Poker Afloat

Stay away!!! – These people are not to be trusted font waste your money you will be disappointed stay away!!!! They have really bad customer service i will never book with them again or any of there product.

Afloat Cruises International Sydney - DECEIVING ADS – I'd like to give them zero rating but one of the staff deserves at least 1. We came today 5.30am to catch the supercat that we thought will take us to the Queen Mary 2 cruise ship. People who came were all excited to board the vessel only to find out that in this supercat we will spend the whole 3 hours cruise. Yes, it was terrible. I'm a Sydney… Read more

local and I see this harbour view whenever I want and even the cruise ships docked in the Circular Quay. During the trip, nothing was special. The staff looked like pulled out from the bed to serve food, no greetings nor smiles in their faces. To think that they have failed all the expectations of their passengers, they should have at least displayed a friendly and apologetic gesture to make the trip less frustrating. Now, the food..it was ok, nothing special, a bread, some fruits, a little muffin, sausages, hash brown and a choice of drink. The lady who takes the tickets wear the same gloves to serve the food and even touches them-the bread and muffin. The guy who prepares the hot drinks doesn't also wash husband hands and touches his hands everywhere. Boat was floating just around the Opera house and near the Cruise ship for 2 hours and then decided to go back to wharf 9 because it was too boring to finish the 3 hour cruise. Their Groupon ads was very misleading, It was definitely a ripped off. Please people don't be fooled by them. You can do the same thing without spending a fortune as you'll get the same view in the Circulay Quay.

Terrible on their off shot cruise queens boat afloat – Since there is no review page for Poker Afloat's off shot Queens Boat Afloat I am going to review it here. The advertising is so misleading, we thought we will be onboard the Queen mary, not a dodgey boat that let us have a "view" of Queen mary. They also changed the timing of the cruise at the last minute by 2 hours, so instead of 7:30am we departed at 5:30am, incredibly inconvenient and they refused to give us a refund for this. Terrible!

Great day on the bay better than the pub! – just saw a bad review about Poker afloat but honesty needs to be expressed sounds like sore losers to me, my group have been going to these cruises for years we celebrated three 40th birthdays last year with them and have not a bad word to say. Great value love the experience. Looking forward to Decembers cruise.

Poker Afloat is Algood!! – Me and Friends have been on three times in Melbourne. Experience was great, just what you expect on a boat Cruize, food was just right for the event, hoist were good hoist. And poker was poker! However, some people have made me aware the prizes were not good enough also buy-ins were not towards the prize pool. It did matter to me, unless u made… Read more

it!.. Which I did!.. So, yes the prizes could have been more better, something they can look into future references ect ect. Finally, there were a lot of beginners but I didn't mind teaching them to give the chips to me:)) lol.. So they finally learnt.. I just said, go to your local up pub and learn. Algoods P.Afloat see u nxt month. Peace out!

All promise no delivery – Staff great. Food ok. $100 ticket (buy back in $100+ if you want to make final or get close). Prizes are not clear. Buy back in money doesn't go into pool. Friend made final table and finished 4th - he did win a thing. So disappointing, so much promise, delivered nothing. Could be great too but just isn't. Rather take my $300 to casino - much better off

Great day out – Very enjoyable trip. Food and drink excellent, Coffee and tea should be provided, some of us have to drive home and cannot continue drinking. When the chips are exchanged the young man shouldn't stretch across the table, especially while a hand is in play. He should go behind people.

Great day out – Just heading home from a great day out. Went with reservations due to some reviews. Staff and guests were friendly and i think everyone except one had a really enjoyable day. Enough to eat and drink. Poker was what i expected. Would recommend to anyone.

Very enjoyable day – Had read some reviews and went along with doubts, but found the day perfect. Friendly people, great staff, drinks aplenty and the food was fine. Would go again. Well done.

