Melbourne City and Williamstown Ferry Cruise

Enjoyed the Williamstown and return trip

Took the To-Williamstown and Back option. Great way to see some of the sights of Melbourne from a different perspective. Pre-recorded commentary was informative. Added info from the captain (Michael) was current and mostly interesting with some humour. Engine noise was a bit louder than desirable. Be sure to enjoy a complimentary cup of tea as well. 4pm at the Gem Pier to return (10.30am depart Southbank) gave us plenty of time to enjoy Williamstown without it being too long a day.

Change those chairs!!

It would be generous to describe this as 'Very Good', but the next rating is "Average" and it was slightly better than that. It was autumn and I had to call to establish if the cruise was running or not. The cruise itself was very informative and the Yarra River/Port Philip Bay is lovely. The seats on the vessel were just hard backed dining chairs and most uncomfortable. Customers moved them forward or back, compressing leg room, so it was very tight (vessel full). Williamstown is well worth the visit.

Excellent Yarra River views and history

Trip along the river highlighted the past and present for Melbourne. Informative and enjoyable. Pity the commentary was not in sync with each location. The boat needed a good clean and the staff could present better as one of Melbournes' tourist attractions. Value for money.

A different Melbourne perspective

It is a cute trip to enjoy the Jarra River views of the city, even though it haas barriers to enjoy the city.

Ferry

Seeing the sights and squeezing under the bridges on way back Pleasant and informative crew Useful commentary provided

Pleasant Trip

To Williamstown and back to see an exhibition. A lovely sunny day. Michael skipper on way over who was friendly and humorous, not sure who on the way back as they didn't introduce themselves. Both trips went at a pace where it was comfortable to have the windows open and not get cold. Good on boat commentary and good diverse choice of music.

Mel to willamstown

Great trip Nice view and commentary all the way Beautiful complementary dreams coffee Love chilled beers and col drinks

Breathing in Fumes

The awful smell of fuel, breathing fumes and smelling like fuel until I could wash my hair again simply awful. The only outside chairs were exactly were the fuel tank was and it was so noisy that the loud speaker with the narrator explaing the view could not be heard it was just extra noise. The staff was not friendly either at the ticket booth no explanation was given at all n the guy had a dismissive attitude. I loved being so close to the water and enjoyed the view while I travelled but I think new ferries are required.

Easy Breezy

Nice easy ride over to Williamstown, a little away from the hassle and bustle of Melbourne CBD. A very steady ride for those who are weary on water rides like myself, the ferry is wide enough and river very much calm so it would not trigger any seasickness. For those who purchase tickets in advance, do note to head to the booth at Berth 2 to retrieve a physical ticket. Personally that was a bit unclear for us when we booked the tickets with a travel app.

Melbourne Cbd

Melbourne City is a fantastic city. Easy to get around with the trams, these are free within the cbd, & very little outside of the cbd, will take you anywhere you need to go. Easy to follow routes. City tram goes around the perimeter of the city which is free at all times, is very easy hop on hop off and will get you close to all major sights. Reccomend Melbourne +++

The commentary on the...

The commentary on the boat was excellent learntvquite a lot about the river especially the early days of Melbourne and the tragedy of the west gate bridgr

Great Williamson cruise

What a delightful cruise with friendly, helpful crew and a very informative narrative along the way. Complimentary tea and coffee was a nice touch. The cruise was an hour each way, and we choose a 2 hour stop over in Williamstown which was plenty of time for sightseeing and a bite to eat. We can highly recommend this cruise.

Melbourne Boat Tour

It was a hot Sunday long weekend. Boat did not run to advertised times making it difficult to meet our other bookings for the day

Great way to visit Williamstown

Friendly captain and crew. Good way to learn about the history of important bridges along Yarra river. We booked the round trip and have the option of returning to the city at 1:45pm or 4 pm.

33 and no wind on the Yarra

The commentary was interesting, but unfortunately it was 33 and in the afternoon so everyone was hot and bothered.

Screaming Children

The trip was informative, but I am afraid there was screaming children, and you could not hear what was being said. I liked Williamstown, it was very cute. Found a nice place for coffee, though Australians do not make it hot enough. While waiting for the ferry, I had a nice wine overlooking the Harbour. It is not the businesses fault about the screaming children but maybe their could be a little play area to amuse them.

Different view of Melbourne

Great way to see the city from a different point of view, particularly with visitors. Boat was basic and it wasn’t really clear drinks were available on board. The recorded commentary was clear but one way the captain was very difficult to understand.

Don’t bother

Nothing. There was no tour of the city just a boat ride through a harbour full of shipping yards. No one was interested in a harbour that we saw as we were coming in on our cruise ship. A waste of time and money.

