Charleston Sunset Blues & Bbq Dinner Cruise

Staff was Great! Cool breezes on the top deck with beautiful Harbour views of Charleston! Seeing the Ravenal Bridge lights at night from above was magnificent! Band was Great! Food was good.

My wife and I were eagerly looking forward to the sunset barbecue blues Cruise but quickly became exasperated starting with the fact that the directions were non-existent to the meet-up site. There was an address to a marina 49 Immigration St. however there were no people at the meet up site at all. There were no signs at the meet up site at all. It was extremely frustrating and confusing 49 Immigration St. is a giant dock without a single person around it and we had to walk a quarter of a mile to the end of a pier to a bar and ask people there if they knew anything about it no one knew anything about it then I had to go up to several different boat captains of tiny little boats asked if they even knew anything about it and they didn't know anything about it. It was getting late and to our meeting time until finally one person said oh yeah, it's all the way down there and it was ridiculously circuitous to try to walk all the way around these ridiculous obstacles to get to the charter boat. That was our first problem not even being able to find the boat!!!. There was no signage no one to greet us. No communication. We finally get there like five minutes before the boat was gonna takeoff at 7 o'clock. No one greeted us. No one told us anything as we got on board. What was gonna be happening in terms of food the bar, the music, the tour, how long it was gonna be nothing so we wound up on the top deck looking for any kind of guidance or assistance and there was none so we just went down to the bar on the second deck and got ourselves a couple of drinks and went back up to the top deck, still waiting, waiting and waiting for anyone to say anything which they never did. So eventually, the boat took off and since we had already taken the Fort Sumter ferry cruise, we knew all about the the lookout points of interest, including the Yorktown, which they didn't point out; the destroyer right behind it; Fort Sumpter and various other places of interest which the captain didn't even say a word or point out so it was basically an anonymous cruise with the worst band we ever heard and I am a professional musician that's supposed to be a Blue's Clues. It's like an audition tape for who wants to be on The Voice and the audition should've lasted six seconds because the female singer was awful and I'm a music producer. It was embarrassingly bad and my biggest disappointment was there was no friendly guidance or a leader at all like when we took the Fort Sumter tour. There was an extremely experienced, knowledgeable and competent ranger that give us the history of Fort Sumter in extraordinary detail. There was nothing there. No one even said hello goodbye or anything it was we could've just been illegal immigrants or people from a homeless shelter we just stumbled on the boat and got off with it with this cruise. Viatour should absolutely not do business with this charter at all. The end.

The actual ship was a little hard to find and took a while to get to, so do arrive early and ensure you park in the correct place and follow signs closely. The food was very good, and the band was great, but not what we would've described as a blues band. The sail around was very lovely with good views of Charleston.

The boat ride was just a typical ride. Would have been nice if someone had pointed out what we were seeing. The food was not impressive. There were three types of sauces in bowls and they were unmarked. So the sauce I got was not something I would have chose if I’d known what it was. The only thing that made this experience worth the money was the live music.

The crew was most helpful and presented themselves with professionalism. The BBQ was awesome and yge views of Charleston and the surrounding area was simply Gorgeous!!!

Experience was good. Good food and music. Only negative is there is no air conditioning and it gets a little warm during the month of August

I had a great time. This was our first time and it was very relaxing. My daughter had an amazing time on her 36th birthday. The food and music was great.

My area had a severe thunderstorm with rain for hours causing substantial flooding to the point where it was unsafe to drive. I attempted multiple times to contact this company the day of the cruise to inform them my family and I would not be able to attend and received no response back. I finally get a response back two days later and am told "the cruise still occurred so we cannot refund your money." Clearly they do not listen to the customer as I stated MY area had flooding, so although yours may not have, we live farther away and were unable to drive in safely. All I continued to get told was that the cruise still occurred and they cannot refund my money. I find that to be pretty poor customer service when you cannot listen to what the customer is informing you of and will not be scheduling this in the future. Evidently others have the same experience from the reviews here and we weren't missing much in regard to the food quality or quantity.

The views throughout the cruise were incredible and the sunset added to the splendor. Food was really good and we got to see dolphins!

Boat captain & crew were very friendly & helpful. Getting to and from was very easy. Boat was modern and cruise was smooth

The cruise was good and the music was exceptionally good , but the food was to be desired. Pulled pork was not what I was expecting, not good , very fatty and plain chicken breast, and the desert, what was that. Look like it was suppose to be banana pudding but had no taste 😕. The music was very good

We are so disappointed, the travel was canceled the day before. We were celebrating our anniversary, at that point we couldn’t find something similar

The cruise was a great way to end the trip. The food was very good, and the trip around the bay was really nice. We got to see dolphins too!

