Build-Your-Burger Cruise on Lake Zurich

If you’re looking for a really fun activity to do with a group of friends or maybe with your family, the ZSG “Build-Your-Burger” Cruise which runs on Lake Zurich is a great choice. The Cruise takes place every Tuesday from 1st May until 11th September and we were invited to try it out the other week and had a such a fun time! We enjoyed it immensely and the sunset views over Zurich were spectacular.

It had been sunny during the day but the forecast was for rain – so when we arrived at Bürkliplatz just before boarding at 6.55pm, I had been slightly apprehensive. However, it turned into a perfect evening with a fabulous sunset – so you know, you just can’t trust weather forecasts!

The ship we were sailing on is the “MS Helvetia” (both the Helvetia and the Linth operate this sailing) and the ship has recently been updated and refitted. Onboard we met ZSG Director Roman Knecht, who told us all about the cruise and the many other themed cruises that ZSG ships run on Lake Zurich.

ZSG Director Roman Knecht

ZSG have been investing a lot recently in updating their fleet and they have even kitted out all the staff in smart new uniforms by a Swiss company called Image Wear, using fabric made with “nano technology” making them more better suited to the conditions they may encounter on board.

We started by visiting the new lounge on Upper deck where we were greeted with a refreshing cocktail and went for a quick stroll on deck to admire the views. Before we knew it, it was 7.15pm and time to set sail on our adventure!

Next it was time to get creative and design our burger! For the “Build-Your-Burger Cruise” you’re given a form with a list of ingredients to choose from to make your own burger exactly to your specific requirements.

You select what type of bun you would like (or whether you want one at all) then you choose from a selection of top quality beef or pork or even fish. If you don’t eat meat or fish they also have a vegetarian option too. Next you choose sauces, side dishes and any extras you fancy and once you’ve filled in the form they take it off to the kitchen and cook your very own personalised burger.

On our table we chose a variety of options, I chose fish with no bun and with fried onions and salad (which wasn’t the prettiest but tasted amazing), one of us chose a customised cheese burger in a black bun with fries and another of us chose their own personalised “surf and turf” with both fish and meat.

So what was the verdict? Well without exception everyone all loved the burgers! They had all been cooked to perfection and were amazingly tasty and delicious and a far higher quality than I had been expecting. Fabulous! It had also been great fun choosing from all the options and then seeing how everyone else’s burger had turned out. Yes I know, mine didn’t win in the beauty stakes – however, some people’s really did look quite elaborate.

After the burger there were small desserts to choose from or you could simply go on deck and take in the views. I chose the latter and was not disappointed at all. We sailed in the direction of Rapperswil, and turned around and headed back towards Zurich a little past Stäfa (I think – but don’t quote me on this) and as we did so the sun started setting and we took in the most amazing sunset.

As you can imagine most of us were glued to our phones and cameras!

However, next we were invited to go to the very top deck to meet the captain in the control room. To get there you have to climb a steep ladder, but the views from on top were amazing.

ZSG Cruise on MS Helvetia on Lake Zurich

It was great to get a peek behind the scenes and to see all the controls and speak to the captain!

All too soon we had arrived back in Zurich and it was time to disembark at Bürkliplatz. We all had an amazing time and we can recommend this as a perfect evening out on the lake!