I went for a country Saturday cruise with a big group of girls. Wish I checked their Yelp review before going since nowhere was it advertised that they are cash only. The ATM was broken when everybody was got onboard which was a huge headache. They did try to replace it with a new one but the one brought onboard still did not work great. You can't hear the music on the lower level so everybody crammed the top level. The drinks were disappointing and weak. I did not have to use the bathroom while on board but a lot of my friends went MIA most of the night since they had to wait in line. The band was phenomenal but overall don't think I'll be back. read more

SCAM ARTIST. My friend had an engagement party planned early September. She sent a large deposit via check. Check is cashed. He canceled at the last minute saying his boat was not running but he would try to find her another boat. He never did. He is not taking her calls or responding to emails or texts, and it has been over two weeks now. I WILL REMOVE THIS POST WHEN MY FRIEND, THE BRIDE, GETS HER MONEY BACK!!! read more

The boatonian is THE WORST cruise ever. I only went for a friends birthday, never again. This boat was a rip off! It was a very rocky, small, tacky, and dirty boat. The tables inside looked like crap. The bathrooms were small and dirty. And the drinks cost 7.50, and were poured into small plastic cups. They didn't have shots on the boat, and the only reason i asked for shots is because all their drinks were watered down. And all the drinks tasted horrible! We then decided we had to make the best of our situation and try to have fun. We went to dance, we were on the dance floor for about 5 minutes and everybody was slipping everywhere! There were so many spilled drinks, pieces of ice, and lime on the ground. Plus the rocky boat doesn't help. So they should have somebody that would mop that up periodically! One of my friends actually slipped and hit her chin off the ground, splitting it opened! I brought her off the dance floor and asked an employee for a first aid kit and anybody that was trained for this type of situation. It took them FOREVER TO GET A FIRST AID KIT or ANYBODY WHO KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING! One of the employees asked my friend if he could see the cut and then went on to say OMG ITS A REALLY DEEP CUT. Not helping the situation at all but kept commenting about how severe it was, when my friend was already freaking out about it. How professional is that? 15 minutes they finally give her a bandage and asked if maybe JUST maybe we should dock the boat. I asked them if they could make sure there was could be an ambulance waiting, since it was obvious that she needed stitches. And they asked us, "Are you sure you need an EMT? Because we're not paying for it, you would have too." So we declined the EMT, because one of us can driver her. Then later one of the employees asked us once she had the bandage on, if she could go back on the boat and have fun. ARE YOU SERIOUS?! We docked and got off the boat. When we left one of the employees screamed at us if anybody else was getting off the boat? I screamed back "I don't know." I heard him say rudely, Whatever, we're leaving, I don't care. My biggest problem with the bostonian was the STAFF. They didn't know how to handle the situation, and just made it worse. I suggest you use your hard earned money on something, ANYTHING else. read more

First off, let me say that I have been on tons of boat cruises, and booze cruises, and even a few yacht parties. Im laughing at the reviews here lol I think these people expected some sort of yacht or something? Well the boat is not small. There are two levels, the bottom has the bar, seating, etc, no wind, the top has open air and it's pretty nice. It's definitely a nice change from the local pub that smells like a urinal! The fact is, it's a cheap cruise, with tons of fun people, dancing to loud music, and drinking. The views alone are worth the money. If you're looking for a nightclub experience without being locked in a basement, you can get on this sort of thing. Its about the same money ($20) and in my opinion (tired of clubs) it's better. Drinks are moderately priced (5-8) and there is never really a huge line between 2 bars. I was able to enjoy the night with friends, and even made some new ones ;) Bottom line. This is a booze cruise, its fun, its relaxed, its not to fancy, and it's easy going. To me, you would classify this as a club on the water. I've been on all the other ones, they are all generally the same. This one just has more people on it. I like people. I'm always down for boat parties. Summer in Boston is too short not to ! read more

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!! We paid for a boat two summers ago and the day before the guy Matt cancelled. He has since refused to pay the large amount of money back and says he never will. Do not use this scam artist he should be in jail! read more

