Carol Ship Dinner Cruises

Strong gas smell from the running diesel when boat still in dock really bothered. It got much better when boat started to run. Food was mediocre to say at least, light dinner was very light, the desert was so small you can barely get the taste of it. No tea, only coffee. Drinks are overpriced, the route selection was a bit strange too, two times back and forth to Stanley park, rather than a big loop around. It was too cold to go out deck, so we stayed inside. Music quality was terrible, Santa wasn’t much fun either, but the carol singing was great and everybody enjoyed it.
Overall it wasn’t a bad experience, but we won’t go to this cruise again.

Groupon brought us to this Carol Ship Dinner Cruise. The boarding location was hard to find but I was relieved to see that they continue boarding from 5:30 till 6 something, so there was no reason to run after all. The Christmas décor, table settings and comfortable chairs were elegant and beautiful. The room was dimly lit up by the multi-​coloured glow of the Christmas lights, creating a cozy, romantic ambiance. The bathrooms were clean and tidy.
Drinks included tea and coffee. Dinner buffet opened at 7pm. It seemed as if the passengers who arrived to the ship earliest were served first; that’s fair. The food tasted all right but the selection was surprisingly limited but perhaps it is for the best, otherwise one may overeat. There was Caesar salad, turkey with cranberry sauce and gravy, stuffing, delicious ham, roasted potatoes, roasted sweet potatoes, grilled mixed veggies (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower), kidney bean and corn mix and dinner rolls with butter.
While waiting for the staff to replace dinner buffet with dessert buffet, my friend and I stepped outside to take in the sites. The view was breath-​taking. It wasn’t too cold outside and the fresh air felt invigorating. We returned to find dessert ready. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they set up a chocolate fondue fountain! They offered bananas, blueberries, cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple and profiteroles with the fondue. There were assorted chocolates and generous cheesecake slices. I was very satisfied.
Santa, with the worst, most fake beard I’ve ever seen, came around distributing swiss milk chocolates to everyone. He did look too young. Perhaps a pair of specs would make him look more credible. He was very jolly so that compensated for it, I guess.
The song selection was a bit limited and I would have prepared to hear more classics e.g. Jingle Bell Rock and Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree and less of the pop Christmas songs of today. After the meal, a 3 page booklet of carols was placed in front of each passenger. Singing carols in unison was more fun than I expected. Rowdy songs like Rudolf the Red-​nosed Reindeer were especially fun.
To top of the night, the host invited couples to come up on the dance floor. It was soon packed with happy, shameless folk dancing to songs ranging from carols to YMCA. I don’t dance so I felt really awkward and uncomfortable. I noticed that the rest of the people who were still sitting at the table (¾ of the total passengers) were either socializing or watching the dancing. I couldn’t talk to my friend because our table was too close to the speakers. I was horrified to look out the window and see that the ship had stalled. I disliked being assaulted with thunderous pop one hit wonders of today such as «I’m sexy and I know it.» At least they didn’t blast any Bieber. The last song before docking was fun, however. It was new and hilarious for me to watch others dance gangnam style. Overall, it was a great time but 5 hours is 2 or 3 hours too long.

I came here with the company I worked for (ages ago but still relevant) and it was the most horrible experience. It was bad enough that I was stuck for 3 hours on a boat with coworkers, however, the buffet was the most horrible buffet I’ve ever had. The music was terrible to match. I remember this being the worst holiday party ever. It was also cold, therefore, we couldn’t run out deck for pleasure.

I bought the groupon for the Carol Ship cruise last November and we went on December 20^th 2011. The concept sounded like a lot of fun and seeing as my boyfriend and I both love the Christmas season, we thought this would be a great evening. Maybe we were wrong to envision what their website portrays. Carol Singers dressed in traditional attire, extravagant christmas décor with Jolly Ol’ St. Nick (or Santa Claus) greeting the children for photos and spreading the Christmas joy.
We were SOO very wrong! The only decent thing about the cruise was the food, which was okay. We bought the Turkey Croissant meal with hot chocolate and this was edible and kept us going.
However, the décor was something out of a dollar store. Cheap Christmas lights circled the interior of the ship. There was a very small and poorly decorated Christmas tree flung in the corner of the room. The tables and chairs could have been left over from a wedding reception. That was as far as the décor went.
The music was a whole other issue. I am an avid listener to 103.5 during the Christmas Season in Vancouver but at a Carol Ship I would have expected more. I could have brought my radio with me and I would have heard the same tracks.
Once the live music or ‘carol singer’ came to our level, there was a crappy electric piano with a singer who yes, could sing but that was all. He was not an entertainer and did not get everyone into the Christmas spirit. It was lame.
Then Santa arrived! Yes, Santa. Or rather a man in his 40’s dressed in a dollar store santa outfit, fake felt beard (didn’t even bother with a fluffy white beard), no belly… not much Christmas spirit there either. He made crass jokes and although there were children on board, his jokes were not child friendly.
Now I come to the important issue of drinks. You are trapped on this ship (or rusting old boat more like) for 3 hours. You NEED a drink to get you through this experience. The drinks were over priced ($ 7 for a Granville Island can of beer, $ 7 for a glass of white Sawmill Creek). We decided to go for a gin and tonic. Turns out there was more ice and tonic than there was gin, and when ordering the bartender showed uncertainty on the ingredients of a G&T. Not only that, you had employees who were finished their shift in the kitchen sitting at the bar, listening in on your conversation.
The whole experience was ridiculous. We wanted to get off the ship but thought that the water was too cold.
Honestly, stay on dry land and find somewhere else to ignite your Christmas cheer!