Grand Romance Riverboat

Grand Romance Riverboat has one night a week The Dinner Detective.
I want to take friends on this boat… BUT… it’s a dump!
And, for one person it costs, $ 79.95 + 9.76% Taxes & Service Fees, which includes a dinner.
If you see this boat, you may be inclined to look at it and immediately say, «G H E T T O!»
I will be happy to get people on this boat (I am an active Downtown resident) on a regular basis, IF ONLY, they renovate the boat! It’s in really bad shape… and Long Beach deserves better.
Thank you.
Please consider what you’re spending your hard earned money on, if the ambiance and experience is important to you, especially at the ticket price they’re charging.

Here for New Years bang on the bay. My boyfriend and I bought tickets and as advertised there should’ve been a champagne toast, ball drop & board the boat 9. No champagne, no ball drop and we boarded the boat at 945. Waste of money. Isn’t false adversing illegal? Also, there was weed everywhere. So much for security checking people at the door

Didn’t board until 9:45 for nye. Lots of ratchet hoes. Nothing romantic about this event. Djs look straight Pisa rockin Oakland raider and Nike attire. No champagne toast, no balloon drop. No restaurant was on board other than a hot dog stand with fries in the corner. Definitely need to update on how they promote this experience. The 1 star is for the view of the fireworks and setup of everything otherwise it would be 0.

Where to start.
Bought tickets for 2016 NYE event «banging in the bay». Tickets were a reasonable $ 75 however it was stated to arrive at 9 pm for boarding and they did not allow passengers to begin until about 10pm.
The boat is a bit run down, definitely needs to be redone. We were lucky to be at the front and had a group of 6 so we got the corner couch which was nice. Otherwise there were small little booths to sit at, not comfortable unless you are party of 2. There were a handful of larger circular tables with chairs.
Music being played was lame DJ was outdated with his music and also needed to have a better selection and variety, it was mostly if not all
Rap.
Worst part was the smell of fried food onboard they had chicken nuggets, and hot dogs. They should have not even had food if that’s what they were going to have. Also no champagne toasts, that should have been included as most places do.
Bathroom lines were long but it’s expected. Overall for the price it was ok it did have a very nice view from the ship and we could see the fireworks perfectly. It def beats sitting around at home or going to a house party, it was a nice change up if your looking for something to do diff than same ‘ol NYE stuff and don’t want to pay an outrageous event ticket price then this works out. I would not return here though.

Oh if this could only a Unilocal review that would go negative into infinity. Where do I start, First off this boat should be taken out to the ocean and sunk to the bottom of the floor because it looks like it is about go down at any second. How this thing is allowed to stay in business let alone even sail I have no idea. This boat is a complete rust bucket and the only reason I was on this boat of doom was because of a work function. It is FOUL FOUL FOUL. the moment you step on the deck you know something is wrong by the unreal amount of rust, and bird crap that is everywhere, the deck is littered with filthy rusting FOLDING CHAIRS to sit on, oh but it gets better, then you walk up to the top level «dining area» first thing was the smell of absolute mold, oh it gets better, peeling wallpaper, décor that looks like circa 1982, filthy chairs, filthy everything. But wait it’s time to eat… food is like a nursing home, everything from a package, instant mashed potatoes, veggies that you need no teeth to chew, frozen box cheesecake, nasty ranch dressing, oh my god the list goes on, they don’t have a kitchen to prepare the food so there was «wait staff» on the side deck taking the food out to be served in an area that was so dirty I can’t believe they would pass a health inspection. I took one look at the bathroom and literally held it until we got back in the harbor. Oh and if you want coffee, it’s in this nasty carafe sitting on a disgusting table with powder creamer, and oh it wasn’t even offered, you had to go searching for it and when you found it you just wanted to run away from that instant Sanka mess. I could go on and on about this complete arm pit of a vessel but I’ll just stop. All I have to stay is if anyone invites you to this hunk of rusted crap, RUN DON“T WALK, my god just truly awful.

Came to a halloween party Halloween night, boat is big, holds a lot of people but it’s rundown. It needs a remodel, badly. restrooms are a mess. One of them was clogged up and leaked. You could smell poop and pee throughout the first floor. The music was good and the live band was good that’s the only reason I’m giving it two stars. Drinks were kind of expensive too. I suggest partying on a different boat.

