Istanbul Bosphorus Cruise With Dinner And Belly-dancing Show

Average food... Belly dance begins around 10.30pm and lasts for 1 hr. From 8.30pm to 10.30pm food and alcohol is served as per the option selected. Nothing extra ordinary in this tour.

me and my partner went on 30.03.2019 and we love every moment of it. The journey was lovely, the food was great and the entertainment was great! would definitely recommend.

I did two Turkish night cruises whilst in Istanbul and this one was by far the best! The boat was spacious, modern and it had different levels both inside and out. The dinner was good. However the entertainment was sensational. Classic Turkish dances mixed with modern entertainment. The audience was engaged at all times and the performers were very talented. The tables were positioned so it was easy for everyone to see. The transfers were also efficient. Definitely the best form of evening entertainment in Istanbul!

Very over rated, highly commercialized. Scheduled departure was 20:20 but the boat did not leave until 21:10. Costs can vary from agent to agent. I paid US $ 92, which includes pick up and drop from and to hotel. They ask for you hotel details while booking. After you have booked your confirmation can come with a note informing you that your hotel is not in the city limits so pls find your way to the pier. For a first time visitor this can be very daunting although most taxi drivers know the city well and the ride can vary in cost depending on what route the taxi driver takes. So watch out for tour operator, I took the one which was recommended by TripAdvisor. Once the pier is reached the boat is easy to find. But apart identifying its highly over rated. Very poor seating arrangement, table meant for six people had seat eight, very tight squeeze with no room left to maneuver. All 4 people had to get up and move out for last one to visit the toilet. Air conditioning was very poor / inadequate consider the tour operator had people packed in like sardines. Salads and starters were pre laid very unprofessionally. Alcoholic beverages were unlimited but that is probably the reason for price difference. The open upper decks are highly recommended as that’s where it really happens. By the time you have had a couple of drinks every thing begins to look different and one stops looking at short comings. Istanbul is blessed with natural beauty and the cruise by itself is A Must but for cold food and very poorly organized trip.

<p>Avoid this tour. This was a disappointment. We arrived with the tour company's van pick up service. Dinner was unorganized and cold. You feel like you are eating at the high school cafeteria. The dancing show starts after dinner service and you have to go upstairs. Unless you are lucky enough to get in the front row, you can see nothing. The belly dancer must needs lessons, all in all, a big disappointment and not worth the money.</p>

<p>Was interesting initially but a little stretched and got a little boring in the end.</p>

<p>The cruise is excellent as you get a splendid view of the illuminated monuments and buildings of Istanbul after sunset . The dance performance is reasonable . Food quality can be improved especially the breads which did not appear to be fresh .</p>

<p>Good cruise though a bit crowded and average dining choices.</p>

Due to the heavy traffic the shuttle arrived early to ensure we were not late. The organizing was good. The waiter if staff was great, the food was good and the wines and beer, plenary. Overall a highlight of the trip.

We booked a tour on River Bosphorus that is a famous attraction of the visit. The river separates Istanbul from Europe to Asia. We booked online. The food was average and cultural shows and dances good. The staff was not friendly. The dances were confined to the centre of the boat. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO SELECT YOUR SEAT. This facility is not available online and there is no provision of seat selection on arrival since they appear to have pre selected. So please do book it through a local agent and ask for seat in centre area. You can also bargain hard. Beware of Syrian refugees near the boat who are very persistent in begging, using children!!

Let me say that never ever booked here we could not find the boat and there isn’t a sign of the boat! Until now 3 months TripAdvisor has no chance to reply or call back all my emails and refunds that cost us almost 200dollars! Never again !

<p>Don't Miss it. Sit-down dinner -Excellent service though seating bit cramped multi course, right from Salad to Coffee. Music and Dance performances were very good with active guest participation. Well Worth the evening gets over at mid-night. The focus is not to show tour places, but to keep you engaged</p>

<p>I booked this tour because of the excellent reviews it had gotten. The overall experience was good and the food was tasty as well. However, they came to pick us up one and half hour late because they did not have any information of our booking even though I called and confirmed our booking a day before our cruise and they told us they'll come to pick us up at 7 pm. <br/> On the day of our cruise, I called at 7:10 pm and they said they do not have any booking with my name. I had to send them a picture of the receipt and that's when they sent a driver, who came around 8:30 pm. We were really bummed out because we thought we would probably miss the cruise but we made it on time. We were probably the last guests to arrive. <br/> Also, the pictures they have uploaded on this page are misleading. The dinner and the show takes place inside, not outdoors.</p>

<p>We loved it , a beautiful cruise on this historic waters after sun set with enjoyable entertainment</p>

<p>The belly dancer was really good and we also got to join on the traditional Turkish dance. <br/> The food could be better</p>

<p>Nice tour. It really combines cruise dinner with a scenic tour, showing the main attractions along the Bosphorous Cruise. Nice dance show and good food complements the tour.</p>

