I love the tall ship Elissa. She is based in Galveston, Texas, and is one of the oldest ships sailing today. Launched in 1877, she is now a museum ship at the Texas Seaport Museum.Also, I always enjoy their dolphin watch tours and I always take a lot of great shots. My favorite subjects are dolphins and ship Elissa. Thanks for the great tours!Yesterday I celebrated my special day and it was so nice to enjoy a beautiful weather on the boat.10/2020...........................................................................................................................***Tips are not expected but appreciated *** Bring some cash if you want to give a tip.

I came to Galveston to take pictures and be a tourist. So I signed up for the harbor tour. To do a self tour of the Tall Ship is an extra charge. I took some outside picture and that was enough for me. The harbor tour was nice and it didnt take too long. The crew was friendly and informative. Luckily it was November so there werent a lot of people on the trip. The museum store had lots of cool stuff to look at while waiting for the tour to start. I picked up a T-Shirt. Hey, I was being a good tourist..:) Oh, we saw lots of Dolphins on the trip as well.

We were the only two passengers on a morning dolphin tour. Captain Brian and Nolan were awesome crew. Took us thru fish market.Saw so many dolphins including baby dolphin. went all the way up to the concrete ship.. it was fun and great experience....

The third oldest tall ship that still sails. Go step back in the history and support the people who keep these beautiful tall ships sailing!

Its rare that you can tour a piece of living history and watch real world training of the sailors who will fake her out next. Incredible.. seriously. Everyone there was full of useful information and friendly smiles. Nice gift shop as well.

The commentary of the Seagull II ship tour was outstanding! We toured the harbor and absolutely loved the trip. It took an hour and we caught a LOT of history in a fun and interactive adventure! It’s best in a semi-warm to warm time period as the water/wind combination can be super chilly. We went in early March! It was just absolutely fantastic, a good non-profit tour, and money well spent. Check them out!

The ship is beautiful and we loved it. If you are going you should know the museum is not open due to covid and you have to wear your mask the entire time you are on their property even while you are outside by yourself on the sidewalk. We love the ship and will be back, but we wish you had made it more clear before we bought tickets that the museum is closed.

We went on the Harbor tour. The guide was knowledgeable and funny. The museum was good, but a little sparse. The rain came and poured down so we werent able to go aboard and check out the Elissa. Got some cool pics of it though.

Had a lot of fun on the tour. Very informative and full of historical information. Unfortunately, we were unable to board the Elissa because it was having upkeep done to it, but was able to at least get some pictures of the outer part of it. I would definitely recommend the tour.

Very cool old ship. Beautifully restored.

A really cool museum and ship to explore. I would recommend doing the museum first and watching the movie on the Elissa before going to see the ship. It will help you understand what you are looking at. The paintings in the museum were amazing!! Also make sure to read the wall plaques in the upper room - they are filled with Texas navy history that is really interesting! Also they have a super fun setup for picture taking in immigrant apparel. The kids loved it! Probably only takes about an hour and a half to walk through everything.

Came for the Tall Ship Festival and had such a good time. The in-laws got to ride on one of the Tall Ships for the Tall Ship Race and they had a blast. The Elissa has a great story and its absolutely beautiful. We learned a l0t and had some great food. They even had circus performers! Definitely recommend!!

Nice museum right off the pier. There is the ship right beside it and you can walk onto the ship and see where people used to work and sleep. People actually work on there to keep it looking nice. These people volunteer their time. The person telling us about it was very informative. The museum beside it has lots of interesting info. There is also a gift shop.

Great info. To see the ship was great, but the museum was also really neat! Our boys thought it was really cool to be on a pirate ship. Then they realized it was a cargo ship. But they had a good time learning about immigration through Galveston.

Great to see a real sailing vessel. Which were rebuild. It was build in XIX century. Great! Thank you volunteer who have done it!

This is a really neat place. Its voluenteer run, so if you go on a Saturday youll see volunteers running drills on how to pull up and down the sails, etc. We tried hard not to get in their way, but honestly, quite a few people stopped and told us what they were doing and explained how the ship works. Theres very nice hospitality on this ship. The museum folks suggest watching a short video before going on Elissa, and that was actually quite informative. Shes a beautiful ship, and worth the time to see.

