The sights of this Bosphorus cruise up to the Black Sea are of course great, and the 35 euro price was low, but several aspects of the trip were less than perfect in our case. The buffet lunch was lukewarm, unappetizing, and very limited. The bathrooms got dirty quickly, but no one cleaned. The boat and furnishings have suffered much wear and tear. Loud music videos played on the return trip, drowning conversation. And the dock is not the main one by Galata Bridge, but a bit distant, reached from the road via a muddy, trash-strewn path.
Our tour was advertised as starting at 1:15 - 1:30 with hotel pickup, but after the bus dropped us off at the dock we sat on the boat for about 45 minutes without moving as other buses rolled in bringing more people. It then moved up the Golden Horn, but on the way back rather than continuing on to the Bosphorous, it stopped dead in the water for another 10 or 15 minutes with no explanation and then returned to the original dock... to pick up yet more people. This meant a lot of boredom initially.
The Bosphorous portion was better, maintaining a nice pace and with good explanations from the guide. However, the stop at the "fishing village" of Beykoz was disappointing. No fishing boats or picturesque village, but rather big tourist boats lined up at a dock away from the town center along a busy, pedestrian-unfriendly road. No real reason to stop there. Ah, and the tour doesn't actually reach the Black Sea. It turns around before the third Bosphorous bridge.