<p>The tour delivered everything they claim on the website, but it was overcrowded and the service was inconsistent. We had one server who was great, we started with him and I thought he would make up for the sardine-like seating arrangement. However over time we got another one as well and he was far too brusque and pushy. He cleared my friend's water glass as she was reaching for it to take a drink and another friend's plate while she still had silverware in hand chewing! The high volume of people also made it difficult to really see/experience the show. With so many other boat tours on offer and the fairly high price of this one, I'd recommend considering an alternative.</p>

<p>The Bosphorus Cruise was entertaining and certainly something one should do while visiting Istanbul. The pick-up and drop-off were prompt and in tour buses that sat me two other couples with plenty of room. The dinner was delicious, and the drink service was generous. Belly dancing was a little touristy, but entertaining at the least.<br/> My chief complaint is that we only headed down the Bosphorus Strait when our tour card on the tables showed we were supposed to travel down to see Old City at night too. That was disappointing, as it was my only opportunity to see Old City from the water or at night.</p>

<p>My client rated it 4 stars-she had a wonderful time.</p> <p>Bonnie Cornell, Worldview Travel La Jolla, CA</p>

<p>the cruise was very nice, the Bosphorus at night it was magical. I recommend this tour because the night in the Bosphorus is something to remember. Other words it is beautiful experience.</p>

<p>Wonderful cruise, good food and great entertainment</p>

<p>Beautiful scenery on the Bosphorous. Food was reasonable. I wasn't expecting so many people. The dancing show was on the upper deck but the stage view was limited due to the number of people in front of us.</p>

<p>Chaotic beginning with poor service. Never got drink order even after several requests. Last hour was a total waste of time as only watching other customers dance. Surely better cruises out there.</p>

<p>Neverthless I have confirmed my pick-up time by calling plan tour agency, which was at 7:30, and gave them the specified hotel room number, no-one came to pick me up. I have waited so long at the hotel room. I have called the plan our agency emrgency contact number for five times with no answer. I was very disaapointed.</p>

<p>Excellent dinner and dancing. Was a lot of fun. Worth going again</p>

<p>The food was good. The people at the table were very interesting-from all over the world. The entertainment was wonderful. Never thought I would be on a dancing on the Bosphorus.</p>

<p>The cruise, dinner and belly dance show was exceptional. The dinner was table service which made it nice and easy without having to fight queues. Istanbul by night, you've gotta do it!</p>

<p>This was a very enjoyable evening. We were impressed with the organization and efficiency of the entire staff we felt welcomed and were treated very well. The food was quite good and served hot to everyone at the same time the entertainment was both instructive and hilarious the view along the river with all of the buildings illuminated was actually worth the price of the tour. Our only complaint was that it began so late 8 pm and was about an hour too long. Many other guests would disagree with us - they were dancing their hearts out after the entertainment.</p>

<p>It was over-all a disappointment.<br/> 1 To get to the pier, you would need to JAYWALK across a main road with fast-paced vehicles<br/> The travel agency provided a vehicle for hotel pick-up, but we had no idea that the vehicle will not lead us straight to the pier we had to cross that dangerous road in the middle of the night. I almost got hit by a car.<br/> 2 Food was terrible<br/> Turkey is known for its superb delicacies, but what was offered to us was visually unappetizing and just plain unsavory and hardly edible. <br/> 3 Cruise was jampacked.<br/> There was no elbow room whatsoever. No personal space to speak of. I was expecting a spacious dining hall, but we were cramped into a long table and forced to mingle with people seated just an inch or two next to us. A can of sardines - that was how it was. Extremely uncomfortable.<br/> 4 Cultural performance left much to be desired<br/> I was hoping the cultural performance would redeem the entire Bosphorus Cruise experience - but I was too optimistic for my own good. <br/> When you think of a Belly-dancing show in Turkey - wouldn't you naturally expect a Turkish woman to perform? But no, what we got was an Asian woman. I am Asian. I don't intend to malign my own race. In fairness to the performer, she was good. But since we were in Turkey, we were expecting a more authentic Turkish show. <br/> 5 Limited viewing of cultural performance<br/> The only ones who could actually watch the entirety of the performance were those who were fortunate enough to get seated around the stage. The rest of us had to stand. What is annoying is that we were asked to return to our seats when we got a bit closer to the stage. We hardly saw the performance. I told one of the staff that we had to approach because we could barely see the show, and he pointed to the televisions positioned in selected areas, which also captures the entire performance. Why the hell would we watch the show on TV when the show is right before us?</p> <p>BAD EXPERIENCE. WASTE OF MONEY.</p>

<p>The Bosphorus at night is breath-taking to see the landmarks and waterfront houses illuminated is really a cool experience - I've previously gone on a sunset cruise and preferred the experience at night. This tour offers a hotel pick up and drop off, which was a nice perk. The boat we were on was on the higher-end, spacious with working, non-stinky toilets and wasn't filled to capacity. The entertainment was funny the belly dancing with audience participation was especially cringe-worthy - men, beware. Drinks were house wines, beers and spirits and were served throughout the evening. The food was very mediocre and I fell ill afterwards a major ding for the tour. Only other ding was that the tour felt like it was an hour too long it started at 8:30 and we docked around midnight.</p>

