Required Reading for ALL Wine Sail PASSENGERS

 
 

Congratulations, you got your wine sail tickets! Please read this page and forward it to everyone in your party so they have all the information needed to be adequately prepared and on time. It includes essential information about arrival time, location, attire, bag storage, weather, etc.

Arrival
Add your Wine Sail to your calendars. Arrive no later than 20 minutes before departure. At our boarding time (stated in the title of your event), we will meet you at the shack and escort you from the pier to the dock.

Location
We’ll be sailing on the immaculate 74-foot Frances at Maine Sailing Adventures, located on the Maine State Pier at 56 Commercial Street, Portland, Maine 04101 (where Commercial Street meets Franklin Street). Here’s the Google Maps link for directions. Be sure your GPS does not send you to West Commercial Street. The signage from the road is not so great. Casco Bay Lines is right there, as well.

  • When you arrive at the corner of Commercial Street meets Franklin Street, walk down the paved walkway with the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal on your right and Whale Wall on your left.

  • Keep walking past Gate 5 of the Ferry Terminal and onto the pier.

  • On the pier, you will see two sheds for two sailing companies. Wait by the Maine Sailing Adventures/Frances shed; no check-in is required. We’ll check everyone in once we begin the boarding process.

Traffic
Traffic can be heavy. Plan on taking 2-3 times longer to get into the city and find a parking place. Avoid driving on Commercial Street due to heavy pedestrian traffic.

Parking
Plan extra time to find parking. Here is a Google map of parking garages and lots. In the summer, the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal Parking Garage at the Maine State Pier is always full with cars from island residents. We do not recommend driving down there. You will likely be stuck in traffic.

Water/Food/Other Beverages
Please bring your water bottle. What’s included for food is described on the event page where you bought your tickets. Due to the nature of our events, we cannot accommodate any food allergies, omissions, or substitutions. Feel free to bring your snacks if you have any food hesitations; you are more than welcome to do that. Other alcoholic beverages are not permitted to be brought on board.

Handbags/Backpacks/Bags
Small crossbody bags are okay to wear above deck. All other handbags, backpacks, and bags will be stowed safely below deck.

Attire
Chances are that it will be warmer on land, so please bring a warm sweater, jacket, or something to wrap up in. Wear non-marking flat shoes or sneakers—no high heels, please!

21+
Valid IDs are required. No refunds or compensations exist for anyone buying tickets who cannot produce a valid ID.

Late Arrivals
If you arrive late and we have moved from the pier to the dock, here's where you can find us if we have not departed. Immediately after the second shack, you’ll take a hard right. Proceed down the gangway to the dock to The Frances, which occupies the third and last slip on the dock. There are no refunds or credits for missing the boat, and we cannot hold the boat as we can’t cut other’s experience short for late arriving passengers.

Inclement Weather
With light rain, we will put up a beautiful awning to keep everyone dry. We will not sail in heavy rain or high winds. If there is a chance of this, we will email everyone in the morning to touch base. If the sail is canceled due to inclement weather, we will reschedule you on another wine sail or issue you a refund, whichever you prefer. The Captain will monitor any weather issues and try to make the call roughly an hour before departure time or sooner if rain is imminent. Sometimes, the weather is so iffy that we’ll need to make the call at the last minute. That is the nature of sailing.

Cancellations/Reschedules/No Shows

Due to our size, cancellations and rescheduling requests affect us significantly. It’s not always possible for us to see your correspondence on the days we have events. Therefore, we cannot accommodate a cancellation or reschedule request without 24 hours’ notice. Contact us by replying to your ticket confirmation email so we have all the necessary information. Wine Wise must be able to resell your tickets before any cancellations or refunds will be honored—this is the first step. There are no refunds or rescheduling for no-shows or tickets we cannot resell. The sooner we are aware, the better the chances. 

  • Cancellation policy: If your tickets sell, there is a $30 fee per ticket. To avoid the cancellation fee, you can resell your ticket(s) to a friend! Please provide us with the new ticket holder's name and email address so we can send them the event notifications, location details, and any day-of weather-related notifications.

  • Reschedule policy: If your tickets sell, there is a $15 fee per ticket to reschedule. When reaching us, please include the event you would like to be rescheduled to. Please note that if an event displays only one ticket available or is sold out, that is accurate.

Questions?
Please refer to our FAQ page at winewiseevents.com/faq for immediate answers to frequently asked questions.

This is going to be an incredible wine experience.

Cheers!
Erica