Houseboat Holidays

Fantaseas Houseboat Holidays - Hope Island – A very disappointing experience. Hired "Getaway" a 47ft houseboat for a week. The houseboat was far from acceptable to be hired out with it's lack of maintenance, repairs and cleanliness. Leaking gas bottles, broken locks on rear door and screen door, those two doors slid back and forwards the whole week every time we had heavy swells. Two dinning chairs needed replacing, dirty cushions on all dinning chairs, fridge need a good clean out, cupboard doors not closing properly, a well mended and holey blanket supplied, very stained carpet, a broom without full bristles for sweeping. I cannot speak about any of the other houseboats in their fleet, but would highly recommend anyone who wants to hire one to go and inspect the boat first, wish I had.

Relax, cruise the river and enjoy the scenery – Our (adult) family recently spent a week on the river Murray in a 12 berth, "5 Star Luxury" houseboat called 'Ultimate Indulgence'. The lower deck housed the living quarters and pilot's console although the vessel could also be driven from the top deck. Plenty of storage for fishing tackle (and fish!), ice, drinks etc., at the rear, along with dingy (outboard motor).

Cabins all had QS beds, ensuites, hair dryers, guests soaps, life jackets, TV, and air con. All linen supplied, inc extra doonas.

There was a full size kitchen with full size fridge, stove, dishwasher, cooking utensils, 2 coffee machines, table settings for 12 - cleaning solutions/materials provided.

The upper deck featured a heated spa, two bar-b-q's, 2nd dining setting, TV, bar area, washing machine/dryer and various sun lounges.

Pros - Gorgeous scenery and wonderful birdlife.

Vessel looked great, windows sparkling. Engine was very responsive and quiet - easy to drive. Good storage throughout. In addition to the sophisticated TV/sound system, there was a selection of board games, books and puzzles. The reverse cycle air con kept comfortable temperatures throughout the lower deck. There were two overhead heaters on the top deck above the dining table. Loved the spa!

Nice big L shaped seating area on lower deck as well as the 12 seater dining table adjacent to the meal prep area. Good bench space.

Cons - On embarkation, some unidentified, clear mess was found caked onto the bottom of the fridge which we had to clean off before we could load our food in. One of the B-B-Q's didn't heat up properly and couldn't be used for cooking. The fat drain tube on the other one had not been cleaned out. 3 throw cushions (from different cabins) had nasty stains of unknown origin.

2 toilets developed leaks where the pan meets the floor, resulting in effluent water needing to be mopped up each time they were used.

We had 2 bags of ice charged to a credit card which had been paid for in cash and for which we had a receipt.

There were no written instructions for working the complicated TV /sound system, just a quick verbal -"push this button and push that button" which got lost amongst all the other instructions for driving, safety, navigation, river etiquette, etc.

Although the front loading washing machine (LG) washed like a dream, the dryer function did not work at all.

Following the very simple, easy to understand instruction for the dryer resulted in the machine reverting to the wash cycle after a couple of seconds, resulting in very clean clothes but no dry ones!

Possibly the 5 star rating was from a few years ago.

Note: We chose to not report the leaks until we disembarked because we didn't want our holiday interrupted by having to take the boat back to dock or by having repairmen on board. We supplied a written as well as verbal report but have had no response from the company to date, apart from a refund of the 'ice money'.

Summary: Overall a great, relaxing holiday, marred somewhat by the issues above, particularly with the toilet. Stains found along the skirting board in the affected ensuites showed the problem is not a new one. Fortunately there was an extra toilet at the rear of the lower deck which could be used instead.

Beautiful Mildura Houseboats – Our family of eight spent six wonderful days on the amazing Bushranger 2 houseboat. This houseboat has everything you need two BBQ's one on the top deck and one on the bottom deck, a beautiful spa bath that take's a lot of people two T.V's plus lot's lot's more. The holiday was relaxing as the boat is easy to drive and park up for the night just pick your spot and drive it in. The people at Mildura Houseboats make life easy from getting you through the locks to lending you yabby nets nothing is too much trouble. The family loved the boat and the river, beautiful sunsets magnificent bird life and great fishing. Well done Mildura Houseboats