Captain Cook Cruises

My wife and I bought the Captain Cook Vivid Cruise to celebrate our special event. It turned out to be a disastrous experience. We bought a cruise hoping to watch the drone show, but it was cancelled. I called Captain Cook and asked if I could get a refund or rebook my cruise for Sep or October, and they advised me to email them. I did, but never… Read more

received a reply back. We turned up for the cruise and were surprised by how many people tried to board the ship. The staff did nothing to control the crowd; as a result, many people tried to sneak in, disrespecting those lining up. One of the passengers ( a woman) was pushed from the pedestrian bridge to the ocean! Staff didn't care much, and some passengers pulled her out of the cold water. The boat itself has plenty of open space, plus a few tables and couches. By the time we got in, no seats were available, and the staff were not visible to assist passengers who came last. AS a result, we were standing for 2 hours like horses in the middle of the boat with lots of screaming kids running around. The cruise went from Barangaroo to the Circle que and back. We paid $60 each. We could've caught a fairy to have the same views of Vivid lights, which would cost way less. We will never use Captain cruises again.

Went on the Vivid Sunset dinner cruise at 5pm last year and enjoyed the sights and the service. The food was reasonable value so came back again this year (2026). The food was exactly the same and the staff were good but the cruise was docking back at Darling Harbour at 6.30pm. People were advised to line up to disembark and I was asked to leave… Read more

my table to line up even though I had not finished my drink. The actual Vivid lights display don't start until 6pm so we saw approximately 15 mins of lights around Circular Quay before starting the move around to Darling Harbour. I asked staff why the cruise was only 1.5hrs but they said that it was the Captain's decision and that I would need to send an email to the company. I pointed out that Google AI described the cruise as a 2 hour cruise and the Captain Cook Website describes it as up to 2 hrs. However the same boat had another vivid cruise leaving at 7pm which meant that those new passengers had to be on the boat well before disembarking. There was never going to be a cruise of near 2 hours. I believe last year the cruise went for about 1.75 hours.

Bought Hop in Hop out tickets including Toronga zoo entry. Took the ride back from the zoo and ended up at Darling harbour without a ferry back to Manly. Staff help was bad as we had no idea how to get around . Had to ask someone in public what needs to be done…ended up paying for public transport to get back to Manly later.. Show details

On March 7th, we enjoyed the river cruise to the Swan Valley with wine and chocolate tastings. From the very beginning it was a fabulous experience. The skipper, Lee, gave a great, entertaining and interesting commentary heading up the river. We had wine tasting and were served a sumptuous lunch by the crew. Our time in the valley was very… Read more

pleasant and we enjoyed wine tasting and the chocolate factory. Back on the boat we were served a delicious afternoon tea by the crew, and then entertained by them. They were all very talented singers. A special mention to Lee, for his wonderful personality, attitude, and very professional. A real people person. Also Ariana, with 2 stripes, who has the most beautiful voice and a lovely disposition. Bec is a great performer, as are Joy and Ayisha. They make a very cohesive group. We loved our day out, on the beautiful river. We also learned lots along the way.

The cruise itself was nice, and the boat is huge to accommodate several people. Not too crowded. The staff are nice. Clean space. I would give 5 stars, but some arrogant, entitled guests kind of ruined the night. The family is Caucasian. They feel rich but can’t afford to rent a whole boat for their Sydney cruise tour. One of the family members… Read more

made some sarcastic comments. He thinks he is kind of the Lord of all di%#k heads. Drunk, illmannered group of family. I highly suggest that they, if they happen to read this, rent their own cruise boat or buy their own rather than acting up like illiterate people in a public space. What a disgrace, and I feel bad for his wife.

Captain Cook Vivid Gold Dinner Cruise – We celebrated our wedding anniversary with the Captain Cook Vivid Gold Penfolds Dinner last night. It was an excellent evening with attentive staff, a lovely 6 course wine-matched menu and entertainment. It was as if the vocalist had selected the range of songs especially for us. The view of the Vivid lights was good and an added bonus that we… Read more

were able to watch the lighting on the Contemporary Arts Museum for an extended period as well as disembarking at Circular Quay. We would recommend this cruise for anyone.

Whale watching tour yesterday. Complete disappointment. In spite of conditions supposedly being "ideal" we went around in circles for two hours and barely managed to catch a glimpse of a whale 200 mts away. DO NOT BOTHER, Show details

Dissapointing – Was very dissapointed with this cruise that I bought for a gift. It all felt a bit rushed and what should have been a 90 minute cruise was only 75 minute cruise, the waitress wanted to take our serving plate while we were still selecting what we wanted next and we had to put all our cakes on our plate.

