We parked at a near-by hotel across the street from the beach and made our way to a little dock where we boarded the two story boat that would take us on a beautiful journey up the river.
As we boarded, we had our pictures taken and we walked up the flight of stairs to the top of the boat. We were lucky enough to get nice seats so we could see directly out of the boat. I didn't know what to expect as we sailed the river because I thought we were just going to ride to our destination to eat and come right back; but what I thought was going to be an ordinary ride, turned out the be the funniest, most inspiring, make me jealous 😜, exciting trip! As we sailed up the river, we saw these BEAUTIFUL homes and boats lined up along the water! Basically, it was a neighborhood on water, but with boats instead of cars. Many of them were decorated with lots of Christmas lights. Some of these houses...excuse me...MANSIONS, were either vacation homes, retirement homes or just homes! Like people actually lived in these buildings!
The Cruise Director was hilarious! I loved how He casually joked about how rich everyone was & that these lifestyles were no big deal as we passed the biggest houses along the river. He was very knowledgeable about the properties and the people who resided on them. The most intriguing thing to me was that there was an actual prison along the river because when we passed it, I thought it was a 5 star hotel!! When the Cruise Director told us it was a prison, I literally thought it was a joke. We got to sail under multiple draw bridges, all operated by various Mr. Johnsons, and we greeted them every time we passed under. By the way, all of the Mr. Johnsons are related! 😂 And get this! We got to see some gigantic yachts up close and personal! Did I mention they were gigantic?! These yachts retail for more than $1,000,000! Can you imagine owning such a vehicle?
We docked about an hour after we left and the site was beautiful! It was like a beautiful lit up jungle, but on an island! The venue where we ate was huge and had tons of long tables. When you arrive at dinner, there are various waiters that will seat you at your table. We were lucky enough to dine with another family who was enjoying a girls' night out, and they were very entertaining. They were so full of life, making everyone laugh and just enjoying the moment that we all shared. Almost immediately after we were seated, we were bombarded with food! There were fall-off-the bone ribs, barbecue chicken, baked beans, rolls, shrimp (regular and spicy), potato wedges...YOU NAME IT!! Everything was addicting, ESPECIALLY the spicy shrimp! It's probably a sin how much food we ate! While we were eating, we were graced with some live jazz entertainment. The band and the soloist did an amazing job and were very talented! They even dedicated a few songs to the long time married couples in the place.
Once we finished eating, my mom, sister and I explored for a bit. They had what I would call a miniature zoo outside. We got to see birds, owls, lemurs, monkeys, and guess what?! ALLIGATORS!! Whenever I go to Florida, it is my goal to see at least one alligator. Not up close, of course. Although, we were pretty close to the ones we saw.
The last thing that we did on our stop was watch a magic show, 2 comedy shows and real fire dancers! The tap dancing comedian was the funniest to me! He was very animated and reminded me a lot of Mr. Brown from the Tyler Perry movies. Watching the hula/fire dances was my favorite part of the night because in 2015, we went to an event called Christmas in Hawaii and there was supposed to be a fire dance, but it ended up not happening. So it was so exciting to finally get to see one!
The shows were over and my mom, sister and I rushed back to the boat so that we could get a good seat. This time, the ride back to the dock was more relaxing rather than entertaining. There was soft jazz music playing in the background, it was dark, the water was calm and I was just taking in the beauty of the houses, yachts and the bystanders waving at us as we passed by. This whole experience was mesmerizing, and it made me want to work so much harder! Maybe I won't buy a house along the river and maybe I will, but to be able to live a lifestyle like that where you have a beautiful home and can afford to vacation whenever you want, is something to look forward to. I definitely recommend Jungle Queen Riverboat to anybody who visits Ft. Lauderdale. There are so many beautiful sights to see and the food is amazing. Tickets are approximately $50 each and totally worth it. It is something that you don't get to do everyday and it is an experience of a life time! I'm so thankful that my mom gifted my sister and I with such an amazing experience that we will never forget.
Please checkout the associated video to get the full experience of the Jungle Queen Riverboat!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G6sWqB7_0Y
Great post! I'm going to FL next month and will definitely try this!
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