BE WARNED!!! Worst experience ever. We took what was advertised as booze cruise part 2, which was suppose to be a live reggae band the hours of our cruise was between 4 – 8. When we arrived at 3:30 we were told ship would not leave til 5:30 because they were waiting on some people. The guy at the booth tells us that they are on Mexican time so they never leave on time. As we were walking down the ramp you could smell marijuana. When we got on the boat the band was playing hip hop and bartender told us as soon we leave the dock they would start playing reggae. The entire time of the boat ride the music never changed from hip hop. The entire three decks of the boat smelled of marijuana. We overheard a security guard telling a passenger if they were going to smoke marijuana to go to the top deck. The driver of the party bus was suppose to be taking us back home was at the bar drinking. When we docked I approached security to tell them how upset I was, and there response was well we tried to control the marijuana smoking. This company would not take responsibility being that they rented the boat out to promoters. Flavorus which we purchased the tickets from denied my request for a refund because I agreed to the terms and conditions. I never agreed to hip hop and to be on a boat for 3 hours inhaling marijuana, this boat is old and security does nothing to try to stop illegal activity. WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!!! In the past have taken other reggae cruises from Dana point and it was so much fun. We thought we try something new this year what a mistake.

I enjoyed spending 4^th of July on the Grand Romance Riverboat. Seeing the fireworks on the Queen Mary was wonderful. Yes, it’s an old boat, but it has it’s charm. Probably needs to be updated, but it isn’t. Raphael is the ultimate host. Not sure how he does it. He oversees everything, i.e., the bar, asking how you want your steak done, service on the bar, etc. The food wasn’t the best I have ever had, but not the worst. The tri-​tip was tender and flavorful. The cheesecake was quite good. SaxMajor (aka Ruben Cantu) was performing solo saxophone player/​vocalist during the cruise. He played Disney songs, pop rock, jazz, etc. Small children were dancing most of the evening and watching the kids dance, listening to the music, watching the sunset on the water and you are on a boat. If I go again, I will dance on the dance floor.

Great services and food there. I would definitely come back !!

We went last night for the New Year’s Eve party and did not receive what was advertised at all. Boat didn’t start loading until 30 minutes after advertised time, all toilets were overflowing, there was no champaign toast, no balloon drop, not even a countdown and the boat didn’t leave the dock until 10 minutes before midnight. Really not a happy new year when you don’t receive what you pay for.

Terrible harbor cruise on New Years eve. Invite said boarding will start at 9pm (wrong– it was 10pm) and there were no party favors as promised and the boat did not leave dock until 11:40pm
The people that work there were rude and unexperience and the boat needs major repair
Will never take this cruise again

This particular review is for last weekend which was coined «The original booze cruise» thrown by icy ice, j solo, and remark.
I’m all about supporting the Carson homie’s and this was probably the only other time I did something similar to when I jumped on a mini cruise in Hawai’i that took us around Honolulu back in the day.
The music was cool as usual since Ice and them play nothing but the hits. Every time I go to event thrown by these djs I always have fun.
The only thing I had to dock two stars was just the boat itself. It looked a little old and rundown like straight out of the 90s? (maybe that was the point) Keep in mind the only reference I have had was the cruise ride I rode in Hawai’i so its probable that I had high expectations for the venue.
I did like that fact that we were on the water and watching the coast, while we were getting our bullsh*t on with the homies. I had about 4 glasses of hennyginger and some champagne so i was pretty gone by that time.

WORST PLACE EVER.
Manager has the worst attitude, doesn’t ever call back and will do everything to rip you off. The food is microwaveable crap, served by rude people. The boat never sails on time, if it does at all. Their excuse when our party went was that it was «too windy». It was 82 degrees outside…
Point is– find another place to go eat dinner at, because this boat is a waste of money and time. I would give zero stars if I could.

I’ve always loved the way this boat looks and was super excited for the idea of possibly having my wedding on the boat!
A few months back I had called to ask about renting the boat out and after being directed to several different numbers I finally got the cell number of the boats event manager.
I talked to him briefly and told him the date I was interested in. He told me he did not have a calendar in front of him but would call me back to let me know if the date was available and schedule a tour of the boat. Needless to say, the manager never called me back. My girlfriend also called about available dates and her phone call was not returned either. So once again, last week, I left him another message asking about renting the boat out for my wedding and I still have not received a call back. Even if he did call me at this point I would not do business with him as he can’t even return phone calls in a timely manner. It’s no wonder this boat continuously gets bad reviews for lack of upkeep on it. Maybe if the manager did his job and booked it for events they could actually make some money to pay for the upkeep.

