises depart the dock in downtown Sanford Wednesday through Sunday with dinner cruises available on Saturday nights.

River Visit Luncheon Cruise – Wednesday 11am to 2pm River Escape Lunch Cruise – Thursday 11am to 3pm Saturday Luncheon Cruise – Saturday 11am to 2pm Dinner Dance Cruise  – Saturday Evenings 7:30pm to 10:30pm Sunday Luncheon Cruise – Sunday 11am to 2pm

*PLEASE NOTE BOARDING BEGINS 30 MINUTES BEFORE DEPARTURE

THE BARBARA-LEE MENU

Once you’ve been seated, you’re able to select your entrée from The Barbara-Lee Menu. Should you have questions, helpful staff are on hand to answer them. Upon selection of your meal, you simply give your menu slip to your server. Then, just sit back and relax or take a stroll about the ship.

Entrées are chef-prepared to your liking and served with side salad, freshly baked rolls, chef’s choice vegetables and dessert.

USDA choice cut prime rib prepared to your specifications. Served alongside buttery mashed potatoes.

Tropical Chicken

Slow-roasted chicken breast with Parmesan and a savory mango-pineapple chutney atop rice.

Chicken Marsala

Chicken breast prepared in a Marsala sauce reduction with mushrooms and Parmesan and served alongside buttery mashed potatoes.

Chicken Parmesan

Grilled chicken breast with Parmesan cheese and marinara sauce alongside pasta and a side of chef’s choice vegetables.

Salmon Fillet

Thick-cut salmon prepared with your choice of Lemon Butter Sauce or Teriyaki Glaze atop rice.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Layers of slow-roasted vegetables, pasta, marinara sauce and three kinds of cheese. Crisp romaine lettuce tossed in our signature Caesar dressing, with homemade croutons and Parmesan topped with your choice of grilled Chicken Breast or Salmon Fillet.

St Johns Rivership Shuttle

COURTESY SHUTTLE

For your comfort and convenience, a Courtesy Shuttle is available for groups of 8 to 14 guests. Shuttle availability varies. Prior booking required. Must have same pickup and drop-off location. Maximum 40-mile distance.

St Johns Rivership Company

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Similar Experiences

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

St Johns Rivership Company - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

St. Johns Rivership Company and the Barbara-Lee

Introduction.

Text-to-speech Audio

The Barbara-Lee docked at Monroe Harbour Marina

a full view of the Barbara-Lee from Lake Monroe

The Barbara-Lee

A view of the Barbara-Lee from an old dock

Food on the Barbara-Lee

Musical entertainment on the Barbara-Lee

A nice famliy eating on the Barbara-Lee

Bow of the Barbara-Lee

Barbara-Lee viewed from a passing boat

Backstory and Context

The Sanford River Ship Company is a corporation that offers lunch and dinner cruises on the St. Johns River. It is located at 433 N. Palmetto Ave, Sanford, FL 32771. Their ship is named the Barbara-Lee and it's named after the owners’ deceased beloved mother (Kellam). The cruise starts from the marina and continues around an island nicknamed Chicken Island by locals. This takes about 3 hours and gives you enough time to eat, enjoy the onboard entertainment and look around at the natural beauty that is the St. Johns River. Barbara-Lee is an old remodeled steam-powered stern-wheeler form the gulf coast and was made in 1986 and refurbished to a dinning cruise ship in 2012 (Stjohnsrivershipco). This five-story boat has massive wooden paddle wheels, is colored red and white, has lights on it during the Christmas season, can accommodate up to 194 guests, making it a fantastic venue to host a small to medium sized event. The 2 paddle wheels at the stern operate independently which makes steering of the ship easy for experienced helmsmen. The decks are called the Grand Salon Deck, Mezzanine Deck, Lookout Deck, Paddle Wheel Deck, and the Captain’s Deck (Stjohnsrivershipco ). The Barbara-Lee follows other St. Johns River boats named Grand Romance and the Rivership Romance. Barbara-Lee is owned by a family named Sternberg. The father is Bill; the mother was Barbara. Their son is John and there are two sisters. They are from Traves, Michigan and they used to own a restaurant called The Bean Pot (Kellam). Bill Maloney, the original owner, used to own the Rivership Romance that was docked at Monroe Harbour Marina. The old company failed when Rivership Romance had maintenance issues with its hull (Clarke).

Before hundreds of miles of highways crossed the state of Florida, even before railroads took over the nation, steamships were used in Florida for travel, transportation, and trade (Robison). Steamships were faster than sailboats and could travel longer distances. Historian Arthur E. Francke Jr. wrote that steamships were a vital part of the Second Seminole War. Camp Monroe was the southernmost point for steamships to transport troops and supplies as the Seminole War was going on. The camp was later renamed to Fort Mellon, the name honored Captain Charles Mellon who was killed by Seminoles during the war (Robison). Nine named steamships alongside thirty other unnamed steamships served Fort Mellon in 1837. The steamships were chartered by the army during the Second Seminole War. This was the first extensive use of steamships in warfare, according to Francke (Robison). They were also used to trade goods from Tampa Bay to Cuba and the Caribbean. Flagler in the 1890s built hotels along the Biscayne Bay and used steamships to carry passengers to the different hotels (Gannon). Steamships contributed to the Florida economy by attracting rich northerners to come and enjoy nice, warm Florida weather so they could get away from the cold (SJRWMD). By 1885 cities along the river grew as the local economy flourished (St. Johns Riverkeeper).