I am a bit confused as to why people expect one of those luxury yacht cruises with elevator music and wine when they board the Boatonian. First off its a party booze cruise (dancing, loud music, lights, DJ, and drinks), second of all, you paid no more than 20$ for 3 hours out on the boston harbor to party (pretty great deal), and lastly how can you expect to have nice furniture and legit bars on a boat that must get hosed down for cleaning....overall the Boatonian is an awesome break from the normal bar scene, a great way to spend a summer night, and an awesome deal for 3 hours of partying for the same you would spend in any boring bar. The DJ's are legit and come from radio stations including 94.5, 96.9, 101.7 and others. I would definitely recommend! read more

Overall, I had a great time on the boatonian celebrating a friend's bachelorette. My only issues involve only a couple bathrooms, and the watered down drinks. The drinks were $8 roughly for a very weak mixed drink. Also, we did the Saturday Country night and I was disappointed that it was a cover band and not a DJ playing top country hits. I didn't love all of the songs they played, they weren't really party-country. However, the singer was very good (The Stefanie Jasmine Band). I'm not sure if I'd go again-- one time was enough I think. Although, the view was beautiful of Boston at night. read more

Boatonian - a view of a city at night - Bars Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

See all

It's fun to be out on the water but it's a bit of a jenky operation. Cash bar, no limes at that cash bar, decent band but they're not prepared for weather issues. It started raining so the band couldn't play they just had some songs playing on a bad stereo instead. The boat itself is a bit run down as well. There are better boat cruises in Boston. read more

Horrible. MOST HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD. Was on this cruise and never expected to be scarred for life, literally with a scar and stitches after this cruise. Long story short, if you have read Helen D.'s review, I was the one who had fell. After the incident, I had tried to contact the manager/owner/anybody who could help me with my situation, having to pay all my hospital bills, the inconvenience it had brought me, missing work, and everything else. They finally got back to me, said they would send me a check for $500 and some tickets to give them a second chance. BUT, before they would send me anything, I would have to sign a disclaimer that once I signed this, any complications later on would have nothing to do with me once I received the check and 'complimentary' tickets. I refused to sign the disclaimer so I NEVER got any of my money back from paying $$$$ for all my hospital bills, being out of work, missing my classes, which I eventually had to withdraw from. They said to still give them another chance and still sent me 20 complimentary tickets for myself and my group of friends, who were aboard the night of the incident for a birthday party, I probably would have if they didn't send me EXPIRED tickets that didn't even work, and then weren't allowed to board. RECENTLY, a friend of mine has ran into someone who happened to be the owner of the boat/company. He tried to talk to her(she was also aboard during the incident) and told her to tell us to give his cruise another chance. Complimentary boarding for our friends, especially my other friend who wrote the bad review and myself who is scarred for life. Give him and his cruise another chance and receive complimentary boarding and drinks, etc. Personally, I would never NEVER give this crap another chance after what they have put me through. I would also, not sell myself out for some free drinks in exchange to write a better review and then put somebody else's life on the line. I'm lucky to have only gotten a scar, worst could've happened. I don't recommend this at all. Go use your money on some other cruise, and experience something else unless you want to leave scarred for the rest of your life. read more

So the Boatonian at first seems like a shit deal, you walk up to the wharf and see these giant boats everywhere and get really excited. Thinking you're gonna have this awesome luxury cruise. But then you see it and its just this little ferry type thing sitting there. It's so obvious that it was at one point a ferry that they just bought and changed its Name. Once you step aboard you are greeted by the old chipping paint and vfw style chairs and card tables. The bartender didn't really know what he was doing either. Then we walked up stairs and the atmosphere got better. There was lighting and a dj and a slightly better bar. The lines were ridiculous however and you better come prepared to wait. Drinks where cheap though. read more

Boatonian - View from the boat of the harbour. - Bars Near Me - Boston, Massachusetts

Paid for a country music boat but got 30 minutes of a live band followed by a rock concert and a radio playing. Great concept executed horribly. read more