What a sham – What a sham This is a complete joke / waste of time $99 dollars (or whatever you managed to buy your ticket for) will turn into $300 easily if you want to make the final table. Prizes are a joke and not advertised properly and re-buys don't get added to the prize pool. Buyer beware

Fun Day Out – Poker Afloat team congratulations - you guys and girls did a great job - was enjoyable all the way through - I had read some reviews before I went - the good and the bad ones. I am telling you people, it is worth the price. $100 these days doesn't get you much, and when you think about it you get first a 4 hour cruise - itself an enjoyable… Read more

experience, canapes and drinks throughout the day brought to you with a smile - and you then get to meet some interesting characters - and to all you so called wingers about the actual tournament on offer - seriously fellows it is a bit of fun, and any half bit player knows that the stack is short but that is not why you go to something like this. This is a day of fun - chilling out - have a few drinks and a chat and ye play a bit of poker---- well that's all and to those who are going or thinking of going remember that a good time starts with you - Cheers

Not worth the money – Not worth the money $100 for the ticket for only 3k chips. Then to get a chance to make final table you have to pay at least another $100 for rebuy chips Rebuy chips which doesn't even go into the prize pool which THEY claim they do Only final 3 get real prizes 3rd and 2nd get accommodation prizes to Bali ONLY accommodation you still have to… Read more

buy flights

1st prize 3.5 k which isn't bad

9th to 4th get vouchers to come back to waste more of your money on rebuy chips

They give you free beer and finger worth but unless you plan on getting smashed it's not worth it

Great Day Out – I went on the pokerafloat cruise in Melbourne this Saturday just gone for a mates birthday. We all had a ball! The weather was great and we enjoyed the city views from the water. I'm not the greatest poker player but was able to learn a lot from the other players. We couldn't fault the food at all and we never had to wait for a drink which was… Read more

great. There is a lot of sore losers complaining on this site but $99 for four hours of food and drink and good fun is a bargain. If your going to spend lots of money to try and win, then yes the casino is a better option. But if you want a cheap fun day out then get involved. I will be back, thanks guys.

Worst experience ever !!!! – I would beg for anyone to not be as stupid as I was to attend this sham. Unfortunately I had only read the reviews after purchasing my ticket and could not refund it. Very unprofessional. Boat looked like it was falling apart with teared furniture etc. Including the rebuys there would have been at least anywhere over $28000 in cash however… Read more

the prize pool never changed and none of the re buys went towards the prize pool. Terrible food cheap drinks. I am actually outraged I will not recommend this to anyone. Even the players were just alcoholics who came for the drinks I believe because they had no idea how to play. I only wish I could rate this with zero stars. I am writing this review on my mobile and wish I had the energy to sit here and write an essay. Don't be a sucker. Star city casino has a 330 buy in game and that is worth going to

Great day out! – I read all the reviews and the bad ones are a little outrageous sounds like bad losers I think. I have been on the Cruise with these guys twice in Sydney and once Melbourne. The boat has about 100 players on at the beginning of the day and ends up with 8 players playing for the total Prizepool which delivered around $10,000 in prizes which I was… Read more

lucky enough to win a Koh, Samui holiday which my daughter used with a girlfriend last July and thoroughly enjoyed. Keep up the good work all at Poker Afloat, don't take any notice of the sore losers. You should ask your majority of patrons to write a review as I have. Cheers Richard L A great experience.

Disgusting! – As most people did I also bought a voucher to go on this "poker" cruise.. it was horrible! to deal ourselves was a bad start then to have to try and teach others on the table how to play only to watch everything spiral into a drunken mess which ended up with myself being gropped twice and another woman being punched.. it was a shambles and total waste of a night out. RSA out the window and no one knew how to play

Seriously, seriously bad – I'm a keen poker player and - like many people - I was given a voucher for this poker cruise as a Christmas gift. The cruise itself was nice, although the poker experience was seriously bad. What everyone is saying negatively about the poker experience and the food is true. Food/drinks: The beer is not premium. The finger food, for all we… Read more

know, is cheap junk from a supermarket bought with a budget of $30 for about 100+ people, judging by the quality. We got some fantastically bad carrot cake. There were tiny meat pies that would feed a bird. The most "gourmet" item was a small mild curry stuffed triangle with unbaked pastry that tasted like it was merely shoved in a microwave to be warmed up. When I wanted more drinks during the break (water for a sore throat), I was told I couldn't because they only served as table service, before they decided to make an exception for me (what?). I overheard the waitresses complaining at the bar how they would forget who ordered what and which drinks to take out to who. Clearly a very organised bar service! For a four hour poker cruise, it's just not good enough. If you are unfortunate enough to be taking this cruise, it's a good idea to eat a decent meal beforehand.

