Hi fellow travelers. I wondered if anyone has some input on which Lucerne Lake Cruise is best? I am thinking about taking one of cruises that explores more of the lake since I read these are really scenic, like from a fairytale. Do you know which of these has the best scenery? Or are they both just as magical? RT Lucerne to Alpnachstad: 2-3hrs depending on connection.
RT Lucerne to Küssnacht: 1h45m.

I took a different route -- Lucerne to Rütli and back. Gorgeous!
Enjoy.

Thanks Kja. That's one of the longer cruises at 5.5 hrs long. Unfortunately, since we only 1.5 days in Lucerne we don't really want to devote that much time for this. 2-3hrs max.

People usually combine boat rides with mountain railway rides, like
Lucerne - boat - Alpnachstad - cog wheel railway - Pilatus - gpondola - Kriens - Trollebus - Lucerne,
Lucerne - boat - Vitznau - cog wheel railway - Rigi - Arth-Goldau - train or bus - Küssnacht - boat - Lucerne
Lucerne - boat - Brunnen - bus - Schwyz National Museum - train - Lucerne
Lucerne - boat - Stansstad - train Stans - rope railway and cabrio gondola - Stanserhorn
Lucerne - boat - Küssnacht - bus - Weggis - boat - Lucerne
Lucerne - boat - Fluelen - Treno Gottardo - Locarno - boat - Luino - bus - Ponte Tresa - train - Lugano

As usual neckervd is right. I really don't think it matters much if you are just on a boat ride. Weather matters.

Both cruises are really scenic, but if you want more of that fairytale feel, the longer routes that explore deeper into the lake (like towards Alpnachstad) tend to offer more dramatic mountain and lakeside views. That said, even the shorter ones feel magical, it’s hard to go wrong on Lake Lucerne! It really depends on whether you’d prefer a shorter relaxing outing or a half-day adventure with more variety in scenery.

If you don't want to do one of the longer routes (which are spectacular) our suggestion would be Luzern to Vitznau (1 hour) by boat. Lunch at the beautiful, highly rated Vitznauerhof hotel a five minute walk from the boat dock (reservations strongly recommended and if it's a nice day you can dine outside). Then train from Vitznau up to Rigi for terrific views. Going back, take the train to Arth Goldau on the way down. From Arth Goldau hop on a train to Luzern.

https://vitznauerhof.ch/en/restaurant-inspiration/

Lots of food for thought but I'm leaning towards Lucerne to Alpnachstad. I should also have mentioned that we will be spending 6N up in the Alps (2N in Grindelwald and 4N in Murren) so heading up the mountains near Lucerene are not a priority for us since we will have already been up in the Alps. Thank you everyone for your input.

I suppose you know that the overtouristy area of Grindelwald/Muerren is completely different from that around Lucerne.

Yes, I realize it's quite different. Thank you.