Whenever students pull into University of Massachusetts Boston for morning classes after battling brutal Boston traffic, they see a big silver-and-blue vessel with a UMass Boston logo on it. But most of them don’t know what that vessel is or why it’s on the dock. 
That big boat is known as the “Columbia Point,” owned by UMass Boston and operated by the school’s Division of Marine Operations. Marine Operations offers weekly cruises every Monday, from early June to the end of September.
The boat leaves at around noon and carries up to 110 passengers. The ticket booth, located between the dock and the Fox Point Pavilion, sells tickets any time between half an hour to an hour before departure. The tickets are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis — no reservations are necessary.
The rates for the Monday cruises are free for students with a valid I.D., $5 for faculty and staff, and $10 for community members.
The boat will take you on an hour-long tour using one of two routes. The first one — the more common route — is a tour around the inner harbor, where passengers can catch a glimpse of downtown Boston and its historical features.
The other route is towards the federally protected Boston Harbor Islands. The vessel will take you by places like Georges Island, Thompson Island, and the Brewster Islands, among many others.
Speaking of the Brewster Islands, every weekend from June to around Columbus Day, the “Columbia Point” will take passengers on narrated, three-hour tours to Little Brewster Island, home of the Boston Lighthouse, the oldest Lighthouse still in use in the country. 
On the route, you may also see other lighthouses such as Graves Light. Passengers are generally loaded onto and dropped off at the New England Aquarium. Once passengers arrive at the lighthouse, they are allowed to step off the boat and explore the lighthouse.
UMass Boston presents these tours via a joint partnership with the Boston Harbor Island Alliance. For more information on the Lighthouse Tours, such as ticket prices and reservations, visit www.islandalliance.org.
Marine Operations also offers chartering on the Columbia Point for $690 for two hours and $230 for each additional hour. Lastly, Marine Operations gives sailing lessons and lends out kayaks, rowboats, and equipment for paddle boarding, thanks to a partnership with Boating in Boston.
It’s free for students and runs every Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., from the beginning of May through Columbus Day.
For more information on chartering and Boating in Boston, or any of the spectacular cruises Marine Operations offers, visit www.umb.edu/marineops.