The Dolly Steamboat — Local services in Apache Junction

I have to give the whole experience a big 5 stars. I would give more if I could. My Dad lives in Phoenix and my sister, her two kiddos, my daughter and I came from Texas to visit him there. I found this online and thought it would be fun for the whole family. Well I booked us a tour for what I thought would be Tuesday Morning.

Let me tell you we arrived to Phoenix early in the morning hours on Sunday. As we were driving I was looking at the tours. I saw the tours were filling up fast for the week and I didn't want us to miss out as it was Spring Break. In my haste of wanting to book I didn't realize I booked us for that Monday because we wanted to go on Tuesday. I didn't check my email until Tuesday morning I believe and realized we actually missed our tour. 😔

I called and I emailed hoping something could be done. Especially since online it said no refunds. Let me tell you the owner of the company and the manager responded to email and said they could get me on a tour the next morning I just had to hurry and let them know so they would make sure to have room for us. I called and said yes please.

Guys again in my haste to make sure we got on the boat I didn't check with my Dad or Sister. Well my Dad said that wouldn't work for him because he had to work that morning. I had to call again and say I messed up AGAIN. Now my Dad can't go for the morning. I asked if they could let us do a Thursday or Friday tour instead. At first they weren't sure but they made it happen. They got us on that boat!

Let me tell you not only were they amazing for helping me, but the tour itself was grand. We got to see an eagle and mountain goats. The views are stunning and it brought me such peace. Everyone loved it from my 2yr old nephew to my 65 yr old Dad. The Captain was friendly and the ladies working the snack bar were great as well. I cannot say enough positive things about it. I was in near tears because of my stupid booking mistake but they blessed my little Texas heart and now we have a wonderful family experience that will stay in our hearts forever!

Thank you Dolly Steamboat. Y'all...

We were in Phoenix for a cheer competition and wanted to do something Saturday afternoon outside of downtown. We found this steamboat dinner cruise and it looked interesting. Canyon Lake is located approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes outside of downtown Phoenix. The last part of the road into the lake is very curvy, so if you have motion sickness, take something in the morning and then again an an hour before you head out.

The drive to the steamboat on the freeway was easy to navigate as they had everything easily marked and plenty of signs to lead the way. I was also surprised at how clean the freeway is kept.

The service on the boat was excellent as was the dinner that they served. We had chicken and prime Rib with vegetables, potatoes and salad. Afterwards they brought out dessert of chocolate cream pie. It was really good food and service. The captain came out to meet everyone and they had someone narrating and pointing out all of the interesting sights. We got to see a group of Big Horn sheep and 2 Bald eagles. Beautiful!! Canyon Lake is beautiful! A MUST SEE!

I had never been to Phoenix and I have to say that the city gets it right. It's a walking friendly downtown, it's CLEAN and doesn't smell, unlike many of the other big downtown cities (like San Francisco or New York). The downtown area of Phoenix has a big representation of the arts too. The theater had some really great plays like "Cats" and "Evita" and the symphony is close to the theater. Their professional baseball, football, basketball and hockey team stadiums are all easy walking distance from each other and from the convention center. Visit Phoenix and it's surrounding areas. You will not be...

Less than stellar experience. Website reservations, on site check-in and boarding was a painless experience. Drinks & snacks on board were expensive compared to buying things at a gas station or store beforehand, but not out of line with prices expected within any kind of event like this. Of course, they don't allow you to bring things with you either, which is a bit tough for myself with diet restrictions. But again, not unexpected either.

The actual run on the lake however....they ran the boat very close to the edge of the water, with the right/starboard side of the boat facing the very tall cliffs, so if you're inside the boat at all, your view is VERY limited. We sat on the left/port side of the upper deck, inside as my elderly parents were concerned about being outside in the sun and heat. The captain continually called out sites on the right/starboard side, at the top of the cliffs, 100ft up in the air.

On the port side, our view out the window was only about the bottom 15-20 feet of the cliff sides. When the boat circled around to the other side of the lake, we had a better view of the other side of the lake, but the captain wasn't calling out those sites again, so we weren't sure what we were looking at.

But also, now everything is so far away, the captain is telling us we may be able to see things with binoculars....which of course we didn't know to bring. There was also nothing on the web site saying that the view may be severely limited inside the boat.

Honestly, we could have had the same experience for free by just parking the car by the lake, and walking down to the lake. I'm REALLY glad I didn't pay considerably more for the...