Calife dinner cruise in Paris

Yes, I went this past May and enjoyed it, and can recommend it. Unlike some of the other dinner cruises on the Seine, meals on Le Calife are prepared on board. You pre-order when you book, and they very efficiently get everyone's meal to the correct table. We had the 67€ menu (includes the boat fare), which included a glass of champagne and some tasty cheese puffs. I had the warm goat cheese salad and guinea fowl, both very good. Wine is extra. The cruise is timed so that it is at the Eiffel Tower when the lights sparkle and it goes further down and up river than the day time cruises I've been on. The views of the flood lit buildings and monuments along the river are magical.

I second everything Carolyn said. We did this tour on our first trip to Paris and really enjoyed it. We tried to do it again last year but they were booked up for the time we had. Next trip we will book earlier. Enjoy your tour.

Thank you Carolyn and Rosemary. Most of the reviews were very, very good but the ones that weren't were awful, which is why I wanted to ask this forum about it. I'm going to try to book it!

Yikes! It's one of those deals where you can only reserve one month before you want to cruise. One more thing to try to remember...

If you are already on a canned tour, you might want to do something less organized tour like for a free night.

We did the evening dinner cruise last Friday and it was the highlight of the stay in Paris. Very intimate, well-run, full of Parisian ambience. The food was superb. The views of the city at sunset and in the night-time were beautiful. A good price compared to larger tourist dinner cruises. You will need to make a reservation on line one month before your desired reservation; then you will need to call to make deposit on credit card. They are very efficient with that call (and willingly speak English) so the cost is not bad. I can't recommend Calife more highly.

Janet , RS tours are not like most, there is always free time and one can alwyas opt out of doing things, not really like the one night stop " canned" tours that you are thinking off!

Nance I have never done a dinner cruise, but based on feedback from friends , I definately would consider a Calife cruise. Remember when you do read bad reviews that sometimes people had unrealistic expectations, or things that matter to them may not matter to you. I have stayed in hotels ( sometimes multiple times) that I thought were fine , then read horrible reviews , but they complain about things I wouldn't expect or complain about ( older decor , no bellboy , small room( what van they expect for 90 euros a night etc!)

Janet - you could be right and although this sounds like a really nice dinner/boat ride to see the Paris lights it would limit anything else we might experience... which could be not much lol. Our first night in Paris is our only free night since we are flying home right after the 21 day tour is over and I would not miss the last group dinner for anything. My husband is terribly afraid of heights and refuses to go up the Eiffel tower so I had at first thought maybe a picnic where we could watch the light show. Then when I saw this dinner cruise I thought that might be even better. Knot and Pat - thanks so much for the info and recommendations! And Pat, you are so right about opinions. Hubby is all geared up for this dinner cruise now so I'm afraid it will be a great disappointment to him if I can't get tickets but then again - Hey - we'll be in Paris!

We did the Calife dinner cruise and I highly recommend it. We enjoyed the food and the Captain timed the trip perfectly to be in front of the tower when the lights came on. It seemed so much better than the big cattle boats. Request a table upstair near the bow.