We took the ice cream cruise last weekend and had the best time. The crew members give a friendly welcome. Mike, the captain, gives great narration during the 45 minute excursion. We are Seattle area natives and still learned some new facts. He talked just enough but not the entire time which was perfect. There are upper and lower decks - you choose which one when you purchase your ticket. We did the upper deck and it was perfect for a gorgeous sunny day. The ice cream selection is great and it's reasonably priced. 100% recommend! read more

I did this with my family for my birthday and it was great. We did the Ice Cream Cruise and Captain Mike was very informative and his crew was helpful and friendly. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to see the Seattle waterways. read more

See all

COVID TIMES REVIEW. This ride is one of fewer attractions that I would say it doesn't seem to affected by the pandemic (at this time) because it's OUTDOORS and most of the passengers wear masks. We were asked to wear a mask as long as we were in the lower deck/cabin; and it wasn't too crowded. So feel safe to ride with them. Having said that I'd say that this is good choice for people who has never been in Lake Union. It's a short ride with fun facts shared by the Capitan and a lovely view of Seattle skyline. Very touristy. Let's start from the beginning. We arrived Sunday morning at 10AM and there was already a line, but it was until 10:30 that the Ice cream cruise arrived. We were able to jump in at 10:45 and the ship sales right in time (11:00am) All the crew is super friendly, and the Capitan is kind and very patient. Just for you to know that your ticket DOESNT include the ice cream, but for $2 or $3 you can buy cookie ice cream sandwiches and/or Hagen Däas ice cream. read more

See all

We rented Seattle Water Tours as a company fun event rather than as an individual and it was great! We pretty much rented the whole boat and it was good for 40 people. The process was very easy and they got back to us very fast! The pricing is very reasonable and even gave us a small discount. In regards of the experience, it was AMAZING! We did the tour at night and the captain and his assistant was very nice and patient on making sure that our questions are answered and even gave a narration of Seattle history and the impact of the Lake Union on Seattle's growth. Parking was also pretty easy to find since it is right by the park, so it has a parking lot. It's right next to MOHAI which makes it very convenient. I would say though that we were expecting free ice cream, but you had to pay extra for that which was kinda disappointing. read more

Seattle Water Tours - Boat Charters Near Me - Seattle, Washington

See all

They need to be slightly more professional or it's not worth doing business with them. Booked tickets on their ice cream cruise and the cruise today is cancelled due to a broken boat, which we learned when we showed up. They could have sent us an email at any point in the past 24 hours to let us know and chose not to. Avoid. read more

Such a fun 1 hr cruise around Seattle area for $15 per person, definitely beautiful views and lots of history learned . Def check it out.!! read more

See all

Overpriced by far. Was disappointed with the ice cream options, only soda floats (orange, coke, root beer, strawberry (?)), and then store-bought ice cream sandwiches, drumsticks, and fruit bars. The floats are $4 each, and the others are $3 each, which is a pretty disappointing ripoff. The young woman who serves the ice cream is super rude, she acted like we were stupid when we asked what flavors of ice cream they had, and I heard her aggressively spell out a word letter by letter to the customer before me when he didn't understand what she was saying. The menu was silly and confusing, with random extra 3 spaces between some of the items and then no spaces between others, making it confusing if I was ordering a Lays Chips drumstick...? Or if those were just mistakenly crunched all together on the same line. I wish I had thought to take a picture so I could include it, it was actually comical how badly laid out it was, and it was only posted at the front of the line, so you had to decipher it on the spot while the rude young woman was waiting for you. Finally, the captain was almost impossible to hear, they played weird tropical music through the whole cruise and his speaker was too quiet and staticky, so I caught almost none of the random facts he probably found during a 1 hour Google search session (i.e., his facts were less professional tour guide and more elementary school book report) Told my girlfriend at the end I wish we had just picked up some Tillamook ice cream for $6 at QFC and then had a picnic for free at Gasworks park. This is what I recommend to anyone thinking about booking this cruise; trust me, you'll have a much better experience. The one thing I will say that was positive is that the captain was friendly, he does take reservations on Saturdays, and it's a pretty easy process. read more

Best kept Seattle secret! Great inexpensive way to get out on the lake and see some of the views and sights of the city. I recommend for every person having people visiting from out of town hands down. Pick up is at Mohai dock and $12 per adult. read more

