Waterways Cruises in Seattle, WA Boat Trip Review for Families

My husband Darren and I love to be on boats! Whenever we travel, we usually try to squeeze in a boat trip of some sort as an activity. We like to sit and relax while looking at the scenery from a different viewpoint. In fact, we even had our rehearsal dinner on a boat! So, when our toddler Owen kept telling us that he wanted to “sit down on a boat,” we thought maybe it was time for him to share our excitement for boats. I immediately contacted Waterways Cruises.

Waterways Cruises offers a Sunday Supper Cruise all summer long. For those in Seattle (or who are visiting) we know that summer in Seattle is best experienced on a boat! This 2 hour cruise features the sights of Seattle’s lakes and city skylines and a buffet of Northwest food. The cruise runs from 5pm-7pm, with boarding at 4:30pm. The Waterways Cruises boat has two stories. The bathrooms and the buffet are located on the main floor and the outdoor deck is located on the upper floor.

Sailing underneath the new 520 bridge on our Waterways Sunday Supper Cruise

We were greeted by the Captain who gave us our boarding pass and table assignment. We were lucky enough to be seated upstairs, with just a few tables and just steps away from the outdoor deck! Our waiter came over to take our drink order. Being pregnant, I had to refrain from the delicious cocktails but our waiter suggested a virgin Mai Tai. Mai Tais are my all-time favorite cocktail but I never thought of ordering it without rum. It was delicious! So delicious that my husband ended up also ordering one. For parents of young children, note that there is no milk on board so you might want to bring your own.

The Waterways Cruises boat headed first to Lake Washington and we heard a bit of narration as we passed places of interest, like Chihuly’s glass studio, Bill Gates’ house, the new 520 bridge, etc. I appreciated that the narration wasn’t constant, but in short bursts that were filled with humor and personality. It was easy to focus on what was being said and then go back to table conversation. Between the narration was a variety of music.

Dinner consisted of Creamy Tomato Bisque, Classic Caesar Salad, Grilled Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon, Chef David’s Famous Mac ‘n Cheese (with Tillamook cheese), Marinated Flank Steak, Roasted Vegetable Lasagna, and artisan bread with herbed butter

The Waterways Cruises dinner buffet opened just a few minutes after we set out on the cruise. We headed down soon after it opened and the line wasn’t bad at all. We filled my plate and Owen’s plate and the brought them upstairs before sending Darren down to fill his plate. I was thrilled they had macaroni and cheese because Owen has been requesting it everywhere we go because he ate it with his older cousins a few weeks ago and thinks it’s the “cool” food. The quality of the food was impressive. When I think of buffet food on a boat, I don’t have high expectations. But I really enjoyed the tomato bisque, the veggie lasagna and the rolls/herb butter. I wasn’t as enthusiastic about the salmon, but I prefer my salmon to be raw, so I’m biased. My husband devoured the beef and the Caesar salad,

Owen devouring his chocolate chip cookie before we head out to the deck to enjoy Lake Union

The dessert buffet was laid out about 20 minutes before the end of the cruise on the main floor, right as we headed into Lake Union. Owen was most excited for the chocolate chip cookies. I enjoyed the apple crisp, brownie (which Owen helped me with) and the chocolate chip cookie. We also grabbed some tasty sliced fruit that was available. I noticed that they had a tea station and if I wasn’t holding Owen’s hand and our dessert plate, I would definitely have grabbed some.

We ate our dessert while awing over the amazing summer Seattle skyline!

We’re on a boat! Enjoying our time on the Sunday Supper Cruise through Waterways Cruises

Overall, we had a great time on the Sunday Supper Cruise! The weather was gorgeous (which always is a bonus) and it was pretty relaxing. Even though Owen was whinier than usual, he had a lot of fun and it was a great family outing. The upper deck had a lot of room for him to walk around and explore without disturbing other guests. We docked right at 7pm, which coincided with Owen’s bedtime and we were able to put him down as soon as we got home.

Waterways Cruises provided my family with tickets for review purposes.

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