Vivid Sydney Lights and Fireworks Sightseeing Cruise

just don’t do it! Booked cruise in January as we came from overseas. There was no organisation at all. Gorda of people scrambling around trying to find out where they were supposed to be. Once on the boat there was no where to sit, standing room only! Had to stand the entire 90 minutes. The boat went under the bridge past the opera house, the fireworks went off but missed them because I was on the wrong side of the boat. Couldn’t get to the other side due to the crowds. The boat then moved slowly back to darling harbour. It was awful couldn’t see any vivid at all. Not a good experience

Bar rules do not make sense. I wanted a large whiskey (Caol Ila 12y). I was told that “large” isn’t allowed. I have to come back for a second peg. Given the slow service and long queue at the bar, I was trying to avoid exactly that. But, no, “rules are rules”. I settled for a single. Then I was told that I have to mix it with Sprite or water; it can’t be served neat. Scotch with Sprite??? Even hearing this was shocking, almost blasphemy!!! Captain Cook Cruise - do you have any idea about how Single Malt ought to be served? Obviously, you have not. So, let me enlighten you. Connoisseurs consume Scotch neat, with a few drops of water. Others may take more water or ice. Never ever with soda, and certainly not with Sprite!!! I can understand that your bartenders are pathetically ignorant. So, please train them. If the rules have been set by management, kindly fire that person. He or she is either a teetotaller or is completely ignorant about how Scotch, especially, Single Malt, ought to be served. Net result was that I didn’t have the chance to consume my preferred drink. All in all, a lousy experience. Eminently avoidable. One can enjoy the Vivid Sydney lights and fireworks from Darling Harbour / Barangaroo. Don’t waste your money on these cruises. In any case, the cruise was way too crowded, people loaded like cattle. Disgusting.

We were not sure what to expect with this Cruise. We thought it might be a bit too touristy and so were presently surprised all round. We booked the Vivid Gold Dinner Cruise as we thought it would be a great way to see Vivid and it certainly is! You will get photos you cannot get from just walking around Vivid. First of all the departure is so smooth they have a large number of ground crew to great you and they organise the queuing so you board by deck with the Gold dinner being on the top Deck. The boat was full but it didnt seem so given the well organised boarding procedure. We were quickly at our window table for which we paid a small amount extra to be guaranteed. We were given a welcome glass of champagne and then were on our way. The windows are vast so you can see everything and lots of things from the harbour bridge to the opera house were lit up. It was nice to see and we got lots of photos. About half way through the cruise we stopped and then there were some nice fireworks which went on for about 10 minutes. The service from this company was amazing from the ground crew reassuring us we were in the right place to the warm welcome on the boat and then our waitress who was very pleasant and happy to answer questions about the food and beverages. Now I wasn't expecting much from the food as this is a tourist thing so I thought it might be ordinary. Before you think oh he may not be a great judge of food I regular dine out at places like Cafe Sydney, Rockpool and Bistro Moncur so know good food when I see it. The food on this cruise was exceptional and I was really surprised. The starter was a crab tart or betroot tart and both were very nice. Then there were some perfectly grilled scallops just tender and very tasty, this was followed by stuffed zuchini flowers which again were crisp and warm and the stuffing very tasty, then there was a salad full of yummy things so if there was an ingredient you didnt like it would not have mattered as there plenty of others you would have, the main course was either steak or barramundi and I chose the barramundi which was a generous serve and perfectly cooked and its accompaniments of honey carrots and skordalia were very nice as well and finally there was a very rich chocolate and passionfruit dessert which was a huge serve and by this time I was so full I could not finish it. The three hours past very pleasantly and we got lots and lots of great photos of the various Vivid attractions. I'd thoroughly recommend this cruise to anyone it was great.

Excellent service and delicious food. The staff were very friendly and the service was exceptional. The vivid lights were not great from the boat but that was because Circular Quay and The Rocks area were not lit up as much this year, not the fault of CCC. We have been on a few Captain Cook Cruises over the years and have always found them to be exceptional