London Murder Mystery Dinner Cruise

Extremely disappointing and a waste of money

Very disappointing experience — unfortunately not worth the money I don’t generally leave bad reviews because I appreciate that every business can have an off night. However, after attending this murder mystery experience last night, I felt compelled to leave an honest review, particularly after reading other reviews afterwards and seeing that many of the issues we experienced appear to be recurring. There were some positives. On arrival, the waiting staff were friendly and polite, which was a nice start to the evening. We were also fortunate enough to have a window seat, which had slightly better lighting than the middle of the boat. The central area was extremely well lit, which felt somewhat too bright for a night-time dinner experience. Unfortunately, that was about where the positives ended. The chairs were old, loose and extremely uncomfortable. The first portion of food we received was also very disappointing. The starter portion was tiny, and the salmon had been sliced so finely that it was almost transparent. The murder mystery itself started off extremely cheesy. I was completely open-minded to this because I understand that these experiences can have a certain theatrical or "AmDram" style, and I was prepared to enjoy it for what it was. However, it quickly became apparent that the production had some serious problems. The main actor was very theatrical and cheesy, which in itself isn't necessarily a problem, but it made the experience feel more like a jolly than a properly executed murder mystery. The second lead also struggled considerably with the microphone, and her voice was nowhere near as clear or audible as the gentleman leading the event. The other members of the team were introduced, but it soon became apparent that they were guests participating in the experience rather than professional actors. Credit to them for getting involved, particularly as their nerves were clearly showing, but they struggled to deliver their lines with enough volume or clarity. They often rushed through their dialogue, and we found ourselves only really able to hear the lead actor when he had the microphone. There was only one microphone being passed between people, which made the dialogue incredibly difficult to follow. Characters would start speaking before the microphone had reached them, the microphone would be handed to the wrong person, and there were frequent delays. This made the storyline feel very stop-start and disjointed. Everything was scripted, which is understandable for guests participating in an experience, but the paid actors should surely be able to deliver their own dialogue without relying so heavily on scripts. At one point, the female actor spent around 20 seconds rearranging a dog-eared script to find the correct pages, which had apparently become jumbled. It completely interrupted the flow of the story. The biggest issue, however, was simply being able to hear and understand what was happening. During the first segment, we probably heard around 20% of the actual murder mystery. We genuinely felt that we had already missed so much information that there was little point trying to participate. And this wasn't just our table. At least half of the audience appeared to be actively trying to get the waiting staff to increase the volume of the speakers because they couldn't understand what was happening. We also noticed several surrounding tables expressing essentially the same concerns and discussing how disappointing the experience was. The clues were another missed opportunity. At one point, an A4 photocopy was provided as a clue which could only really be viewed by people sitting directly adjacent to the table where it was placed. Everyone was then invited to come to the front to inspect another clue, which was again essentially an A4 photocopy. Considering guests were paying somewhere in the region of £50–£75 per person, with what appeared to be around 100 people on the boat, it would have been extremely easy to provide each table with a simple manila envelope containing copies of the clues, photographs, puzzles and relevant information, along with some paper and a pen for taking notes. That would have made the experience far more interactive and would also have meant everyone could actually participate rather than trying to hear and see everything from a distance. The whole experience ultimately felt very unorganised and lacked the level of quality and preparation I would expect given the price. There was clearly the potential for this to be a genuinely enjoyable evening, but the execution let it down badly. The biggest issue for us was that we actually asked to leave while the boat was moored up during the main course. We didn't even stay to eat the meal on the boat. My mum was visiting London for her birthday and had travelled for around two hours to attend. Having spent a significant amount of money on the experience, we ultimately ended up leaving around an hour after boarding because we simply couldn't justify spending another two hours sitting through it. We were not the only people who disembarked while the boat was docked either. From the conversations we had heard around us, I genuinely believe more people would have left had they realised this was an option. For an experience where people are spending a significant amount of money, often for birthdays, dates or family occasions, the time element matters just as much as the financial cost. Unfortunately, this ended up being a very expensive way to spend an hour. I would strongly recommend that the organisers take the feedback from this experience seriously. The concept itself could be excellent, but the execution needs significant improvement: better sound coverage, proper microphones for the actors, professional actors delivering the scripted roles, better lighting, comfortable seating, properly presented clues and a much more structured and rehearsed production. I genuinely hope this feedback is taken constructively. I rarely leave negative reviews, but after subsequently reading other reviews and seeing similar complaints, it appears that many of these problems may not simply have been an isolated bad night. Ironically, the highlight of the entire experience was getting off the boat within an hour of boarding.