Seattle Water Tours - Ice cream! - Boat Charters Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This is a great find in Seattle and hasn't been found by the masses....yet. The Seattle Ferry Service, not to be confused with Washington State Ferries, offers a variety of specialty cruises from their Lake Union dock just off of MOHAI. Each Sunday, they offer Ice Cream Cruises that last 45 minutes for $12 adults, $3-8 for kids. Great bonus - they are dog friendly, even in the downstairs interior cabin. The trip included local history, explanations of specific boats, personal stories, and some background music. At times it was a bit tricky to hear the captain so the sound system might need to be upgraded at some point. Growing up in Seattle for my entire life, I loved stumbling upon this and was able to pick up some new random facts. Each sailing has enough room for 45 people and tickets can only be purchased at the sailing (hourly from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm on Sundays). Make sure to bring cash for tickets and ice cream, as ice cream isn't included - who wants to miss out on ice cream? read more

WHY have I been paying so much money for cruises around Seattle all these years? I have no idea. One day, while hanging at the Fremont Sunday Market, I looked out on the water and saw a boat floating by - the Fremont Sunday Ice Cream Cruise. What the hell is that? I checked it out online and decided to go one day. The boat docks right in front of MOHAI, which was very convenient for us. On a Sunday, street parking is free and Lake Union Park provides a place to chill. It was a beautiful day to be on the water and luckily, the line wasn't too busy to get on the boat. For 2 adults and 1 child, we paid $29. Great price for a 45 minute boat ride around Lake Union! There is seating available upstairs, outside, and inside. For awhile, we hung out inside with the windows open to enjoy the view. There are cute tables in there with boards painted on them so you can play checkers. The captain gave a tour as we went around the lake pointing out everything from houseboats, to Gas Works Park, to Dale Chihuly's studio. He offered little tidbits of information that I wouldn't seek out but were cool to hear. Let's not forget why it's called an "ice cream" cruise! Root beer floats are the thing! They're nothing fancy but it's a really nice treat. In addition to a few different kinds of floats, you can also get canned sodas and chips. I believe the captain said in the colder months, drinks like hot chocolate are available. This was a great way for us to end the weekend. Very fun, very relaxing, and cheap. read more

My sister was lured by the ice cream and I was lured by her invitation to cruise on a boat on a 90 degree day. This tour surpassed my expectations and ended up being a great time! I have lived in Seattle long enough that I really shy away from anything touristy but our captain was very entertaining and charming. He told interesting narratives and tidbits about the different houseboats, ships and sights around Lake Union. The 45-minute cruise flew by, I wish I could have been out there for another hour. I'd recommend this cruise to anyone, tourist or local. The only negative thing is that the ticket price does not include ice cream! You have to pay for that separately on board. Ice cream options include packaged ice cream bars and cones and floats which you assemble yourself: they give you a cup of ice cream and a can of soda. I think they should try to fancy up the ice cream options for this to really be called an ice cream cruise. read more

Sunday ice cream cruiser review: For a business that is aimed towards families with children the captain was quite rude and lacked any patience for them whatsoever. The boat is in need of an update, almost got stuck coming up to the dock (literally loud grinding and repeated attempts to move forward towards the dock, feeling the impact of the bottom of the boat hitting the bottom of the bay) and the ice cream choices were like the last ones you'd pick from the side of an ice cream truck but for triple the price . Not hand scooped as their page would have you believe unless you are getting a mediocre root beer float. The woman who was serving ice cream and lining up people on the dock was also impatient and rude. You only had about 15-20 minutes to buy ice cream on this tour and were cut off if she had to leave her post. If kids were in their way... it's a narrow boat, they would snap at them; if they touched the chess pieces they snapped at them... how's about offering more kid friendly options? I understand safety is of the utmost importance but this was excessive and everyone on board seemed put off by the captains attitude including all 7 in our group. This tour is not as great or as fun as ride the ducks but had nice views near Fremont when you weren't being crammed, snapped at or shuffled in and out of place. Stars are solely for the views. read more

