Intimate or Grand: Pop the Question Away from land!

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Marriage proposal aboard The Captain Matthew Flinders

Newly engaged couples can agree that after showcasing their shiny new engagement rings, the first question asked is, “How did s/he propose?!” While people may tire of sharing other stories, an engagement story is truly one of a kind, and never gets old. For some, this is the day they’ve always dreamed about, and the biggest surprise of their lives! Not surprisingly, this leaves most people mounting under pressure once they realize that they want to pop the question, but don’t know how. (more…)

Back from Heddle Marine: The Captain Matthew Flinders is in ship-shape!

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Every five years, commercial vessels in Canada must undergo a series of Transport Canada inspections that require vessels to come out of the water. On October 17 at 3:00 am, the Captain Matthew Flinders set sail from Toronto for the Heddle Marine facility in Hamilton .   As an ocean going ship, the Flinders is quite sturdy but at a maximum speed of 8 to 10 knots—the fastest she can sail–the journey took 3- 4 hours.  Among the thousands of Flinders’ notable voyages, it boasts a colorful stint as a casino boat off of West Palm Beach Florida and cruises to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Named after the Australian explorer who was the first to circumnavigate and identify the Australian continent, the Captain Matthew Flinders was built in 1986 in Port Adelaide. The ship joined Mariposa Cruises’ fleet in 1989, making its way from Australia to Toronto, a journey that took four months! (more…)

Get ready for Ugly Christmas Sweater Day!

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Christmas, Cocktails and Cruises!

In the past few years, the Ugly Christmas Sweater trend has gone from non-existent to common place. Not only are retired, tattered and worn sweaters found in thrift stores, but they’re now widely available online and in stores, with extravagant additions including light up Christmas trees, wine bottle holders and modern-day slogans.

The industry has soared with the use of social media, having friends battle it out for the most likes, shares and comments. This has led to the ultimate competition of who will find the most sharable, ugly and memorable knit. Will it be you? Mariposa Cruises has made it easy this year by sharing some of our most notable finds

1.Tipsy Elves Women’s Christmas Stocking Tacky Sweater 

Price: $49.95. Can be purchased here

2.Blizzard Bay Men’s Shirtless Santa Ride Ugly Christmas Sweater

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Gearing up for Fall & Winter Cruise Season: A day in hospitality training

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Like New York and Chicago, Toronto provides great opportunities for cruising in the fall and winter. As a busy summer season winds down, many of our seasonal staff departs, but it’s still business as usual at Mariposa Cruises as we move into our fall and winter cruise season.

Recently our Hospitality Department hired a small group of staff see us through to New Year’s Eve.  September Orientation consisted of a small group of new hires. Very different from April Orientation, during which we welcome and train our crew in large numbers, this orientation session was smaller and afforded us the opportunity to take a more experiential, hands-on approach to introducing our new hires to Mariposa Cruises. (more…)

Meet the Crew: Customer Experience Manager Roshan Tajdini

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Ro emcees Mariposa Cruises 30th Anniversary Voyage

Meet Customer Experience Manager, Roshan Tajdini, master of ceremonies and people person extraordinaire!  Roshan (aka Ro) has a background in entertainment and recreation that includes an 8-year tenure coordinating entertainment and events for Disney Cruise Lines, which gave him the opportunity to cruise all over the world. Two years ago, he left Disney Cruise Lines at the end of his contract to take an extended break and attend a family wedding. He took some time to travel around Canada and get his land legs back before returning to his hometown Toronto. Ro’s experience and warm & friendly personality was welcomed at Mariposa Cruises, where he has worked for two seasons. (more…)

Live on the Lake rocks the Toronto Harbour

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Toronto’s music scene hit the harbour in July when Mariposa Cruises introduced Live on the Lake to our public cruise program. Featuring performances by great local musicians on select Tuesdays aboard the Oriole, the music nights are similar to our Sip & Sail Cocktail Cruises where guests can take in the sights of Toronto’s skyline and harbour, except that these cruise nights are charged with the energy of live music. (more…)

2017 Miss World Canada Harbour Cruise

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One of the most important things we do at Mariposa Cruises is share the Toronto harbour cruise experience with young people.  We traffic in shareable moments and set the stage for new friends to make foundational memories. Our staff aboard each of our unique ‘floating’ networking platforms strives to create the perfect place for young adults to start lifelong friendships.  Cruising the busy harbour opposite the biggest city in Canada is thrilling at any age, and watching the shoreline grow more distant while being ensconced in the excitement aboard ship impacts young minds and empowers them to visualize infinite possibilities on their own horizons. (more…)

On Celebrating 30 Years

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If only our boats could talk, the stories they could tell of couples who met and fell in love, young students who came on a class trip, a corporate milestone celebrated onboard…they could boast about hosting dignitaries, sports legends, Stanley Cups, celebrities & movie shoots. There are stories of birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, company events, proposals and weddings. There are stories from so many who came to us from all around the world and visited our city of Toronto.  Over the last 30 years, our fleet has welcomed over 3 million guests and while our boats can’t speak, they do tell our story. (more…)