For my first supper cruise, they didn't set a very high bar. I'll start off by commending the staff…read moreof the ship. The captain was very nice as well as everyone else. We were waited on by John and Andrea. They do an amazing job taking care of everyone aboard the vessel. One tip I might give to John is that the phrase, No Problem is a double negative and not very good verbiage for customer service. He was very grateful and said, "Thank you so much" after almost every sentence. He gave us a short rundown of the ship right after we sat at our table and let us know where the washrooms are and how to get to the upper deck. He informed us that we were free to roam at our leisure. We stayed at our table for a bit to take in the ambiance and then before we knew it, dinner was served. I suppose it is fitting as you have to pass through the marina and down a slough with not much to look at before you get to Lake Union so why not spend that time eating. When it comes to the food, I was sorely disappointed. They had a buffet set up with chicken thighs, salmon, mashed potatoes, broccoli, mushrooms, macaroni and cheese, rice pilaf, a green salad and some bread. The chicken was very dry and overcooked. The salmon was very well done and dry as well. The broccoli and mushrooms were also overcooked, and you could see charring on the broccoli, so I assume most of the food was cooked on a grill. My wife liked the macaroni and cheese and we both like the mashed potatoes and green salad. Neither of us had the rice but the bread was okay. After we finished eating, we went to the upper deck to check out the views but by that time, the cruise was half over. The boat doesn't really travel that far in one hour and then they turn around and head back. Outside on the deck, you have an awesome view of the surrounding areas. We traveled underneath a lot of bridges. Ballard, Aurora, Ship Canal and Freemont bridges to be exact. We saw a ton of house boats, gasworks park and a ton of other boaters who were enjoying the water as well. The captain did come over the PA and point out a couple of sights, but I really wish they he'd done more. We're from the Seattle area so we knew most of what we were looking at but there was a couple who were obviously new to Seattle, and I think they would have appreciated a bit more detailed information about what they were seeing. They don't even point out when you pass the houseboat that was featured in the movie, Sleepless in Seattle with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan while you're passing it. The boat was mostly quiet except when they needed to make a sharp turn and then this very disruptive motor would kick on and stop our conversation mid-sentence. Other than that, the ride was relaxing but overall, for the money they charge, I expected more and I definitely expected good food. Adult beverages are priced very high and I was even charged for club soda with cranberry juice. I can't say that I'll be taking any more of the Waterways cruises after this first experience but at least I can say that I've been there and done that.
