Allen Gardiner in Ipswich

This is an absolute must if you’re in the Ipswich area! Huge shout out to the team on Allen Gardiner who were extremely friendly and the service was impeccable. The live commentary from the Captain was humorous and engaging. Not avid sea goers we were extremely comfortable on board. The facilities were spotless including toilets and drinks were served throughout the 3 hour cruise. This is one that we will certainly recommend to friends and family. A beautiful little treat for our 43rd Wedding Anniversary. 👌🏼☀️☀️😎

Excellent day on the cruise. The staff were friendly and efficient. Lovely facilities including immaculate toilets. Nice lunch in the cozy dining room. Would recommend for a family trip. Despite the grey skies we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Huge thank you to all the staff.

Had a fantastic time and meal. Staff are very attentive and friendly and make you feel very welcome. Views from this cruise are breathtaking.

Lovely breakfast experience 2 hours on the River Orwell

A very enjoyable trip.Crew very helpful/friendly.Only downside was the lunch which was very disappointing and expensive for what we had.A starter and 1fish skewer with veggies was £30.00 just one example.We were a party of seven celebrating a a special birthday 2/9/2022 which would have been perfect except for lunch.

Highly recommend , as a family this was the best celebration teenagers,children and adults all enjoyed this trip.very friendly relaxed atmosphere ,excellent food nothing to much trouble .Thank you to the hard working crew. Would definitely book again .

Great experience visiting for a lunch trip. Great amusing commentary during the trip. Bell rang for lunch and was not disappointed. Tasty food either two or three courses that you pre ordered before the trip. Plenty of seating and undercover if inclement weather to keep warm. Prompt start and finish, safety instructions and smooth sailing. The boat accommodates up to 12 people at any one trip. Ours was a anniversary occasion and was very chilled and relaxed. Loved every minute of it. Although captains first mate, Mishka stole our hearts with her little bed up front - living her best life 🐶🐾💤 would definitely recommend and would definitely be back again. Thanks for all your hard work 💟

We had a really nice evening crew all very pleasant , Couldn’t fault the food , Good value for money

Might be very nice but they cancelled the cruise the night before due to an oil leak.

My wife and I took this cruise with friends on a Saturday evening. Lovely little boat, it only takes a maximum of 12 people, and very friendly crew of three. We could sit outside at the front or the rear but dining was inside on two tables of six. The food was excellent and the wine was very good quality. The cruise set off from Fox's Marina at 7.30pm on the river Orwell at a leisurely pace and got back about 10 pm. The views were great and we were treated to a spectacular sun set. We had a great evening and I would be happy to do it again. If you fancy something different when visiting Ipswich then this is for you.

Most enjoyable boat trip, food was excellent and staff very attentive. Highly recommend if you want an evening meal that’s different from the normal restaurant.

Lovely brunch boat trip, we were very well looked after!

A trip on the AG is a must. Food is exceptional and the captain's running comentary informative and funny. Even if the weather is not so good, the dining room has all round visibility.

Lovely boat ride on the Orwell with good explanations and a great lunch made better because they adapted the food to fit our vegan, no oil way of eating.

Pleasant cruise down the river. Skipper gives humorous running commentary and the food on board is lovely.

Lovely boat, food, staff, scenery and great value for money, we will be back. I have just one tiny criticism and that is having local radio playing. I was able to turn it off in the dining room but not in other areas. It didn't spoil the trip but it would have been even better than perfect with it off. Highly recommended.

Great value for money. We've been on 2 sunset cruises and one brunch. If it's cold there is a log burning stove in the dining room which makes it very cosy. Only seats 12 so very easy to meet ther people too. The captain has a good sense of humour and shares many of his jokes.

Perfect way to spend a Sunday morning. Nice Cruise on the Orwell, friendly crew, great brunch

A superb evening with great people that we have never met before but totally jelled and really helped us celebrate our 32 year wedding anniversary. " Must do it again " cheers. The food was really good and the wine superb

Thanks again for your services 3rd time on the boat, great service fantastic food, and the staff are very friendly well recommended to all who visits.

What a brilliant evening celebrating our sister's birthday. The food was superb, wonderful scenery and a brilliant experience! Would highly recommend it. Thank you.

Wonderful cruise, excellent captain and crew, excellent three course meal,so enjoyable.

I really didn't know what to expect from this cruise along the Orwell in March. But the skipper provided just enough history of the river and places we passed without becoming boring. The lunchtime a la carte menu was surprisingly varied and quality of food very good. I would recommend this meal & sail cruise

Fabulous evening cruise and first class food. Great menu . Saw sun set and moon rise . Could not have been better

Fabulous and faultless trip. Highly recommend

We booked the Allen Gardiner for an evening dinner cruise to celebrate my 50th birthday, a Saturday in July. You can book for up to 12 guests, if you dont book all 12 places then other people may book the spare seats. We booked all 12 at the cost of £20 a head and then you pay for your meal and drinks as extra. We all had 3 courses, 2 bottles of prosseco a bottle of house red and various soft drinks, beer and coffee. The bill worked out at £45 a head plus the £20 booking for the boat trip. This is not fine dining, however the food was very good and plentiful and everyone was happy with their meal. The boat is comfortable, the crew friendly and the captain informative as he points out landmarks and talks you through the history of the area of river you are cruising along. It was a beautiful summer evening, we were served drinks on the deck and watched the sun go down. We took our own music and balloons to decorate the cabin where we ate. It really was a fab night and i would recommend it to anyone. You can also book for breakfast and lunch.

