Istanbul Bosphorus Dinner Cruise With Show/Private Table

Posted By : 789aidanh
If you’re reading this.. this is your sign NOT TO DO A BOSPHOROUS DINNER CRUISE. It was literally the worst night ever. First of all, it is absolutely nothing like the pictures the people who sell you the tickets look like.

Youre sitting shoulder to shoulder with others at your table. There is literally no space - they sold as many tickets as possible and got as many people as possible crammed into the boat. Basically the entire time you’re trapped there they’re trying to sell you something (pictures they take of you, dress up in traditional garb for a fee, sell coffee to you, etc..). Dinner consisted of a few blobs of dips that are on your plate from the second you walk in - the food is just chilling on your plate for everyone to breathe on. Then they literally…served 1 chicken nugget to each person. Yes, like a frozen chicken nugget.. the main dinner was also disgusting and obviously just bottom shelf frozen food to keep the cost as low as possible. Once the “shows” started it just became laughable. The whirling dirvish was just 1 guy who twirled around a couple of times. The belly dancers were definitely not dancers and mostly walked around. Then they brought out this “funny” guy and it was just a fat sweaty man in glasses dancing around all awkwardly. The entire experience was horrible and cheap. The music was also so alarmingly loud that my entire party had to sit outside for the rest of the ride. We counted down the minutes for the cruise to be over. It was seriously the worst experience ever. I would not recommend at all. Normally I would say, wasn’t for us but you might like it but trust me.. you won’t like it.

Obviously they don’t care about how bad the experience is because they know you’ll just do the cruise once and you’ve already paid. The boat is crammed, loud, horrible food none of us ate..
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Posted On : 2022-02-26 21:18:54

Posted By : Kathleen2899
I went along with my husband following recommendation from a friend.

To be honest, I were not impressed with the food and show. I already checked it was probably better than other cruises as the ship is new.

Good job we had a discount. Very tourist and commercial....
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Posted On : 2019-10-23 14:17:55

Posted By : s a
Hi This is not directed at any particular Bosphorus Dinner Cruise operators,

However I was on a dinner cruise with my daughter on the Seremoni Cruiser for one night on the Bosphorus.

First i must point out I am a smoker.
I would never dream of throwing my cigarette butts in the River, or Sea anywhere

The operators of these cruise ships don't seem to care about the environment, or pollution and do not take any measures to prevent or stop there customer or staff from discarding any of there rubbish by throwing it in the water.

There was no ashtrays on our boat that i could find, and I witnessed no end of people chucking there fag butts overboard.

The operators need to get there act together and make very strict rules to stop this.

All this rubbish will eventually end up in our food chain and will be responsible for killing no end of wildlife.

So if you see rubbish being thrown over the side, please complain to the Tour operators.

Such a shame as the dinner cruise was amazing apart from what I witnessed.

Steve Uk.
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Posted On : 2019-10-22 09:05:28

Posted By : Cynthia_P
Well, this was a colossal mistake and a phenomenal waste of time. Can I give a negative 5 rating? The tour started an hour late and transportation was very disorganized. As soon as we boarded the boat, nothing more than a floating restaurant, we were served a pretty tasteless meal. It was advertised as 3 courses and it was- small meze portions, a tiny salad, and a dry, overcooked entree. Despite the fact that almost every restaurant in Istanbul offers complimentary baklava with each meal, this tour did not include dessert but offered it at a price of 40 Turkish lira- 10 times the average local price. There was no "tour" involved- no history, no commentary on local buildings. There was entertainment that started with an offensive rendition of a Sufi Whirling Dervish and progressed to a burlesque version of belly dancing. The tour was advertised as a "romantic cruise" and it was anything but that- crowded room, loud music, bright lights on board that blocked out the city lights, and a buffoon of an M.C. The tour appeared to be nothing more than a money grab- overpriced tour and a platform for local businesses to soak you for "extras"- extra for dessert, extra for photos, extra for the belly dancer's g-string. Good grief!
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Posted On : 2019-09-16 04:34:09

Posted By : FellowTraveler647765
Despite the last minute booking, they came on time for the pick up from hotel, the program was amazing, diner was OK, the cruise was fabulous.

The organization after the cruise was also spot on no issues or delays were face.

The cruise is a must do in Istanbul and this one is fantastic, I have done a similar cruise last year but this one was much more organized and the program was versatile and lots of fun.
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Posted On : 2019-08-13 14:31:43

Posted By : RGagiano
This dinner cruise was most amazing...the food was absolutely five star as well as the entertainment... we were collected from the hotel and taken to the boat...the MC of the night was very professional and comical...the view from the boat was stunning..I will definitely recommend this cruise when you visit Istanbul!!
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Posted On : 2019-07-03 07:23:38

Posted By : Iryna M
Good entertainment. Poor food: " 4 course meal" turned out to be an appetizer, a tiny side salad with no dressing, " so-so" kebab with and few pieces of fruit for desert).One of the busboys needs to learn some manners/basics of serving service. He removed unfinished appetizers when he was asked not to... He was also annoyed and rude. The waiter was great though. Would recommend if they make improvements.
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Posted On : 2018-09-15 18:19:21

Posted By : greg_WO
The one we joined had "Ottoman Nights" on the flyer. We had just seen separate dinner shows in Georgia and Armenia and while I don't expect the same quality all around, this one didn't even try. The dances were lame, one of the dancers looked like she definitely did not want to be there, food was terrible and I almost never give poor reviews for food, they would pull you over to put you in a costume and charge you for the picture. They had singers who were reading lyrics off their phones. There was dancing to Despacito and some other apparent local favorites. People were nodding off. We couldn't wait to get out of there, what a shame that this is how we spent our last night in Istanbul.
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Posted On : 2018-06-18 15:34:22

Posted By : Tim M
We were only visiting Istanbul for two days and had been recommended to take a dinner cruise. This one looked good online. On the night we were collected from our hotel - so far so good. We arrived at the boat at around 8pm. The boat didn't leave the dock until around 9pm during which time we were given a very poor cold starter and one glass of wine (note the price includes "unlimited" alcohol - sadly the waiting staff are so busy you only see them every half an hour or so. Eventually the waiter came around to ask what we wanted for our main course. The choices were "meat or fish" - hopefully my photos say it all! We eventually got back to the dock at around 1130 and were taken back to our hotel. Fortunately we only paid €40 each for this night out - there were other people onboard who had paid double that. Plenty of room for improvement here - better service and better quality food.
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Posted On : 2017-11-07 10:46:52

Posted By : Raed_A

great time.. enjoyed the activities.. food was normal... staff were really nice..