The End of an Era... 1998-2025
The Final Voyage date of Betty Lou Cruises will be Sunday, August 31, 2025!

Private Charters for 2 or more guests on beautiful Lake Mendota. Cruising late May through late August. Prices include captain, crew, yacht and buffet food service. All prices are per Guest.

Our cruising season will start Friday, May 23, 2025 and ends Sunday, August 31, 2025.

The yachts are "Cashless"
We do not accept cash for beverages and other amenities on the motor yachts.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover & American Express.

We accept "Cash" gratuity for the captain and crew.

We are a food and beverage cruise line. We require food and beverages to be chosen from the selections that we offer.

Regrettably, none of our yachts are handicapped accessible. The variable water levels and dual decks on each boat require all of our guests to navigate stairs.

Minimum & Maximum Yacht Capacities:

• Excellabella Yacht - 30 person minimum | 50 person maximum capacity. You certainly can cruise with less than 30 guests, but you will be charged for 30 guests for the elective menu & beverage selection.
• Grand Mariner Yacht - 2 person minimum | 42 person maximum capacity | $1200 sales minimum

Sales Minimums:

The sales minimum for the Grand Mariner Private Charter cruise is $1200 regardless of the number of guests cruising. The sales minimum does NOT include 5.5% sales tax and gratuity. The sales minimum does NOT include Saturday Evening Premium Time and Date Restrictions.

Saturday Evening Time & Date Restrictions
Private Charter cruises on Saturday evenings (cruises departing between 4:30 pm and 8:30 pm) from June 7, 2025 through August 30, 2025 are restricted as follows:

• There is a 20 guest minimum on the Grand Mariner Yacht and a 42 guest maximum.
• There is a 30 guest minimum on the Excellabella Yacht and a 50 guest maximum.
• The length of the cruise is 3 hours.
• The bar service is the PARTIAL OPEN BAR OR OPEN BAR options only.
• The food service is limited to the three DINNER BUFFET options, the DELUXE APPETIZER buffet OR the CAPTAIN'S TABLE APPETIZER buffet.

Additional Services

These services are subject to availability and must be requested when you return your Booking Contract.

I. Extra Cruise Time Beyond 3 Hours

• Yacht, Captain & Crew - 495.00 per hour.
• Open Bar Service - Add $10.00 per guest per hour for the Open bar option.
• Partial Open Bar Service - Add $9.00 per guest per hour for the Partial Open bar option.

II. Port Charge for Remote Pickup - $500.00

This charge is for utilizing a port other than the Mariner's Inn Dock. Some of the possible port options are: The Tenney Park Locks and some private residential piers (pick up at private piers must be pre-approved by a Captain).

III. Additional Crew

Our standard staffing is one captain and one or two crew members depending on your group size and menu. If you want a higher server to guest ratio, you may add crew members at the following rates:

• 2 hour cruise - $75.00 per each additional crew member
• 3 hour cruise - $95.00 per each additional crew member

IV. Champagne Service

Although the bars on our yachts have champagne available on an every day basis, it is helpful for our staff to know if your function calls for a significant amount. Please note this on the "Special Instructions" section of your Booking Contract.