SO and I will be in BKK in a few weeks, and in the course of our research, we came across what looks like a lovely way to spend an evening:

http://www.manohracruises.com/

Clearly there are better places for food, and clearly there are cheaper ways to go, but this boat/dinner spread in particular seems quite lovely.

Has anyone been on this boat? For 1,700 Bhat (I found a site that offers a 300 BHT discount), is it a serious ripoff?

Thanks! :cool:

I'm considering this also, for our visit next year. Frommer's recommends that exact cruise:

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/bangkok/0071010028.html (scroll to bottom)

Where did you find the discount?

SO and I will be in BKK in a few weeks, and in the course of our research, we came across what looks like a lovely way to spend an evening:

http://www.manohracruises.com/

Clearly there are better places for food, and clearly there are cheaper ways to go, but this boat/dinner spread in particular seems quite lovely.

Has anyone been on this boat? For 1,700 Bhat (I found a site that offers a 300 BHT discount), is it a serious ripoff?

Thanks! :cool:

IF you're not staying at a hotel on the river, why not.
How can i put this, it's not for me, but everytime we bring friends over they go on one and love it.
The river is exciting, I stay at the ROS and I can sit with a drink on the balcony for hours watching the ferries ply back and forth with one at either side and one hovering in the middle. The huge rice barges six in a row pulled by this little boat and the hotel boats all jockying for position and at nighttime the LIGHTS.
It's $40, would you pay this amount at home to do it?
In Melbourne we have tourist pay $80 to travel on a tram and have dinner and it's booked out solid, so in Bangkok why not
We go on one that leaves from the ShangriLa, but thats only because my friends are snobs. Do it, you are on holidays you do things like that, I told my mother in law, don't catch that cab that sits outside the hotel because it's a con, he will take you to "his brother's jewellery shop". I leave them on their own for one day and what do they do, YES, they did, but we have had so much fun with that story. have a good time bkkrop

The river is exciting, I stay at the ROS and I can sit with a drink on the balcony for hours watching the ferries ply back and forth with one at either side and one hovering in the middle. The huge rice barges six in a row pulled by this little boat and the hotel boats all jockying for position and at nighttime the LIGHTS.

Slightly OT, but do they have balconies at the ROS ?

Actually its more convenient to go on one of these dinner cruises when you are staying by the river, no need to go on a mini-van that goes round picking passengers up from all over BKK. I have seen the one mentioned above and it appeared quite "romantic" from the pier, but I believe those big boats leaving from the River City are cheaper.

... for hours watching the ferries ply back and forth with one at either side and one hovering in the middle. The huge rice barges six in a row pulled by this little boat and the hotel boats all jockying for position and at nighttime the LIGHTS.

That's exactly what I did at the Millennium Hilton in April. Thanks for reviving that memory.

I'm considering this also, for our visit next year. Frommer's recommends that exact cruise:

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/bangkok/0071010028.html (scroll to bottom)

Where did you find the discount?

I found it here (http://www.bangkok.com/dinner-&-shows-tours/manorah.html). :cool:

I've done dinner cruises a couple of times and find them to be a nice introduction to Bangkok for new visitors. I consider it a must do for visitors not staying on the river.
Check local info to see if there are any festivals going on during your visit, many are centered on the river and make it a more colorful experience.

if u want to do a dinner cruise at a reasonable price, then try http://www.riversidebangkok.com/eng/cruise.html from the pier at riverside bangkok hotel, ratwiti road, thonburi (just across the krungthon bridge from chitlada palace, the hotel and pier are an easy walk from the krungthon bridge pier that is used by the chao phraya express riverbus). this is the largest dinner cruise boat on the chao phraya river.

if i remember correctly, then the cruise itself is only 200 baht per head, plus whatever u order from the superb a la carte menu. i think i paid over 2000 baht (total cost for two), back in 2005.

most tables are on the open-air top deck, but there is also live music and dancing on the lower deck after dinner. u can choose to have ur dinner on the air-con lower deck if u wish. u can reserve a table on +66 28831588 (the boat can be full on saturday nights). there is also a buffet cruise for 800 baht per head, but i haven’t been on that one.

ian. :)

I believe this is the top-of-the line dinner cruise experience in Bangkok:

http://www.mandarinoriental.com/hotel/510000041.asp

I've taken the dinner cruise while staying at the Bangkok Marriott, which is on the river. I believe that the hotel is the first pick up point for the Manohra. We were with another couple. It was a lovely way to enjoy an evening. Much of historic Bangkok is on the river and it is fascinating to see it. It is really a pleasant, relaxed way to spend an evening.

Thanks all for the responses! Seems like a worthwhile thing to do!

Can I vote for both "fun" and "ripoff"? The food is generally mediocre to bad, the "Thai traditional music/dancing" is touristy in the extreme, and the price tag really is pretty steep by Bangkok standards... but it is a great way to relax and view the temples lit up at night, and definitely worth a spin once.

I've been on the one I think by the Riverside hotel. I recommend it. Perhaps it was because some local coworkers took me, but they kept ordering the best dishes and I really enjoyed the food. The boat is big, you can sit outside but if it rains you can sit inside.

At night on the river it is cooler than any place else in BKK. The river used to be the main entrance to Siam. All the old temples and embassies on the river have their "best" face facing the river, and they are well lighted at night, so you get a view of the city totally different than you see riding on a narrow road on the land side of these same places. A foreign visitor in the 1800s seeing these gold temples for the first time must have been quite surprised and impressed by the sight that this was no little Asian backwater but a major advanced city as fine as what they had back home.

The Cultural Experience of your Life: Forget all the bad kareoke you have had to endure, you are in for a treat! The band on the inside deck has a favorite song which you might hear several times in the night. John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads". Once you hear them MURDER this in pseudo English it will stick in your head FOREVER. Second only to "It's a Small World", this version will linger in your brain long after your BKK trip is over.

Second only to "It's a Small World", this version will linger in your brain long after your BKK trip is over.

*Why* did you write that?

I'm in a lounge at LHR trying not to hum now.

PS. Are these nights OK for someone alone?

I have done both the Mandarin Oriental cruise and the Menora.
The barges are similar in looks, but the food and drink on the Oriental barge is vastly superior. Both are buffets. Both have a pre departure cocktail party on land.

I always stay at the Pen so it was much easier for me to catch the barge from the Oriental just accross the river.

The Menora leaves from the Marriot Resort which is a cab ride away and return.