Amsterdam Light Festival: 75-min Luxury Cruise with Optional Unlimited Drinks & Snacks

The boat tour we booked, at least according to the website, turned out to be a 'luxury boat tour' in a narrow flat-bottomed boat with a superstructure fitted with sails and plastic windows. So no saloon boat! Even though this was clearly stated in the text and illustrated with a photo of a classic saloon boat. We asked the lady on the quay again: is this the saloon boat? Yes, she said cheerfully. We started the cruise somewhat disappointed. Fortunately, the sails closed off the boat and after we left, it also became warm on board. But if you wanted to see/photograph something better, the sail could be raised, which made you feel very cold. During the Amsterdam Light Festival, it is busy, so you are constantly standing in line: to get to the quay and to be ready for the right tour/boat. Once on board, we were welcomed by the skipper and our guide. This guide was clearly instructed to sell as many extra drinks as possible to guests who had only booked a ticket, while those who had booked 'unlimited drinks' were given a maximum of two drinks, the surcharge for the unlimited option. And then at the end, quickly settling the bill with everyone (including guests with unlimited drinks, because it wasn't properly checked) and shamelessly holding up the tip jar three times. We weren't able to see all the art objects properly, because the view was often obstructed by the sails/plastic windows on the other side of the boat.

We opted to book a traditional saloon boat but was placed in an open boat with only a top cover for the cold. We were really unable to enjoy the artworks because the plastic covering made it impossible to see unless you were in the part where there were no covers. There's nothing luxurious to this at all.

the tour was okay, the guide did a nice job and the drinks were good. However, the snacks were substandard; they were nuts and as far as I know, nuts are not snacks. Snacks suggests something hot. In retrospect, the price to quality ratio was not right

The skipper and tour guide were great, but the claim of unlimited drinks and snacks is not accurate; we did not see any snacks. It was not a cozy saloon boat; it was far too crowded, crammed with about 50 people. The view outside was also very poor. All in all, disappointing.

All the information was nicely conveyed and correct (very important). And everyone on board were very friendly and attentive. 10/10, would do again. The light show was also wonderful, especially in the evening.