Poker: You find that when you start at the table, you're stiffed with a pretty small starting stack of 3,000 which is deliberately short to manipulate people into adding on and re-buying as the blinds increase quickly. Guess what? It works like a charm. Pretty soon, the unlimited add-ons and re-buys for the next 75 minutes gets ridiculously out of proportion. People buy up to $200 worth 25,000 in chips at times, and there is just no limit to how many times they can add on. Whatever savings or bargain you thought you made in buying the deal voucher well and truly goes out the window. Staff are there helpfully with their portable eftpos machines strapped to their hips, ready to whip out at the raise of a hand. This is not a poker cruise. It's a profit cruise, where they are cashing in on your desperation, your emotions, and the common desire to win big (or at least keep playing - nothing would kill the fun like being stuck on the cruise for the next few hours if you get out early). The unlimited add-ons and re-buys encourages a donkament frenzy before the much needed freeze-out finally arrives after 75 minutes. You are far better off playing pub poker than this poker cruise. Not only will you have a better starting stack and better odds, but the entertainment value is far better as you can play longer than the time it takes for someone to swipe their card.

I would give it half a star out of five just for the cruise itself, nothing more. If you are a poker purist like myself who enjoys the strategies and challenge of poker based on the hands you play, who enjoys playing against smart players, as opposed to playing donkeys and the stacks they can buy, stay away from the cruise!! Nice ship. Very misleading, terrible food, terrible service, manipulative marketing.

Absolutely Shocking – This was utter and absolute disgusting event. Anybody that has actually been on this can tell you taht any off the poeple that actually wrote good stuff about this crusie was either paid or was either paid. Went on the Sunday day cruise. We were advised that all of extra buy in money would go into the final pool at the end of the day. Not a… Read more

cent was. The same prizes they announced at the begninning of the cruise was exactly what they gave out to the winners at the end.

My understanding of gourmet cannapes must be very different. I wasnt aware that party pies and spring rolls were considered cannapes, let alone gourmet.

Can somebody please tell me in which country, is tooheys new and Victoria bitter considered premium beer?? absolutely shocking.

All in all, definately not worth even the experience. For that sort of money, walk over to the casino and play poker there, much more chance of winning something (i did).

Don't do it, it's a total ripoff .. The star is for the harbour and nothing else!! – We went as a present post Christmas a long with others. Firstly they say the day is worth $250. All you get is grease, party pies, chips, sausage rolls,calamari, fake chicken. Drinks are soft drinks beer, beer and more beer and and I drinkable wine. You get your first round of 5000 chips but the blinds go up every 15 minutes in no time people are… Read more

buying another $50 for 5000 chips by this stage the blinds Are a 1000 and in no time people a buying more and more there is nothing else to do you are trapped for 4 hours!!! Don't do it . Take a ferry or a lunch cruise if you want to see the harbour. This is a complete Rort. Everyone on the boat would have spent on average $200 plus the purchase prize!!! Not bad for the owners by the time you came back everyone is drunk and broke. One person wins $3.5k the others are accommodation in Thailand with no airfare. We asked to speak to the manager Mark or Mathew he said it is your choice to come one. Great customer relation.... Mmm. Stay home its gross. NONE

Poker Afloater – I was given this ticket as a gift from a loved one.I wouldn't normally go to such an event, but as this was a gift, took the punt. This was purchased from a $99 Groupon. I get the feeling that the vast majority of people acquired tickets this way, however, there were definitely some who paid $250 from the website (my guess would be ~10%, but… Read more

just a guess.

For those who like to do the math, ! counted 16 tables, (15 8-seaters and 1 10-seater used for final table) The cruise I was on had 2 empty tables (I'm guessing no shows or unsold/ unbooked). They empty the upper deck tables first, so when choosing your seat, I recommend sitting downstairs if you don't like getting moved around alot.

Tournament format:

3000 Chips starting stack. Add-on's were $50 for 5000 chips. You could add-on as many times as you liked and as often as you liked in the first 5 levels (75 mins) - eg you could have dropped $200 before the first hand and started with an additional 20000 chips if you wanted to. They announced that all money was going into the pot. I rebought 3 times. Some refused to rebuy but judging from my table I think its safe to say that the average across the boat was about 1 rebuy per person, if not slightly more.

Blinds were steep and quick, particularly starting with such a short stack. All blind levels :

Level 1 50/100

Level 2 100/200

Level 3 200/400

Level 4 300/600

Level 5 500/1000

(Break - Freeze out mode. No further addons)

I know level 10 was 10 000 / 20 000 but was kicked out by then and lost interest.