Tour was awesome saw like 20 dolphins excellent history be and knowledgeable staff who know their facts.

We attended a wedding aboard the ship on a Saturday evening. It was beautiful! What a cool old ship!

A bit expensive. Ship was neat to see and I enjoyed it but Museum was Bland. The Volunteers on the ship were more than glad to talk to you about the ship. Ticket people nice. You could tell they are very proud of there 140 year old vessel. Its a neat walking tour and a look into history.

Had a great time we where treated above and beyond .. a definite recommendation on your next trip

This is great type. Learned some amazing US history. This ship is pretty amazing. Kids loved the tor and video too.

Went on a rainy Sunday afternoon! It was not very busy. The indoor museum is small but very informative and well cared for. The Elissa was a great experience, especially after watching the short documentary inside the museum. We opted not to do the audio tour, but there are still narrative plaques throughout the ship like in the museum. You can go down into the crew, officer, and captains quarters. Very fun experience, especially for a desert-dweller.

It was cool. We only had a tour. One day we are going to out on her.

I went to watch the Elissa lead the Tall Ship Parade. What a majestic sight to see! Although she was small, in comparison, she sailed proud and beautifully. It was so windy that day! Great job!

One of the better museum experiences - the museum itself didn’t have great exhibits, but I truly enjoyed reading a lot of the banners.That ship tho- so cool. Loved walking through it and seeing how it was restored by volunteers and hard work.

Great little museum. The ship is an old one thats neat to explore.

It was a really cool restoration to see! I liked watching the movie inside which told all about the restoration of Elissa. The ship was so fun to walk through though it was rediculously hot that day and so it was almost unbearable to go below deck to see the living quarters and all that so I would recommend going when its not above 85 degrees. I took a star off because I thought it was a bit overpriced. We saw the ship and all the inside museum things in about an hour

Awesome place, everybody should visit if they get a chance!

These dedicated employees/ volunteers spend over 100 hours a week keeping this beautiful vessel in tip top shape. Very beautiful scenery and plenty of wonderful dining options. Truly magical experience!

Feel like I m Pirate. ️️️

Elissa is a one of a kind place. Not often you get to see a 141 tall ship in action. Come on the right day and you can watch the cree set sails and run through their drills. Amazing!

Very interesting ship!! Love the history behind her. And the fact that she still goes out for a month every April!

Such a beautiful ship, we are so lucky to have it available here in Galveston!

Our trip here with two kids ages 6 and 3 was great. Get the all inclusive package that lets you see the museum (with dress up clothes for pictures), walk around the Elissa, as well as a boat ride harbor tour (we saw many dolphins). Harbor tour guide is great and a lot of fun. Yes the boat is covered and you can get out of the sun as well as go on the top deck for a better view.

Cool sailing ship! Nice historic venue for tourists, you can go inside the ship, there is a museum too

Beautiful ship! You can go on a short sail if you want too. You can also sign up to be a deck hand and experience real sailing on the sea!

Awesome to see, good refurb of the ship.

3 stars for the ship, which is very interesting. The actual museum is a scam. Just printed out posters with random information about unimportant families put up on the walls.

My kids loved being able to go onto an actual sailing vessel. We also took the tour and had an excellent time. Our tour guide was funny and engaging as well as knowledgeable. We were able to see dolphins and had some swim very close to the boat. We always enjoy taking this tour.

A fun visit. Amazing to see the quarters of those who worked on the ship.

Wonderful place to visit. I highly recommend seeing their museum and the Tall Ship Elissa.

Super rude staff, not worth the money to get on the boat. Better to see it from the pier for free!

One of many favorite place to walk around

The museum has alot of interesting information about how and why the Texas Navy was formed. If you like ships or history (especially Texas history) its worth checking out. You can tour the ship and browse the museum in around 30-45 minutes but ....there is so much more to learn if you want. The ship tour gets hot....especially below deck...so I recommend touring the ship first then spending time in the museum as it has amazing air conditioning.

Nice museum! Dont miss the boat ride.

