Boat arrived 45 minutes late and I had to call the tour operator since they didn’t call me. The boat ride was good and so was the restaurant.
It was fun, but in my opinion it wasn't worth the money. The boat was really nice to be on, there were three couples on our tour. Two couples from the USA one being us and one couple was from Canada. The driver of the boat, Luca, spoke very fast, it was hard to understand him. We were on the boat for about an hour and he drove from site to site and then would stop and then tell us a little bit about what we were looking at before going to the next place where he would stop. It was informative if you could understand him. He was also texting alot while he was driving and didn't know the answers to many of our questions - basically he just had his speech at each stop memorized, but he wasn't very personable or knowledgeable about other items. Overall it was still nice to be on a boat, but it could have been better. We were then dropped off at dinner. The dinner view was amazing. We sat outside overlooking the water. The restaurant was part of a hotel and was very empty, with no music playing in the background, basically the atmosphere was not that great, but the view was! We were also only given one glass of champagne each, for a three course dinner. We ended up buying a bottle of wine, so that was fine, but I'd budget that into your night as well. The food was okay. The service was great. Overall I'm glad we did this - it was nice to be on the water, on a cute boat, and having dinner outside with a great view. I just don't think it was worth the money. Maybe you could find a private boat tour through someone else and book yourself a nice dinner with a view at a restaurant that has a better atmosphere and better food. I hope this helps.
Everything,as described..great dinner, wonderful setting. If you are coming by ferry via Bellagio be aware of the time As it is about A 20 minute walk to the terminal. Otherwise highly recommend.
The cruise was nice and our guide was informative. I would have liked it to be a bit longer but would not have missed it. The dinner was delicious and beautifully served in the Grand Victoria. We were surprised to find the dinner was optional and there were only two couples who partook. It was very interesting that the hotel seemed not quite what to do with us and seated the two couples at separate tables, and oddity which we quickly amended. Also, the very elegant dinner came with only one glass of wine each - in Italy? Really? A carafe of a nice house wine would have been the minimum amount for four people enjoying a four course dinner. Also, beware if you are staying someplace other than Varenna. The water boats don't run late in the evening to all the lake villages as we discovered the day prior. The tour company was most helpful in finding us a driver who would transport us to Cernobbio for 100 euros which made for an incredibly expensive dinner. Know before you book.