I did a rebuy in level 5 but this was swallowed by the blinds so quickly it wasn't worth rebuying in again and waited for Sit and Go's that were never offered.

Prizes to main tournament:

1st - $3,500 Cash

2nd - 5th "Koh Samui holiday package for 2 worth $1600" EXCLUDING Airfare.Package was not described well but sounded like accommodation at a fancy hotel.

6th to 8th - Free ticket to another floater event.(9th may have also got a ticket, not sure).

(Note - I realise that the cost of hiring a boat, staff, beer, food and licences etc are expensive and was not expecting a good return rate on prizes however was very disappointed at the lack of money being offered as prizes and locking people into a Thailand holiday without providing the expensive bits in form of flights was poor form).

There were NO sit and go's. There was a 2nd game with only a Koh Samui holiday package as a prize which was $25 + $25 unlimited addons for first 1/2 an hour but I didn't bother when i heard the prize (which was announced). Good for beginners who are more interested in having a few drinks with friends on the water. Well staffed, Staff were friendly and enthusiastic. Food and beer was pretty regular. Soft drinks were very watered down. Format not good for experienced players. prizes were ordinary. No Sit and go's.

Won't get the chance to review for myself! – Very disappointed today to find out that all Brisbane Poker cruises booked through Scoopon will not be going ahead. Apparently the boat they thought they had hooked up for the 3 events was not a done deal! Heartbreaking for people like me who bought the vouchers as a gift for poker loving family and friends. Merry Christmas...hah!

Good Fun – Went on this cruise for the first time, also a first time poker player. Had the best fun learning how to play, even won quite a few chips. Staff were friendly, good was ok & plenty of drinks, plus a wonderful day out on the harbour. Make sure you take money to buy back in, but they do have eftpos on board. All up great day & I'd be back to do it again. Left on time, friendly staff, relaxed atmosphere.

Returning customer – I have now been on my third poker afloat cruise and intend to come again! Thank you to the always friendly staff who go out of their way to make sure we have a good night. Each time I have bought along different people and they have loved it too. Plenty of food, great atmosphere, unlimited beer and friendly staff

Great Value! – We all had a fantastic time on the cruise i guess partially because i won a 7 night holiday to Koh Samui. i wrote this remark as the last review i read is not fair at all. It states it clearly on the pokerafloat website that 100% of rebuys goes into Prizepool which consists of $3.5K plus holidays and other prizes. They also guarantee the $8000 if… Read more

no rebuys are bought which is credible I would of thought. The Koh Samui Thailand holiday we won is for two people. Staff were extremely accomodating and the food and the free drinks didnt stop coming the whole trip. The final table winners looked to be very excited in the prizes especially the overall winner taking home $3.5K not a bad days work for $99 bucks don't you think?? Paul.L Good day out

Blatant deception about prizes – The company advertised their cruise on scoopon, listing that the minimum prize available is $3,500 cash for first and a holiday to thailand for second and third place. The cruise offered premium beer, gourmet canapes, and unlimited re-buys for the first 70 mins of the tournament. I bought two vouchers for the january 2013 sydney harbour cruise. … Read more

The beer was by no means premium, but it did flow freely. The staff were helpful and cheery.

The day was really good, until it came to the prize system. The two "holidays to thailand" are actually accomodation only, and poker afloat couldn't seem to strech the budget to cover a week! The holidays are only accomodation and only for 6 nights. A lot of us were dissappointed, as thats really costing the winner airfares.

On the scoopon listing, the company's website, and on the day, we were told every cent spent on re-buys would be added to the prize pool up to $10,000. They had 110 kids playing that cruise, and just about every person shelled out for at least one $50 re-buy. Between my husband and I we put $250 into the prize pool and we were only two out of the 110 so they made THOUSANDS on re-buys ! But at final table, the td said that none of the re-buy money was being included. what a kick in the guts to the eventual winner!

My partner played the second side game, and it wasn't until he and others had paid that they told the prize for a six table "sit n go" (isn't that an average sized tournament ??) was 6 nights accommodation in thailand

It is a fun day out overall, especially if you're more into drinking than poker, but the way they mislead about the holiday and outright lied about the cash prize is criminal. It really is a money grab and Poker Afloat robbed the guy who won. Beer is unlimited, staff are helpful, nice for a harbour cruise Blatant misleading to get more sales