Another I didnt get to see thanks to covid

DO NOT GET MARRIED HERE. We had the most beautiful wedding here and that is thanks to every other vendor we hired to make our day great. The event coordinator first sent a contradictory contract that states you can add time for a fee but also cannot arrive before 5. We fought tooth and nail to get more time and we received confirmation that we could load in 30 minutes earlier. However, we arrived yesterday and they wouldn’t let my vendors load in because they chose to schedule a sailing training which also ran past 5pm regardless of the agreed upon earlier start time. My fiancé went to speak to Tanya who is an employee at the museum and she SCREAMED at him saying he needs to get over himself and can wait. Great treatment of guests who paid to use your venue on their wedding day. On top of this instance, every other time we visited there has been cat feces all around the outdoor areas and they keep unsafe conditions with tools and hardware and other items laying around every time we have visited for venue walkthroughs. We have asked about it a number of times and the excuse is always “it’s a working dock, it is what it is” Okay fine, but if you’re renting it out to guests you should take it upon yourself to remove these items for events due to unsafe and unsanitary conditions. This is the only regret I have about my wedding day. I lost precious time for photos I’ll never get back and I feel that this venue robbed me of that. I think if you’re having a smaller, casual event it would be better because set up may not be as much but I do not recommend it for a wedding. They need to figure out something more professional, flexible, and train their employees on customer service before continuing to rent out.

Awesome boat tour!! I believe our tour guides name was Brian and the deck hand was Juan, they were amazing! Very information, if you like dad jokes this is the tour to go on. They would also stop so we could watch dolphins! Would do again!

Amazing piece of history. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Best part of my trip to Galveston. I really enjoyed the tour as well.

This ship is absolutely breathtaking...it is great to see such an old ship being maintained to bring a piece of history to the present. Although it is no longer all wood, you can almost imagine the sounds of the old wood cracking as you walk on board. They are working on offering a long ride out to see on the ELISSA but it is not yet running. It will be an expensive ride somewhere in the hundreds. We went on the Seagull II on a narrated tour of the area and also went in the museum. All of which was a lot of fun!

A lot of history, and education of how a tall ship works.

It was AWESOME! Commentary, history, and even Dolphins!!! Thanks for the great experience!

She is a absolutely beautiful ship and well maintained.

Our family had so much fun on this tour! The best bay tour anyone can take! A wonderful mix of historical information, current port knowledge and of course dolphins made it so much fun! Worth every dollar! We even went to the recommended places and had a great time!

Very good but the museum is sorta boring. The ship is also very hot so bring your own fan.

Its great that we were able to walk around inside of the ship and see so much of it. They have kept it up, looking sharp. The museum inside is informationial and even my kids enjoyed learning about its history, plus... its air-conditioned inside, which feels great coming from the ship. Great views (a bonus) of the cruise ship too!

Small museum, with a few tour option if you desire. There is a short video in the museum of how the ship was saved from a scrapyard and restored. It was then pulled to Galveston, where the restoration was the completed. After the museum, you can tour the ship and walk through some of the areas and see their sleeping areas.

A credit to all the staff who not only keep this wonderful ship afloat but fully seaworthy. The Scottish Shipbuilders would be proud of you.

Had a lot of fun on the tour. Very informative and full of historical information. Unfortunately, we were unable to board the Elissa because it was having upkeep done to it, but was able to at least get some pictures of the outer part of it. I would definitely recommend the tour.

A beautiful ship, museum and location! It did help I was at a wedding on the boat with open bar.

Great presentation and very informative. Its amazing wh as t has been done to restore this ship. Well worth the time and reasonably priced.

She s so beautiful!

The ship itself is cool, but the museum was nothing, just facts about the ship and local area. We werent able to do the dolphin watching it such because of lightning, but it sounded fun.

Had a great time looking round tje museum watching the video and exploring the ship.

Had a great time exploring.

I absolutely loved it here!!!! Was quite a treat! The food was amazing and i enjoyed the beachy atmosphere so much!!! Plus it was interesting to be eating right there where the big cruise ship ports for take off!!!!

Nice museum, awesome ship. You can travel just about all over the ship. Friendly family atmosphere

Nice museum and beautiful ship! Took the 6pm dolphin tour and got to watch the cruise ships leave and dolphins feed and jump! Best and cheapest dolphin tour on the island by far! Great guides as well!

Very cool historic sailing ship to visit. They now are offering where you can buy a plank to help preserve it. They also sold tickets to take a ride . It’s a very neat piece of history that is anchored to the harbor side of Galveston Island.