I went as part of a bachelorette party on the country booze cruise this weekend. It was a less then enjoyable experience. (The weather didn't help, it was freezing!). The boat smelled. No matter where on the boat you went, it smelled. Whenever someone would smoke a cigarette, you could smell it anywhere you went on the boat. At one point the whole boat smelled like pot. We went to the bar on the second deck, and they didn't have any straws or anything to stir your drink.. The music was also pretty bad. I listen to a lot of country music, and I didn't know about 80% of the music the band played. The band itself was pretty good, just their music choice was pretty bad. read more

We found a Country Hoedown Cruise on Goldstar.com for $17.50 (regularly $35) through the Boatonian. We were really excited for it and invited a few friends to come along with us. You know how when you get that feeling of awkwardness because you invited friends to something that turned out to not be that awesome? Yeah, I felt this way. I've been on other really nice cruise boats out of Rowe's Wharf in Boston before such as the Odyssey...this one, the Samuel Clemens, was not that awesome. It was small, very old and dirty looking. When we first boarded and I saw the first floor interior I immediately said "it looks like an old VFW." If you've ever been inside a VFW, you know exactly what I mean: old grungy floral carpets, cheap old wooden tables and those awful chairs. The second floor wasn't much better. I will say the roof deck was pretty cool having it be all uncovered and open to the Boston Harbor air. We spent most of our time up there. Things were pretty ridiculous when it came to getting drinks. When we first boarded, the first floor had one bar with two bartenders and the line was probably a hundred people long. The second floor had one small jimmy-rigged fold out table as the "bar," a portable cash register and buckets of ice with cans of beer and one bartender. We waited in line for what seemed like forever, probably close to twenty minutes. By the time we were up we felt forced to double fist because who knew when we'd be able to get another drink. I bought a round of six beers for $40. Plus it was cash only which was inconvenient and added to the wait time considerably because for every purchase, change had to be made. We did not get any more drinks after that. The party on the roof deck was a pretty good time but the DJ was not very good at all. He didn't play any of our requests (even the girl's requests) and although this was advertised as a "Country Hoedown Cruise" the DJ played a pretty bad choice of songs and also played about 8-10 non-country songs - huh? Overall it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't good either. I would not recommend. read more

This was an OK experience. I'd been about 6 years ago and upon reading the reviews I was a little hesitant about returning. Went with a group of 10 and it was okay. I don't know what people were expecting, large dance floor and music. Basic, bathrooms are tiny and drinks are weak but overall not at all a bad experience for what you would expect. read more

I completely agree with Anthony D - The Boatonian was exactly what we were looking for on a Thursday girls' night out! The DJ played the perfect mix of music and even entertained every single request that I had. The crowd and staff were fun and the drinks were cheap. Drinking out on the deck and dancing on a beautiful summer night with incredible views of the city.. what more could you ask for? I'd definitely recommend it for a fun night out with friends to break out of the usual bar scene! read more

my friends and i went on the boatonian for a bachelorette party, and overall it was a pretty good time. i was expecting it to be a lot more crowded, so it was nice that there was room to dance and moderate lines at the bar. we went on the country cruise, and the music was upbeat and fun. however, the cruise is only 3 hours and there was about a 15-20 minute break in the middle, which seemed really long especially for it just being a dj and not a live band that might need such a long break. the drinks were okay, pretty standard for what would be expected from a boat cruise (slightly small, less strong, no shots). the bar closes about 30 minutes before the cruise ends, but they will still give out ice water which is much appreciated. as an fyi - it is cash only. read more

Went on the Boatonianon Friday night hip-hop night. It was surprisingly fun. As mentioned in other reviews the drinks are crazy expensive and served in tiny 8 ounce cups and the bathrooms are tiny and could use some maintenance throughout the night. The dance floor downstairs could really use A/C, or just open the windows. It was so hot down there that I thought I was going to pass out after about 1/2 a song. Overall i would recommend this to others. DO NOT get onto the Boatonian assuming it's gonna be some awesome club on the high seas.... it'not, but a little bit of fun for $30 bucks it is. read more

