The Red Boats - Riverhead Cruiser
The Red Boats - Riverhead Cruiser
The Red Boats - Riverhead Cruiser
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About
Take a cruise on Auckland Harbour this Summer to the famous award winning Riverhead – Historic tavern. Experience the fantastic scenery and amazing history based around Auckland’s upper harbour estuary’s & the famous historic Riverhead, on board our Public Ferry cruising daily to the Riverhead. Our fantastic boat cruise departs Z pier Westhaven marina in Downtown Auckland, and stops by Birkenhead wharf before venturing into the beautiful sheltered, uncharted waterways of the upper Waitemata harbour, where we retrace the footsteps and history of early sailing ships and scows that once traded these waters. The ferry trip to The Riverhead – historic tavern takes 1.5 hours,and we spend 2.5 hours at The Riverhead for dining. We have a fully licensed bar on board and an informative commentary is given throughout the cruise.
Auckland Central, New Zealand
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The Red Boats - Riverhead Cruiser
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4.0
59 reviews
Excellent
24
Very good
20
Average
4
Poor
3
Terrible
8
Travel39873820977
2 contributions
Dec 2022
Enjoyed the cruise up the harbour, but did not enjoy hearing/seeing arrogant skipper verbally abusing an older couple who chose to wear masks. He even tried to leave them at Pier Z for suggesting that "he was unhealthy"!
Written 30 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Seaside640573
Auckland, New Zealand1 contribution
Feb 2022
Twice now we have had terrible experiences on the Red Boat Fishing Charter. Both times the boats have been dirty with dried up bait and fish guts and the fishing rods in poor condition.
On Saturday February 8th 2022, we arrived at Westhaven Marina, Skipper Sam berated us for arriving late (we weren’t) and for interrupting his health & safety talk; part of which was to tell us not to use the toilet whilst we were anchored, as the day before someone had done just that and a big “floaty” went past whilst everyone was fishing!!!!. As there were youngsters on board he asked everyone to keep bad language to themselves; a joke as the expletives that came out of his mouth whilst he was on his phone (which he was for the most part of the trip) were extremely rude.
We set off on our charter, then approx. 40 minutes later Sam slowed the boat down, which we all took as a sign that we were stopping, NO, Sam had spotted birds working, he cast out his line and caught a Kawhi. With no word to anyone he came down to where us mortals were sitting, put the Kawhi in the bucket and resumed his post behind the wheel. I have so many negative things to say about Red Boats, I will run out of space. All up six hours travel, 2 hours fishing. Skipper spent most of his time on his phone. I lost my hook, he started to replace it but noticed some movement on his fishing rod which he went to check, then back to me to slowly replace the hook. I wouldn’t go back on Red Boats fishing charter if I was paid!!!!
On Saturday February 8th 2022, we arrived at Westhaven Marina, Skipper Sam berated us for arriving late (we weren’t) and for interrupting his health & safety talk; part of which was to tell us not to use the toilet whilst we were anchored, as the day before someone had done just that and a big “floaty” went past whilst everyone was fishing!!!!. As there were youngsters on board he asked everyone to keep bad language to themselves; a joke as the expletives that came out of his mouth whilst he was on his phone (which he was for the most part of the trip) were extremely rude.
We set off on our charter, then approx. 40 minutes later Sam slowed the boat down, which we all took as a sign that we were stopping, NO, Sam had spotted birds working, he cast out his line and caught a Kawhi. With no word to anyone he came down to where us mortals were sitting, put the Kawhi in the bucket and resumed his post behind the wheel. I have so many negative things to say about Red Boats, I will run out of space. All up six hours travel, 2 hours fishing. Skipper spent most of his time on his phone. I lost my hook, he started to replace it but noticed some movement on his fishing rod which he went to check, then back to me to slowly replace the hook. I wouldn’t go back on Red Boats fishing charter if I was paid!!!!
Written 30 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Larissa K
Auckland, New Zealand69 contributions
Jan 2022 • Family
Great trip! We visited Moutuihe from Pier Z Westhaven to the island. Great service. Cannot complain. Recommended. We did the camping service, so had a different departure and return date and there were no issues. Would do this again.
