Even though I had been living in London for a few months and spent most of my life living in the UK, for some reason I had never been on a boat cruise along the River Thames before! That all changed when I was asked to attend an Instameet with City Cruises and Visit London. I had such a good afternoon seeing the city I currently call home from a completely different perspective.
So, whether you’re living in London or just visiting, here is my City Cruises Review for City Cruises Boat Trips along the River Thames and why you should do this and be a tourist in London!
City Cruises Review!
Keep reading fro my City Cruises Review from a Londoner!
If you’re not in London already and need to book train tickets to London, be sure to check out The Train Line. I use them all the time to compare the best train times, journey lengths and prices!
1. It’s an all-weather activity!
London and the UK in general is known for its unpredictable weather! If you’re coming to London and have a day planned to see all of the sights and rain is forecasted then jumping out of the tube station, onto a covered pier, and onto a City Cruises boat is an ideal solution to see all of the sights in London in the rain!
Of course if the weather is nice then you can go on top of the boat and see the city from the top (and even from the front if you don’t mind getting splashed!) but the boat does have a great space inside with big windows incase it is bad weather!
Related Post: More ideas for Things to do in London when it rains!
Although it was very windy we were able to stay on top of the boat for the whole cruise!
2. You’ll avoid the crowds!
The second thing we all know about London is that it’s a very busy city, I live here and battle the tourist crowds on a daily basis while trying not to get too stressed!
When you’re on holiday and on a special trip the last thing you want to do is to get stressed because of the crowds on the pavements so jumping onto a boat with City Cruises is the perfect way to avoid this but still see the best of London’s top attractions!
- Convinced Already?? Book Your Cruise Here:
- A River Thames Sightseeing Cruise
- A River Thames Lunch Cruise
- A River Thames Afternoon Tea Cruise
- A River Thames 3 Hour Jazz Dinner Cruise
- A River Thames 2 Hour Sparkling Sunset Cruise
City Cruises Review!
3. Awesome photo opportunities!
Ok, this might be one of the best reasons to choose a boat trip over walking in this City Cruises Review.
In relation to the crowd’s point, London’s iconic icons get very very busy and there’s nothing worse than trying to get that perfect picture of Big Ben or the London Eye and have a zillion heads in the photo.
We all got some amazing photos from the boat, not only does it enable you to get a head-free photo it also gives you a chance to get some photos from different (and way better) perspective!
So much old and new in one shot!
Book Your City Cruises River Thames Boat Trips Here:
4. It’s a guided tour!
A trip on a City Cruises Boat Trip along the Thames is not only visually great, but you’ll also learn lots about the city too in terms of the buildings your passing, the bridges you’re going under, the districts you’re going in-between and some fun facts on the big landmarks, but that’s also a real positive for this City Cruises Review!
Example: The Grapes pub you can see on the very left below is Co-owned by Ian Mckellen (a famous English actor) who also lives just a few houses down and installed the man statue you can see in water in the picture below too!
Can you spot the man in the water??
5. It will save your legs!
Not only is London a busy city it is also a very big city! While I would 100% recommend that you walk some of the River Thames as it’s a beautiful walk, it is very long! Last year I walked from Tower Bridge to the London Eye and saw lots in between however my feet were killing afterwards and I don’t believe I’ve walked that much of it since!
You have to walk enough in London as it is so why not save your feet for this particular activity and walk around some of the beautiful neighbourhoods instead!
6. You can make an event out of it!
Although you can do a standard Sightseeing boat cruise which is what we did, City Cruises also offer some great themed and food-related boat tours like:
- A River Thames Sightseeing Cruise
- A River Thames Lunch Cruise
- A River Thames Afternoon Tea Cruise
- A River Thames 3 Hour Jazz Dinner Cruise
- A River Thames 2 Hour Sparkling Sunset Cruise
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7. Hop on and Hop Off!
With City Cruises, if you go on the Sightseeing Cruise you can choose the type of ticket you want and choose different departure and arrival points, not only that but you can get off after one journey, have a few hours exploring and then get back on for your return journey.
I would suggest getting on around Tower Bridge and taking the Cruise down to Greenwich passing by Canary Wharf on the way, get off the boat in Greenwich to explore as it’s a beautiful part of the City (make sure you check out the view from Greenwich Park and head to the Markets) and then get back on up to the London Eye/Westminster!
Approaching Canary Wharf
8. The Price!
As well as being busy, big, with unpredictable weather London is also an expensive City (I’m really selling London to you here aren’t I! haha. I promise it’s worth it!) but you can pick cruise options depending on your budget meaning it doesn’t have to be really really expensive!
Single tickets start from £10.00 and return tickets from £14.00 and that really isn’t too bad for London!
Search for tickets and prices here!
All smiles for things that don’t cost too much!
9. Great Quality!
There’s nothing I hate more than paying for an attraction and it turned out to be a disappointment and waste of money and often this hasn’t got anything to do with what you’re seeing, it’s the facilities and staff.
However the City Cruises boats are really nice, both their top deck and inside deck are really spacious, they have a bar on the boat selling drinks and snacks, the toilets are nice and most of all the staff were really helpful and friendly!
10. Embrace being a tourist and have fun!
This is a touristy thing to do, there’s no denying that but whether you live in London or are visiting sometimes you have to just embrace being a tourist, see the Iconic sights that make up the city you love and just enjoy it!
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- Book Your Cruise Here:
- A River Thames Sightseeing Cruise
- A River Thames Lunch Cruise
- A River Thames Afternoon Tea Cruise
- A River Thames 3 Hour Jazz Dinner Cruise
- A River Thames 2 Hour Sparkling Sunset Cruise
- More of my London Posts:
- Things To Do in London When it Rains
- 25 Day Trips from London by Train
- A 2 Day London Itinerary from a Local
- How to Walk from Tower Bridge to the London Eye
Thank you to Visit London for inviting me to the Instameet with City Cruises and Tower Bridge and to City Cruises for the trip!