Lovers Canal Cruises Reviews 2,598

The tour itself was fine, nothing too special or memorable and it was just a guided tour where u look out of the window and listen to a headset. There was an extremely rude middle aged lady (dark hair in ponytail)in the lovers cruise cafe. We went into the cafe which was totally empty after our night cruise tour to put our bag down to find something. she immediately told us to leave if we weren’t waiting for a boat even when we said we just finished our canal tour. Even if we weren’t allowed to be in the cafe she could have told us nicely. I guess she knew that was being super rude because she refused to give us her name.

Around Christmas we go with 6 people
In a rush I bought 7 tickets .at the office across the trainstation in Amsterdam.
And immediately realized I made I mistake ..I bought 1 ticket to much..
When I tell the lady who sold me the ticket right there she said you can get a refund by submitting a email with the details..she also gonna send a email.
After one week no refund I ask them about it. They said they will not refund..
It's not about the money it's about the treatment..
They don't deserve a good review on my point a view I got scammed.

Ha. Would not recommend. Instructions said to arrive 5 mins before departure. We arrived 15 mins before and were placed on an already full boat. We were 6 people who were split up. We paid for a 75-100 min cruise and only did a 60 min cruise. We asked the ataff after boarding if we could please get on the following boat because this was booked for the purpose of 6 people sitting together. They said that they are fully booked. Checking immediately online, I could see the next cruise still had 46 tickets available. I sat next to a couple who were trying to have a romantic cruise and they kept unplugging my virtual tour earphones (potentially accidentally, but repeatedly). Do yourself a favour and walk the short route instead of doing the cruise. Not meant for locals. It is like buying a stroopwaffel in Amsterdam Centrum. It's a tourist trap. Just DIY.

We booked a cruise with the 5 of us in the family. We got on a random boat last and we couldn't sit together because of a the groups of 2 and 3 boarding first, the staff didn't help assign seats at all.... I asked the staff if they could assist but they refused rudely quote "you bought tickets but not seats and i don't care". Pretty disappointing to book a cruise two months in advance to spend time with family visiting from abroad and sitting with strangers instead on Christmas.

Second time trying that boat and it's the second time I had to wait for 1 hour in the line with 3 kids while the temperature was -2 (feeling like -8). It's unexceptable and something that hasn't changed in those 2 years.

As someone born and raised in Amsterdam, I can honestly say this tour is an absolute disappointment. I surprised my girlfriend with a visit to the Amsterdam Light Festival, but as an Amsterdammer this turned out to be a real low point.

We had booked a boat tour for 20:30 and arrived well on time at 20:15, but we didn’t board until 21:15. During that entire time we were left standing in the cold and rain without any consideration from the staff. After an hour in line, several people started complaining. We were told we could get a refund—but only if we went home. If we chose to stay, the long wait was simply “unfortunate,” and there was no mention of any compensation whatsoever.

It was obvious they had oversold tickets, couldn’t meet their schedule, and simply didn’t care.

The tour itself was no better. It was more about Amsterdam in general than about the actual artworks. With fogged-up windows you could barely see outside, and one side of my headphones didn’t even work. Also, make sure to sit on the right side of the boat; from the left side, you’ll miss most of the installations anyway.

All in all, don’t book this tour, save yourself the money and the frustration. If you really want to enjoy the festival, spend a bit more on a proper smaller-boat tour or simply go for a nice walk instead.

If I could, I would definitely rate this 0 stars...We booked two tickets for Saturday's light festival cruise. When we arrived (15 minutes early, as stated on the tickets), there was a ridiculously long line because the cruises were all overbooked. Many people were waiting from previous timeslots; despite having waited for two hours, they said they were not even halfway through the line.

It was raining heavily, and when we asked the staff, they said the boats were full and we would have to wait another 2 to 2.5 hours. We had already booked one of the last timeslots available (21.00). Due to the heavy rain and the extreme wait time, we and many other people, unfortunately, weren't able to enjoy the cruise we paid for due to failure of service by Lovers Canal Cruises. I can't help but feel like we were scammed. That almost ruined our Amsterdam trip...

✨ What an unforgettable evening! The Dinner Cruise in Amsterdam was simply magical — gliding through the illuminated canals, surrounded by the charm of the city’s historic architecture, while enjoying a delicious meal and excellent service. The gentle reflections of the lights on the water created a dreamlike atmosphere that made every moment feel special. A perfect blend of romance, elegance, and the timeless beauty of Amsterdam. Our friends from Colômbia, Ecuador, Panamá, Brazil and my Dutch husband have all a fantastic & vibrant evening ! 🇳🇱 🇧🇷 🇵🇦 🇪🇨 🇨🇴 🌷🚤💫 Thanks to the crew who made it happen with excellence: Rob, Karina, Norina and Anna! It was our second time that we bring people from abroad to have this tasting experience! We are very satisfied again!!
Thanks, L O V E R S canal cruises

The canal ride I can't really rate badly as it was gorgeous and there's not much to say about it other than that.