Seattle Water Tours - Boat Charters Near Me - Seattle, Washington

See all

I rented out the boat through Seattle ferry service for Seafair on Saturday for a birthday party. Captain Larry responded to my emails quickly and answered all of my questions. He even allowed me to come the night before to decorate the boat (it was for a surprise bday party.) When you rent out the boat, you can either hire a caterer or you can bring your own food/drinks. We opted out of the catering and prepared everything ourselves. There is a grill you can use so we brought BBQ food to cook on board. You just need to get a liquor license for the day online. There is a maximum of 42 people and we got the boat for 8 hours. Captain Larry showed us around/gave a tour, we saw the blue angels and boat races and at the end we got to swim. Everyone had an amazing time and I totally would recommend renting out with Seattle ferry service for any event! Thank you Captain Larry and Chris! read more

We did the ice cream boat tour. It was fabulous. The captain had great commentary and I learned some really cool things. You pay extra for ice cream but it was a reasonable price. read more

Seattle Water Tours - Boat Charters Near Me - Seattle, Washington

See all

Great tour of Lake Union. You can tell the Captain really loves what he does. Very informative and entertaining!! Great value!

What a fantastic way to see Seattle on an incredible sunny day. The sky was blue, sun was shining on our backs, and a light breeze on our face as we leisurely guided through Lake Union. The captain provided a great guided tour, gave us some history, and served us ice cream. I would definitely go back. It was a great bargain at $11 a person for a 45min tour of the lake. Next time I'm bringing beer! read more

Seattle Water Tours - Boat Charters Near Me - Seattle, Washington

See all

I love how easy it is to take the ferries here in Washington. Sometimes taking a ferry is faster than driving to an area. Just watch out for peak times. read more

Went on this cruise for Mother's Day and despite the cloudy and cold weather, a good time was still had by all. This 45 minute cruise starts from south Lake Union and heads up towards Gas Works Park and then heads back to land. The cost is $11. The cruise provided some good views of houseboats (including the Sleepless in Seattle houseboat), Gas Works Park, and just the lake in general. The tour went at a relaxing pace so you didn't feel like you couldn't take the scenery in. This was a guided tour and the guy's humor was a little on the corny side but he did have some interesting things to say and was "G" rated. They set sail no matter what the weather so be plan ahead if you decide to go. You can either sit inside the covered gallery downstairs or hangout on top of the boat. Seeing how today was a cold day they did have some blankets that people could use to stay warm. Also, the other helper person was real nice and gave all the mothers little flowers that she had picked from her garden. A nice gesture. Overall, if you want to get out on the water but don't have a boat, this is a good way to go. read more

Everytime I have friends coming from different parts of the country. This is always on my list on where to bring them. For $11 you can have a nice tour of the Lake and the surrounding areas. Compared to riding with the ducks which is so expensive. This one is the real deal. With ice cream and rootbeer float while enjoying the view and history, boy what a nice way to spend your day. I love it and I will keep coming back!! read more

While kayaking last summer in a group on Lake Union, the captain ("Larry", I think) of the M/V Fremont Avenue, who runs Seattle Ferry Service, decided that it was good sport to try to run us over, cut us off, and then yell racist obscenities at us over the loudspeaker. We had a few newer kayakers in the group but were keeping to ourselves, and the more experienced members of the group were keeping check on the newer ones. I have never experienced such hostility and overt racism in my years of living here. read more

My friends and I rented this boat for an absurd amount of money for his 30th birthday. It was on Seafair Saturday. It started out great, and then the captain became very sour and ruined a lot of our days. If anyone has ever enjoyed Seafair on Lake Washington, it is a very festive day, and all boats are very nice to one another. He would not let us swim off the boat except for 1 hour of the day, off one side, and we were strictly not allowed to swim more than 10 feet from the boat. If we swam more than 10 feet away from the boat, he yelled at us and called us Jack ass's (seriously). Other boats then starting throwing water balloons and squirting us, in typical Seafair fashion. Once we threw one water balloon back, he threatened us with 1000 dollar fine from the federal government (uggh sir, it was a water balloon on Seafair, it is going to be OK, I think the feds MIGHT have something else to do, but probably not). We also were not allowed to have any other boats tie up or say hi, or any other friends swim over to the boat to hang out. This is not a good boat for Seafair, or if you want to get out on the lake and swim and have a good time. For how much money it cost, it was very disappointing. Lastly, this is out of his control, but the boat is just not very nice for that much money either. Overall, this companies customer service was just horrible, and I would never go back. If he had of been a fun guy, we would of had a great day, despite his other rules, but he was intent on no one having fun. All 30 of us on the boat were VERY disappointed. read more