NSW residents undervalued – Captain Cook Fehrry does Not value NSW residents as much as tourists in Sydney. Rather disappointing. They do Not apply concession rates for Gold Opal holders who would like to visit family in Manly and travelling from Watsons Bay. Christine

Worst cruise experience -premium harbour experience cruise – If there is 0 rating , I will definitely give 0 or negative rating , worst experience ever from the start to finish , from the booking to get off the boat , every step makes you feel unwelcome . If you are celebrating you special day , 100% disappointment , worst servicing staff work there , food is awful . Avoid at all cost !!!!!!! Show details

Don’t waste your money on VIVID cruise – Booked on Vivid drone cruise. Herded on like cattle, guess around 700+ people. No commentary or information & staff unable to answer when asked where best to view drones, with result we totally missed the drone show. $50 per person x 700 = massive profit for epic fail. Don’t waste your money.

Severe lack of integrity – Booked a vivid lights harbour cruise Text confirmed cruise and departure wharf, cruise went out. No announcements, no updates of any concerns. As the ending time for the cruise was nearing, without any vivid lights on, the captain announced there were no lights and it was out of their control. No apology, no acknowledgement of the inconvenience… Read more

or situation just a referral to the vivid website. Yes the lights may have been out of their control but the lack of integrity in managing the situation was astounding. The situation was clearly known before the announcement (substantial time elapsed since the lights were meant to have started). There was a clear decision to not be transparent about the situation.

Even more disappointingly the next cruise was lined up on us disembarking, at which time the cruise provider knew there were no lights. The next group were not told and were standing in the rain awaiting the boat to go see non-existent lights.

No refund offer as the cruise was technically completed. No communication at all so that people could make a decision on what was best in their interest (a dark night cruise in the rain with an anticipating preschool age kid was not something we would’ve wasted our time with, we would’ve happily just stayed and had dinner elsewhere with a much more positive experience for the transparency). There was not even an acknowledgement of the fact we had booked a vivid cruise without there being any vivid to see, with crew announcing ‘we hope you enjoyed your cruise’. Yes the Situation couldn’t be helped but the way it was managed was not a good representation of company brand or integrity. Definitely would not book with them again.

Vivid cruise – Was raining heavy and there was no refund option. All other days I could change to was booked out and they were going to charge me to move the date anyway Staff not helpful and tickets non refundable - I wasted $200 I don’t recommend Show details

Great family birthday celebration – We did the 2 course lunch cruise with mu Mum, sisters and nieces. Couldn't fault a thing. The ship is modern and well maintained. Nicely furnished. The toilets are plentiful and clean. The food was delicious. Our waiter Fazel was very attentive and helpful. He was happy to take some photos for us. I would gladly go again. Show details

Ok. Service mostly ok. Didn't know they had restriction – Service was ok. I did not like how they restrict the upper deck and kick people off unreasonably. Very strict and not nice. Other than that welcome was good. Show details

Australia Day harbor cruise – Too crowded with poor service. Had to wait in a queue for so long to get on the top deck. Came down for a drink and had to stand in the queue again!! 4 hours cruise with 20% seats Not recommended Show details

DON’T USE CAPTAIN COOK FERRY SERVICE, YOU WILL REGRET IT – Not sure which is worse • They intentionally, rudely denied us access to the ferry in the Manly suburb of Sydney, AU • Or they promised on multiple occasions a refund only to never process it The details, which are not disputed by Captain Cook [all copied from emails to Captain Cook executives] ** “For the 310 pm boat from Manly to Taronga Zoo,… Read more

we arrived at the boat docks at 300. I saw your female representative wearing your blue garment (with the company name). The female person in front of me was being extremely rude to your representative. After that she was done, I asked if I was in the right place, she said yes. At about 310 a boat came in and I again went to your representative and apologized for the rude behavior that she received by the other person and asked if this was our boat. She said no, just wait here and will be the next boat. As a side note, I am very tall at 6'8" so probably a touch memorable. When the next boat came in, she opened the gate, we stood patiently by, made eye contact, as the passengers disembarked. When the last passenger came up the gangway, she quickly closed the gate, and walked away without any announcement of entry to us or the others waiting for entry. I was so surprised, I thought that I was missing something and asked the older gentleman helping Fantasea if our boat left and he said yes. He made sure that we got on his next boat to the Zoo which cost us 20 AUD. See attached photo with our boarding passes and the receipt with a time stamp of 1535 for 20 AUD. This rudeness ruined what started to be a nice day in Manly. The later arrival into the Zoo wharf, meant that we would only have 15-20 minutes at the zoo which made no sense. So, that was additional negatives to our day.” The responses from Captain Cook – showing no disputing of the above details ** “We apologise for the experience that you have received yesterday. Could you kindly forward us the copy of the receipt for the ferry ticket as it was not attached to the previous email? For now, rest assured your feedback is being directed to the relevant department and read by the appropriate Manager. We will respond where appropriate. Again, thank you for your email and we sincerely apologise for the inconveiniense.” And the email from Captain Cook requesting our credit card number for a refund but after multiple multiple emails, was never given ** “Thank you for sending us the receipt. I have checked with our account team. Unfortunately, we cannot refund to overseas account. Please provide me your credit card number, expiry date. If you are not confident to give us the details of your credit card. Please give us a call at +61 029206-1111 with your refence booking number”

