Lake Geneva Santa Cruise — Attraction in Williams Bay

We took the Adult Cruise at 8:30pm but arrived at 6pm with dinner reservations at Pier 290 at 6:15. There was no parking available to us at the restaurant and the traffic attendant said the shuttle is slow so better to street park (4 blocks in the rain). $18 old fashions, and very expensive meal options. We settled on cheese curds (small crusty Culver’s style) and I had a bone dry crusty chicken pot pie. My guests had overpriced but tasty crab cakes. We were expecting a cruise around the lake and to see beautifully lit up mansions and homes. We saw light installations that were prefabricated and commercial. Very underwhelming, truly. The best lights and decoration were at the dock. Any oohs and aahs along the tour were nonexistent. We did have some good chuckles with the folks singing karaoke though. Perhaps this is best left to the kiddos who get the benefit of a narrated story and to see Santa too. As for the Adult only cruise… there a better ways to spend money, and better food and drinks at less expense for sure....

Staff had decorated not just our craft, the bejeweled Lady of the Lake, but also other boats in their fleet. All provided a festive pathway to boarding, plus dazzling reflections in the water. Great job! Many thanks for a wonderful Santa Cruise! Luv their fun narration of the on-shore animated lights coordinated with music on the boat. So exciting for each child on the cruise to see Santa from a distance as he read their names -- from the Nice List! Pure holiday hospitality. Kids that were fussy before boarding became enchanted during the cruise. Enjoyed seeing everyone truly of good cheer as they deboarded. And on top of that, it was part of a fundraiser for community non-profits. (We have some excellent photos we'd gladly share, but couldn't upload them for some reason.) Do the...

Music was TOO LOUD. We couldn’t hear ourselves talk. We couldn’t hear ourselves think. We walked out of the cruise so overwhelmed by the noise pollution on board from the incredibly loud music that our brains were completely discombobulated for a good two hours afterwards. We were under the impression that the boat would be a lot more decorated and that Santa would be on board. This was not the case. There were no Christmas themed desserts on board either, which would have been more in line with their ice cream social boat ride. The other annoying thing was to find out that we could have gotten free dessert at the Pier 290 restaurant after the fact. We had lunch at Pier 290 before boarding the cruise and were not given any free dessert. Useless perk if it is not made...