According from the reviews it should be mandatory before anybody works as a security or bouncer to watch the movie «Road House «with Patrick Swayze; you should treat people they way you want to be treated, with respect, remember that most of us go to a place to have a good time and the security are there to keep the place in order. With that behavior you guys are giving places a bad reputation. I was gonna take a ride on this boat next sunday but because of the bad reviews i’m gonna change those plans…

I wish I could give this place negative reviews. Awesome show booked at the venue, and showed up to having none of the lights in working order. How can you have a stage for shows at night with 3 out of 16 lights in working order? There was also a spotlight there that didnt even have a bulb in it! Not to mention the captain was late, and we didn’t shove off till over 45 minutes after we were scheduled to?! Nobody seemed to know what what going on, and while the harbor views were stellar, it seemed to just sit there in the middle of the harbor instead of actually ‘cruising’ around as advertised.
On the plus side, the bar staff was very friendly, security was thorough and as helpful as they could be, and poured graciously despite the $ 8 dixi cup sized liquor drinks.
For such a beautiful ballroom, the people running it just seem to be clueless and completely unwilling to try to help fix problems when they arise.

Oh my gosh. This thing is a disaster. How does this thing stay afloat? I went on a cruise with an event that shall remain nameless because I’m embarrassed they booked this thing.
It all started right when we boarded the ship. It looked like the thing hadn’t been cleaned in ages. The DJ was using the onboard speaker system which was awful, then tried to use their own sound system and it was somehow even worse. The bartenders were terrible, charging for Diet Coke for DD’s, pouring light, and overall just being crabby.
The ship was supposed to leave the dock at 8, swing back by 10, leave, then swing back at midnight. SO, the ship didn’t actually leave until 9:30, made a mad dash around the bay, got back by 10ish, then left as fast as they could to get back out there. The whole thing was just really bizarre. I can’t really put my finger on it, but the whole experience just felt creepy.
Anyway, if you’re thinking about going on this boat… don’t.

It seems the experience varies by event, but mine was a pleasant one. 80’s flashback booze cruise, how could one resist? The boat has 3 levels and a full bar. The rot iron framing and old fashioned wooden rudder add some charm to the romance. 4 hours of grooving to MJ, circling around the Queen Marry, and wading in the Long Beach waters was just the right amount of time to party, by 2am we were ready to «Beat It.»

A friend of mine invited my boyfriend and I to an event that was part of the groupon deal. The event theme was a Toga party, $ 10 per person. The event was held on this Grand Romance Riverboat, in Long Beach. The boat was a nice and big. Though the boat might not feel new, but it’s not that old as well. I believe the boat owner’s try their best to keep the boat clean and in shape.
There’s two stories on this boat. The stairs are a bit narrow going up and coming down so I would suggest you all to hold onto the handle and if there is no handle, hold onto your love ones. ;) There are two bars, one up and one down. There is a small dance floor on the bottom floor. This boat only takes off from the a certain # pier, so if you have an event you plan it or a friend plan it, make sure you know which number it is because you do not want to miss the fun by 5 minutes late.
Check out their website:
Plan a dinner cruise, private cruise or find a cruise. Just remember, not all cruises are cheap. Take some time and look over what you think is best.
Warning: If you get sea sick, make sure you take that pill before you hop onto the boat. You do not want to ruin the fun for everyone. AND if you are planning to drink at the bar, watch how much you can take, because you can also get alcohol sickness because of the woozy ride.
Enjoy.

I invited a group of about 15 to the riverboat this past Sunday for the first show. Some had reserved tickets, some didn’t; no problem. I ran into another girlfriend that came to see Sweet Baby Jai (she sings like Ella Fitzgerald). The ribs, pulled pork, brisket, chicken and all the BBQ’d meat was as good as Lucille’s. The sides were delicious and fresh. The meal will run you about $ 13-​$ 22; you select the cut of meat and sides. You can even buy a slab or two to take home. The food was awesome! This is a new project and I’m sure they have kinks to iron out but considering the Riverboat is as old as dirt, it was a smooth ride, great food, even better service and entertainment and totally awesome company! Everyone seemed to groove with everyone once the music started rockin’. Then we all got up and did the Electric Slide. It was about 82 degrees on Sunday, December 12, 2010. We took our cocktails on the top deck while we sailed around the harbor and it was like being on a tropical island. To top off our evening, we were served peach cobbler; and everybody can’t make good peach cobbler (like the potato salad at a family reunion). We all agreed we’d come back again at the drop of a hat. Tell your friends; it’s a fabulous idea to sail the harbor and listen to good music! Celebrate a birthday, anniversary, or «just ’cause you got a job!» I guarantee you’ll have a memorable evening. Be sure to get the parking validated before leaving the parking structure or it’s $ 13.
Regards,
Pam
Long Beach, CA