One of our favorite things to do is over-deliver. Guests who haven’t sailed with us before often have expectations of what the trip is going to entail and we really like to exceed that, even going over the top when we can.

In their defense, it’s really hard to get a idea of being on one of our trips before you step on board. We try to convey as much as we can on our website or with a trip highlights webinar, but some things can’t be quantified. How do I tell you that it’s going to allow you to slow down from the rest of the hectic world? How can I convey that it’s going to be one of the most memorable experiences of your life? How can I let you know that you may come away changed from your time on the David B? I know this because guests have told me that it has happened to them.

It does, however, make it easier for us to over-deliver. On our recent trip up the Inside Passage, we had some guests who came just because their friends invited them. Their expectations were very low despite carefully reading through our website. They thought they might have to help doing dishes or making meals. They had no idea how beautiful the Inside Passage at six and a half knots would be. They’d even told some other friends that they were “going on a training trip on some old tugboat.”

Along the way, they texted and emailed their friends back home, letting them know how it was really going. They kept sending out messages with more and more and better and better things they were seeing and doing on the David B, especially what they were eating. The day Christine rolled out pasta from scratch, served with a creamy Champagne mushroom pan-sauce and chicken tenderloins it pushed their friends too far.

Their friends’ only response was “What’s tugboat about that?!”