Merinda River Cruises

This was a great experience and a lovely way to spend a lunchtime. The crew were very professional, especially given the sea was a little rough at the pier, and it was entertaining watching them load up the lunch in that swell. As soon as we left the bay and headed upriver it was a very calm and peaceful ride. The captain gave commentary about various locations and events along the way. This was interesting, but you could ignore it and just enjoy the scenery if you choose, so it wasn't intrusive. The fish, chips and salad were fresh and tasty and there's a reasonable selection of soft and hard drinks to purchase onboard. The addition of coke no sugar would be appreciated however, since their only offerings for sugar free beverages was ginger beer no sugar or water. We followed the Clyde River for over an hour, pausing for 30 minutes at Nelligen, where there is a well-kept park with play equipment and a local store selling hot and cold food including icecream. The trip back was predictable but without any commentary, so I found it enjoyable to head up to the rooftop seating area and watch the very large jellyfish float by. Arriving back at the bay we disembarked one at a time due to the rough waves which had increased a little in severity, but the crew got everyone off safely including those older folks with walkers. All in all it was a good trip for my family.

What an awesome lunch/afternoons cruise experience up the beautiful Clyde River.We were on board the Escapade expertly Captained by Billie-jean and skipper Max. Great commentary and local knowledge shared.Fish,chips n salad for lunch freshly cooked was delicious. Well done Team, you are a credit to the region and local tourism.

Although a fairly small boat, the cruise was a great experience. Weather was perfect, fortunately.The captain & his young helper were friendly & willing to help you on and off the boat.Fish and chips & a small salad was just enough for lunch. There was tea & coffee available with a biscuit after lunch.Bar facilities were also available on board.Our stop in Nelligan was perfect. Just enough time to look around at a few historical sites & then enjoy a yummy ice cream from the little shop, before getting back on board for the return trip to Batemans Bay.Would highly recommend this trip. Very relaxing & good commentary from the captain on the way up the river.

Great experience wonderful helpful and friendly staffFish and chips were fabulous ?salad ???Explanation of what was happening on the river as we travelled was appreciated and informativeMy Grandkids loved trying to count all the jellyfishDipping toes in the river at Nelligan was a quick treat on a hot day before boarding for the trip backAll in all a great day out

Excellent commentary on the local area and fish and chip lunch very good. Certainly worth a visit when in Batemans Bay

Do not miss this if you are in Bateman bay. We celebrated son's 6th birthday in the cruise and it was one of the best birthday we had. Crew was amazing, captain event let kids drive the boat. Can't recommend this enough.

The cruise was wonderful, staff were very helpful and knowledgeable about the local area and it's history, very informative and fun. Would recommend a river lunch cruise, even if you don't eat fish you can byo

This is a nice cruise. Well run and very relaxing. Very nice lunch too. Lovely fish and chips with really tasty flathead fillets. The price is reasonable and the experience good. Recommended.

Cruise was 3 hour long with nothing exciting to see. Captain had very good humor and his talk was quite enjoyable.Fish and chips for lunch was very good and free tea/coffee with biscuits was also provided. Cost was bit expensive $50 per adult and $25 for kids as we had to seat Upstairs.Seating in downstairs is best. In upstairs seating arrangement is very poor and we had to use very steep stairs to get lunch and tea from downstairs.It would been great if Cruise was shorter with opportunity to view dolphins. Cost for Upstairs seating should be less than downstairs.