Tours, sightseeing tours, activities & things to do | Viator.comVenice Gondola Ride and Serenade with Dinner
based on 80 reviews of Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade with Dinner
Read what other Viator.com travelers think about the Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade with Dinner. What they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved, it's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
Gondola ride was nice, and the meal was decent but overpriced.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States of America, June 2008
One of the things that attracted me to this trip was the fact that according to previous reviews the restaurant allowed visitors full access to their menu. This is not true, the menu is a tourist menu with very few choices. The food was good but the service shoddy. The waiter took our desert order, then ten minutes later he put his coat on and left the premises. I had to ask the manager for the order which he knew nothing about. The bread was delivered midway through the second course. The gondola ride was as special to us as we expected.
Reviewed by: George M, United Kingdom, May 2008
Rather than an individual serenade, we went with a group of gondolas with only one with music and singing. At the end of this we were dumped and wished farewell. We had to photocopy the voucher for dinner and then had to find the restaurant with no one knowing where to go. After asking several locals and forty five minutes of confusion, we found the restaurant. They had the nerve to charge a cover charge, charge a service charge, charge for drinks, and increase the quoted prices. I was quoted thirteen Euro for a drink and charged seventeen.
Reviewed by: Caleb W, Australia, May 2008
The gondola ride was excellent but the experience at the restaurant dragged the overall score down. The menu presented to us was not the same as the set menu for that evening, the choices were reduced, the food was just about ok and the service was not good at all. We felt like we were an inconvenience, it was not a pleasant dining experience. I would recommend the gondola ride, that was excellent and finding your own restaurant.
Reviewed by: Stephen L, United Kingdom, May 2008
Our gondola ride & serenade was fabulous! It had rained off and on that morning and afternoon. But by 4pm the sun was back and our 6:30 ride was perfect. The singer was wonderful. He uses a microphone so everyone in the 5 gondolas in our parade had no trouble hearing the music. Our ride was about 40 minutes. Then the fun was over. We were not given any directions to the restaurant and had to ask several times how to get there. We were surprised that NONE of the others on our serenade ride came for the dinner. When we finally entered the restaurant we were seated and given a white paper menu in a plastic sleeve and told to choose from those items. Every other diner had regular menus and we felt like bargain basement tourists. NO PASTA on our menu! We had only two choices for each course. othing but the salad appealed to us. No steaks either, as other reviewers had raved about. So my suggestion - just do the gondola ride and SKIP the dinner.
Reviewed by: Donna D, United States of America, May 2008
The gondola serenade was well worth the money and very much enjoyed. The meal afterwards was not very nice. We only had 2 choices from a set menu, and my husband didn't like any of the choices!
Reviewed by: Christopher I, United Kingdom, May 2008
The dinner was EXCELLENT!!! However this was the only thing that I found valuable. This in not a romantic trip. If you want romance, book a private gondola. My wife and I were somewhat facing each other on the sides of the boat, not seated back, holding hands in a romantic way. The boat was designed to seat 5, it held 6. Do not book this. Book a PRIVATE GONDOLA!
Reviewed by: Damian P, United Kingdom, October 2007
The evening gondola ride was much too confusing with the many boats on this tour. The music was enjoyable. The dinner at the restaurant was awful. My party of five wanted to eat outside, and we were told we couldn't. The waiter had several tables to serve and the time between courses was too long. When we tried to make eye contact for service, the waiter looked down and avoided us. He never asked if everything was okay. Two of the dinner steaks were tough to chew. After two hours, we asked for the check. We had purchased a bottle of wine and waters. The waiter didn't ask if we wanted desert and if everything was satisfactory.
Reviewed by: Carolyn D, United States of America, September 2007
Overall, the whole tour was rushed and uneventful. The music and serenade is overheard from someone else's gondola, not you own personal serenade which makes it impersonal. Dinner was provided at a small place up the street. The meal was nice, you are given a menu to make two selections from and dessert, but everything else is extra. You would do better by eating there on your own and not through this package. They definitely take care of those who just walk-in and do not have a voucher. The staff totally ignored us and attended real paying customers. Overall, it is something that you can do on your own and not prepay.
Reviewed by: Linda S, United States of America, June 2007
There was only one singer for the whole eight or nine boats.
Reviewed by: Jack R, United States of America, June 2007
First, the dinner was fabulous. It was the best meal that we had in Italy. But the gondola ride was disappointing. Though the music was wonderful, my husband and I weren't permitted to sit together. The whole point of doing this was for the romance - not romantic sitting that far from each other. My other complaint is that no one was directing people as they arrived, which was confusing.
Reviewed by: Patricia G, United States of America, September 2006
Gondola docks were decrepit and made on/off boarding difficult and somewhat unsafe. The departure time was obviously overbooked, resulting in too many gondolas for all boats to be able to hear the one gondola which had the singer and music. Time on the water was very short and not very enjoyable. Reception at the restaurant, was surly, service was barely acceptable and food selection for the tour was sparse and uninspired considering the overall price of the package.
Reviewed by: Paul W, United States of America, September 2008
The restaurant was a ripoff.
Reviewed by: Irwin M, United States of America, September 2008
No one gives you good directions and you are basically on your own. We finished the ride short one and then no one told us anything about the dinner. We had to find the restaurant ourselves. I think it is misleading when it says 'Venice Gondola Ride and Serenade with Dinner at Hostaria Ai Coristi Restaurant'.
Reviewed by: Simon K, United States of America, August 2008
My husband and I couldn't sit together and we were on our honeymoon. We knew it wasn't a private gondola ride but still. The gondoliers were more interested in talking and screaming out to each other. The serenade was a gondola with a singer with a microphone and as you passed you heard him sing. They did pause for a second, but it was hard to enjoy with the talking of the gondoliers. As for the dinner, we got no directions and basically had to find it ourselves. The waitstaff were rude, and the food was unimpressive. Save the bother, go on a private gondola and pick your own restaurant; at least you'll be treated much nicer!
Reviewed by: Katie C, Australia, August 2008
