You won't be disappointed - Definitely worth doing. We did the evening cruise that included dinner at Walter Peak Station. We absolutely loved it experience the vessel itself is well maintained, there were blankets available and the staff were excellent. The buffet dinner was exceptional!! Exceeded any expectations we had. Would absolutely recommend.

Amazing - Awesome unique experience. It’s a very special type of a boat. Great views. Café food and coffee was great too.

Evey - Incredible. So friendly. Amazing trip

Must do experience in Queenstown - Beautiful views and very interesting ship features

One of the finest trips to do in Queenstown - Fabulous experience. We went with a tour and thoroughly enjoyed an amazing buffet at our destination when we disembarked the TSS Earnshaw. After our sail cand meal we were treated to sheep dogs herding sheep and a display of sheep being sheared in record time. An absolutely wonderful trip on a beautiful lake on an ancient steam boat surrounded by some of the best scenery in the world.

Tranquil and spectacular! - Old world charm and the glory of Central Otago combine! Lovely staff, fascinating engine room and an authentic mulled wine.

Back to the age of coal - First rate experience on this wonderful 1912 built ship. Although its not well signposted you can get quite deep into the engine room and see how a real caol-fired ship actually works

Great way to spend a Day! - Spent 4+ weeks in NZ and this tour rises to the top of my favorites. Departing from wonderful downtown Queenstown on the historic TSS Earnslaw, and then taking in the spectacular mountain and lake views wrapped around a BBQ and farm visit is just a soul filling way to spend a day. If you are lucky enough to get some sunshine on the day you go, even better! Let’s start with the ship. It’s beautifully maintained in its largely original 1912 configuration; highlighted by the original twin steam 220 HP engines powering the vessel (Fun fact: TSS stands for “Twin Screw Steamer”). Don’t miss the opportunity to enter the walkway midship that provides views below into the engine room where engineers are actually manning the coal fires and the steam engines. The views of them loading the coal, stoking the four fire chambers and then those massive pistons turning all while steam is being emitted, in some cases even mildly up to the main passenger deck, is truly awesome. And, also fun to even watch them back up the dump truck to the ship on the first trip of the day and dump and load the coal onto the vessel. From where do you even procure that amount of coal these days? There is also a great small room in the bow of the ship that has a lot of historical pictures and memorabilia if you want to really nerd out. But, even if you are not that into the engineering wonder, just the nostalgic feeling of being on the ship, and seeing things like the original anchor, the original crane and wench on the bow where they used to load cargo, even heavy farm equipment in the day, is an impressive and fun site and experience. You’ll love the feel of being taken back to a time long ago. The ride across the lake is also gorgeous. Sweeping views of the surrounding mountain ranges while cruising on the lake is both relaxing and exhilarating at the same time. The farm experience is also well worth while. It’s a bit of a cattle call through the BBQ as you might imagine with them trying to feed such a large number of people in a short time. The only unfortunate part of my experience was at the lunch. They seat everybody, take drink orders and tell you they will then come back with your invitation to the buffet. Well, I sat there with another women, also at a table for one, and watched the manager come by and invite all the tables around us but not us. Only to sit there another 30 minutes watching everybody else eat while the buffet was getting cold; and, only after getting up then to ask the manager why we hadn’t yet been invited, was told it was an oversight and we should go ahead and eat. NGL, was a buzz kill. And, only after I asked, did they then agree to comp my drinks as a concession. I shouldn’t have had to ask for that. Still, though a bit cold and picked over, I can say the selection and quality of the buffet was very nice, only wish I could have enjoyed it while it was hot and fresh. The farm show afterwards turned things back to enjoyable again! Just a lot of good fun, humor and entertainment watching a sheep get sheared, and seeing the dogs work with the sheep. Don’t miss it! And, was happy to get back on the ship again and enjoy the nice cruise back to Queenstown. Overall, a well organized and executed experience, barring the one unfortunate event with the buffet which I am chalking up to a likely rare exception.

TSS Earnslaw Steamship Lake Cruise - Boarding the steamship was a good experience especially for first-timers like us. It was nice to see the lake and mountain views from the boat. I feel that the ticket fees could have been made cheaper considering that there isn't a lot of activities that can be done while aboard the ship aside from sitting most of the time and a little bit of walking around to take photos of the surroundings. The staircase to go down one level was very narrow and slippery. There are a lot of damp and dirty blankets near the benches where we're sitting and the smell can be a turn-off to the passengers.

Well worth a look - Great way to see another side of the lake. Would have liked a bit of commentary on the history and information on what we were seeing. The music was nice but could have been a bit less.