City River Cruises
City River Cruises
3
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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City River Cruises
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
3.0
63 reviews
Excellent
16
Very good
13
Average
14
Poor
5
Terrible
15
LBB1
Templestowe7 contributions
Mar 2013 • Family
I booked this trip online through Viator. The website and ticket had no clear direction on how to get there or what time, when I called the phone number provided the hours were Mon-Fri 9-5.30. My ten year old and I wandered around and finally the captain of a ferry directed us up to the offices. Walking along I saw much cheaper cruises advertised. The girl in the office was lovely, sorted our ticket (as my eVoucher wasn't going to cut it) and directed us back to where we had started. Five minutes later she came down apologetic, saying she wasn't sure why but we had to cross over to the other side to catch the ferry there. When we got to the office on the other side there was a lot of loud disagreements with staff there. A boat had broken down and trips cancelled. It was all very unfriendly and confusing. No apologies were being given. We were finally put on a very small ferry, nothing like the pictures. No commentary, no tea or coffee. The captain was quite nice and amusing, however his assistant watched me the whole time I was putting on sunscreen, very disconcerting. The only thing that saved the journey was another passenger who had a broad knowledge of our surroundings and kept my son and I entertained with information. I do not recommend using this service.
Written March 2, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vicki K
Auckland Central, New Zealand30 contributions
Nov 2014 • Couples
We did the trip up to the island, away from the city. The boat was in need of a little love and attention! The actual trip was very boring and the river smells! Not a lot of outside space at all, which was fine for us as there were only 7 people on the boat! Captain was a bit grumpy too!
Written November 25, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ne_quine
Aberdeen, UK1,687 contributions
Jul 2013 • Solo
Although I’d planned on just taking one cruise with this company (the upstream) I ended up doing both legs as the timetable for the sailings seemed different to the one online and thus meant I’d be hanging around for a bit until the one I wanted to do came round and in the end I much preferred the CBD (downstream) route! I saved a few cents too by using up one of the vouchers you get in the Myki visitors pass.
The boat already had passengers on it when it arrived at Federation Wharf so it meant that all the good seats near the windows were taken. Initially I just sat at the end of a row but the folk near the window kept opening/closing the window thus spoiling my Kodak moments so I moved outside to the rear or the boat even though it meant you couldn’t then hear the commentary.
We seemed to travel a fair distance downstream before turning and heading back to Federation Wharf initially then over to Southbank where most folk seemed to get off. I then managed to secure a window seat for the upstream leg of the cruise but the way the commentary was done on the way to Herring Island, the majority of things talked about/mentioned were on the opposite side of the boat and of course by the time I got them on the return journey I’d forgotten about most of them! My main reason for wanting to do the upstream cruise was to get photos of the stadiums but the view from the boat wasn’t as good as I’d hoped it would be – not the companies fault of course.
Weirdly on the way back, it bypassed Federation Wharf and headed first to Southbank to drop off/pick up new passengers before doubling back on itself to head to Federation Wharf before again doubling back on itself to do the downstream journey! Bizarre!!!
The boat already had passengers on it when it arrived at Federation Wharf so it meant that all the good seats near the windows were taken. Initially I just sat at the end of a row but the folk near the window kept opening/closing the window thus spoiling my Kodak moments so I moved outside to the rear or the boat even though it meant you couldn’t then hear the commentary.
We seemed to travel a fair distance downstream before turning and heading back to Federation Wharf initially then over to Southbank where most folk seemed to get off. I then managed to secure a window seat for the upstream leg of the cruise but the way the commentary was done on the way to Herring Island, the majority of things talked about/mentioned were on the opposite side of the boat and of course by the time I got them on the return journey I’d forgotten about most of them! My main reason for wanting to do the upstream cruise was to get photos of the stadiums but the view from the boat wasn’t as good as I’d hoped it would be – not the companies fault of course.
Weirdly on the way back, it bypassed Federation Wharf and headed first to Southbank to drop off/pick up new passengers before doubling back on itself to head to Federation Wharf before again doubling back on itself to do the downstream journey! Bizarre!!!
Written July 31, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AUKTourist
North East England, UK978 contributions
Nov 2017 • Couples
Booked via their website, told a couple of hours before, the cruise was cancelled. Promised a refund, still waiting 4 weeks later!
Written November 22, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Melbourne278
1 contribution
Jun 2015 • Solo
Throughout my trip to Melbourne I hadn't received any negativity but that changed visiting CRC!! I had a two for one voucher so did part one of the cruise one day and came back for the other another day, I should have known they weren't good on the first one as the young lad just read off a piece of paper about the places we passed - information you could find on the Internet! The captain (also the owner) was rude, quiet and grumpy!, the boat was filthy and there was only another couple of people on it, it was empty! Came for the second part of the cruise a week later having asked first! which I explained but they took me on the same one and when I raised this the captain made me feel like it was my fault!! He said if no one comes on board for the second half of the cruise he wouldn't be going!! I went to highlight this at front desk but he arrived and was being so rude to me infront of passers by, I'm a small lady his a big guy!! He told me to get lost and refuse to give a full refund and when I started recording his behaviour on my phone as I felt threatened he moved forward and snatched my phone out my hand and then threw it back at me when I said I was going to the police! I walked away shocked and shaken...Amazed that someone who is supposed to be entertaining tourists had no respect or customer service! I still have the recording which shows him in my face and snatching and throwing my phone and will be looking at taking this matter further, absolutely disgusting there's no need for a grown man to behave like that with a young lady on her own he could have just walked away told me to fill in a complaints form or took me into the office to clear the matter professionally, now I know why their cruise boats were so dirty and empty!