The ride was fine until there was an incident with a rowboat. The captain forgot that sailboats and rowboats should be given a little courtesy if not the right-of-way. Captain was very rude and ruined the outing. read more

We made the mistake of renting this boat for a Seafair/30th birthday party. The day was very quickly ruined by the captain, who was paranoid, rude, angry, and at times physically confrontational. It's important to note that all of us guests were 30+ year old professionals, not a bunch of high school or college-aged, out of control party animals. We were respectful of the captain's absurdly long and unreasonable list of "rules," such as not having more than eight people in the water at once, not swimming more than 10 feet from the boat, or not allowing people from other boats to come within a certain radius of his boat. At one point, there were four people from another boat who wanted to come on board and say hi. When the captain saw them climbing up the ladder, he flipped out, screaming and yelling and shoving people out of the way to prevent them from climbing aboard. However, when his son and a couple of his friends came paddling up on their rafts, he had no issue at all with allowing them on board. Throwing water balloons is an extremely common occurrence on Seafair; however, according to the captain, engaging in any of these acts is a federal offense! He was literally running around the boat like a chicken with its head cut off, yelling about how he was on the phone with "the feds," and claiming they were going to fine us $1000 for throwing water balloons! Someone had a water balloon in their hand that had just been thrown from another boat, and when the captain saw it, he charged at them and popped the balloon in their hand. Because he so aggressively grabbed the balloon in the person's hand, he ended up gouging his nasty fingernails into their hand, breaking the skin and drawing blood. Throughout the rest of the day, he was an emotional train wreck, repeatedly threatening that he was going to turn the boat around and head in, even though we weren't doing anything wrong. He even tried relating Seafair to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and claimed that the police or military personnel were going to commandeer his boat if there were too many people on board. He then had the audacity to send my friend a text message the following day, scolding him for not leaving a tip for his "crew"(consisting of one person) and telling him that his "crew" had quit because they were so upset at being "stiffed" on the tip! Are you kidding me? If anything, we should be getting a refund for wasting our money on your horrible boat! This was one of the worst experiences we've ever had on a boat, and aside from the insane, irrational, and out of control behavior of the captain, it's also worth noting that for the price, there are probably a lot of boats in much better condition than this one. It just wasn't that nice of a boat and definitely was NOT worth the money. In fact, it wasn't worth paying any money for at all! read more

This is one of the gems of the Seattle tourist scene. This intimate adventure is dog friendly, kid friendly and a lot of fun. It is like the bigger, more popular tours at a fraction of the price. The tour guide is fun and informative and the ice cream the tour refers to is the captain's own 'secret' concoction of root beer floats made with chocolate ice cream. This is a great tour for locals and visitors. read more

This was awesome. The captain is native to Seattle and clearly loves his job. He's full of great stories and fun facts about Seattle and Union Lake. We toured around the lake for about 45 minutes. Seen the house boats (I mean floating homes, you'll learn the difference), draw bridge, Russian ship, gas works park and watched several sea planes land. Great time for all ages. read more

See all

'Sunday Ice Cream Cruise' - doesn't get much better than that!

If you're looking for a cheaper way to see Seattle from a boat, this is the way to do it. For $11 you get a 45 minute guided tour around Lake Union and the option to buy ice cream. They're also dog friendly- hooray! The ice cream options are nothing special but they make a good root beer float with chocolate ice cream and you can't go wrong with ice cream on a hot, summer day. Maybe up the price to $15 but have a better ice cream selection? read more

Girls trip to Seattle ended on a sweet note with the ice cream cruise. Such a fun way to see the city and learn history & fun facts about Seattle. Great deal!! read more

took the ferry to visit Bainbridge island and we were there pretty quick! 'twas a very smooth ride, with LOTS of seats (indoor and outdoor) to choose from. very inexpensive mode of transportation, with killer views of the seattle skyline. i highly recommend this experience. thank you for a great experience, seattle ferry! read more