The St. Johns River which runs in a northernly direction, interestingly, was discovered in the early 1500s by Spanish seamen. After warfare over the years with the French, the Spanish named the river Rio de San Juan which means St. Johns River (SJRWMD). The name has stuck and many people live along the river, traverse the river for pleasure and of course the Barbara-Lee travels along it daily twice a day. Since 1890 many changes have occurred to the local economy transitioning businesses away from just using the river as a source to transport goods such as lumber and citrus. The Barbara-Lee contributes to the local Sanford economy since guests spend money in beautiful Sanford.The river has such an interesting history that in 1998 it was designated an American Heritage River by President Clinton. The St. Johns is the only river in Florida and one of only 14 rivers in the entire United States to receive this prestigious national recognition (St. Johns Riverkeeper).

The Barbara-Lee is a beautiful experience on the St. Johns River with delicious home-made food and known for their sticky buns. Seeing its huge paddles move the rivership as you have lunch or dinner on the St. Johns River is amazing. The age of the paddle boat is passed, however, the company is popular and many people from all over Florida and elsewhere book trips aboard it (Kellam). Besides their own website, many people learn about this experience via word of mouth. The Orlando Sentinel also featured this interesting boat cruise available on the St. Johns River out of Sanford, Florida.

Clarke, Sara K. “Sanford Gets New Riverboat for St. Johns Dinner Cruises.” Orlandosentinel.com , Orlando Sentinel, 10 Oct. 2012, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-sanford-new-riverboat-cruise-20121010-story.html

"Historical Facts about the St. Johns River.” SJRWMD , St. Johns Water Management, https://www.sjrwmd.com/waterways/st-johns-river/facts

 “History.” St. Johns Riverkeeper , St. Johns Riverkeeper, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.stjohnsriverkeeper.org/about-us/our-river/history/.

The History of Florida , edited by Michael Gannon, University Press of Florida, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/scc-ebooks/detail.action?docID=5399402.

Kellam, Dolores. Personal Interview. 8 Oct. 2019

Robison, Jim. Seminole Countys Centennial: Celebrating a Century of Success . The Donning Company Publishers, 2013.

“St. Johns Rivership Co.: Home.” Stjohnsrivershipco , St. Johns Rivership Co., 2016, https://www.stjohnsrivershipco.com/

Courtesy of Cynthia Haller

https://www.historicdowntownsanford.com/visit-historic-downtown-sanford-florida/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYc1XU92Xh8

https://www.stjohnsrivershipco.com/

Additional Information

• A short and informative video about the Rivership
• The website of the St. Johns Rivesrhip Co.

Ship & Shore Group Tours 

407- 408- 5200

BARBARA LEE!

Sanford, FL

  Saturday March 16,  2024

  $145 .00!

   * Narrated St. John’s River cruise aboard the Barbara Lee !

  * Tour the scenic waters & natural wildlife of the real Florida !

  * Enjoy a chef prepared multi-course sit-down luncheon !

  * Experience live musical entertainment onboard your cruise !

   * All taxes, gratuities and port charges are included*!

  * Deluxe motor coach transportation !

  * Personalized V.I.P. service with onboard host/hostess !

352-558-7000

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St. Johns Rivership Co.

• 433 N. Palmetto Ave. Sanford, Florida 32771
• Lunch & Dinner Cruises
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• 321.320.8466
• 433 N. Palmetto Ave. Sanford, Florida 32771 Sanford, Florida 32771, UNITED STATES

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• NEWS & EVENTS

FLORIDA’S LONGEST RIVER

ST. JOHNS RIVER

The St. Johns River is one of the safest and easiest gateways from the Atlantic Ocean. Between Mayport and Sanford, the river supplies an enjoyable cruise.

To Sanford, three fixed bridges set the overhead clearance at 45 feet. Snags are seldom a problem in the main channel, but you should carefully approach side streams and sloughs. Pay particularly close attention from November through March, when manatees are in residence. The current south of Palatka can be influenced by the water level in the upper (southern) part of the river as it flows south to north.

At 310 miles, it is the longest river in Florida. It is also one of the few rivers in the United States that flows north. The source of the river, or headwaters, is a large marshy area in Indian River County that flows north and turns eastward at Jacksonville to its mouth in the Atlantic Ocean.

The river’s total drop—from its source in swamps south of Melbourne to its mouth in the Atlantic near Jacksonville—is less than 30 feet, or about one inch per mile. This statistic makes the St. Johns one of the “laziest” rivers in the world. Major tributaries, or smaller streams and rivers, that flow into the St. Johns River include the Wekiva River, Econlockhatchee River, and the Ocklawaha River.

Florida waters often have a natural brown tea color caused by tannins from decaying native vegetation. Since both color and turbidity attenuate light, Secchi depth in many Florida waters is often very shallow (0.5 – 2.0 meters) compared to water bodies in other parts of the world. In Florida, this measurement is valuable for observing changes occurring within a water body over time.

DISTANCES IN

STATUTE MILES

MARINA LOCATION: 28.816N 81.264W

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• Deering Estate 16701 SW 72nd Ave Palmetto Bay, FL 33157
• (305) 235-1668

• 321.441.3030
• [email protected]
• 433 N. Palmetto Ave. Sanford, Florida 32771

St. Johns Rivership Co.

THE BARBARA-LEE MENU

LUNCH AND DINNER

Tropical chicken, chicken marsala, chicken parmesan, salmon fillet, meatless spaghetti meatballs, entrée caesar salad, first mates meal.

SIGNATURE COCKTAILS

World famous bloody mary, paddle wheel, captain’s punch, blue mermaid, st. johns sunrise.

Bud | Bud Light

Miller lite, michelob ultra.

— HOUSE WINES —

Chardonnay / merlot / cabernet, white zinfandel, — white wines —, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, — red wines —.

Mionetto Prosecco

Non-alcoholic.