Despite the weather this was an excellent evening, the food was fantastic and the crew very friendly and helpful, the atmosphere was brilliant with excellent music throughout the evening! A lively memory to take home to the UK

This was awful no signage tell where to load the boat no warning for folks with handicap needs ! No drinks unless you climb steps for dinner ! This was an awful experience

Terrible experience. Very difficult to even find the marina. No signage. Ship was “low rent”. Very disappointed and would not recommend this cruise

We had a wonderful time. Food was good. Band was good. Kicking back outside watching the sunset was awesome .

We had three people with mobility issues traveling with us and they were not able to bring their scooters/wheelchairs onboard which wasn't too bad, however, there wasn't any entertainment for us to enjoy on the main level because the band was on the upper deck. The music from the band was not piped to the down stairs level so we were listening to both the band and the speakers at the same time which was not enjoyable. There was a broken window right in front of us which was unpleasant to see all night. The women's bathroom was stopped up before we even left the dock. Fortunately, we had a deck of cards with us so we were able to play cards during the cruise. There were some drunk people misbehaving on the boat and some girls were flashing each other as they passed one another on the stairs. The food was all right. The BBQ and slaw was very good but the banana pudding was not the greatest. We recommend having some activity on the lower deck for those with mobility issues such as a cruise director playing games with the passengers. We also would have enjoyed hearing the blues band piped to all levels of the boat. It goes without saying, that it is important to make sure the bathrooms are fully functioning before guests board the vessel and it is very important to fix issues like broken windows as soon as possible since the condition of the boat is the face of the company.

It was horrible! Food was nasty, there was NO band that played the music described! I Would not recommend this tour!

Great crew. Abundant food. Open decks are a plus. Cruised near Fort Sumter. Great sunset over Charleston.

We purchased our tickets early today for a barbecue and blues Cruise in Charleston. We were so excited and arrived one hour early for VIP reception. However, there was no boat. So we went and had drinks at the cute little bar nearby until 645 but there still was no boat. We went over to the location with other couples and there was still no boat at seven when we were supposed to board. No one from the harbor cruise notify us in anyway, any of us. No text, no phone call, no email. We were disappointed, but found another place to eat in Charleston. Not really a good way to handle a business.

The description of the tour was Blues cruise but the music was not Blues music. Also food was not good at all. Definitely not worth the $75 per person charge we paid

Being on the water is amazing and so that part was great. But the food was awful and the band was not good at all. I would say $25 for the tickets not $70. Again if the goal was just to be on the water, it was a lot of fun, but I don't think the $70 or $72 ticket price is worth what you get, maybe if they included a couple cocktails. I do have to say though someone knocked my wine over and they refilled it for free. The bartenders were amazing and the guys serving the food were great.

Check to make sure there is Air conditioning, Wasn’t working and very humid. Food located downstairs with no windows open. Had to bring food back upstairs which wasn’t very good anyway. Also they cut the cruise over a half hour short.

This boat is terrible! The only good thing about this cruise was the live band! The toilets didn’t flush, the lights were flickering, no air conditioning and the boat was very rocky! The seats were very uncomfortable. There were 2 windows on the lower deck that was shattered! The food was ok. This was the worst boat ever!! But the band was awesome!!!

Windows on the lower deck are cracked, smells like roach spray, lower deck service is poor and not friendly (didn’t speak one time or smile), food was okay but the banana pudding looked old and watery, tables/chairs are from the 60s, and the carpet is old and musky. Second level is better, so if you arrive early, get a table on the second level vs on lower where the food is served. Bartenders are very nice! Never will I recommend.

This cruise was so fun, the staff was incredible, and the food was absolutely delicious. Would definitely do it again!

If you purchase a premium ticket, you can board earlier. There is no option for a premium ticket on the viator website.

Music and food was good. Drinks were a little pricey though. I have recommended the cruise to several people.

