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- - Seine Cruise (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/seine-cruise-56316/)

Does anyone have advice on companies that offer Seine cruises? Any good/bad experiences?

Last month we took a night cruise, years ago we took a day cruise. Both are entertaining. If its a sunny day, the cruise is gorgeous. At night, it is also spectacular with the lights. Choose your seat carefully and check out who is around you. Although smoking should not be allowed, it is not enforced. We were joined by a group from Spain, with some "gentlemen" smoking cigars that did not care which way the wind blew.

Are you referring to bateaux mouches on the Seine in Paris, or full fledged cruises the length of the Seine. If it's just in Paris, I have always taken the bateaux mouches from the Pont Neuf by Notre Dame. Little less crowded than Pont d'Alma. Last about an hour and a great way to see Paris from a different perspective.

This is what I have on river cruises within Paris 1. Bateaux Mouches, Seine Cruise: Pont de l'Alma, Right Bank, Paris 8th. Metro: Alma-Marceau Reservations: 01-42 25 96 10, Information: 01-40 76 99 99 Departures: Mar-Nov:10am-10:30pm (every 30 minutes) daily. Nov-Mar: 11am, noon, 2:30pm, 4pm, 9pm. Cruise lasts: 1 hr, 15 mn. Lunch cruise: 15 Apr-15 Nov: 12:45pm Sat, Sun. Cruise:1 hr, 45 mn. Reserve. Dinner cruise: 8:30pm, daily. Cruise: 2hr, 15mn. Tie and jacket required. Reserve. 2. Bateaux Parisiens, Tour Eiffel. Seine Cruise: From Pont d'Ina, Left Bank, Paris 7. Metro: Bir-Hakeim Reservations, information: 01-44 11 33 44 Departures: Mar-Sep: 10am-11pm daily (every 30 minutes) Oct-Feb: 10am-6pm daily (every hour) Cruises last: 1 hour Lunch cruise: 12:30pm Sat, Sun. Cruise: 2 hours. Reserve. Dinner cruise: 8pm, daily. Cruise: 2 hr 30 min. Tie and jacket required. Reserve. 3. Vedettes du Pont-Neuf : From Le Pont Neuf, Square du Vert-Galant, Paris 1. Metro: Pont Neuf. Reservations, information: 01-46 33 98 38. Departure: from 10:30am-6:30pm daily (every 30 minutes) Lunch cruise: Noon or 1:15pm. Cruise: 1 hr. Reserve. Dinner cruise: 9:30pm. Cruise: 2 hrs. Reserve. Bat-O-Bus is a trip along the Seine without commentary. April through September. Phone 01 44 11 33 44. You can get on and off at any of five stops including Trocadero, Musee D’Orsay, Louvre, Notre Dame, and Hotel de Ville. You can take the boat for only one stop, or buy an all-day ticket and get on and off as you like.

There are four different companies that do this, I believe they are listed in an above post: Bateaux-Mouches, Vedettes du Pont Neuf, Vedettes de Paris and Bateaux Parisiens. (Some people refer to all of these as Bateaux-Mouches, but that's a specific company name--ie, that one is the one at Pont d'Alma, not Pont Neuf). For only a cruise (no meal), the Bateaux-Mouches firm is about 10F cheaper than all others (40F vs 50F); I think it's also somewhat cheaper for the dinner cruise, if not cheaper by price, I believe they give you more (ie, 5 courses vs 3 on Vedettes de Paris). Bateaux-Mouches has the largest boats, which are double-decked, the lower deck is glass-enclosed, the upper deck open. The other companies have semi-enclosed decks, I think. The Vedettes du Pont Neuf firm has the smallest boats. If you don't want taped commentary, choose the Bateaux Parisiens from Pont d'Ilena on the left bank, they only play music instead of commentary. The Bateaux-Mouches firm has some boats with hydraulically-lifted private dining rooms for better views, don't think others do.