via Tripadvisor

Terrible

Paid £170 for two people there was no option to change any of the food so I didn’t eat .The entertainment was so bad we had no idea what was going on the actors walk around with a script in hand so didn’t even take the time to learn it and for that money you think they would of we actually asked to leave and got off the boat with another group somewhere in south London when the boat stopped to receive the main if you’re thinking about doing this save your money only up side was the picture opportunities from the river at night

via Tripadvisor

Disappointing experience overall

Overall - not worth the money. Disappointed ++++. We would say booking a musical would be a better use of £££ and more fun too!!! Cheesy, which was fine, but the two actors read from a script ~ thought it would be more interactive / solving clues vs being more like a short play. Food was mediocre at best - starter was smoked salmon - tiny ring with loads of salad piled in middle to make it look bigger. Chicken nice but not ever seen lyonnaise potatoes as a dry lump on a plate- veg nice. “Tiramisu” presented like a cheesecake with amaretti on top - v rubbery texture and I didn’t enjoy it. Staff ok however only came around at start for drinks order and no coffee after dinner - quite uncomfortable on disembarking with their at entrance to bridge holding a large platter expecting tips …. My daughter paid a lot of money for this as a Xmas present - would we return ? 100% not!!! My son bought us a similar voucher - we have swiftly exchanged that for a different experience. There are so many immersive experiences to enjoy in London that I strongly urge you to look at all options before spending your hard earned money. If we could have left earlier we would have done…….

Response from the operator: Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We’re truly sorry to hear that your experience did not meet your expectations, and we appreciate the detailed insight you’ve provided. It’s disappointing to learn that the event didn’t live up to the standard you were hoping for, especially given that this was a special Christmas gift. We strive to offer both quality entertainment and dining, so your experience falling short on both counts is something we take seriously. We’re sorry to hear that you found the food to be lacking, this is not the experience we aim to deliver, and we’ll pass your comments along to our kitchen team to review. Regarding the actors, we aim for a balance between immersive and scripted elements, but we understand if it didn’t feel as interactive as you expected. We will also address your feedback on the service, particularly around coffee after dinner and the experience during disembarkation, as we aim to create a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere throughout the event. We truly value your feedback and will use it to improve future experiences. It’s unfortunate that this event didn’t meet your expectations, but we appreciate you giving us the chance to address the issues. If you’d like to discuss your experience further or if you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at customercomments@citycruises.com. We genuinely hope you’ll consider giving us another chance in the future. Kind regards City Cruises.

via Tripadvisor

Poor service. Ignored dietary need.

Having attended many murder mystery events I was disappointed. Two actors who were reading from the script. Engaged with the audience but felt very thrown together and we weren’t really sure what was happening most of the time. Nothing seemed to link together. Food tasted wonderful and I was well catered for as a coeliac. However my husband requires low carb for medical reasons and we advised them of this well in advance. However when we arrived the lady in charge said she didn’t know what it meant so just ignored it. This is really poor. They could have easily contacted us to ask but they didn’t bother. Given a complimentary drink to compensate but only when I requested it.

Response from the operator: Hello lauraloz1, Thank you for taking the time to write about your experience on the Murder Mystery Cruise and we are sad to hear it didn't go as expected. We take our customers dietary requirements very seriously and strive to cater to everyone needs. We would like to investigate more into, please can you kindly contact our customer service team at customercomments@citycruises.com and we will look into this further. Kind regards City Cruises

via Tripadvisor

Very poor customer service

I am diabetic which is strictly controlled by diet. We informed the organisers in advance of dietary requirements and phoned to check they understood. Despite this, when we boarded I was told that they didn’t understand the requirement so did not attempt to cater for it. This is lazy and I would not book with this company again.

Response from the operator: Hello nahuja268, Thank you for taking the time to write about your experience on the Murder Mystery Cruise and we are sad to hear it didn't go as expected. We take our customers dietary requirements very seriously and strive to cater to everyone needs. We would like to investigate more into, please can you kindly contact our customer service team at customercomments@citycruises.com and we will look into this further. Kind regards City Cruises

via Tripadvisor