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You are here: Things To Do > City Cruises

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City Cruises

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London Dinner Cruise on the Thames River

Hop-On Hop-Off Sightseeing River Cruise on the Thames

Afternoon Tea River Cruise on the Thames

Lunch River Cruise on the Thames with 2-Course Meal

River Thames Sightseeing Cruise - One Way

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

City Cruises - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

City Cruises

2nd August 2012 / London , Parks, Walks & Tours

City Cruises transport 750,000 people each year on sightseeing, ferry, entertainment and charter cruises. The winner of a host of awards, including Best River and Canal Boat Operator at the Group Travel Organiser annual awards for six of the past eight years, City Cruises offer a wonderful end to a family day out – or the start of one! A City Cruises trip is just the ticket for a restive ride with grand sights from the windows and open upper decks and lower saloons.

Cruises leave the Westminster, Waterloo, Tower and Greenwich Piers each day, excepting Christmas Day, offering a family day out or short excursion that the weather cannot put a dampener on, whether a 30-minute trip between piers, or a 150-minute round-trip, accompanied by breakfast, lunch or dinner, as well as the use of two bars serving light refreshments and snacks.

Millennium of Peace is one of the latest M2 City Cruises liners boasting tailored interior design based on the seasons, and they provide the only direct river service between the heart of the capital and  the O2 Arena Dome at Greenwich. Lunch cruises leave each day from St. Katherine’s Pier by Tower Hotel and ticket holders can enjoy an after-lunch commentary on the sights. The journey takes in the Greenwich Meridian and the Eastern hemisphere, while the Catamaran M2s guarantee a stable ride whatever the conditions on the river.

The London Showboat provides cabaret voyages with a welcome drink, half a bottle of wine and four-course meal, live music, and dancing to the best tunes from the great musicals songbook, all against the backdrop of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Cleopatra’s Needle, the London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Blackfriars, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast, the Golden Hinde, Shakespeare’s Globe, Tate Britain, London Aquarium, The Royal National Theatre and the Royal Festival Hall on the Southbank, Canary Wharf, the Greenwich O2 Arena, and the Thames Flood Barrage.

In addition, permanently fixed by the Victoria Embankment, the RS Hispaniola Restaurant Ship has 130 seats in an air-conditioned restaurant, a cocktail bar, function rooms and sun terraces that offer  tapas and drinks until 11 pm. They can be pre-booked for private functions and corporate events – just the ticket for a spellbinding meeting under the stars.

Other features available include entertainers and ice sculptures, Christmas and birthday celebrations and wedding receptions on any of the City Cruises ships. City Cruises operates every day of the year other than Christmas Day, and with disabled facilities throughout, it’s a family attraction that everybody can revel in.

Tower of London Pier, Waterloo Pier, Westminster Pier Tel: 020 77 400 400 Times: Dependent on your chosen cruise.

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You are here: Things to Do > Evening Dinner Cruises on the Thames with City Cruises

Evening Dinner Cruises on the Thames with City Cruises

Type: boat trip.

Tel: +44 (0)20 77 400 400

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Enjoy an evening in London on a Thames dinner cruise!

There's plenty of choice. Choose from:

July 2023 City Cruises partner with Aperol Spritz!

Throughout July come onboard our evening cruise and you will be welcomed with the unmistakably fresh orange drink! It will be the perfect way to start your evening plans, come sit on the upper deck and soak in the stunning views while sipping the good vibes! Also, we are providing a drink offer 2 for £12! Only available Monday to Wednesday. Make sure to book online and skip the queues at the ticket office.

London Dinner Cruise on the River Thames

Wine, dine and dance on this great dinner cruise on the River Thames. See spectacular views including the Illiuminated River and enjoy top hits sung by a live performer. 

Cost: £74

Departure: The boat departs from Westminster Pier (SW1A 2JH) at 19.45pm. Boarding commences at boarding point 2 from 19.30pm. Once you’ve wined and dined on the Thames, the boat will return to Westminster Pier at 22.45pm.

Evening Cruise on the River Thames

Sail off into the evening and see London's riverside landmarks at their glittering best on a cruise down the River. Thames. 

Cost: £32

Departure: The boat departs from Tower Pier EC3N 4DT. Boarding at 18.15. Cruising: 18:30 to 20:30

Additional Information

• Unfortunately children under 13 years are not allowed on this cruise.
• Please note that we are unable to accommodate wheelchair users on this cruise

Jazz Dinner Cruise on the River Thames

Smooth, relaxed jazz nights and delicious dinners on the river Thames. 