Great boat trip

An interesting journey on the water to a lovely old seaside town. Who doesn't love travelling by boat?! Even saw a dolphin on the way.

Highly recommend!

A thoroughly enjoyable experience! We organised a trip for relatives - 11 in total with ages ranging from 1yr to 80yrs. We all loved the trip to Williamstown and back! The crew were so friendly and professional, and they made everyone feel comfortable and welcome. The information provided about historical sights was really interesting too. I highly recommend this cruise anyone!

On the water

Had a great day Cruising slowly down the Yarra to Williamstown. The journey took approximately 1 hour. At Williamstown, we had leisurely walk around shops and had lunch at the park before catching the ferry back.

One way to Willytown

We stood around in the hot Sun and the ferry was about half an hour late. Once we got on board the trip was fine

Boat needs urgent maintenance

The Captain and crew member where great. The boat was dirty, the toilets were a disgrace. Some windows opened, some didn't. Don't waste you money, do something else.

Great day out

We took our elderly parents on a Sunday trip to Williamstown and back to the city. Greg and Byron were very helpful assisting us on and off the boat. We had lunch and an ice cream at Williamstown The trip itself was wonderful and very nostalgic as my father used to work at General Motors Holden in Fishermas Bend. The on board commentary was very informative.

Huge potential

It was great to go through the port areas but the onboard radio commentary was really not good enough. There were so many structures and industries along the ferry ride that we would have liked to learn about. On the smaller ferry it was difficult to hear at all because of people talking on the ferry. We would have liked a real person doing the talk so that we could ask questions and point out areas. So there was so much potential to be an awesome trip but felt it was a little letdown and just treated as a “ferry ride” by the operators. Felt that the cost would have justified an onboard “presenter” of the area.

Don’t book online…

We bought our tickets online and waited in the queue to get on board but when we presented our tickets we were told that they would not accept them and we needed to go and redeem them at the kiosk. They basically sent us to the back of the line while my husband ran to get ‘paper’ tickets. If this is the condition to board, why sell online tickets in the first place. We arrived and we’re in line one of the earliest but ended up with the worst seats because they would not accept tickets off our phone.

Relaxing and enjoyable.

A relaxing and informative cruise. Service as advertised and staff courteous and helpful to those needing help with the step getting in and out.

Marvelous Melbourne

Relaxing day out enjoying Melbourne’s beautiful weather on the Yarra . Nice time in Williamstown enjoying coffee and ice cream . Friendly crew on board .

A worthwhile excursion

The ferry trip was interesting and relaxing. We had perfect weather for being out on the water. Williamstown is a charming world of its own. The one negative was the chaos and wait before boarding the boat. This could easily be avoided if the operators had the equipment to scan the QR codes.. Instead we had to line up in a very long slow queue to swap our voucher for a hardcopy ticket. The man at the ticket office was selling ferry tickets, finding advance bookings to swap hardcopies for vouchers, answering the phone, and sometimes needing to leave the ticket box itself..

Be aware of the Karen on the ticket counter she can't stand people with online booking!

Our cruise experience started on the wrong foot with an extremely rude Karen at the ticket counter who just doesn't want to be there which ruined the whole vibe of it. We thought we were an exception however she treated everyone who booked online with the same disrespect and rude tone. I recommenced this tour but may be choose a different operator because the views are amazing and worth the time spent on the water with family.

Really uplifting.

There was a lovely boy in a wheelchair on board with physical difficulties. Sam (the captain) was fantastic with him, ensuring his trip was optimised. You could see what a difference it made to him. Big shout out to his carer Grace, who is the most beautiful person inside and out. Thanks for a fantastic time. Jay Pickup.

Ferry to Williamstown

A lovely hour spent on quiet water on the way to Williamstown. The commentary from the captain was amusing and informative. The docks of the city were fully explained;Williamstown has plenty of cafes etc. We came back to town on the train for a change - it is an easy walk to the station.

Meh

It was a busy day when we tried to book tickets so just missed out on a spot. Fortunately we decided to take the train to Williamstown which turned out to be a lot faster and a fraction of the cost. We had a great meal in Willy and got the ferry back after purchasing on line to ensure a spot. To be honest I thought the ferry was over priced and we would have been better off getting the train back.

If you like really loud music …….

Unfortunately the ferry was late getting into Williamstown and arrived late at Southbank which put us behind with our plans. The music being played through crappy speakers was way too loud and we all needed to shout to have a conversation. One of our group of 5 politely asked if they could turn down the music but this request was ignored. Next time we’ll catch the train - quicker, on time, much cheaper, less boring and no loud music to put up with.

Group tour on ferry from Southbank to Williamstown

It was a very enjoyable for our group booking. Twenty eight Probus members enjoyed a cruise from Southbank to Williamstown. Would highly recommend it.

