The Solo Scale:

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If you want to explore the Seine, a river cruise is one of the best ways to do it. Maybe you’re like me and are lucky enough to be a repeat visitor to Paris, you may have exhausted the regular cruise, but luckily, there’s another option. That’s the Seine Dinner Cruise.

There are a few options for this, but I opted for the cruise with Bateaux Parisiens.

Before we get into the review, a couple of caveats to keep in mind before you purchase:

• As I mentioned above in the Solo Scale blurb, this might not be the most optimal experience going solo. It’s a pretty tightly packed area, so you might feel like all eyes are on you at certain parts of the night. I certainly had some awkward moments because the table beside you is genuinely inches away. Luckily, I was on the edge at the last table and had some room to shift the other way

• Don’t expect to get fantastic views once the sun goes down. The river isn’t super lit up, so once sunset finishes and it’s dark, it’s pretty much pitch black until you arrive back at the dock to see the Eiffel Tower sparkling. Admittedly, the cruise has perfect timing because you do get back to the dock right before it begins. I went in August when sunlight hours are fairly long. We departed at 8PM and the sun didn’t set until we were past Notre Dame

To board your boat, you need to find the pier near the Eiffel Tower. The information will be part of what you receive, but read carefully and give yourself lots of time.

When you board, there’s a ticket area that they’ll check for you. There’s also an opportunity to take a pre-boarding photo. In general, these photos are high-flash and decent, but quite expensive. The photographer will be roaming through the whole cruise, which means there are lots of opportunities to get a photo taken if that’s something you’re after.

After this, you reach the ship itself where a member of the wait staff will bring you to your table in the middle of a densely packed area. Luckily, my seat didn’t have a table directly in front of me. As a result, even though I was away from the window, I had great views of the Seine. However, it was absolutely packed, noisy, and a little chaotic. It took the server a little while to come to my table just to get my drinks started and to take my order for the meal, but that’s expected when there are so many people to serve at once.

Then, it’s time to set sail. So, now, let’s get into the details of what you get for the price!

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The Food & Drink

The dinner begins with drinks. You have your choice of still or sparkling water, and white or red wine. During the first course, they’ll also bring out a welcome cocktail (a kir blanc de blancs welcome drink). For the wine, it’s a great deal. Even though you’re solo, you still get a full bottle of wine for the price, in addition to the earlier welcome drink. Despite the cruise being a few hours, even I couldn’t make my way through the full bottle. Unfortunately, you can’t take it to go, though.

For the amuse bouche, they bring out some poppyseed cheese straws, which are very tasty and hit the spot. It’s at this point that the server returns to take your full dinner order, as you have a few selections to make for appetizer, main, and dessert. They’ll also offer you bread service while you make your decisions.

For my starter, I opted for the crab dip. In general, the food was pretty good, but not fantastic. You have to somewhat anticipate that given how many people are being served at once. I did like the crab dip, but you can see how it’s been engineered to be something that can be mass-prepared for a large group. It was still a great starter to kick off the night.

For my main, I opted for the veal. Whereas all the food was perfectly good, the mashed potatoes served with the veal were dreamy. They came warm, which is impressive given how many people are being served at once time. They were so creamy and high quality.

Lastly, for dessert, I opted for a chocolate finger adorned with popcorn. It was more of a mousse-based dessert and the lightness helped after the heaviness of the meat dish. It also helped to make the red wine match well with nearly every dish, including dessert as there are no swaps to a different type of alcohol.

There are coffee and tea options available if you partake (which I don’t), which is a helpful way to cap off the dinner portion of your cruise. The dining ends pretty close to the very end, so you don’t have to worry about sitting idly.

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The Experience

There’s a couple pieces of entertainment that happen during the cruise. The first and most obvious are the views of Paris. By virtue of the departure point and the time of day, your best views of the monuments will take place early in your dinner — between departure and just before the main course. This is when you’ll pass most of the famous sights. One thing that impressed me is how much personality and presence some of these monuments have at night. Notre Dame loomed in a way I haven’t seen

On the boat itself, you also have entertainment. That comes from the lounge singer that will entertain you in short bursts during the evening. They’re very talented, but they roam around the boat and only have a handheld microphone, so there are times when the music dips out. It’s also not continuous, so you may have moments of the cruise with your own silence if you’re dining solo like I did.

There’s a roaming photographer throughout the cruise that will take flash photography shots of you. At the end of the night, they’ll bring you a folder of developed options that you can choose to purchase. However, they are fairly pricy, so unless you really like one, it’s easier to ask someone to take a picture of you with your phone.

One additional note is that while Paris was in the middle of a heat wave, the interior of the boat was extremely well air-conditioned and it wasn’t too hot or stuffy inside. That was a nice touch that helped with comfort during the meal.

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So, overall, is this worth it? Personally, I think this is a fantastic way to do the Seine in a much calmer way than ending up shoulder to shoulder with a ton of other tourists. Plus, you get a meal and great entertainment. The tickets start at €99 and you can increase that price by selecting a window view or adding champagne and other dishes. However, even “inside” the boat, I felt like I had plenty of a view and didn’t need the champagne when the kir blanc de blancs served just fine.

The best part of the cruise (if you select the later departure), is the timing. Bateaux Parisiens has two sailings at 6:15PM and 8:30PM. I recommend the 8:30PM mainly because it puts you back at the Eiffel Tower around 11PM, which means that you arrive right on the dot to see the tower lit up and sparkling. The bonus is that because you’re still on the boat, you’re not fighting crowds to see it. That’s definitely a bit of a perk that’s worth a little bit of the price.

If you’re booking this expecting a gourmet dinner, that’s not what you’re going to get. However, if you book this with the expectation is a calm dinner cruise along the Seine with decent wine, great entertainment, and a fantastic end point, then this is absolutely right for you.

Want to learn more or book today? Check out the website and get more details about your potential dinner cruise!

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