southern belle riverboat chattanooga reviews

Southern Belle Riverboat Cruise - Chattanooga

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Southern Belle Riverboat Cruise - All You MUST Know Before You Go (2024)

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Chattanooga's southern Belle riverboat - Southern Belle Riverboat Cruise

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• Southern Belle Riverboat Cruise

I booked a Mother’s Day cruise for my mom, my daughter and myself. We really enjoyed the food, the... read more

I planned this trip for my in-laws 64th wedding anniversary and we were staying at The Mayors... read more

Chattanooga's southern Belle riverboat

Not worth the time or money. We booked the lunch cruise which left the dock at 12:00 then returned to the dock to pick up a large party who was late so we did not get the full route. The large party was a busload or two of school kids who were extremely noisy and most of the time we could not hear the limited narration. I would not recommend.

We just got off of the Belle. We had not gotten out of the industrial park before the captain turned us around to pick up some folks who had missed the boat. We did not get to see Lookout Mountain. We did not get any history. The remainder of the tour the guide spent chatting with school kids. We got our 1.5 hours but did not get the tour advertised since we spent more time docking and re-docking then touring.

its a place you go when your wanting to make them memories that last forever. I've been twice first when I took my children then when I took my younger step son and now I'm planning to take my grand daughter this week its been a trip they all still remember till this day. my step son wasn't but 4 he's 9 now and still remembers it. the meal is just a little rushed before the cruise begins but the cruise is informative and the sights are historic and beautiful. be sure to get he picture they make when you first go aboard.

Very great cruise, loved the food and the atmosphere. Was our anniversary and was very romantic and a great way to just sit back and relax and just enjoy the cruise. Loved the singer that was there, would highly recommend.

Never been on a river cruise before. My husband and I wanted to spend a nice weekend together, we chose Chattanooga. It was a great choice, we went on the Southern Bell Saturday evening dinner cruise. The staff were great, the atmosphere fantastic and the food was very good. We will be back.

We had an awesome time on the Southern Belle New Years Eve. We took the early cruise to celebrate the Wife's Birthday. The boarding process was easy and our picture was taken as well. Everyone had a reserved table and the staff did a great job keeping everything organized. There was live entertainment during the entire cruise. The food was delicious and we had a great time.

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Southern Belle Riverboat Cruise

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

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Southern Belle Riverboat Cruise - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024) - Tripadvisor

Southern Belle Riverboat Cruise

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Southern Belle Riverboat Cruise - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Southern Belle Riverboat

Review Highlights

“ The boat trip was very nice and the weather was great, but the musician, Gary, that played the guitar and sang made the trip amazing. ” in 2 reviews

“ We took the sunset cruise and unapologetically hogged the lower front deck. ” in 19 reviews

“ Wine, dinner, and live music all while going down the river, definitely a great experience! ” in 10 reviews

Location & Hours

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151 Riverfront Pkwy

Chattanooga, TN 37402

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Is there a designated smoking section? I want to enjoy the cruise without the smell of smoke.

No smoking on board. No issues with smoke at all.

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Overall rating

147 reviews

Okay, a nice boat ride down the lake on a summer evening (the "Sunset Cruise") is very pleasant and relaxing, but there must be nicer ways to do this besides this old tourist trap. Lots of up-selling for no value--over-priced drinks with little taste, a totally unsatisfying charcuterie board offered as a special upgrade, and nothing to want us to ever come back again. Some narration of the sights one observes along the cruise might have made the experience more meaningful, but frankly, some of the industrial sites ain't even much to look at. You won't miss anything if you pass this attraction by.

Southern Belle doesn't care about you or your family. There were ZERO covid precautions being taken at the Southern Belle. I checked their website days in advance to see if they had any statement on their covid precautions and of course it's devoid of information. That's because there are no covid precautions because the owners care more about their money than they care about their patrons. Loading and unloading the boat was an absolute free-for-all. Only about 30% of the 50-60 patrons were wearing masks and we were asked to crush our way through a set of double doors and down a narrow gang plank with out any allowance for social distancing. Beyond the covid concerns, the food absolutely sucked. We didn't receive our food until 45 minutes after we boarded and it was all cold and dry. The live band was sort of entertaining but about halfway through they started blasting 2000s dance hall music (Cha Cha slide, Cupid shuffle) over the burnt out speakers. Overall the southern belle is an experience you can't really get many places. If they ever change ownership and clean up their act I'll be back to give them another chance.

Make sure you do not upgrade to one of the higher priced packages. There is not an upgrade that is promised in the package details. There is no bottle of Dom Champagne. It is a cheap gross bottle and not even closely comparable as they say in the fine print.This is n absolute tourist trap and we fell for it. It is not climate controlled as they say, so don't pay for better seating. The cheap bottle of champagne we got was hot and any ice they put it on was melted and it was sitting in warm water. The fruit and cheeses on the charcuterie board were hot. Not a fun trip for the money. They got us once, but never again.