Im sure the cruise would be great if there wasn't any problems. However, there was on our boat, and it ended in a disaster. Toilets all overflowed an hour into the ride. The smell was horrible. The cruise director couldn't handle the pressure of the situation at all, and started yelling at everyone. They ended the night an hour early and brought us back to port. They offered 60% of our money back which was a joke honestly. Plus it was supposed to be a country cruise and there was maybe 2 country songs played the whole night. buyer beware read more

Initially when getting on this boat, we were not super impressed. The first floor is very outdated and does not say "party boat." It feels more like a cheap restaurant with bad curtains. This could easily be fixed. Nix those curtains and change the lighting. The carpet is ok. The boat was a bit smaller than we expected but it turned out to be ok. This was on a Thursday. We did end up having fun as it got later and the music was pretty good. It was definitely worth the $20 price tag. Drinks are overpriced, minimal, and they don't even offer decent beer. Almost $6 for a can of bud or bud light is absurd. At least expand the options. And they took our bottles of water away before boarding, one wasn't even opened yet. Taking water isn't going to make people pay ridiculous prices for drinks. They did give my friend a cup of water when she asked so at least they weren't trying to force people into only paying for bottled water. I would go again but would booze before hand. read more

This is a fun way to spend time with friends, listen to music and dance. I am always disappointed when I need to spend 1/3 of my time standing in line for a bathroom.. There was 3 stalls but one was out of order. Please fix your bathroom toilets or build some new bathrooms... Thanks read more

I attended a Thursday night cruise. I was with a large group that subsidized our tickets, so I only paid $5 to board (I think it's usually $20). The views of Boston are great. From the Wharf, we headed south east. The boat goes out toward Boston Harbor, so you get a good view of the Boston skyline, and go past the Boston Convention Center and Bank of America Pavilion. Once you get past the harbor cargo holds and Fort Independence, you head south into more open water, and then turn around and do the reverse trip. The web site says they leave promptly at 7:00pm with our without you, but we didn't leave the dock until about 7:20pm. Even so, we still re-docked at the original return time of 10:00pm. Getting on, they check IDs and go through your purse/wallet and pat everyone down. You can't bring in outside drinks (they'll pour out your flask), but I saw a few people with small food snacks that weren't confiscated. The boat is pretty big. It has two levels. The lower level has a bar and a bunch of tables and seats. It is fully enclosed with windows, so it gets a bit warm in there. There aren't many people there. The top floor is open (it's on the deck of the boat). That's where the DJ is. There's an identical bar up there. It is enclosed on top. There is a roof, since they go out rain or shine. But there are no walls or windows. You've got the fair air of the wind blowing at you (except for boat exhaust while on the dock and the occasional cigarette smoke). Drinks were $5 for beer (only served canned and bottled Corona and Corona Light, I think), wine (I don't know cost) and $7.50 mixed drinks (Absolute, Captain Morgan, Dewars, etc, with Ocean Spray fruit mixers or fountain soda). Here's a tip: When you first get on, the bar line will be shorter upstairs. Once you leave dock, the bar line downstairs will be shorter. People generally got in an orderly line for the bar. I never waited more than a minute or two to order. It also looked like they might sell hot dogs at the downstairs bar. Bar is cash only. Though there an ATM on the boat (I didn't use it). The music is typical top 40s mixed by a DJ. There's an MC trying to hype up the crowd. There's room for dancing and also room for standing around near the railings to take in the view. The way the top floor is organized, you can control your location relative to the one set of speakers, so you can have a real conversation if you want, or instead drown out the world with music. The crowd seems mostly kids in college or within 5 years of finishing college. A lot of guys with fake tans and polo shirts. Girls with fake nails and short dresses. Near the end of the night, the MC holds a dance contest to crown a Miss Boatonian. It seemed our night was cosponsored by a vibrator company (Sensual Vibrations?). Overall, it was okay. I wouldn't have gone at the full $20 price. For $5 plus drink costs, it was a good time. I expect any other booze cruise you'd go on will be similar until you're over 40 and start going on boats that only serve wine. read more

