Grande Mariner

The 1998-built MV Grande Mariner cruise ship is a USA-flagged passenger vessel (constructed in Warren, Rhode Island, USA) with a maximum capacity of 118 passengers. She is owned and operated by the US travel company "Blount Small Ship Adventures" and was specifically designed for coastal and river cruising.

Like her sistership Grande Caribe, Grande Mariner features a retractable pilothouse (navigation bridge), allowing her to pass under low bridges. Her shallow draft (just 2 m / 6 ft) enables operation on canal and river cruises, as well as near-shore expedition itineraries.

For Blount Small Ship Adventures, these vessels operated cruises on the Great Lakes, along New England's coast, in the Mid-Atlantic USA (Chesapeake Bay), the ICW/Intracoastal Waterway (an inland waterway system along the USA's Atlantic and Gulf coasts, from Massachusetts to Texas, including the Atlantic Seaboard, Florida, and the Gulf Coast), on the Hudson River, and in the Caribbean/Bahamas.

The vessel (IMO number 8978643) is currently USA-flagged (MMSI 369024000).

In 2025, Blount Small Ship Adventures chartered Grande Mariner to NYC Water Cruises. The ship now operates in Manhattan, New York City, offering dinner cruises and daily sightseeing tours. According to NYC Water Cruises, she now accommodates up to 575 guests and has an entertainment area of ~9000 ft² (835 m²). The operator also offers full-ship charters for weddings and private events.

Decks and cabins

Grande Mariner passenger staterooms range in size from 70 to 95 ft² (7-9 m²). Cabins are either inside or outside.

The most affordable are interior cabins with a double bed. Outside (oceanview) staterooms feature either portholes or opening windows.

Some cabins open onto the ship’s central corridor, while others open directly onto the Promenade Deck (outdoor deck space).

The vessel has four decks and is fully air-conditioned.

Shipboard facilities and amenities

Onboard facilities include an underwater camera, an aft swimming platform (for watersports), a bow ramp (for beach landings), an observation lounge (single-seating capacity), and a dining room restaurant (single-seating capacity, open-seating arrangement, serving all meals). Cuisine is primarily traditional American, with special dishes inspired by the itinerary’s ports of call. Dietary restrictions can be accommodated on request.

The open-air Sun Deck offers shaded seating, furnished with 4-seat tables and deckchairs. A stair lift connects the dining room with the upper decks, assisting passengers with mobility limitations.

Blount’s small ship cruising concept emphasizes sightseeing, socializing, and itinerary-dependent leisure activities such as sunbathing, snorkeling, swimming, and glass-bottom boating. Evening entertainment usually consists of themed lectures, followed by reading, movies, games, or live performances by guest entertainers and music groups at selected ports.

Itineraries

The vessel’s flat-bottom hull results in less comfort in rough seas, which is why most Grande Mariner itineraries focus on protected waters – the Great Lakes, inland waterways, and harbors (mainly during summer and fall).

Departure ports include Boston MA, Chicago IL, New York City, Rockland ME, and Warren RI.

Blount cruise deals

Blount Small Ship Adventures’ Grande Mariner cruise fares include:

• shipboard accommodations and all meals
• open bar cocktail hour and two formal dinners (Captain's Welcome and Farewell)
• 24-hour complimentary beverages (tea, coffee, juices, mixers, soft drinks, mineral water) and snacks
• onboard enrichment program (activity workshops, themed lectures, video presentations, music parties)
• complimentary beer and wine with lunch and dinner
• shore excursions at additional cost, bookable onboard or as pre-purchased packages

Passengers are permitted to bring their own bottled alcohol (wine and spirits) onboard—an unusual policy, especially on smaller cruise ships.

Note: You can see CruiseMapper’s full list of river cruise ships and riverboats in the "itinerary" section of our River Cruises hub, where all companies and fleets are listed.