We went to check out the canal rides on 16/10 around 11.30am/midday ISH and there was a young man and young lady on the counter. As we approached, my partner said "it's our last day here, going home this evening" etc etc basically just looking for ideas of different rides and times and the lady that we were talking to was lovely and helpful but after my partner said that, the man responded with a "yeah we're happy for that". Which honestly put us off entirely. We didn't have any issues our entire stay in Amsterdam until that rude comment. We weren't even being served by him so it wasn't necessary to even talk honestly. And considering he works at a tourist attraction? And wants the tourists to leave? Obviously it's done now and we're home but that's tainted my view on this company for the canal rides and will definitely be going elsewhere next time we visit. Very disappointing. I've passed on my thoughts and feelings to friends and family visiting soon and unfortunately have told them to just go elsewhere as it was a big disappointment. Amazing what one stupid comment to do ey

If I could give it less I would .. not a good experience got put next to another couple it was awkward would rather had got the next one than be next to another couple when asked as there was tables free got told no.. please dont go

⚠️ Warning: Avoid this company at all costs!
I had a terrible experience with Lovers Canal Cruises in Amsterdam on Monday, August 25th, 2025. I booked two tickets online but only received one by email. At the counter, the man in charge refused to help, offered no solution, and behaved arrogantly and coldly. I even had to call a police officer to intervene, but he still insisted that I should have “paid on site instead of online.” In the end, after all this unnecessary stress, it turned out that the ticket I received was indeed valid for two people. My entire experience was ruined by such unprofessional and unacceptable behavior. I strongly advise against choosing this company.

Arrived at a booth near Leidersplane and had just missed a boat, young man at the booth said come back in an hour, there would be another. We did, arrived 10 minutes early and booked our tickets. We were not disappointed. Captain Louie was brilliant, he was friendly, chatty and informative. He allowed us to listen to the audio tour, and would update wirh some other information. He made the trip!!! Yes, they are one of the cheaper companies, so if you want to spend over €20 a person, you go do that elsewhere!! At €17.50 each, my husband and I throughly enjoyed it, and found the information and history of Amsterdam very interesting!

Forced to give a one star, faced a very rude staff who talked rude to us while using the pay n use toilet in the cofee shop .Why would we jump line to to save a couple of euros when we can buy 3 cruise tickets! No wonder the ratings are so poor.
That is not 'NORMAL' behaviour while serving customets girl!.

I am so glad we got to see the most beautiful canals of Amsterdam from the water. You get to see and learn about the architecture and the history of the city. Our captain was fun and friendly, making some extra comments on top of the audio guide for a more personal experience.

We pre-booked a 2.00pm Lovers cruise which we intended to board on the canal in front of the Rijks Museum. The season is spring/summer. The temperature was about 20deg. On arrival, we were informed that there was to be no 2.00pm cruise and we would have to wait for the 2.30pm cruise. I asked if a refund could be claimed and was told "No". We boarded the 2.30pm boat and all looked good. It was not a busy day and there were only about 6 other people looking to board. Then we were told to disembark because we were to cruise on another boat with a large group which might spill over to 2 boats. Great (groan), the boat was going to be full.
Anyway, about the cruise itself. The boat was covered with a perspex top and solid framework. This was not too hot under the sun, but our position up the front precluded the possibility of taking any decent photos and limited what you could see. Commentary through supplied ear phones was pretty poor and intermittent and often, during an important piece of information about a particular building or landmark, the captain would come on the PA to point out that feature. Listening to both the captain and the ear phone commentary meant that you basically heard neither. I'm sure the captain meant well but we would have been better off if he stayed quiet. Overall, I feel that this cruise was a waste of 35EUR for 2 of us. I would recommend, if you wish to do a canal cruise, choose an open boat with no cover and enjoy the sun and better view.

Extremely Disappointing and Unprofessional Experience

We had a terrible experience with this cruise company. We arrived in plenty of time for the 17:00 cruise we had booked the day before, but due to an unorganized and massive queue of tourists, we missed our scheduled boat through no fault of our own.

When we approached the next boat, just minutes later, an employee told us we had to rebook our tickets at the desk upstairs. Once there, the staff member at the desk was rude and dismissive, insisting we had to pay an extra 5 euros to rebook — despite the delay being caused by their poor crowd management.

We politely explained the situation, but instead of showing any understanding, she became increasingly unfriendly. She said she would ask her colleague, and when she did, he shockingly referred to us as “stupido” in Dutch — an absolutely unacceptable and insulting comment.

This kind of treatment is embarrassing, unprofessional, and completely ruined what should have been a pleasant experience. I would not recommend this company to anyone expecting even the most basic level of customer service and respect.

P.S. captain of the boat was nice and funny tho

Took one hour cruise. Audio guide was not working. We had a cruise 5 years ago with a different company where the operator gave us explanatoins of what we were seeing and was very friendly. Will definitely not take any cruises with the larger boats as it is just so impersonal.. The route that the boat took was quite boring as compared to the previous cruise

We asked for and were sold open boat but it clearly wasn’t as it had a roof! When I queried with the man on the boat he was very quick to say I could get my money back if I did not want to do the trip! On the trip, he took us through a bridge where he scraped all the walls as we went through, with no warning! An accident waiting to happen! He clearly went through the wrong part of the bridge!

We were under the impression that this tour was not closed in. It was and so was everyone on the boat. Packed like sardines we had poor audio, very dirty windows and not much fun. Everyone around us, very disappointed and you couldn't even see the top of the beautiful buildings. I do not recommend this tour at all.

1 star given as I would of got off after 5 minutes if I could have done.
Loud 80's poor quality sound system blaring out, pizza cold and tasteless.
Shared table (luckily with two lovely young girls who equally were really disappointed)
Boat so steamed- up nothing could be seen, wiping windows didn't help, guides commentary was inaudible and what we did make out from the din was just lame.
Wine or beer was not flowing, we had 3 small glasses max of Luke warm white wine - just don't bother it's cheap for a reason.