A group of us hired this boat (supper cruise) for a private hen party - we all thoroughly enjoyed it - the skipper was great, really comical, friendly and accommodating! As were all the staff - everyone was so welcoming and lovely, great service! We were even allowed to play our own music - the skipper played DJ :) and when one of the party opened a bottle of Champers (not purchased on the boat) the staff were only too happy to supply glasses. Very kind of them, they certainly didn't have too!The food was ok, not the best but certainly not the worst, the portions were huge - did somebody say on here that they were small portions? Certainly not. The food was nice - just a bit different. Overall we had a great time, some of us have re-booked for other occasions. Recommended for sure!Enjoy!!!!

We spent a pleasant evening on the boat. We were really lucky the weather was good.

The staff were very friendly and amusing, the trip was too short due to two more trips to fit in during daylight hours (our trip only went from the marina to Pin Mill), I would suggest they should stick to two cruises and charge more, the breakfast I can only say was OK, very dry apart from the scrambled eggs which can only be cooked at the last minute!!, we were very lucky with the weather and company.

We booked a branch, Captain and the crew treated us very well, breakfast was ok,stunning views, very relaxing, would like to do the dusk trip too.

This is by far one of the best evenings I've had whilst living in Ipswich. The cruise was fantastic & took some stunning photos. The food was lush. Couldn't ask for a better evening & have got some brilliant memories!

My company hired this boat to take some staff for a Sunday treat down the Orwell. The crew were very polite and efficient. The meal we had was very nice and lots of it. I didn't expect gourmet cuisine and to be fair it wasn't, they have a small kitchen. However it was better than I expected and certainly value for money. The actual cruise lasted from 11:30 to about 13:30 which was ample time to see the sights of the Orwell. I would happily go again or recommend others do. It was a very nice day out.

Lovely trip down the river with very friendly and welcoming approach from Captain and Crew. Great menu (range of prices); fabbie food; and outstanding service. A real fun 3 or 4 hours floating down the River Orwell.

we hired the whole boat for a brunch cruise with 6 of our friends who were visiting - we had a great time - really good brunch - followed buy apple pie muffins and tea on the deck - nice cruise with humerus commentary and quite interesting views as well - nice boat the brunch trip is only 2 hours but never the less we all had a great time - we were not rushed eating and had time to sit on deck and see the views we will probably do a lunch cruise next which is 4 hoursThanks to the crew and the skipper for making our event

This was a birthday and wedding celebration for us (6) we shared the boat with 5 other people and the boat takes a maximum of 12 so we had plenty of room to sit on deck and round the very large table to eat. The captain and staff were very helpful and friendly and always asking if everything was OK. The food was brilliant and served hot and fresh. The captain told a few 'salty tails' whilst we got under way from the birth just by the lock from the wet dock to the river Orwell. We went in late August so the evening was dark early but this didn’t detract from the journey. We all had a lovely time and none of us would hesitate in booking the trip again.

Be aware that your trip can be cancelled at less than 24 hours notice if the boat is not full. We were cancelled due to engine failure and again due to lack of numbers. We had booked and paid in full for this birthday treat and were very disappointed the first time and angry the second time.

It all started well , arrived on board and greeted by the "Captain" then the waiter greeted us with menus and wine list. All ok , we ordered our food and drink and settled down ready for cast off. Captain explained where and when so off we went, lunch arrived and was served in the dining area by our waiter all excellent, food was delicious and quantity good. Boats engine began to sound laboured then came the announcement that we must turn back , engine fault. Back we sailed with a very small apology , we circled several times so that we would arrive back at stated time. The waiter was sent down to us with a are well never mind it happens you have had your three hours sail. Very poor customer service the captain was leaning over the deck rails smoking and didn't even say good bye or sorry, nothing in fact. Could not recommend !!

Nice boat, nice views. Overbearing staff & food that was clearly frozen as they were desperate for our orders as soon as we stepped foot on the boat. Very overpriced for what was served. Overall an average experience but would not pay for it again!

We hired this boat for a birthday celebration, and we were attracted by the ability to have a private party in an unusual location. I'm pleased to say that we weren't disappointed. From the moment we went on board, the atmosphere was amazing. Helpful staff explained all the features of the boat and served us with champagne on the front deck. After passing through the dock gate we were given an informative commentary from the captain about the River Orwell and it's surroundings. When night fell we moved indoors to a fantastic meal. The food was excellent and the dining experience was one of a private dining room. The staff, whilst attentive, were mindful of our private celebration and allowed us to enjoy the dinner and surroundings in complete privacy. I cannot recommend this highly enough. I'm sure we will be back! Well done to all at The Allen Gardiner cruise boat for a super experience.

The Allen Gardiner is a 63 feet long ex-South African air/sea rescue launch berthed in Ipswich Haven Marina right near the Prince Phillip lock with access to easy free parking (pass provided by Allen Gardiner). Plenty of covered and open air deck space and a dining saloon. Very clean everywhere.Boarding is half an hour before due sailing time for the three and a half hour cruise and we were greeted by the very friendly crew. Food orders are taken on board prior to departure from the excellent varied and very reasonably priced menu. A fully-stocked bar and wine list is available on board. About an hour into the cruise a bell is rung to indicate that dinner is ready to be served.Fresh bread and delicious food were brought to the table and after wine and drinks had been served we were left to ourselves to choose from the abundance of fresh vegetables. Three different groups of 4 made up the 12-maximum seated passengers and we were soon all chatting amongst ourselves and with each other as we ate. Cruising under the elegant Orwell Bridge and passing Pin Mill and Levington Marina, our cruise was, sadly, shorter than normal. We didn't get to see Felixstowe and Harwich harbours but we still were able to watch the tree-lined River Orwell slip by, with it's fascinating waterborne traffic and wildlife.Other cruise are available and their other boat, The Lady Florence, also cruises out of Orford - we look forward to taking a trip on her in the future.