We booked a cruise on this boat for a bachelorette party. We originally booked for Saturday, but asked if we could change to Friday because the show we booked for Friday was cancelled. Upon boarding the boat, we realized it was extremely run down. It obviously hasn't been renovated in a long time. We ordered drinks, which were extremely expensive, and decided to get off the boat before it took off. Had the boat been nicer, we would've been a lot more apt to stay. Don't waste your money! read more

We had a great time going on the Friday night hip hop cruise for my friend's birthday. It was a large group so we got a discount when we booked our tickets on the site. The DJ from JAM'N was really good and seeing the skyline from the boat was beautiful. The location of the boat also made it easy to go out in the Faneuil/ North End area after the cruise ended. I'd definitely recommend and think I will try out the Country night next. read more

Very in organized. Boat has not been updated in quite some time. Snacks and drinks were below par. Live band left much to be desired for. Don't waste your money. read more

What a ripoff this was. One bar with 2 bartenders for 200 people. Boat was disgusting. No country music at all when it's advertised "country Saturday's" bunch of bullshit that was. Waited over an hour in line for drinks. Hot inside no ac. What a let down read more

Was so excited to be on the country music cruise as I am a big fan of country, but I wouldn't recommend any cruises on this boat. The music itself was good, but they only play music on 1 level of the boat so everyone is packed on the upper deck. There are 2 bars, one downstairs and one upstairs on the deck. Both are painfully slow. After waiting in line for no less than 45 minutes for a drink we decided (like everyone else) to grab multiple drinks/person at that time. Canned beer was $6.50/can. To actually get up to the bar, we had to basically be smashed up against 100 people and squish and squeeze your way up while blocking out the people who kept trying to cut in the line. The bathrooms were disgusting to say the least. One of the toilets backed up and was out of service. It made the entire downstairs smell like a sewer and the downstairs is completely closed in with no windows. Overall the staff treated the guests like they were a herd of cattle. read more

This organization is run just like the trashiest bars of Boston. Please, do yourself a favor, and avoid it at all costs. The bar treats its partygoers like herds of cattle, and doesn't respect its patrons. We were grossly overcharged and promised a rebate. When we approached management they told us there was "nothing we could do". Seriously, I would avoid this plave entirely at ALL COSTS read more

I went on the Boatonian country Saturday cruise this past weekend. The biggest issue is that not once did the captain or crew say anything about life vests or safety before taking off... I did not see one life vest onboard. The entire night the captain was letting drunk girls in and out of the bridge.. Unsafe and unprofessional. Pros: The live music was actually pretty good!! The upper level of the boat is nice with an open air area and has a nice view of the city at night Cons: drinks were extremely overpriced and in tiny cups All of the toilets on the boat were overflowing and clogged within the first hour People are allowed to smoke which is understandable however everyone just throws their cigarettes in the ocean...some even threw their plastic cups... There are only 2 security guards on the boat and both did nothing about several extremely drunk guys causing problems The lower level has very few windows open, very smelly from the toilets clogging I wouldn't waste your money on the Boatonian. There are other nicer boat cruises that go out of the area. I can't believe someone actually insures that boat and allows them to operate in that manner. read more

This cruise very unprofessional. Space I'm a type one diabetic and they gave me a hard time in front of a group of people about bringing juice on to the boat and it was very embarrassing. I would never come on this again just because of their unprofessionalism of Diseases read more

Bathrooms were the worst I have ever seen, and the smell was so overwhelming people were dry heaving.....the only good thing was the music. Would not recommend this booze cruise to anyone. Unless they shape up and take care of the bathrooms, and fix the way you can get drinks. read more

Overall, not a great experience. The drinks were not as cheap as advertised and everything seemed really amateur. Kim H. is right - they had no straws or stirrers and bartender seemed like it was his first day on the job. The music wasn't great. Not enough crowd pleasers to get people on the dance floor. The aroma of hotdogs was overpowering. Also it was cash only and the only ATM on board was out of order. If this wasn't a boat and just a regular bar, it would be the worst around. read more

