Riverside Dinner Cruise on Chao Phraya River (Bangkok)

It's been over a year since I've been on a dinner cruise in Bangkok. With Sam visiting the city for the first time we decided to go for one figuring it is one of the "must do" things when visiting Bangkok.



We chose the Riverside Cruise 3 because it is the only boat that offers an ala carte menu. When we arrived we were awed by the size of the boat. This is probably the biggest dinner cruise I've ever seen holding at least a few hundred people.



The boat was only half full that night with everyone opting for fresh air by seating on the upper deck. With most of the diners being Thais this boat is obviously meant for locals. This is also evident because most of the staff could barely speak English and the service was very very appalling so much so that I would rather talk about the service rather than the mediocre food.




The bad service started when the staff was annoyed when we could not understand their English when ordering. However what pissed us off was when the rain came and Sam slipped from the metal staircase while walking downstairs to the lower deck. Despite suffering a bad sprain and minor cuts the staff did not offer any assistance until we requested for it. Even so they had no urgency in getting us an ice pack and band aids. What made it even more annoying was the manager's insistence that Sam's injuries were very minor and did not even offer an apology nor admit that the stairs were slippery and they should have placed some rubber mats to avoid any mishaps.

To add insult to injury our waiter was really annoyed at us when we asked him to read out what we ordered to make sure we weren't overcharged for our meal. Even after the bad service he had the guts to ask us for tips which I refused to give telling him off that I ain't giving a cent because he was rude.

This was probably the worse experience from a service standpoint that I've had in Bangkok and it definitely did not leave a good first impression for Sam on his first night. Anyone that is going on a dinner cruise in Bangkok should definitely avoid the Riverside Cruise even though it maybe cheaper and offers an ala carte menu. I would rather pay more for a buffet cruise which has much better service and food.







Food: 2.5/5
Ambiance: 2/5
Service: 1/5
Price: $ (Approx 15 USD per person)

Contact Information
Address:195 Ratwiti Rd., Bangkok 10700.
Tel:+66-2883-1588
Web:http://www.riversidebangkok.com/eng/boat_riverside3.html