Written 31 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Terry T
Auckland, New Zealand209 contributions
Jan 2021
Go with the tide and spend 90 minutes on the water before arriving at Riverhead for lunch, 2 and a half hours later the return trip gets you back to Westhaven 5 1/2 hours after you left. Cost for seniors a very reasonable $30. Adults $38 kids $28.
Views of properties you don’t see from the road along with a clear concise commentary add to the enjoyment. Choice of cabin or fresh air atop makes this trip a real pleasure. The meal menu on offer at the Riverhead tavern is a mite expensive but all in all adds to the flavour of the day. The
Views of properties you don’t see from the road along with a clear concise commentary add to the enjoyment. Choice of cabin or fresh air atop makes this trip a real pleasure. The meal menu on offer at the Riverhead tavern is a mite expensive but all in all adds to the flavour of the day. The
Written 22 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shane & Toni NZ
Auckland, New Zealand7 contributions
Jan 2020
As locals, we have only just discovered the Riverhead Red Boat experience, which we believe is a must for locals and visitors alike. We have since taken a number of overseas visitors and family, all of whom have remembered it as the highlight of their trip. As a family owned business, this represents the best of NZ/Kiwi hospitality, the scenery, the amazing historical commentary, and the service from the Skipper and all the crew made us proud to be Kiwi.
Well done and thank you guys, a trip to the Riverhead is now a "must do" for us and we would highly recommend it to everyone.
Cheers,
Shane and Toni. Auckland.
Well done and thank you guys, a trip to the Riverhead is now a "must do" for us and we would highly recommend it to everyone.
Cheers,
Shane and Toni. Auckland.
Written 12 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Trev
1 contribution
Jan 2020 • Business
The red boats charters in West Haven Auckland was the greatest experience I've had using this type of service. Their skipper Mike was friendly,experienced and knowledgeable. He offered loads of tips to ensure success on the water to all the passengers. It was great value for money. Would highly recommend and will always use this fishing charter service. Thanks Red Boats for the great experiences.
Written 24 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ross Sale
Auckland Central, New Zealand13 contributions
Feb 2019
We had a great day, weather needs to be good but we were lucky as the Auckland weather can be dodgy . The crew were great as was the scenery. Fully recommended.
Written 8 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fabus1021
Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa3 contributions
Jun 2019 • Friends
We took the 4 hour journey to Riverhead and back. The service on board was only surpassed by the customer service beforehand. Excellent experience all around.
Written 2 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
janitaS
Auckland, New Zealand67 contributions
Jun 2019 • Couples
Departing from Pier Z downtown Auckland City we enjoyed a 1.5hr cruise up the inner harbour to The Riverhead where we enjoyed an excellent lunch. The Skipper was very interesting and informative with the history of the area on the way. Coming back into the Auckland Pier we were lucky enough to see a large Leopard Seal sunning itself on a pontoon. The Skipper slowed right down and turned slightly so we all got a good view of it. A lovely relaxing day all round. Parking at Pier Z is available for about $20 for the day.
Written 10 June 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael 8888
Auckland, New Zealand14 contributions
May 2019 • Friends
Myself and about 15 others took this trip on a Saturday, the overall experience was good however it was let down by the skipper/ tour guide who was running the trip. He came across as a very grumpy old man who was not nice to anyone and seemed to have an massive issue with people talking. Throughout the trip he would talk through his microphone and explain points of interest etc, however whenever he did this he demanded everyone be quiet and listen. He kept telling us to be quiet in a very unpleasant and rude way, when we were not even talking that loud. We tried to talk as quiet as we could but this was still not good enough for him and he would regulatory turn around and snap at us. I think he needs to understand that not everyone is interested in hearing about his points of interest on the trip and that there is nothing wrong with people talking between themselves, i really think he should not be in the hospitality industry with his attitude, he might be better suited to working in a concentration camp. Dispite us not having a great experience from the skipper the other staff member (the deckhand) that was working the bar and managing the rest of the tour was lovely, she was very friendly and accommodating to everyone. I feel like she should have been running the whole tour herself, she would have given everyone a much more friendly experience.
Written 26 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
