Bosphorus dinner cruise: how to pick

What the evening is

The cruise is a dinner on a yacht on the Bosphorus with a live show on board. The ticket lists Turkish folk dancing, Latin flamenco, belly dance, a dervish number and a DJ, with live Turkish music, and it gives a duration of three to five hours depending on the option. You sit at a table, eat, watch the stage and look out of the window as the yacht passes Dolmabahçe Palace, the Galata Tower, Ortaköy Mosque and the bridges. Hosts on board work in many languages, and the booking page lists them, so you do not need Turkish to follow the evening. Think of it as a night out that happens to move along a famous strait.

Why the cruises look alike

Several operators sell a Bosphorus dinner cruise with a Turkish night show, and the formats are close: a yacht, a set dinner, folk dances, belly dance, music. Titles change from one listing to the next, and so does the small print. That means the headline price, the star rating and the photographs tell you little about which evening fits you. What separates the tickets is practical: where you board, whether a transfer is part of the option, how the tables are arranged, and which drinks are covered. The rest of this guide takes those four choices one by one, and the other guides on this site go deeper on the route, the show and the food.

Pier or pickup

Some options include a transfer from your hotel in an air-conditioned van, with a drop-off afterwards. Other options leave the transport to you, and you meet at the port. The meeting point depends on the option you select, and the booking page shows it for your date. In bad weather the operator can change the departure point and informs guests on the day. If you pick a transfer, enter a phone number with the correct country code, since pickup messages go there. Choose the port option if you are staying near the water and prefer to arrive on your own, and the transfer if you would rather not plan the trip at night.

Read next: What to expect on a Bosphorus cruise

Table position

Dinner is at a private table. The exception is a booking for one person, which is seated with other solo guests. On the GetYourGuide ticket, a window-side table and a close-stage table are add-ons, each chosen per person at booking and priced in the calendar. A window-side table is guaranteed only when you select that add-on. A close-stage table puts you near the show area, which is loud and busy, while a window-side table favours the view. If the lights on the shore are why you are going, take the window. If the dancing is, take the stage. A party should choose the same add-on for everyone at the table.

Read next: Choosing a table on the cruise

Standard or VIP

The ticket offers a standard dinner menu and a VIP menu, and the booking page names which you are buying. A VIP lounge table on the upper deck is a different thing: it is seating only, and it does not include the VIP menu. So a guest who wants both the upper-deck lounge and the VIP menu must pick the two separately. The ticket adds that its skip-the-line feature is usable only with VIP tickets. The evening caters to vegetarian, pescetarian and halal requirements, which you set at booking. Pick standard if you mainly want the cruise and the show, and treat VIP as an upgrade for the meal.

Drinks

Unlimited soft drinks, Turkish coffee and tea are part of the ticket. Unlimited alcoholic drinks are part of some options only, so the option name matters more than the headline. Extra alcoholic drinks can be bought on board, and tips are not included. If you do not drink alcohol, the standard option loses nothing. If you want the unlimited alcohol package, check that the option you choose says so before you pay. Turkey's national spirit, rakı, is usually taken with a meze spread and diluted with water, and the food and drink guide explains how that works at a table.

Read next: Meze, rakı and coffee on a cruise

How other cruises differ

A second operator sells a three-hour dinner cruise with a show programme of about an hour and a half, dances and a live DJ. Its drinks cover local alcoholic and soft drinks by option, with imported alcohol charged extra, and it has a transfer option. A third sailing, from the same operator as the main cruise, starts on the Golden Horn, has a mobile audio guide and offers an optional transfer. All three are bookable from the cards on this site. Each has its own meeting point and its own option names, so compare the departure first, and then the drinks, before you look at anything else.

What guests praise and what they ask for

Reviewers praise the night views of the shore, the dance show, attentive waiters and good value. The most common request is clearer boarding and transfer information, which is why the pier and pickup choice comes first. A few guests call the food ordinary, and one mentions a starter that had waited on the table. Others rate the portions and the service highly. The evening is built around the setting and the show, and the dinner is part of it, not the headline. Judge the cruise as a night out on the water, and you are unlikely to be disappointed.

Booking terms

A date can be held while plans settle: the ticket allows free cancellation up to a day before departure and lets you pay after you reserve. The calendar shows a start time for each date, and the confirmation repeats it alongside the meeting point. Choose the table add-ons and the drinks option at booking, one per person, before you pay. The widget on the home page is the live booking calendar, and it shows the current fare for each option in your own currency.

Read next: What to expect on a Bosphorus cruise

Who this isn't for

A quiet, candlelit dinner is the wrong thing to expect here: the show is loud and the room is full. It is not for guests who dislike a DJ, a dance floor or live amplified music. Nor does it suit anyone hoping for a commentary-led tour of the shore, because the evening is a dinner cruise rather than a guided sightseeing tour, although a mobile audio guide is offered on one sailing. And if you want a private yacht for a party, a charter is a different product with a different booking route, and this guide does not cover it.

How to decide in a minute

Take your four choices in this order and the rest follows.

• Where do you board: at your hotel by transfer, or at the port?
• Where do you sit: standard, window-side, close to the stage or the VIP lounge?
• What do you drink: the soft-drinks option or an unlimited-alcohol option?
• How much dinner do you want: the standard menu or the VIP menu?