This was a terrible experience worse than what I could have even imagined. The second you walk on to the boat you are greeted with old wobbly chairs and tables and dirty carpets. Food wasn’t served until after the boat parted and I honestly think it’s because they didn’t want people to walk off. When getting your food the servers stared you down as if they were judging in hopes you didn’t get too much. You only had a few food options including: coleslaw, Mac and cheese, pulled pork, chicken, baked beans, and banana pudding. They also had dry rolls but didn’t even provide any buns for the pork. The pork was unseasoned and rubbery and you could tell it came out of the freezer section at Walmart. The chicken seemed boiled. The Mac and cheese was dry with little flavor and the beans weren’t even Bush’s quality, they were definitely an off brand 99 cent can they picked up from somewhere. The banana pudding was probably the best tasting thing but even that wasn’t impressive. My hotel breakfast this morning was better than that food. There was also a smashed window on the lower deck food area, which seems like a major safety concern. Also my friend got a vodka cran and they charged her $15 which is way too overpriced. The music played wasn’t even blues music. After 40 minutes on the boat we looked around and saw not a single smile on peoples faces because they were just as disappointed as we were. This dinner cruise is money gauging off of tourists with no repeat customers and it shows.

No announcement on where the food was, dime of the crew were people friendly than others. There was no announcement on the food only being below deck. SUGGESTION….add that in the before you go details as done women wear heels that’s not safe. Some were carrying food up those steps with heels and the sign saying hold the rails. If everyone was to eat below deck the staff never said anything,…

Great service and food and the tour was wonderful, I would suggest it for anyone interested in the Charleston area.

Great food, friendly staff, fun voyage at sea watching the sunset on the water while hearing the blues band was serene

I thought the cruise was 2 1/2 hrs,it was only 2 hrs.The food was great,everyone was friendly, the weather was perfect. I really enjoyed the cruise. The down side is parking, it was hard to find parking, but maybe I just didn't know where to look.

Good food, life music , beautiful sunset boat ride. I would do it again. Boat personel very friendly

Cancelled less than 24 hours before event due to operational issues. Assuming that was equipment needing repairs but left us scrambling for evening plans

The experience was nice, but the food was not great. The drinks were pricey but the service was not really friendly or inviting.

The music and food very good and staff was courteous and professional. I also like the time frame and location to catch the boat.

The boarding process was smooth, the band was very good, and the boat was not easy to maneuver because the only bathrooms were located in the lowest and hottest part of the boat. So, if you were on the top level of the boat, you had to walk through a maze then down several sets of steps, and when you’re done, back up again! That felt very unsafe. I wouldn’t recommend you take this trip if you are elderly or have issues with walking. The food was OK….beans, coleslaw, bbq chicken breast, pulled pork, macNcheese, roll…...trust, it sounds better than it really was. For the price, the food should have at least been hot! Also, if you sat at the tables inside of the boat you were literally on fire! It was hotter inside than it was outside!!!!! I sat outside the entire trip and many people tried to gather near windows and doors or in the outside open spaces where there was little room! Also, 30-40 min before the ride is over, they shut off the water, music, and drinks….this means NO entertainment, NO drinking, NO flushing and NO washing hands!!! The bathrooms smelled like hot “stink”holes!! It was a beautiful ride outside but, again, for the price, it really should have been better!

Food is downstairs but little air, middle deck nice view, food was bland unseasoned, check for vip tickets, I didn't see any and thel when the young girl sent us down to board, we were second in line but couldn't board due to not having vip. Drinks are about $15 a pop. Band was nice, I expected blues type smoky room blues but it was a mix of music. Left late unsure if waiting on someone since apparently they were head counting a few times. Getting off main ramp not working so after some elderly ppl came from the bottom to the mid deck they had to go back down some not so unsteep stairs. Nice to be in TN water at night.

That there is no air conditioning the bathroom was without water to wash your hands the food was somewhat ok we did not start on time for whatever reason the band was good the bar was good overat it should have been better as per advertised

Great laid back trip around the harbor. Live band on board was great! And food was excellent, staff and crew were friendly, helpful and kind! Definitely a good time, highly recommend!

Yes it was June and hot but their air conditioner was not working, it was miserable unless you were up top. Plastic plates and forks with just water to drink unless you bought something at the bar. I guess you get what you pay for. I still had a wonderful time because of the music and I was with my husband. The View was beautiful too.

It was ok- the boat needs more seating for passengers, the food was ok but the “views” were pretty. It was cool to see the naval ships in the harbour. I wouldn’t spend the money on this experience again.

Great service. Food was very good. Band was top notch. Charleston is an amazing city to visit and take sightseeing tours.

It seems like there are many beautiful areas of the harbor that could have been viewed. The food was ok. The band was very good.

Just saw this false advertising. Shrimp City Slim has NOT been associated with this business for over two years. This is NOT a blues cruise.

Food was good, just wish they’d rework the buffet line to allow faster service and add lighting in the buffet area.

Well done cruise, outstanding music and OK food. A little pricey on the drinks. I would suggest they add umbrella assistance if it starts to rain.