Great history and staff!

My husband and I totally enjoyed the Elissa! Walking on deck made us appreciate her beauty and richness of her history. Definitely recommend purchasing the totally package that we took. The pass to the museum then walk through the Elissa and end with the boat tour. Best time ever! Well definitely be back!!!!

Incredible part if history that should be preserved for future generations. You get to take a self guided tour of a boat from 1877 that still plies the open waters.

Pretty cool little museum and ship. It will probably take about an hour to see both. Walking around a ship like that was interesting and it wasnt too crowded, even on Labor Day. Im sure kids will like it even more.

The museum was kinda bland. Not many exhibits or artifacts. The Elissa itself is actually pretty neat. The tour boat was great, tho. Captain had some great and funny commentary. Do recommend it.

Very interesting sight about Texan history

Excellent information and the harbor tour was definitely worth it! Im a Kansas girl from Wichita. The ocean is a rare treat for me and the harbor boat tour included a Chase of the dolphins and a great comedic host.

Beautiful old ship with an informative museum. You should also check out the movie theater around the corner that shows a very enlightening film about the 1900 hurricane and its aftermath.

Museum is rather small but the ship is fantasticMake sure you see the video on the Elissa history. Well worth the price.

We had fun at the tall ships festival and tour.

We enjoyed walking on the ship. We went below deck and see the crew bunks and the captains quarter.

Its a beautiful and well preserved 19s century ship.

Beautiful ship, watch the video before taking a look at this amazing piece of history. Dont forget the ride to see the dolphins. Cool and funny guys that give you a nice history lesson and show you a concrete ship in the water. The dolphins play right next to boat and give you great photo shots

Very interesting and unique museum. I highly reccommend checking it out if you find yourself in the area.

Way too expensive for a view of the boat. We couldn’t even access most of the boat due to them working on it.

The dolphin boat was really enjoyable and informational, our guide was funny. The Elissa was very cool to walk in and read about as well. Was $20 for both.

The boat ride was relaxing and enjoyable. Comfortable and well organized. Friendly service.

What a boat ride! Excellent guide and cheesy jokes! Had an blast for what it was. Very friendly staff. Would recommend to anyone visiting Galveston!

Lots of things to see on the ship and you can turn the wheel and ring the bell. Old ship that shows how a sailors life wasnt easy. The gift shop has some decent quality things to purchase. Its inexpensive and educational; it would seem Galveston was founded by Nazis.

I have been here several times and I typically bring new people here as often as I can. Its amazing to be able to see such a beautiful piece of history in action. The museum is very informative and interesting and I absolutely love how family friendly and educational everything is without being boring. The crew and museum/gift shop staff have always been very friendly. Great place for family outings and field trips!

Its a cool place to take kids, pirates, history buffs, people who like ships, people who like water, people who just like checking it things that are out of the norm... People. Its a cool place to just take people. Check it out. The museum are worth the $12 and take a camera. Youll get some amazing pics and even better memories.

Wonderful place to visit, staff is very friendly and courteous. Went for Historic Harbour tour, watch dolphins, captain and guide were fabulous. Cheers. Thank you for wonderful experience.

Beautiful ship. It was fun walking around and inside the ship- very cool part of history. Bundle your visit to save some money and take the harbor tour they offer- we saw dolphins! The boat guides were fun and shared a lot of great, interesting information about the harbor. I was nervous about getting seasick but I was fine. Parking at the Pier was not free.

Always a wonderful place to visit

Beautiful boats and shops!

Our family recently visited the ELISSA and the Texas seaport museum. Its good for anyone interested in Texas history. My teenagers werent terribly interested. They enjoyed the ship more when they were younger. My grade schooler liked exploring the ship. If you go on, make sure to go inside. You can go down the stairs into the cargo hold and read about the history of the ship, then continue on to get a look at the engine room and if you keep going, you get a look at the officers quarters. Youll have to be able to ascend very steep steps at the end.

We did the package and it was great. The staff were very helpful and knowledgeable. The harbor cruise was filled with information, the captain and crew were very friendly.

Had a great experience watching the volunteers train to learn how to work on a ship!

Living history and a national treasure!

Enjoyed visiting this sail ship. Given that not too many of these kind remain in the world, its nice to visit. Not much to see on it though.