The captain, Larry Kezner, is a raging jerk. I was volunteering with another company that had rented a boat down from his ice cream tour boat and we were waiting for our passengers. We had a DJ that was playing music and Captain Larry decided that the music was too loud. But rather than just asking to see the captain of the boat or the people in-charge to make his complaint about the noise, he decides to put his hands on me and order me to shut down the music claiming it was driving away his customers. I was shocked that he had the audacity to try and intimidate me and order me around, then turn around as if he was the boss of me and continued to bark orders. After he yelled at the rest of the boat's crew and captain, I went to try and confront him about his behavior (SORRY LARRY, YOU DO NOT GET THE RIGHT TO PUT YOUR HANDS ON ANYONE AND YOU'RE LUCKY I DIDN'T CALL THE COPS TO ARREST YOU FOR ASSAULT.) However, he saw me coming and like a coward, ran for his boat and then continued to stare me down as his pathetic boat passed by our boat a few times. His own staff was surprised at how rude he was and made apologies for him and said they would talk to him about his bad behavior. They also didn't understand his complaint about the music from my boat since his passengers were loving it and dancing along to the music. So you weren't losing customers because of the music Captain Larry, you were losing customers because you were being a horrible person. read more

A super fun and quick way to see a whole lot of Seattle, complete with ice cream! It was a fabulous end to our girls trip! The captain was very friendly and had a great time entertaining all us chatty chicks :) Highly recommend! read more

The Ice Cream Cruise was a fun way to spend 45 minutes, see some interesting house boats and get a good view of gas works park. They are a little short on seating on the upper deck, but we were able to get seats when some other people went downstairs to seek out ice cream. The guide is interesting but nothing too exciting. Make sure you get there early on a nice day. We arrived about 15-20 minutes early and were the last people allowed on the boat. A number of people in line behind me had to wait an hour for the next cruise. The line could have been more organized and we almost didn't make it on the boat due to people holding spots and walking in from the sides. read more

This is a rip-off, a stupid tourist trap and a complete waste of time and money. Brought relatives on this because it looked like something visitors would like to do. Definitely not! Rent a rowboat at the wooden boat center by MOHAI, you'll have a much better time at a fraction of the cost. Agree with other reviewers about rude crew and a dirty old boat. Yuck. read more

The tour was average but I was very disappointed with the misrepresentation in the name. The name says "ice cream", but it's not included! The is not acceptable as I even asked the employee who sold me the ticket what was available. You don't find out you have to pay until you push off. I live in Seattle and this doesn't convey the right message to tourists and should not represent our city. This company should change the name or offer at least one scoop of complimentary ice cream. read more

Take your business elsewhere. The captain is rude, unreasonable, paranoid, completely out of touch, and ungrateful. He single handedly ruined our entire day. On top of that - the boat is old, outdated, and the bathrooms are disgusting. 1/5 would not recommend. read more

Okay so my group of friends, the 7uppers, and me decide we must go on this cruise while visiting Seattle just because it has the words ICE-CREAM in the name and we love ICE-CREAM (and brownies and donuts and cupcakes...) So we were trying to get there to make the 2:00 p.m. departure and we got there like at 2:00 p.m on the dot. It was 6 of us in the car so 3 of us ran to the boat while the other ones parked and the boat was about to take off but they waited for us!!! The captain and his helper were awesome!! They waited for us to get on the boat and then off we went. It was a beautiful Seattle day and the captain narrated the trip. He was funny (or the tried to be funny most of the time :) ) and we had a great time! We got to check out the house were Sleepless in Seattle was filmed and we go to see cool houseboats and even a bridge that was in the process of going up to let a boat go through. It lasted like 45 min. but it felt like 15 min. because we were having a GREAT time!! One of my friends and I who speak Spanish noticed they had music in Spanish during the narration breaks which we thought was way cool. The prices was $11 dollars and did not include ice-cream but they sold some on board!! I would have given it 5 stars if it had had ice-cream sundaes or banana splits or something more exciting than just ice-cream sandwiches. Overall, it was a great experience and we would recommend it to all tourists! read more

i took the sunday ice cream cruise today. the captain steered right in the way of some small rowing boats that were racing, and when the race officials asked him to move off he told them that this was a commercial waterway and the racers were there because the commercial boats allowed them. it was very awkward and made me not want to be there. read more