Written June 25, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sneakypig5
Melbourne, Australia34 contributions
Feb 2015 • Family
We booked this cruise as we could book a time. They called us about fifteen minutes before the cruise was due to leave to say they were changing the route direction, we were already on board and no one had mentioned the change.
That was the first disappointment.
The boat itself is old, dirty, in need of some care and attention. But they claim to be the most luxurious boat on the river.
Throughout the cruise a family talked at full voice and we could not hear any of the commentary, at no point did crew approach and ask them to quieter down, even when people started moving seats.
Very disappointing for ourselves as locals but more so for our overseas visitors.
That was the first disappointment.
The boat itself is old, dirty, in need of some care and attention. But they claim to be the most luxurious boat on the river.
Throughout the cruise a family talked at full voice and we could not hear any of the commentary, at no point did crew approach and ask them to quieter down, even when people started moving seats.
Very disappointing for ourselves as locals but more so for our overseas visitors.
Written February 22, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jochen2011
Heide, Germany104 contributions
Mar 2011
While the ride down the river as such is a nice thing to do, to do it with City River Cruises is a rip off. Why? First of all, they left 10 min late and returned 10 minutes early so the listed 1 to 1 ¼ hour duration was a bad joke and marketing spin in their brochure. I brought this up with the captain when leaving the boat and he just said it was “perfectly fine”! They also advertise commentary but if you are outside in the warm sun enjoying the river you cannot hear it since they spared the loudspeaker outside. Free coffee or tea I could not taste since it was not offered to me most likely because we were sitting outside.
Would I do it again? A cruise down the river as such yes, but not with this tour operator. Those people are just saturated with tourists and do not really deliver a good service. They know you do this once and never come back and that is how you are being treated. That is the feeling we left the boat with and therefore spent the time to write this comment. There are other choices, so you might want to try the competition. However, we chose this one because the comments for another one was bad, too but good luck in trying the others.
And do not trust the "discount with brochure" statement either, it is a joke too, at least for families since the discount is their family price, no matter if you have a brochure or not - cheap, eh?
Would I do it again? A cruise down the river as such yes, but not with this tour operator. Those people are just saturated with tourists and do not really deliver a good service. They know you do this once and never come back and that is how you are being treated. That is the feeling we left the boat with and therefore spent the time to write this comment. There are other choices, so you might want to try the competition. However, we chose this one because the comments for another one was bad, too but good luck in trying the others.
And do not trust the "discount with brochure" statement either, it is a joke too, at least for families since the discount is their family price, no matter if you have a brochure or not - cheap, eh?
Written March 28, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Craig255119
Christchurch, New Zealand20 contributions
Oct 2017 • Friends
A party of 5 wanted to go to Williamstown by ferry. The woman in the office took our 2 for 1 tickets for another company's ferry service to Williamstown, without acknowledging the coupons were actually for a different company. We paid our money and she issued us tickets. When we arrived at the boat we found out that this trip was not going to Williamstown. The captain of the boat, who was also the owner of the business, was extremely rude to us as well as his staff and would not refund our money. We didn't feel comfortable going on this cruise given the Captain's hostility towards us.
Written October 15, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sandra W
Melbourne, Australia2 contributions
Apr 2015 • Friends
Thank you to this company. We loved the commentary right out into the Docklands, very professional young man, very educational. Beautiful day, so affordable. Had we had time, we would have continued to see the other side of the Yarra. Appreciated the hospitality, and the coffee, many thanks.
Written April 14, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cheryl G
Regina, Canada545 contributions
Jan 2015 • Couples
My husband and I booked the two tour package. We showed the crew member our ticket to get on board and told him that we were taking our next cruise after this one - we told him this because he wanted to keep our ticket and we needed to get it on our next cruise. Rather than sit below in a stuffy cabin (none of the windows were open on a beautiful day) we sat in the back to see the views. It was a nice ride but there was nothing to see. Oh - we left 15 minutes late for whatever reason and we were told nothing. FYI - if you sit at the back of the boat, you cannot hear the commentary inside.
Once we got back to the starting point and were disembarking, we asked the crew member where to catch the second cruise. At this point we found out that there were no more cruises that day going in the other direction. We were told that we could come back tomorrow. We were not able to do this so I asked what the hell were we to do now? Reluctantly, we were given money back for the cruise we were unable to take. The worst part is that the second cruise was the one we really wanted to take because it would have been more scenic.
All in all, we were very disappointed in how things were handled. I had read the reviews and we took a chance - we lost. I have no idea why we were sold a ticket for a cruise that did not take place.
If you want to do this cruise, be sure you triple check that your cruises will happen so that you will not be as disappointed as we were.
Once we got back to the starting point and were disembarking, we asked the crew member where to catch the second cruise. At this point we found out that there were no more cruises that day going in the other direction. We were told that we could come back tomorrow. We were not able to do this so I asked what the hell were we to do now? Reluctantly, we were given money back for the cruise we were unable to take. The worst part is that the second cruise was the one we really wanted to take because it would have been more scenic.
All in all, we were very disappointed in how things were handled. I had read the reviews and we took a chance - we lost. I have no idea why we were sold a ticket for a cruise that did not take place.
If you want to do this cruise, be sure you triple check that your cruises will happen so that you will not be as disappointed as we were.
Written January 21, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience