Dinner Cruises in Paris

I have never taken a dinner cruise in Paris (or anywhere else). But the standard thinking is that, for the same money or less, you can have a Seine cruise without food, and a better meal on land.

I do recommend taking a Seine cruise by day and by night - two different but equally nice experiences. I preferred the smaller boats and partly live narration of the Vedettes de Pont Neuf over the bigger and all-recorded Bateaux Mouches; someone else on this Forum said Bateaux Parisien was better than either of the other two companies.

And congratulations on your medical success and your anniversary!

We did the dinner cruise with Le Calife and it was great. I highly recommend it. It is a small ship and they do the cooking on board. Food is not brought in like on other cruises. Check out their website and their menus at www.calife.com. I agree, a dinner cruise is in order. Enjoy and good luck.

I would instead have dinner in a really nice French restaurant. I have been on dinner cruises all over the world (usually at someone else's behest) and have never had really good food on one. The reputation of Paris Seine dinner cruises is not great for food although Caliph does get somewhat better reviews.

Cruises without dinner are cheap and fun and you can watch the scenery since your face is not in your plate.

There are so many lovely restaurants where it will cost about the same and the food will be much better.

for an Eiffel Tower view (through the ceiling) consider Les Ombres; for a view of Paris consider Jules Verne.

Harold and Janette are spot on. When you are cruising the Seine you want to concentrate on the amazing sights not a salad.

I enjoyed an evening cruise, without dinner, and agree that gives you more focus on the scenery and more flexibility to move around the boat. Bon voyage!

Our meal on Bateaux Parisian was good. We enjoyed the entertainment and the sights along the way. The arrival back at the Eiffel Tower just as it was lighting up was spectacular. We found the whole experience charming and worth the money.

There were 2 marriage proposals on the boat that night. Both were accepted. Sweetest of all was the young couple who sat next to us. They were from Central Europe somewhere. Her English was quite good. He didn't say much until after the proposal right next to us. Then he said he would propose to her but they were already married.

Yes, it was a very pricey splurge, but old folks with health issues like us are worth it!