Don’t use Captain Cook Ferry Service, you will regret it!!

could be better – it was rushed the staff wernt the best i would have like a biscuit with my tea i had black tea because they didn't have soya milk disappointed Show details

Not impressed – Not impressed booked 1.5hr lunch cruise ship arrived 15 min late $15 for glass of wine did not see much of harbour reached garden island and we turned back spent 15min diverting to circular key on outward trip Boarded at king St warf Amenities on board perfect food was good Show details

It's all about the $ - DO NOT RECOMMEND – We had our work Christmas dinner and we could not believe the appalling service we got. As soon as you sit down at your table the staff start dumping food on the table w/o explaining what it is. We had our entree's before we had even left the wharf. The dinner goes for 3 hours, what's the rush? Staff were more worried about getting the food out… Read more

and clearing the tables as quickly as possible than actually providing any sort of service. The amount of times I got interrupted from my conversation and asked to pass the empty plates and/or glasses is ridiculous. Also, would it hurt to spend some money on a better sound system for the 'entertainment'? We couldn't hear or understand anything they were singing/saying. The Management team should be embarrassed. Do not recommend at all. Waste of money.

Sunset Harbour Cruise – How can you screw up a 2 hour cruise on the most scenic patch of water in the southern hemisphere? Easy, spend 45 minutes sitting at a wharf waiting for passengers. I had moderate expectations for this dinner cruise but was disappointed at the end. Sure it was only $89pp, but my wife and I would have enjoyed having McDonald's on a council ferry… Read more

over the dinner service we experienced on the ship. Food was nothing special and was nice until the vent above the table blasted it cold 30 seconds later. The wait staff acted like it was their first day on the job and they wanted to be anywhere else. Food 2/5 Service 2/5 View 5/5 for 1.5hrs and then 0/5 for the 30+ min wait in the middle. You can do better for the money!

Totally Misleading – We booked and paid for a 3hr Lunch Cruise and received a 1.5hr Cruise with a stop for picking up more people. When questioning the staff at the end, they said that we could stay on and do the same cruise over again to make up the time. What a joke! Make sure you know what you are paying for BEFORE you book.

Vivid Gold Dinner – Wow! What an amazing experience. I bought tickets for my sisters and their partners - we found this to be an impeccable evening. Very professional and attentive service. There were so many people on board but the crew did an amazing job to move through the courses and drinks so quickly. I was very impressed. The live music was fantastic too ! I'm very appreciative you contributed to a memorable evening. This will definitely be an annual event ! Show details

Vivid sunset dinner cruise – Just a quick one. Took my daughter on a Vivid Dinner Cruise on Sat 10th June. We were aboard the John Cadman 2. While the cruise was good. We have been before. Before Covid. The main meal came out at room temp if that. And that was disappointing. I understand there are a lot of meals to bring out but to get chicken at room temp if that is not… Read more

ideal……… mine was colder than my daughters. Will be keeping this in mind for the future when we look at going again and may try someone else.

Vivid lights cruise – The cruise was average. Wasn’t a lot of lights to see besides harbor bridge & opera house. Our bad experience was with the lady at the ticket booth. We asked a simple question about the wharf we were meant to go to (we were new to the city and didn’t realise there were 2 x wharf #2 (one govt owned & 1 captain cruise) and not only was she so rude,… Read more

she didn’t even answer the question. Maybe she didn’t understand English very well (not sure) but if that’s the case, she shouldn’t be at the ticket booth. Because of this experience, I wouldn’t recommend captain cook cruises.

Such a disappointment for travelers from the UK! – We took visitors from the UK on Sunset Dinner cruise boasting it's something that they shouldn't miss, however it ended up being a disaster. Staff was the major let down, the waitress had no clue what was happening and she seems that she has difficulty in understanding English (not an Australian). We booked kids meal for my son and he didn't get… Read more

his Entree, the waitress kept saying it's coming but it never came. Poor service, our dessert came when we were almost back to the wharf.