Melbourne Ferry Cruise 27th October 2023

We really enjoyed the boat ride but we were put off by the delayed departure. We had booked our trip for 11am. The boat was delayed , we only left at 12-55pm. That ruined our day because as tourist we had other appointments that we had to cancel or reschedule. The boat ride was enjoyable but the delayed departure just spoiled our day.

Bad Melb cruise team

We were waiting half an hour early at the meeting point for the 2hours trip and they did not informed that there wasn’t any cruise it was cancel last minute, we couldn’t get our refund they offered us another cruise cheaper for 1 hour trip. Again we waited for another hour time and the last minute they cancelled the cruise and we are very tired off the heating that day and I am not satisfied or recommending to anyone with the Melbourne Cruise. They have lack of experience, equipment and organisations. They take everyone for a ride and treating customers like trash with no respect.

Easy Cruise to Williamstown

Nice easy very smooth cruise to Williamstown with our adult children and their partners. Funny yet informative commentary.

Great Melbourne experience

The cruise was such a fun way to spend a few hours in Melbourne and to see the city from a different perspective. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable and share a lot of Melbourne’s history and stories along the way. The boat is comfortable and spacious which makes the trip really enjoyable. I would definitely recommend to tourists and locals alike!

An unusual view of the cityscape

Going under the bridges. Some commentary would have been good. Would like to have some history of the development of the various industries

Melbourne: some sunny highlights.

Great sunny views from Skydeck preceded by a ‘virtual’ visual experience which presented highlights of Melbourne; the Museum - amazing dinosaur exhibits amongst wonderfully curated displays; fabulous ‘children’s play area’ - however, this is a timed experience which must be pre-booked; the Aquarium: although some exhibits such as stingrays were well maintained, the penguin enclosure really tested our belief that such exhibits should be available to the public. In the case of the penguins - absolutely not! Replace with documentary film footage. A culinary highlight was the excellent ‘authentic’ prosciutto and cheese on fresh focaccia at St Ali and Queen cafe - in the Queen Victoria Market precinct. Trams are an efficient mode of transport, however, steps make them totally unsuitable for kids’ strollers etc! City transport tram maps are totally bewildering as they do not include all stops nor any indications of which lines are the ‘best’ for particular locations! - on the other hand very helpful team drivers who would down windows several times to assist with directions! With the FIFA women’s matches happening, Federation Square was abuzz, however, ‘tourists’ were left perplexed by the lack of clear tram directions and kept staring at their range of digital and paper maps and station displays! Flinders St train station staff helpful and trains were clean. Rembrandt exhibition was worthwhile and well organised.

Williamstown Ferry Cruse without Willaimstown Visit

We paid for a ferry cruise with plans to stay a couple of hours in Willamstown. Upon arrival at the ferry location, we were told that it would not be possible to tour Williamstown and we would have to return immediately. They offered to refund half the trip if we elected to get off in Williamstown and find our own way back. Very disappointing given that the tour consisted of a ferry ride with a look at the bridges and docks on the way to Williamstown and back again.

A different way of getting Melbourne’s CBD

We enjoyed arriving in the Melbourne city centre by a different mode of transport. The journey across the bay and along the river was made more interesting by the Captain’s commentary. Trip was price comparative to similar journeys in other cities.

No way during winter

You should have informed your customers that it is not suitable for winter. Nothing to see nothing to do!

The Williamstown river cruise experience

The Williamstown river cruise on Sunday was amazing. Easy to book and to get. Jimmy and Emily were the great team and provide excellent service.

Nice way to ferry to Williamstown

We had a amazing trip from the city to Williamstown, The guys at melbourne river cruises were really good and made it very easy to book and redeem the tickets. The trip had a commentary, tea and coffee complimentary and viewing deck to get some breathtaking views and photos. Definitely recommended.

Williamstown Ferry from the city

Great trip from the city to Williamstown. We did this not long ago and absolutely enjoyed it. The trip itself was hassle free and informative. The staff very professional yet friendly. Definitely recommended.

Nice trip

The tour was nice and relaxing. We booked the Williamstown trip in both directions. But missed the boat back to the city :) It worth to spend a day in Williamstown!

Relaxing cruise to Williamstown

Wonderful experience for me and my family. Beautiful views and lovely commens. Tea, coffee, water and facilities are available on board. Would definitely recommend it!

Boat trip to Williamstown

Thank you Melbourne Cruise River! We had a great time enjoying the views of the city, port, ships and birds fishing! The captain talked about the sight with humour. The staff was very friendly. Our trip was vert relaxing for my family. We took great photos and surprised our friends. I think, we would like to have this trip another time.