Review Detail
4.5 1 0.5
Gateway Arch Riverboat Cruises
Featured
Harbors, Harbours, Marinas
Native St. Louisian - We enjoyed it a lot!
(Updated: October 25, 2021)
Rating
4.5
Being a native St. Louisian, I've many times seen the Becky Thatcher and Tom Sawyer replica riverboats that cruise along the Mississippi River leaving from the embankment just in front of the Gateway Arch. But until our kids bought us tickets for a dinner cruise, I'd never tried this out myself. My spouse and I did one of their dinner cruises on a mid-August evening and enjoyed it thoroughly.
Our Saturday night cruise started boarding at 7 PM promptly. We had arrived at about 645 PM and found tons of parking on the old cobblestone river embankment right next to the boat. Parking is $4 and the entrance is near the south leg of the Arch. We had checked in advance to make sure that there wasn't a Cardinal baseball game playing in town since I was concerned about parking but I'm sure that wouldn't have made much of a difference.
Having arrived plenty of time in advance, we walked about the outdoor seating on a barge that has essentially been converted into a cafe (aptly named the Arch View Cafe) with outdoor covered tables at which to sit. There is a public restroom there that was decent as far as public restrooms go. Also, there was a small stand where we picked up our tickets. A man there was selling cold drinks such as a can of Pepsi and wine in a small plastic cocktail cup. These are the same prices as aboard the cruise boat -- in our case, the Becky Thatcher.
We boarded the main deck (water level) of the Becky Thatcher right at 7 PM via a gangplank at the bow. Inside this enclosed area are a cash bar, a small stage where a piano & banjo duo played "riverboat music," plus tables along the windows with views of the river. I don't know about the restrooms, but the main level appeared to be wheelchair accessible. But there are only stairways to access the upper decks.
All tables are reserved seating with name placards. Our table was on the 2nd deck which is also enclosed. Unfortunately, our day-of-sail reservation put us in middle of the cabin seating instead of directly next to a window. There is also a cash bar on this deck. I'm guessing that there was seating for about 60 people on our deck and perhaps 40 people on the first deck. There is also a top, open-air deck for passengers to visit and view the Mississippi River after their meal.
Our cruise left right at 735 PM and headed downstream. Drink orders were taken almost immediately. Our server told us that there were mixed drinks available. The meal included iced tea, coffee, or water. They had flasks of iced water for each group of customers.
Our tables had tablecloths and linen napkins but the flatware was chintzy. Also, drinks came in disposable plastic cups and coffee was served in styrofoam cups. We first were served a very simple salad with ranch dressing. Everyone got the same salad. At about 8 PM, the boat turned around and headed back upstream. This coincided with our main course that we had selected -- a rib-eye steak. The size was fairly large and it was served with mixed vegetables.
We really weren't expecting haute cuisine but we both found the meal to be surprising good. We were also served a single roll per person with butter. But our bread did not come until after the main course was already served and we had to request it since our server forgot to serve it. Finally, dessert was a chocolate cake with coconut shavings. Some people opted for coffee with their cake.
As mentioned previously, the boat turned around and started heading upstream at about 8 PM. That was just a bit below the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. We were one of the last to finish dinner and so didn't reach the top deck until about 830 PM. But that still gave us an hour to enjoy up there. The cruise then went upstream past the Gateway Arch, under the Eads Bridge, under the MLK Bridge, and a few hundred yards upstream past a new suspension bridge with is still under construction but looks near completion.
Our dinner cruise was in mid-August. The boat is air conditioned. Also, our evening was somewhat cool when on the open-air deck with a breeze caused by the motion of the boat. You could hear the banjo and piano music from speakers everywhere on the boat. From time to time, one musician would make announcements regarding the cruise such as where life vests are located.
Our cruise reservation was made the day of the cruise by phone. My suggestion would be to make your reservation in advance for window seating. FYI, the cruise stays mostly on the Missouri side of the river. So if daylight permits, it doesn't matter which side you are on. But, in our case where the sun was going down on our upstream ride, the starboard/right side would have been preferable.
I didn't see any kids although my spouse saw one. Also, the dress code is casual. You might wish to bring a jacket due to the air-conditioning or the river breeze when up on the top viewing deck.
Also, note that this company operates another similar craft named the Tom Sawyer. Both of these boats operate a variety of cruises throughout the day including cruises without meals. On the evening of our cruise which ended at 930 PM, there was a following cruise at 1030 PM for the drinking crowd.
Again, I found our prime rib dinner to be better than expected and we enjoyed this river cruise. I wish we had done this years ago. We're definitely adding these cruises to possible itineraries for out of town guests. I hope to try some of their other cruises, too.
