NEW Downtown River Cruise Servcie

[blizz01]

I didn't realize that it was a different (from the one that was in front of the Crowne Plaza) ship until the end of the article - looks nice.  Is the Princess II still docked downtown?

From the Daily Record:
Foxy Lady Cruises launches Downtown

03/15/2013
by David Chapman, Staff Writer

Foxy Lady Cruises of Green Bay, Wis., has launched a Downtown river cruise service. Private cruises have begun and public cruises are scheduled to start the weekend of March 23.
Jacksonville is the second location for the cruise company.
"We've been looking at the Florida market for years," owner John "Capt. Mitch" Michkowski said Thursday.
"We've kind of scoured the area. With the beauty of the river, the waterfront, the skyline, I think it's an excellent market," he said.
Michkowski has owned the company for 14 years and said plans for the Foxy Lady Cruises, named after the Fox River in Wisconsin, are to initially provide two to three public cruises a week from Downtown, in addition to private and corporate cruises.
Jacksonville's most recent river-cruise boat, the Princess II, ended its service several years ago and was docked at the Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront.
Michkowski called Jacksonville a "wide-open market" and said he has worked with the City's Office of Economic Development, including Executive Director Ted Carter, to launch the operation.
Michkowski said he is not seeking government subsidies .
Michkowski said he has two boats. One remains in Wisconsin and the second operates in Jacksonville.
The 96-foot-long, 20-foot-wide vessel can hold 149 passengers and will have 2-hour evening dinner cruises and 11/2-hour afternoon sightseeing and lunch tours.
The vessel is named the Naples Princess, but Michkowski said it will be renamed the Jacksonville Lady after documents with the state have been completed.
Michkowski said cruise prices will range from $24.95 for a sightseeing tour to $49.95 for the longer cruises that include meals. Schedules and additional information should be available soon, he said.
He said the main differences between Green Bay and Jacksonville are in the business model and availability to operate.
He says Jacksonville will be a year-round operation while Wisconsin's weather is conducive for operating May-September.
Michkowski also said the corporate climates differ.
Green Bay's population was about 100,000 and the summertime clients were tourists.
He said Jacksonville's population is more than 1 million and offers a larger corporate market, which he hopes to leverage for event promotions and company outings.
Michkowski said the boat will be docked at River City Brewing Company on the Southbank and will launch there for private events.
Public cruises will load and unload on the Northbank at the end of Liberty Street.
Michkowski was docked there Thursday to interview for crew members. He wants to hire 6-8 people to assist in the operation.
Much of the Jacksonville information on its website, foxyladycruises.com, has not been updated but will be soon, he said.
Michkowski's wife and business partner, Carolyn, will return to Green Bay to oversee that operation with a new boat captain while Michkowski remains in Jacksonville.
"We're looking to bring more to do here (Downtown)," he said.
He said it took a month to move the vessel from Green Bay to Jacksonville via the waterways at slow rates of speed.
"It's quite a trip," he said.

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=538996
foxyladycruises.com

[PeeJayEss]

Very cool. Will have to try it out.

Is it just me, or is the Daily Record much better at news than the TU?

[acme54321]

I wonder if this is the same boat that has been docked over at the Marina by Huckins for the last month or so? 

[duvaldude08]

Very cool. Will have to try it out.

Is it just me, or is the Daily Record much better at news than the TU?

Daily Record has a lot better resources for business reporting, and they have pretty much a living legend in business journalism: Karen Mathis as the editor

I agree. I love the Daily Record. Always a great read.

[Wacca Pilatka]

Karen Mathis is awesome.

[BrooklynSouth]

Very cool. Will have to try it out.

Is it just me, or is the Daily Record much better at news than the TU?

Daily Record has a lot better resources for business reporting, and they have pretty much a living legend in business journalism: Karen Mathis as the editor

I agree. I love the Daily Record. Always a great read.

Cool. I didn't know everyone else thought so, too. Whenever I pass the newspaper boxes near Starbucks, the Daily Record front page always has a REAL news story about a business expanding in Jacksonville or an update on construction. The TU always has a story on how FSCJ is the most corrupt institution in the history of Florida or something inane about the Jaguars.

[Tacachale]

^I'm going to stick up for the Times-Union a bit here. The papers focus on different things. The Financial News and Daily Record has a particular emphasis on business and downtown, and yes they're excellent. The Times-Union is the "paper of record" for the region and covers everything across all of Northeast Florida and southern Georgia and beyond. They've suffered a lot from cuts. Still, their coverage of the Allied Veterans scandal has been the best in the state, even though they don't have nearly the resources of some of the other state papers.

[Ocklawaha]

It's about freaking time that Jacksonville, 'A World Port', 11Th largest city (city limits) in the USA, 45Th largest in metro population, Logistics center for the Southeast, and arguably one of the prettiest skyline's in the world, gets a harbor cruise that is more then a converted garbage scow.  No offense to the owners of the 'barge' riverboat thing that has sat downtown for years, we were long overdue for a class act small river ship.

Perhaps this will help get the idea for a micro port/welcome center/preview center in downtown???

Anyway, here is the River Ship, Jacksonville Princess.

[Noone]

Kayaked by the vessel this morning. Capt. Mickowski, welcome to Jacksonville and Downtown.