River Lady Cruises — Attraction in Toms River

Rate my experience at a 2.5 to a 3. The score would've been higher but the servers are what ruined the experience for us. Some of the issues with the experience were minor but it all added up to make the experience be a lower rating then it should've been. First off, we were seated at a table that was for couples only which was nice at first. Behind us was another couple at a couples table. What we didn't know at first was that these tables were right in front of the only door accessible to passengers leading out to the deck. So there was a lot of walking traffic and even at one time there was a lady standing by our table yelling to her grandchild out in the deck to come in. The one server came up to the couple behind us and had said that not many people like that table that if they wanted to switch to another couple's table there was one in the back. That couple didn't want that table, yet it wasn't offered to us. When the servers brought out the salad portion of the meal, our table was the only table that wasn't given salads. Even tho the servers had to walk past our table to give the table behind us their salads and walk past again to go to the kitchen area. Our main server who forgot to give us our salads, was ignoring us and wouldn't even make eye contact with us so we could get his attention to ask about the salads. After everyone was done with their salads and the servers were clearing off the tables, I was able to finally ask a server if we got a salad to and he was shocked that we didn't get one. Shortly after our salads were brought to us even tho everyone around us was done with theirs. Toward the end of the trip, after we had finished our dessert, we left the table to go out on the back deck. The boat was heading back to the dock but we had about 45 minutes left on our trip. When we got up from the table this is what was left on the table: an empty coffee cup, a full coffee cup, a bottle of champagne that had about a quarter of the bottle left, a full glass of champagne and an empty glass of champagne. Mind you the bottle was $18 so we wanted to finish it before we left and we still had time. We went out to the back while most people were inside so it was like being out there ourselves and we got the one corner spot we were hoping have some time to enjoy the views and have a romantic moment. About 15 minutes into having a moment, one of the servers interrupted us to hand me a check for the bottle of champagne and he had asked me how I would pay for it, either check or cash. I told him cash and he said ok and walked away. We had gotten back into being in our moment because I figured I'd settle the bill around the time we would be docking. But after about 5 minutes of the server walking away, he appeared again and again interrupted our romantic moment to ask for the payment. We went back to the table thinking I left my wallet there. After we paid the bill we turned around to head back to where we were BUT some other couple decided to jump right in our graves and took our spot. So we sat down at the table to finish what we had left before we got back to the dock. WELL when we sat down we saw that everything but he full champagne glass and the bottle was taken off the table. So if I wanted another glass I couldn't because they took my champagne glass and also took my gf's full cup of coffee away. While trying to talk and end our trip with another moment, the main server (that forgot the salad and ignored us) came to clear off the table of the sugars and salt and pepper. As we were a couple of minutes out from docking, the captain announced on the speakers to please settle any outstanding bar bills prior to docking and leaving the boat, which is when I initially wanted to take care of my bill and not had all the interrupting and rushing that had happened earlier to pay the bill. Not sure if I would spend the money to do it again only to have it ruined by the serving staff yet again. Be cautioned if you intend to go for a romantic experience that you may be interrupted often, rushed, and neglected...

Cruising away on a Monday afternoon. My family and I (group of 3), knew we were going to have a rare Monday all together and decided to do something together. We have always wanted to take the River Lady cruise, so I went online and bought tickets. Being interested in history, we decided on the Historical Lunch Cruise. Upon arriving we parked in a lot not far, maybe 100ft or so, from the dock. The lot was uncrowded at the time, 10:20am, and very full when we returned around 1:30pm. There is a fee to park and you need to use the machine on the corner to purchase your space #. It’s fairly inexpensive at 75 cents an hour. We arrived at the River Lady and were greeted by the captain. He promptly gave us our seating assignment and directions. In our opinion, we were seated in one of 4 tables that are in the aisle way of people coming and going from the main door. It wasn’t a bad table, but the noise from the bar did overtake our conversation a few times. It was also impossible to see out the other side of the boat because the bar area was in-between. I’d recommend asking for a table more near the paddle wheel if possible. The captain greeted us all, gave a short safety speech, and we were underway. The narration of the historical sites along the way was short and sweet, enough to give you the information and leave you enough time to discuss over things. The main seating area of the cabin was air-conditioned. The upper deck was open air, but they did have roll down clear windows that zipped together if the weather turned. The food was good, we ordered the chicken parmesan and the chicken marsala. Both were cooked well and served hot. Everyone got the same salad, sides and dessert. Water and sodas (not in the souvenir cup) were included, but unfortunately not kept refilled. The service was okay, but not great. They seemed rushed and confused at times, tossing my salad across the table hard enough for the dressing to spill out and again, drinks were only refilled once in the 2.5 hours. However, their great attitude during the entire trip really made it easy to forgive the other things. Alcoholic and Non-alcoholic specialty drinks are available and looked great. Overall, we enjoyed ourselves, learned a bit of history, and had an enjoyable meal. Our favorite part was being able to go up to the top deck after the meal and really...

I cannot begin to say enough things about this wonderful Sunset dinner cruise then I went on with my cousin on Friday night. Such a well-organized and friendly staff especially Captain Doug what a sweetheart. The food exceeded my expectations; I ordered the salmon and it was a generous portion size. The vegetables and potatoes were fresh and delicious. I only have one suggestion and that would be to offer more than one dessert. The dessert was cheesecake and a lot of people are lactose intolerant and cannot eat something like that so I think if they offered another dessert even if it was just a pudding to offer to those who cannot have that dessert especially since what you pay for the dinner includes dessert. The staff was a wonderful group of young people full of energy and smiles. My only other suggestion would be for the captain to walk around to each table and just say hello I'm sure there's a co-captain on the boat that could take the hill while he's doing that LOL.

And I want to give a special thanks to Captain Doug who was so helpful to me with the many emails I sent him before booking this trip. He was so accommodating and I so appreciate him for that. I did though want to get a picture with him but it didn't happen. Maybe next time because there will definitely be...