I recently coordinated and attended a family gathering on D.C. Premier Dinner Cruise to celebrate college graduation. The cruise line was able to accommodate a large group – which was nice because my party of 22 cruisers, took up two full-size tables. Most of the guests were from out of state, and this was a great opportunity to enjoy a nice meal while seeing some of the beautiful D.C. monuments without having to navigate through the hustle and bustle of the inner-city streets. The boat was wonderful, offering a glass ceiling to maximize the viewing experience. The seating arrangements were organized, worked out nicely, and offered great views without having to move around the ship.
The dinner cruise boasted a plated dinner meal, offering only three options: a vegetarian meal or salmon or chicken dinner plates. Unfortunately, we were told at the time of the initial order that only the fish and the vegetarian options were available. There was one person who was allergic to fish, and therefore the vegetarian meal was the only option. This was aggravating because the price of the dinner was a large portion of the ticket price. The DC Premier Dinner Cruise was lacking in both the “premier” and the “dinner” for this event.
It became known that the other side of the boat had an unlimited buffet of chicken, fish, and vegetables, set aside for a large group of teenage cruisers. Further, four guests from my party did not receive their vegetarian or salmon-only meals until they asked the server several times over. When the meals finally did arrive, everyone else was done eating. During the dessert course, the waitress was kind enough to bring and serve deserts to some of our party, but more than half had to seek it out.
On an upside, the music and DJ were fun, upbeat, and lively, with a good mix of music to keep people dancing. Many guests, including my party, gathered on the dance floor to cut loose. Just as the dance floor was in full effect, the cruise quickly returned to the dock. This was another point of contention, as the cruise ended an hour earlier than expected. According to the staff, it was because half of the boat was associated with the group of teenage cruisers who needed to get home at a decent hour.
Despite a nice atmosphere and unique experience to see Washinton D.C while aboard a cruise, I cannot provide a decent review. The cruise line was incapable of providing the plated dinner that was marketed, and the waitstaff came off as frustrated at the lack of available food coordination, which was displayed through their service. One could hardly call this a dinner cruise, due to lack of dinner choices and extreme delays in receiving dinner. The cruise line should have attempted to smooth things over with friendlier customer relations and notify guests of their ill-preparedness and intentions to return early so that customers could make their own choice of dinner cruises in the local area. The Shanks group paid $2,338.38. We all paid full price for half the menu, and full price for half the duration of the planned cruise, and the full price for half of the staff to be friendly.
Therefore, I am requesting half the tickets price to be refunded, as we received only half the services promised.