For out-of-towners: St. Louis was originally built north and south along the Mississippi River. In fact, St. Louis is a "port" and most of what you will see, outside of the downtown, is warehouses and barges moored up along the banks to on/off-load bulk materials. Not too spectacular. There is also very little to see on the Illinois side of the river. And, since the invention of the automobile, most of the expansion of St. Louis is outward to the west along the interstate highways. But, if you like to be on the water like I do, I hope that you will enjoy the cruise as much as we did.
Our Saturday night cruise started boarding at 7 PM promptly. We had arrived at about 645 PM and found tons of parking on the old cobblestone river embankment right next to the boat. Parking is $4 and the entrance is near the south leg of the Arch. We had checked in advance to make sure that there wasn't a Cardinal baseball game playing in town since I was concerned about parking but I'm sure that wouldn't have made much of a difference.
Having arrived plenty of time in advance, we walked about the outdoor seating on a barge that has essentially been converted into a cafe (aptly named the Arch View Cafe) with outdoor covered tables at which to sit. There is a public restroom there that was decent as far as public restrooms go. Also, there was a small stand where we picked up our tickets. A man there was selling cold drinks such as a can of Pepsi and wine in a small plastic cocktail cup. These are the same prices as aboard the cruise boat -- in our case, the Becky Thatcher.
We boarded the main deck (water level) of the Becky Thatcher right at 7 PM via a gangplank at the bow. Inside this enclosed area are a cash bar, a small stage where a piano & banjo duo played "riverboat music," plus tables along the windows with views of the river. I don't know about the restrooms, but the main level appeared to be wheelchair accessible. But there are only stairways to access the upper decks.
All tables are reserved seating with name placards. Our table was on the 2nd deck which is also enclosed. Unfortunately, our day-of-sail reservation put us in middle of the cabin seating instead of directly next to a window. There is also a cash bar on this deck. I'm guessing that there was seating for about 60 people on our deck and perhaps 40 people on the first deck. There is also a top, open-air deck for passengers to visit and view the Mississippi River after their meal.
Our cruise left right at 735 PM and headed downstream. Drink orders were taken almost immediately. Our server told us that there were mixed drinks available. The meal included iced tea, coffee, or water. They had flasks of iced water for each group of customers.
Our tables had tablecloths and linen napkins but the flatware was chintzy. Also, drinks came in disposable plastic cups and coffee was served in styrofoam cups. We first were served a very simple salad with ranch dressing. Everyone got the same salad. At about 8 PM, the boat turned around and headed back upstream. This coincided with our main course that we had selected -- a rib-eye steak. The size was fairly large and it was served with mixed vegetables.
We really weren't expecting haute cuisine but we both found the meal to be surprising good. We were also served a single roll per person with butter. But our bread did not come until after the main course was already served and we had to request it since our server forgot to serve it. Finally, dessert was a chocolate cake with coconut shavings. Some people opted for coffee with their cake.
As mentioned previously, the boat turned around and started heading upstream at about 8 PM. That was just a bit below the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. We were one of the last to finish dinner and so didn't reach the top deck until about 830 PM. But that still gave us an hour to enjoy up there. The cruise then went upstream past the Gateway Arch, under the Eads Bridge, under the MLK Bridge, and a few hundred yards upstream past a new suspension bridge with is still under construction but looks near completion.
Our dinner cruise was in mid-August. The boat is air conditioned. Also, our evening was somewhat cool when on the open-air deck with a breeze caused by the motion of the boat. You could hear the banjo and piano music from speakers everywhere on the boat. From time to time, one musician would make announcements regarding the cruise such as where life vests are located.
Our cruise reservation was made the day of the cruise by phone. My suggestion would be to make your reservation in advance for window seating. FYI, the cruise stays mostly on the Missouri side of the river. So if daylight permits, it doesn't matter which side you are on. But, in our case where the sun was going down on our upstream ride, the starboard/right side would have been preferable.
I didn't see any kids although my spouse saw one. Also, the dress code is casual. You might wish to bring a jacket due to the air-conditioning or the river breeze when up on the top viewing deck.
Also, note that this company operates another similar craft named the Tom Sawyer. Both of these boats operate a variety of cruises throughout the day including cruises without meals. On the evening of our cruise which ended at 930 PM, there was a following cruise at 1030 PM for the drinking crowd.
Again, I found our prime rib dinner to be better than expected and we enjoyed this river cruise. I wish we had done this years ago. We're definitely adding these cruises to possible itineraries for out of town guests. I hope to try some of their other cruises, too.
For out-of-towners: St. Louis was originally built north and south along the Mississippi River. In fact, St. Louis is a "port" and most of what you will see, outside of the downtown, is warehouses and barges moored up along the banks to on/off-load bulk materials. Not too spectacular. There is also very little to see on the Illinois side of the river. And, since the invention of the automobile, most of the expansion of St. Louis is outward to the west along the interstate highways. But, if you like to be on the water like I do, I hope that you will enjoy the cruise as much as we did.