Cost £74

Departure: Boat deaprts from Westminster Pier SW1A 2JH. Boarding at 19.45. Cruising: 20:00 to 23:00

Guide Prices

Adult (18+) - incl. half bottle of wine* £81.00 Champagne Package for 2 (18+) Mon to Fri £207.00 Champagne Package for 2 (18+) Sat - Sun £217.00 Child (5-17) £81.00 Window Supplement - Per Table of 2 £10.00 Weekend Supplement from £5.00

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Cherry Garden Pier

Above: Looking east from the shore at low tide, with Canary Wharf in the background.

The subject of piers on the Thames in an interesting one. In the days when the docks were still in use – which ended by the 1970s – there were few piers on the Thames and they were all under the control of the Port of London Authority (PLA), along with all the docks.

The PLA was established by the Port of London Act in 1908 to govern the Port of London. This gave it responsibility for operating all the enclosed dock systems, apart from Regent’s Canal Dock. It used to include the Port of Tilbury but the Tilbury Docks were privatised in 1992. The PLA has control over the Thames from a point near Teddington Lock, in the west, to a point on the estuary of the Thames, in the east – a distance of about 95 miles (150 km). The PLA originally had its prestigious headquarters on Tower Hill. After the PLA vacated the building, it was used for a time by Willis and then, in 2017, the building opened as a 100-room luxury hotel called 10 Trinity Square.

The PLA piers – of which Cherry Garden Pier was one – were manned by PLA personnel and their function was to aid the navigation of cargo shipping on the Thames. When the docks closed, there was little traffic on the Thames and the PLA piers were not required. Some of them were removed completely but most of them were sold off and taken over by private companies, using them to moor private passenger-carrying vessels.  These vessels are in use either as tripping boats – carrying passengers in trips to see the Thames – or in use for private functions on the Thames – like corporate entertainment, weddings or parties.

In the days of the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) – which was from 1981 until the late 1990s – new piers were constructed. Some of them were for additional tourist provisions while many were for stopping points for the newly-formed River Bus. Today, there are many piers on the Thames in use for many varied purposes. Some of the old PLA piers still exist but, due to their age, many of them have been replaced.

When Cherry Garden Pier was in use by the PLA, it was a busy place, always manned by day and by night, because it had a very important function to perform. Tower Bridge was completed 1894 to carry road traffic across it and also to open so that river traffic could pass through the middle of it. A quick look at a map of the Thames will reveal that the river has a distinct bend so that approaching large cargo ships could not see Tower Bridge as they rounded the bend at Limehouse. Similarly, those responsible for raising the bascules of the bridge could not see the ships until they were a very short distance away. When Tower Bridge was completed, the idea was that ships would not have to wait for the bridge to be raised but, instead, the bridge would be raised in advance so that the ships could pass through unhindered.

Remember that the bridge was completed at the end of the 19th century and the telephone was in use in London. The first telephone call in London was made in 1877. Tower Bridge could be informed of approaching ships by having PLA staff on lookout duty at Cherry Garden Pier. The position of the pier was such that men on the pier could see vessels as they rounded the bend at Limehouse. They then phoned Tower Bridge to advise them of an approaching vessel. The need for this communication declined in the 1960s as the wharves on the Thames and the large docks gradually closed and cargo vessels no longer came to the upper reaches of the river.

In addition, there was a working tide gauge on the downstream dolphin supporting Cherry Garden Pier. By the means of a large piece of timber, marked in feet, the level of the water showed the headroom between the two white lines painted on the bascules of Tower Bridge. All evidence for the tide gauge has now gone.

Cherry Garden Pier has been in use by a company chartering river-boats for cruises and functions on the Thames since the 1970s. The small huts at the western end of today’s pier probably remain from the days when the pier was operated by the PLA. They are in the same style that all PLA piers were built.

Finally, a few words of explanation of the name of the pier. The name derives from a place of public recreation that opened in 1664 on the river bank. As well as a beer or coffee house, there was a large garden, part of which was a cherry orchard. Samuel Pepys mentioned the place in his diary for 13 June 1664 with the words “… down to Greenwich and there saw the King’s Works … and so to the Cherry Garden and so carried some cherries home;”. Two days later, 15 June 1664, he was there again “to Greenwich … and so to the Cherry Garden and then by water singing finely to the bridge [London Bridge] and there landed”.

The Cherry Garden was closed in 1708. It was situated on land now covered by the street bearing its name. That street runs south from the street called Bermondsey Wall. Cherry Garden Stairs are shown on early maps. Cherry Garden Pier was probably not built until about 1850. It is not shown on Greenwood’s map (1830) or Cary’s map (1837) but it is shown on the first OS map for 1862. Cherry Garden Pier is now a private pier with no public access.

