Southern Belle Dinner Cruise (price, shop, food)

[osunshine]

Will be in the area 18th & 19th, thinking of taking the dinner cruise.
How is it?
Does the boat have a full bar on board?
Any other dinning suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
We will also have our 1st grader with us.

Thanks.

[mbmouse]

We did the short cruise, no dinner, and it was nice. Yes, there was a bar.
But darned if I can remember if it was the Souther Bell????....John, which one did we take? hahahahahaha It was the one where you go through the big old paddle boat turned gift shop to board the little boat that had the dining area on main deck and a bunch of chairs and a bar on the top observation deck. Which one is that?

[dasmarian]

My review of the Southern Belle would be less than stellar, and thinking of the cool weather likely for the middle of this month I'd think about something else -- maybe Rock City's lights?

We did the SB once, during nice weather. My impression:

1) You will be required to stand in line, snaking through the largest nautically themed gift shop north of Florida to get a mandatory picture before you are able to board the boat. They will then later attempt to sell your picture to you for anywhere between $25 and $40.

2) They cram people in very tightly for the dinner. You can just as easily have a conversation with your neighbor as your party . . . the 2 inch separation between tables is just a technicality.

3) The food is the quality that one might associate with large buffet chains selling 'all u can eat' for $9.99. If you like that kind of place you might like the food, but don't expect fine dining.

4) The nicest part is being outside, watching the city and mountains go by after the brief meal. However in the cold I'm not sure if this would be a lot of fun.

My wife and I really did enjoy the scenery and the boat ride part of the trip, and maybe would go again on a non-dinner cruise (which was mbmouse's experience). IMO the dinner aspect kind of ruined it for us, as did the obvious attempt to sell you anything else they could.

[Jon F Moss]

Dasmarian - I've heard similar and have yet to board her!

[dasmarian]

Jon -- Next time we are going to go on Blue Moon I think . . . looks way classier even though its a bit more expensive. http://www.bluemooncruises.org/evening_cruise.htm

[Jon F Moss]

Looks like a winner! Or take a ride on the Tennessee Aquarium River Gorge Explorer Boat

[osunshine]

Thanks for the replies. I really don’t expect much from the dinner, I know the price basically covers the operating cost of the boat, staff ect….I just thought it might be a memorable thing for a child.

[dasmarian]

It is definitely memorable.

[An Einnseanair]

Depending on the child, the high-speed explorer might be more memorable. I know my 4-yr-old would thing the Southern Belle was neat, but would absolutely LOVE the explorer. He's all about speed and going fast.

[osunshine]

The Explorer looks like a blast! Will check that out!