<p>I would definitely not recommend this cruise to anyone. What a disappointment! Where do I start. First this was suppose to be a live entertainment cruise, however, the ship was so overcrowded that the the only why to see anything was to watch it on tv screens. Second the food was so, so. I had better food in the street markets. Thirdly, the service was horrible, not only did they not understand English but you waited for ever just to have them say, yes, yes and the disappear. Truly a disappointing experience.</p>

<p>Very nice cruise, good food and Belly-Dancing show , unfortunately the boat was not full so atmospherically a bit lacking, but would recommend this trip.</p>

<p>The food was terrible with a lot of people not even touch their dinner. the entertainment was ok .</p>

<p>Our hotel pickup was scheduled for 7.30 pm on 20.08 but the driver finally came at 8.15 pm - we were just about to go on our own when he entered - this start was disappointing. Upon reaching the cruise ship, we were asked to be seated on a table with other customers and were served drinks and dinner. All the guests were entertained with live shows and dancing while on cruise. From time to time, over the loudspeaker they informed us of the various monuments/buildings that could be seen from the cruise. After dinner we went upstairs where the belly dancing show happened. In the end the floor was opened to all guests for dancing. We met some friends from a day earlier while in Istanbul and had a great time among ourselves. Later we were dropped off at our hotel. The overall experience was good. However, please ensure that your driver sticks to the timings.</p>

<p>From the picture we thought we would be on the deck of a boat looking at the sights of Istanbul as the sun went down. Our pick up was half an hour late....it was dark by the time we reached our boat. We were immediately shown down to a lower deck. There were rows and rows of tables and we were crammed on to one. There must have been 200 people down below. The starters had obviously been on the tables for a while and the wine and beer that we were brought were warm. I started to feel very claustrophobic! We could have been on a boat anywhere. They windows were tiny and you couldn't see anything. I started to feel unwell and could not bear the thought of being on there for 3 hours. My husband and I go up and managed to get off the boat just before it left.</p>

<p>The food was average however the entertainment was well worth it!</p>

<p>This was the most fun I have ever had on a night boat cruise. Mainly entertainment with a little history with surrounding building due to main focus is on great food and entertainment. It is beautiful to see the building and bridges all lit up at night. Also it is neat how some of the buildings/bridges change different colors. Everything is inclusive. Unlimited alcohol. Well worth the price. Met the owner who is very nice and very involved with making sure workers and everyone is getting what they want. A must see!</p>

<p>Everything was so splendid, organised and superb by all means. Great service</p>

<p>The tour in itself is beautiful. As a senior citizen with limited mobility we would need more information about climbing stairs on the boat.</p>

<p>The boat trip was very nice and relaxing with beautiful scenery . The dinner was ok, but the show left a lot to be desired. Didn't seem like authentic belly dancing</p>

<p>If I had to do this over I would have booked through my hotell instead. The oporator would not pick us up from our hotell and it was extreamly difficult to communicate with the oporator to determine where we had to meet him. Food on boat was mediocer. Views were excellent. We could have booked same cruise at our hotell with pickup and dropoff for much less then we paid. That aside, the Bosphorus in the evening is fantastic.</p>

<p>Relaxing, traditional food, fun entertainment, many great views</p>

<p>The tour company failed to pick my parents up at the agreed location and so they missed the cruise. They were then sent rude emails by the tour company. Avoid at all costs!!</p>

<p>There were problems with hotel pickup hotel not found or guests not show up? and traffic was bad, so we were late to the boat. Since everybody was late so that was ok. For dinner, we were seated downstairs at the middle of the table, middle of the boat, where our views were blocked by other guests. I thought our tickets was for the upper level for dinner? Most of the waiter spoke little English so we had a hard time communicating with them. Finally the manager moved us to the window seats. The waiter who came to take our order told us in broken English that the choice for the main course were fish and chicken. My husband asked him again and again if those were the only choices, he kept repeating fish and chicken. Then my husband heard the waiter at the next table mentioned meat beef so he had to find our waiter to change his selection from fish to meat. I had to say I was not very happy at the beginning. Otherwise, the food was ok, the show was good. I am ok with the tour.</p>

<p>It is only just ok if you do not have anything else to do. The show and food were good.</p>

<p>interesting show cruising down the Bosporus this March past. it wasn't river dance but it was enjoyable,food was okay left at 830 was back at pier for about 1130.food.twould be good for families and i think t'would be even better in the summer.</p>

<p>kind of disappointed from this activity. They stopped a lot, the food was awful, entertainement not interesting and up to the standards</p>

<p>Despite the snow the car from the hotel arrived on time and sped us down to the boat. We were quickly seated and had good views from the large windows. The food was reasonable fare, nothing that exciting but perfectly OK. The local drinks were fine and I have to say the staff were quick to top up your wine. The views from the cruise were very good and it was a very different perspective. The show was the highlight and was well done, with much energy. All in all a solid good trip.</p>

<p>This was a fun tour although it was rather difficult to watch the dancing due to the small space available.<br/> The traffic was very heavy going into town to the port but our driver was very good. The whole evening ran very smoothly and the views were stupendous.</p>