Gondola Cruises of Newport Beach

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patriotfan

Joined 6 years ago

Excellent opportunity to Celebrate in class!. I booked a surprise dinner cruise for my wife's 50th birthday on Joe Monday's Crystal Swan Gondola! You need to request the Crystal Swan by name - it was fabulous. We met Joe at the location, he was dressed in a nifty Gondolieri outfit and was full on imagine, stories and knowledge of Newport Harbor. We took the two hour sunset dinner ride and we were impressed. I wondered how the food would be on a Gondola? The food was excellent - it was all covered up and there when we arrived. We had salad, salmon, rice and cheesecake for dessert. I upgraded the champagne and it was also wonderful. My wife was in tears, she said it was the best birthday surpirse she ever had. Much of that is due to the effort Joe Monday puts into the ambience and setting the scene. Joe is really into his gondola and the whole gondoliering scene. He built the gondola himself, his wife made a beautiful stained glass background and he etched the windows. The Crystal swan is magnificent. It has a windscreen to protect in the event there is wind and Joe brings blankets for the lap and shoulders if needed. Pillows to lean against. All in all well thought out. Then there is the message in the bottle. My wife wa quite surprised at running into a bottle in the water and thought we had been lucky - Joe spins a tale about bottels falling off of wedding boats in the harbor - and - ramined that way until she realized I wrote the note!

What a wonderful experience, we had a great time and will do it again in the future. I hired United Limousine Service to bring us there and pick us up when it was over.

I highly recommned that if you want to try a Gondola that you call and ask for the Crystal Swan. It is the best!!

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naplesrene

Joined 6 years ago

HOLY MOLY !!!. I was SHOCKED to see the "1 Star" review by Stella on 8/22/07. We took this cruise & had such a WONDERFUL time. In fact, I logged on to CitySearch to find the phone number so I could make a reservation to go again! I was relived to find out her post was an error?the bad experience she had was with GONDOLA ADVERTURES?not GONDOLA CRUISES. Whew?I have already recommended this romantic cruise to several of my friends! Good to know that all gondola cruises are not the same.

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ron2007

Joined 6 years ago

Investigate, call various Gondola companies. With most things in life "you need to ask questions". After look through pictures of gondola cruises and talking with various people it soon became obvious that the Crystal Swan with Joe (the gondolier) was the premier ride on the bay. My wife and I booked a "Champaign and Chocolate" gondola cruise with Joe. We loved it and we will take Joe's gondola ride again.

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cr92603

Joined 6 years ago

Wonderful Gondola cruising.. Excellent experience. The solarium Gondola was comfortable, clean, and ready to go when we arrived. It was the most beautiful gondola on the water. We saw many other gondolas that evening, but none were as elegant as the Crystal Swan. Guiseppe, our gondolier, made the evening with his grace and charm. I would highly recommend gondoliering with Gondola Cruises of Newport Beach. My family and I had a great time. We also noted that you can have dinner on-board though we choose the champagne cruise.

We look forward to taking another cruise with Guiseppe on the Crystal Swan.

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sweetpzz

Joined 7 years ago

Review posted 08'22/2008 by stellagomes87 is in ERROR Her experience was with Gondola adventures. Located NEXT to Gondola Cruises . People do not realize ,GONDOLA CRUISES is a separate operation .. Great evening for my aniversary.

The solarium offered warmth and protection from the elements.

The courtship games and gondolier 's singing were enchanting.

The photograhs taken of my husband and I (He as gondolier) are great souvenirs.

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Nancy Hunter

Joined 9 years ago

For a unique experience, tour the Newport waterways on a private, romantic gondola cruise.. In Short
Parties of two to six can charter a 32-foot gondola for a romantic cruise of the Newport waterways. Different cruise packages are available, including such luxury options as French coffee, Grand Marnier, champagne and Godiva chocolates. Lunch and dinner cruises offer simple menus of salads, sandwiches and salmon or chicken entrees. Helmed by an appropriately dressed gondolier, guests enjoy a unique Venetian experience.