Going to Paris mid-February. Want to take a cruise of the Seine. Thinking of cruise early evening (5:30 PM) and going somewhere for nice romantic dinner afterwards. Any recommendations for cruise company, embark/debark place, and restaurant nearby the river after the cruise? Thanks.

I can't recommend one company over another BUT -- depending on the weather, the Seine MAY be high -- and when it gets to a certain height [usually occurs between December and March in my experience] no boats are going any where

Fowler is right , weather is unpredictable and with any amount of rain the boats close down as the Seine is too high for Boats to go under them. If you can I recommend the BAteaux Mooche, they have a dinner cruise where you can combine crusing and eating.

We took the dinner cruise about 3 years ago on Bateaux Parisens, and it was very nice. But we did it in early May. Like everything else in Paris, it was somewhat expensive, but I thought the service, meal, wine, views and company were well worth the price we paid.

There are four companies running similar one-hour sightseeing trips on the river and it is a good introduction to Paris. Try www.bateaux-mouches.fr, www.bateauxparisiens.com, www.vedettesdeparis.com, and www.vpn-cpn.com. There is not much to choose between them, so it depends which is the nearest departure point.

I think there are some subtle differences in the cruiselines -- mainly the boats and commentary. I'd probably just go with Bateaux Mouches which boards at Pont de l'Alma as I believe they have the largest boats which might be an advantage in winter (they have a bottom deck enclosed in glass) and lower prices. One company doesn't have commentary but only music (which I think is the one near the Eiffel Tower, Bateaux Parisiens). If you want a smaller boat, the two Vedettes companies have them but I don't know how enclosed their decks are.<BR><BR>There's a good seafood restaurant near their embarkment point on ave NY which has a good view of the Eiffel Tower. It's called Port Alma, 10 av de NY and here's a review:<BR>www.patriciawells.com/reviews/iht/2000/1512.htm