Was supposed to go on this boat cruise and they cancelled 2 hours before because the "band cancelled". Joke of an excuse and would recommend choosing anyone else who will be reliable and not flake like this place! read more

Went on the hip hop cruise last night. Tickets were cheap, which was awesome. The boat itself is what you would expect for a booze cruise. We went for a friend's birthday and were super disappointed. Apparently they "forgot the cable" so the only music bring played was on the first floor. The music sounded good from the bass we felt through the floor. When we tried to go down and actually dance, majority of the boat was down there making it a hot, sweaty mess. One friend went down to use the ladies room and in the span of time it took her waiting in line, 2 of the 3 toilets had clogged and actually spilled dirty toilet water all over the floor. (This was cleaned and fixed by the time I went down about 35 mins later) Overall it was a fun night but not having music on the other floors put a damper on the night. Would have been awesome on the too floor with the breeze and lights. read more

Worst experience ever! I put my bag underneath my coat next to the dj, and spotted two young men going through it! Security also saw it and questioned the two who claimed they thought it was their friend's bag! Yeah, right! I saw one put something in his back pocket! So, my credit card is missing, they know who did it but did nothing about it. The captain was supposed to call the harbor patrol when we docked (which he didn't), and they said the thief wouldn't be allowed to leave (which he was) and that they would get his information (which they didn't), then the security guy had the nerve to tell me I should apologize to the criminal because it was a mix-up, umm no! You saw him with his hand in my purse! Talk about blaming the victim! Very unimpressed with this boat. I'm writing a letter to the Boston Police and the Coast Guard! read more

Had done this boat cruise summer of 2017, and had a great time but sadly did it this last weekend and was beyond upset over multiple things. They double booked so we had to go on this tiny pontoon like double-decker where we squeezed 60 women onto it. The ATM broke and the managers were unwilling to accommodate until we all said we wanted to go back to land. They finally took our credit card info and would charge us the next morning. Like hello, venmo? You guys are the worst. The manager and boat captain were sexist and rude and considering there were 60 chicks on board, they very out of place. Views are amazing and our bride had fun, but we will never be coming back. You guys are rude, unaccommodating and extremely inappropriate. My friend was like excuse me as the captain was barging through pushing people over when we were trying to dock, and he looked at her and said, "You are not one of my favorite people either." You're lucky no one sued. Period. read more

horrible experince! the most overpriced watered down drinks, the bathroom is literally a cubby hole and disgusting. it is smaller than an airplace bathroom. the bar is not even a real bar. there were only a few liquors to chose from. there is no where to sit down except downstairs where there is no bar, music and it is very dirty. i have been on the 96.9 booze cruise and it was nothing like this and it cost less money! if i could rate this zero stars trust me i would. i emailed them and they never even bothered responding to my email! my friend and i spent close to $200 for the tickets, drinks, parking and gas. not to mention my brand new iphone in now damaged bc it fell in the bathroom toilet bc the bathroom was literally a hole in the wall!awful..awful..awful.. do not waste your time of money on this tugboat! read more

Staff is very rude, they do herd people like cattle and don't realize that once your on the boardwalk (otherwise known as Boston harbor walk), its a public walkway, they don't have the authority to tell you to keep on walking you can sit there as long as you want but they are on an ego trip especially the older guy on the staff who looks like he is in his 40's or early 50's. He just has an ego and doesn't really enjoy his job, the owner should really consider firing him. Its annoying spending a bunch of money on an ok boat, it has old carpet, peeling paint and the bathrooms are gross. The bars have long lines and the bar is very limited in terms of selection and what they do have is very watered down drinks. The views of the city are nice, the music is pretty good, and some of the bartenders are friendly. But again the staff just sucks and the prices of the drinks are not worth it. I STRONGLY encourage that you don't go on the boat the staff sucked so much so, that this is my first review ever. That should tell you something. No one wants to go spend a couple hundred dollars to be treated like shit. P.S. the younger guys on the staff are being mislead by their boss and instead of leading by a good example he leads by a bad one and it will eventually hurt the business. So skip this boat b/c the way they treat customers is a reflection of how its run. read more