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City Cruises – London

City cruises provides tourism and leisure passenger services on the river thames with more than four million passenger journeys the biggest tour boat operator on the river thames,....

City Cruises provides tourism and leisure passenger services on the River Thames with more than four million passenger journeys

The biggest tour boat operator on the River Thames, City Cruises provides tourism and leisure passenger services on the River Thames.

More than four million passenger journeys taking place every year on its route through the heart of London between Westminster and the Tower of London.

Then cruise under Tower Bridge and down river to Greenwich enjoying a journey through 2,000 years of liquid history.

Based at Cherry Garden Pier, a historic location in south-east London that was once a part of London’s huge commercial docks dating back to the 1880’s.

Part of the setting for many of Whistler’s paintings, City Cruises operate a fleet of 17 passenger boats, along with a small fleet of support vessels and barges.

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Summary, History and Founders of City Cruises

The biggest tour boat operator on the River Thames, City Cruises provides tourism and leisure passenger services on the River Thames with more than four million passenger journeys taking place every year on its route through the heart of London between Westminster and the Tower of London, then under Tower Bridge and down river to Greenwich – a journey through 2,000 years of liquid history.

Based at Cherry Garden Pier, a historic location in south-east London that was once a part of London’s huge commercial docks dating back to the 1880’s and part of the setting for many of Whistler’s paintings, City Cruises operate a fleet of 17 passenger boats, along with a small fleet of support vessels and barges.

The story begins some decades ago…

Although City Cruises did not actually come into being until 1996, the company can trace its roots back two decades earlier when Gary and Rita Beckwith OBE, Chairman and CEO respectively, acquired a fuel barge with which to supply the various boat operators on the River Thames in London. It was, however, a further nine years before they entered the passenger-carrying business when they acquired their first sightseeing vessel, The King, in 1985.

City Cruises has always been at the forefront of change in the industry, acquiring smaller operators in a traditionally fragmented industry and consolidating ownership under the City Cruises umbrella. Our growth has been driven through innovation, investment and our commitment to customer service.

City Cruises developed the first brand on the River Thames, built the first new purpose-built sightseeing boat for 25 years in 1996 – named by Her Majesty the Queen – and developed the first GPS-driven multilingual commentary system.

City Cruises now operates a modern fleet of large, comfortable boats with open top decks together with our unique heritage fleet. Our latest addition to the fleet, Millennium Diamond, was built in 2012 and has the largest passenger-carrying capacity on the river at 600 passengers.

In 2002 the company acquired The Yard Arm Club Ltd. and, along with it, the Restaurant Ship Hispaniola to add a static vessel to the fleet and a top-class central London restaurant and events venue to the product portfolio.

Formerly the steamship, Maid of Ashton, she sailed the Clyde and came to rest on the Victoria Embankment by Hungerford Bridge in the 1970’s with spectacular views from the Houses of Parliament to St Paul’s Cathedral. The Hispaniola is now renowned for Al Fresco dining on her large, open decks with an all-day bar and restaurant on the Upper Deck.

In April 2014, City Cruises expanded outside London and now operates in Poole, Dorset. Our two vessels, Solent Scene and Island Scene, sail from Poole Quay, offering cruises across the sea to Swanage, along the Jurassic Coast – a magnificent World Heritage Site with spectacular views – and around Europe’s largest natural harbour which includes Brownsea Island.

In May 2017 City Cruises arrived in York, a small and beautiful city in the north of England, by acquiring York River Boat Cruises Ltd., which is now known as City Cruises York. Our cruises help visitors see one of the country’s most-visited destinations outside London. Sightseeing cruises run from two boarding points along the River Ouse, King’s Staith and Lendal Bridge, and dining cruises will develop a schedule similar to that of London. In addition we offer small boats for private hire.

Gary and Rita are both very active in the London tourism scene. Gary is a Board member of the European Tour Operators Association and Patron of Whoosh, the charity of the Stephen Hawking School. Rita was Chairman of the Docklands Business Club for eight years and has just retired from the Chairmanship of UKinbound after five years. She now sits on the Board of Visit Greenwich. Rita Beckwith received the OBE from Her Majesty the Queen in 2012 for her services to tourism and the regeneration of London Docklands.

At the end of October 2019 City Cruises was acquired by Hornblower UK Holdings Ltd, an American dining and excursion cruise operator based out of San Francisco. Hornblower has been operating for 35 years in the US and runs popular river cruises, harbour cruises, whale watching trips and ferries throughout North America including iconic trips to Alcatraz in San Francisco, The Statue of Liberty in New York and Niagara Falls in Canada. They are the largest river and harbour cruising company in the US

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