My husband and I did the sunset cruise twice. Please note we just bought the top deck tickets. They do have a dinner option, but the cheaper option is for the top deck. It's a really nice cruise down the river. When we went they had live music on the deck the dinner was, but you could hear it from the top deck. On the top deck, they have some refreshments you can buy. I recommend buying the souvenir cup so you can have free refills. If you're looking for a cool date night idea, this is a great option.

We did the sunset cruise, no dinner option for us. We were seated on top deck and the weather was absolutely perfect! The price was right and there was a nice variety of drinks. Bathrooms were a little lacking thought out the boat. I would say opt if dinner before the boat and dessert after and stick to drinks on the cruise! Live music was enjoyable as well.

Was my second time in the Southern Belle and it was alright. Really hot on this ride, but they give a lot of very good history about the area. The first time we were with other couples and children and didn't listen much. Last time we ate lunch, this time we just watched from upstairs. I'd take my little ones since they're getting older now.

See all photos from Shon I. for Southern Belle Riverboat

Was really looking forward to this cruise but incredibly disappointed for a few reasons: 1. Zero enforcement of social distancing during COVID. No gaps in lines or removal of chairs. They packed as many as they could onto the boat and didn't enforce anything 2. Took the sunset cruise which should be relabeled as the scenic evening cruise of the Tennessee rivers construction sites, petroleum pipeline and sewage lines. 3. The site doesn't mention anything about no narration or info. We were told we could talk to the captain and he could tell us a few highlights but nope we were "misinformed" despite asking prior to boarding and again when we boarded and were under way 4. Do not get ice with your drinks. It's dirty, nasty and the ice machine is accessible so random travelers were sticking their bare hands into the ice. Nasty

Third deck of the boat where passengers line up for drinks . No space between any tables or chairs or distancing in line.

TOURIST TRAP! My family and I just happened upon the Southern Belle while playing at the playground so we had the pleasure of not taking what Yelpers describe as the boat cruise from hell. We went up to the 3rd level Burger Bar to check it out and were pleasantly surprised with all the fun activities for kids such as ping-pong, Jenna, darts, corn-hole, and several video games. What caught me off guard was the gauging of drink prices when settling my tab. Bud and a Flat Tire $12...OK. Flat-tire and a Lynchburg Lemonade $16.75?!?! Come on! That's ridiculous. Have you taken a good-look around? Beware if you look like you're an out-of-towner, the bartender (dark hair, jacked teeth) will make you pay the price.

The only reason we did it was because of Mother's Day. Couldn't think of anything else to take our mom to that did not involve just sitting and eating! * When you arrive, there is a retail area and register, and yes, that is where you show your ticket if you purchased one online (no signage telling you, but should have one) or you can buy your tickets there as well. As far as the boat itself: Not impressed. The boat is dated. There was no ambiance. There was no information given to the guests about what was on the left or right. There is an island in the river, and we had to Google to find out about it. The boat just goes down about 3 miles, maybe 4, then turns around (5 pm tour). River boat should have someone at least giving us a 10 minute voice tour. I had to ask for them to play music! Yes, it was radio silent except for the sound of the engine. The woman in the downstairs bar was kind enough to ask the crew to turn the music on. Thankfully they picked a very good station but we shouldn't have to ask. So, our bad luck that it rained so it made it even more boring because we had to stay inside. The highlight was the bar downstairs has normal prices and they don't screw you out of a liquor pour! They have board games for you to play, which I do not see the point personally. I don't pay $30 to get on a "scenic riverboat" ride to then look at a game board. There should be someone giving you some sort of talk about the history, the buildings. SOMETHING! Go do something else. Seriously. $30 bucks plus fees

It was a great afternoon on the boat. Got a chance to see a few American bald eagles. A little chilly for the first day of spring

So if you American bald eagles

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The Southern Belle Riverboat started out with a simple vision, give a great guest experience of Chattanooga, show everyone the beauty of the river, and give everyone a different perspective of the city of Chattanooga. If you know about us, you know that message is still the same, the boat crew at The Southern Belle Riverboat still strives to give our very valued guest a great cruise, great service, and a great experience.

We are proud to say we cruise year-round and carry well over 100,000 passengers per year! The Southern Belle Riverboat has daily sightseeing cruises, lunch cruises, and dinner cruises as well as private charters! The Company has expanded into 2 vessels, a grand banquet hall on the 2nd deck of our dockside vessel, and a full-service restaurant above that!

Our goal is to not only serve the awesome locals and visitors of Chattanooga but to bring that joy to other cities across this nation!

The Southern Belle Riverboat is one of the top attractions in Chattanooga, has fantastic Chattanooga weddings, and is still the only way to have sightseeing cruises, lunch cruises, and dinner cruises while cruising down the TN River and enjoying picture-perfect views of Lookout Mountain and all the beautiful nature this great city has to offer!

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