Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade

My husband and I were totally disappointed with this gondola ride. It was supposed to be a serenade gondola ride, where the gondolier sang to us. But instead our gondolier talked nonstop in Italian with the other gondolier on the next boat. They also made us sit in the gondola 10-15 min before starting our 30 min ride. So we only ended up with a 15-20 min ride. It was a waste of money.

Very unprofessional, rude and just flat out did not care that you had pre-purchased the ride. Even though your ride was for a scheduled time they made you wait an extra hour and then if you asked them something they ignored you. They sat around and drank beer and smoked. 2 different people came up and offered cash money and they took them right away. Never again will I use this company!

We organised this back in Sydney and we’re really happy we did. I organised for us a another couple. We read the inclusions and we had a ball. It was easy to find and the four of us were lucky enough to have our own gondola in the flotilla. The serenades was on another but his voice carried well. It was excellent. We found the gondoliers funny and entertaining. Awesome experience thank you

Last minute booking, our hotel printed our docket, which you need to take to the embarkment Quay, we were taken by Gondola over the Grand Canal and through the narrow alley ways - sung to most of the way, thoroughly enjoyed it - Bravo!!

It's great to experience a seranaded gondola ride rather than just a plain vanilla gondola ride. That said the operetta should be good too. On my first time, it was amazing, this time it was just a crooner with a bass guitarist. No fun away all.

Everyone should do this when in Venice. I was very disappointed this time. I had done this in the past and it was amazing. So when i visited with some friends this past week i insisted they had to do the Gondola Ride. They crammed 5 people in the boat and it lasted 20 minutes. The gondolier was not friendly to the group at all. Have to say there are so many there ......pay more to enjoy the experience.

The planning and execution of this tour was great! We had the luck of getting the singer in our gondola, therefore we had ”first row” experience!

The ride was overpriced, misrepresented, we didnt get a serenading ride as such, we had 5 gondolas in the group with one serenading gondola amongst the 5 gondolas. I wasnt able to sit alongside my wife because of the gondola set up having to share it with 6 people. Our gondola operated did nothing but continually argue and talk in a loud voice with the other gondola operator.for the whole ride. I would not recommend this ride or company, there are plenty of gondola operatorating companies around and better priced

Advertised 30 minutes and was exactly 20 mins start to finish. Gondalier never said hello or goodbye, most unfriendly and spent his time on phone and smoking.

Where to begin??? This was supposed to be a 30 minute tour and it was 20 minutes long. The Gondolier did not speak a word to us the entire time. He was smoking a cigarette the whole time and threw it in the water. There was no serenading near us as promised. There was zero narration. He didn’t even make eye contact with us. As far as the staff goes, they were all unfriendly. They would go to the bar and get a beer between rides and then go on the boat and only speak to each other in Italian, but never to the people on the boat.

For anyone coming to Venice, this is a special way to experience the celebration of life and music. The artists performed with their heart, as we watched the golden rays of sunset kiss the waves of the grand canal and its tributaries.

I was unimpressed with this and especially with the gondoliers that seemed unable to even smile. The staff at check in seemed to be bothered by our presence and asking them for information. Just go to Venice and find some gondola along the canal and hire them. Then you know a little about the person you are hiring.

The weather was not favourable as the water level was high and choppy. We were glad that the trip proceeded as we were really looking forward to it. The serenade was excellent. The accordion player and singer made the experience so much better. The gondoliers were not very engaged with the adventure hence putting a damper on the ride.

Needless to say this was a waste of money. Yes we got the gondola ride but the serenade was so far behind us that we could hear it or enjoy it. Our gondola driver was rude and didn’t even try to slow down so we could hear the serenade even after we made it clear we wanted to hear to here. Wouldn’t do this again.

This was awesome and well worth it. The serenade was fantastic and sang wonderful songs. This was the highlight of my trip to Venice.

This was a great family experience. As a family of 5 with 3 children ages 9, 11 and 13 we thoroughly enjoyed experiencing a gondola ride (which we had to ourselves as the max seems to be 6) going down lots of narrow, interesting canals and under lots of bridges. An excellent, affordable way to experience a very special opportunity in Venice. Highly recommend to families of any ages!

My daughters quote...after the ride they said it was awesome and was glad that I booked it as it would have been boring without the serenade part. We were lucky to have the singer and accordian player in our gondola.

Loved the tour. Easy and fast booking. Details of meeting point was. Rry accurate and easy to get to. We got lucky and rode WITH the 2 entertainers who were great! Totally would recommend this to everyone

We did this flotilla gondola ride on our honeymoon. It was a fun and very neat way to see and enjoy the city and get a real appreciation for the canals of Venice. Our singer was funny and charming and there was an extremely talented accordionist too. Easy to find and very worth the experience!

If you really want to enjoy a serenade, book a private one. This "group" serenade was almost a joke. If you can't afford the private option, maybe just a more historical ride would be your best.

This was a great experience. The line was organized when we arrived and at 6:30 they put groups into each boat. We lucked out and got the singer/guitar player on our boat so it was a lovely ride. We rode in a group of 6 Gondola and it was a nice "spin around the block" and lasted exactly 30 minutes. It felt safe to do it through this tour vs someone on the street.

Amazing gondola ride through the grand canal and into smaller waterways through the city. Lovely serenade and acordian player, recommend to any couple visiting Venice!

My exceptions were a gondola ride with my husband and to be serenaded. Well, there were 4 other people in our Gondola and 8 Gondolas with ONE person serenading all EIGHT gondolas and he was in the last Gondola. NOT romantic not worth paying over 100 dollars. and 2 people walked up on got in their own Gondola for $80.00, though not serenaded.

Highly recommend this trip. The serenade was lovely. We experienced this at night and found it to be the perfect time.

This trip was very nice. Expect to stand in a line, even though you have a reservation. Also expect to be with about 4 other people in your boat.(Those in our boat were a little loud and rowdy) I would recommend this trip, as the views were lovely, and the ride was long. It was great when it got dark, and the narrow canals were lit. We really enjoyed ourselves. Also, be sure to find the location early, as it was a little tricky to find.

We took a serenaded gondola ride around the Grande Canal and little side canals at twilight. The children, including teenagers, in our party loved it and pleaded to go again during our stay. Don't miss this, great value!

I would have been happier if the singer had been in costume instead of street clothing.But, it was enjoyable.

Totally disorganized. We couldn't find the specific gondola we were supposed to go to so instead we just hired one and got completely ripped off.

The Gondola ride and Sernade was beautiful. However the people who helped us get on the Gandola's were rude and the queing system was confusing and not explained propelry. Me and my mum were annoyed and confused as we asked the staff and they just pointed and said sit anywhere and wait in a very rude way.

We enjoyed this relaxing ride thru the canals. Our driver was knowledgeable about the area and he was very sweet to explain the buildings.