Seine cruise or dinner cruise?

If you are eating, you aren't looking at the views really. And food on these boats is like it is on all dinner cruises, fairly lousy. I'd take a sightseeing tour -- we used Vedettes Pont Neuf and liked that but there are several -- and eat a really good meal ashore. There is a smaller more expensive boat called Calife or something like that, that has gotten better reviews on the food, but if you are looking at your plate, you aren't getting the most from the view experience.

My wife and I were in Paris in September and did the Champagne Tasting on the Seine River Cruise by O Chateau (booked on TripAdvisor). The cruise lasts an hour and you have your own private section on the front of the boat where you could sit inside and watch from your seat or if it’s nice enough you could stand outside on the deck. Our host was very informative and we got approximately 3 glasses of champagne each on the cruise. The cruise starts at the Eiffel Tower and goes down past Notre Dame. I’d definitely recommend the cruise.

How much was the champagne cruise and where does it launch. I am not sure I could walk off the boat after 3 glasses of wine, but at least sipping and viewing are not incompatible.

We've not taken a dinner or champagne cruise, but have we've taken several just to see the city from the river.
Vedettes du Pont Neuf is, in my opinion, the best of the bunch. Especially at night.

Great! Thank you all. That's two for Vedette and the champaign cruise sounds good too.

Julie

Make that 3 for Vedettes. We've been taking their cruises for years.

Add my voice and make that 4 for Vedettes. I personally wouldn't bother with a dinner cruise - I haven't done it in Paris but in general they are overpriced and the food is usually just so-so. Another thing is that in February I don't think the sightseeing cruise boats will be jammed so I doubt that will be an issue. The nice thing about the early darkness in February is that you can take an earlier cruise to see the monuments and buildings lit up and then go for a nice meal somewhere afterward.

I'll add my experience with a dinner cruise, which was very positive. We used Le Calife and enjoyed it very much. The food, which is prepared on board, was good as was the service. The cruise was timed to be at the Eiffel Tower when it twinkled and extended down to the scale model of the Statue of Liberty. I felt it was good value and overall a wonderful experience.

Enjoy a great dinner within walking distance of Vedettes; then board and enjoy the sights and commentary without distractions. (Or dine after as Nancy recommends; just noticed her wise comment.)