Royal Princess Dinner Cruise in Bangkok

Overview

A four-hour evening cruise on the Chao Phraya aboard the Royal Princess, with a plated dinner served at your table, live music, and the lit temples and palace passing on both banks.

What to expect

• Board at the pier at the stated time — this is a meeting-point departure, so allow for evening traffic getting there.
• Cast off and settle at your assigned table, indoors in the saloon or out on the open deck.
• Dinner served in courses while the boat works its way along the river, with live music playing through the meal.
• Commentary from the crew as the landmarks come into view, so you know what you are looking at rather than guessing.
• The vessel turns during the cruise, which gives both sides of the boat the same views before the evening ends.
• Return to the same pier around four hours after boarding.

A temple surfaced in other people's crockery

Look closely at the tall spire on the west bank as you pass. Its surface is not carved stone or tile — it is thousands of pieces of broken Chinese porcelain, set into mortar. Much of that porcelain arrived in Siam as ballast in trading junks, packed in to keep empty ships stable, and was worth little on landing. Somebody looked at a heap of broken ballast and saw a way to make a temple glitter. The whole prang is faced in the discarded packaging of the China trade.

Named for the dawn, seen after dark

That temple is named for Aruna, the god of dawn, and the name has stuck in every guidebook — yet the view most visitors carry home is this one: floodlit, from the water, at night. It was designed to be seen from the river rather than approached by road, so a boat is the correct angle even if the hour is the wrong one.

The barges riding low

Between the tour boats you will pass long, low barges under tow, often three or four in a chain, carrying rice, sand or cement so heavily loaded that the water sits inches below the deck edge. Many are homes as well as cargo vessels — a family lives aft, and you will see laundry strung above the hold and a dog asleep on the hatch. They are the reason this river still functions as a working waterway rather than a scenic one.

Where to sit

The saloon is air-conditioned, quieter and better for eating; the open deck is hot, breezy, noisier and much better for photographs. Since the boat turns, neither side is the wrong side, but a table by a window is not the same as a table on deck. If it matters to you, say so at booking rather than on the gangway.

Practicalities

The dinner is plated and served to your table, and the menu is set by the operator for the evening rather than chosen on the night. Drinks beyond what is stated with your booking are ordered on board. Dress is smart casual — nothing formal is required, but the open deck is breezy once the boat is moving, so bring a light layer.