Fort Lauderdale claims three hundred miles of navigable inland waterways — more canal mileage than Venice. The Intracoastal Waterway threads through the city's core, a controlled depth channel maintained since 1932 to bypass the Atlantic's unpredictable surf. Dredged to twelve feet and flanked by seawalls, it transformed a mosquito coast into a yachting capital. River cruise Fort Lauderdale operations orbit a single geographic fact: Millionaire's Row. This stretch of Las Olas Isles showcases estates built during the 1960s land boom, when developers carved finger islands from mangrove. Homes here trade north of eight million dollars. The waterway itself carries commercial tugs, sport fishers, mega-yachts over one hundred feet, and the flat-bottomed tour vessels that narrate the architecture. Tour operators broadcast live commentary through hull-mounted speakers, identifying owners and chronicling renovation scandals. The Jungle Queen riverboat, launched in 1935, remains the oldest continuously operating vessel on the route. The Intracoastal bisects Fort Lauderdale's barrier island geography. To the east, Las Olas Boulevard meets the beach. To the west, the New River branches into finger canals. Downtown high-rises cluster at the convergence. The waterway connects these zones without surface traffic. Water taxis function as public transit, hopping seventeen landings between Bahia Mar and the Riverside Hotel. The system moves twenty thousand passengers monthly, a marine alternative to gridlocked A1A. Cruise vessels navigate fixed routes determined by bridge clearances. The Seventeenth Street Causeway bridge lifts on a schedule; departure times align with those openings. Boats heading to Port Everglades pass cruise terminals where Caribbean-bound ships dock. The channel's steady current and minimal chop make the passage accessible year-round. Afternoon departures catch westward light on glass facades. Evening tours time their return to the city's lit skyline, the high-rises reflecting in flat water.