A most enjoyable fun trip on a real old-fashioned restored antique riverboat. If you've never been out on the Hudson River, the river trip is a great intro to experience the historical significance of river travel in this area. We went from City of Newburgh down to Cold Spring and turned around and came back. Most of the time we were outside enjoying the sunny day so take your sunglasses and sunscreen. There's a bar onboard. read more

A hidden treasure on the Hudson. The other day my wife, 91 year old aunt and a friend of ours of 37 years decided to go for lunch along the waterfront of Newburg NY. We had made reservations at the Blu Pointe restaurant. I'll leave that review for another time. There was a 'mix up' which left us with two hours to kill. We decided to just go home and BBQ, doing the Bue Point some other time. While on our way home we passed a sign for the 'Pride of the Hudson' river cruise. On a fluke, we stopped and inquired as to available seating. We lucked out and hopped aboard, throwing caution to the wind. The tour was 2.5 hours long and the day was exceptionally delightful. A high sun, low humidity, and a nice constant breeze made the trip very, very pleasant. The river was calm and the river traffic was virtually nonexistent. The other passengers were comprised of some vacationers from Europe and a few from the surrounding states. The ages were in the 50+ range which made for a quiet and relaxing cruise. If you're hungry, the food is snack bar-type stuff. There is a bartender and alcohol available, which was a definite plus. The boat itself was staffed by friendly and engaging personnel, with a jolly and very friendly skipper in command. The price of passage was $28. per person and the drinks were also reasonable as far as drinks go. For example, I ordered three piña coladas and paid $24. Another round was 3 Vodka martinis, clean, and chilled and that cost me $23. and so on. All in all the day was an unexpected pleasure and very reasonable on the wallet. One other thing, I based this review on a Wednesday afternoon, a beautiful day, with no children on board and absolutely NO expectations. So keep that in mind if you decide to venture on a sail aboard the Pride of the Hudson. read more

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Had a best time !! Beautiful boat ! And the best veiw of the fireworks !! read more

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Please believe all the reviews about how bad this cruise was. You are much better off seeing fireworks at the Newburgh landing or the Town of Newburgh. Everyone was so disappointed. The boat is old and not appealing at all. The gangplank is rickety and people needed help just to walk on/off the boat. Now for the cruise .... We got NEAR WEST POINT approx 9:15 we were told the fireworks would start in 7 minutes so everyone is scrambling to go outside to get a good viewing spot. Problem is there isn't enough room. To make matters worse we stood out there for half and hour FREEZING until the fireworks started. Then all of a sudden the boat starts to turn so everyone is scrambling to run and find out where to see them. After that nonsense everyone is coming inside the bottom deck and the bar decieds to CLOSE that was not a good move. The ride home could have been much more fun had they played some decent music on a decent sound system so people could get up and dance. That's right, it would have been fun! INSTEAD THEY PLAYED RAGTIME MUSIC River Rose I know you read these comments you need to take some advice. Current music is the very least you could do for an enjoyable trip home after that terrible trip there. No one I spoke to had a good time. read more

I'd never go back. Was advertised as a sightseeing tour on a historical steamboat. Should have been advertised as a 50+ swingers hookup, drunkenness encouraged. I'm not kidding. It is a PARTY boat. Exactly ONE TIME the captain attempted to give tour-like info as we left the dock, and someone immediately began complaining to the crew that they thought this was a party boat and that they hoped they would play music instead of narration for 2 hours... she was obviously more informed than we were because they stopped narrating, and the only narration for the rest of the time was the captain trying to discreetly slip a factoid in here and there to people in personal conversation... Besides the completely misleading advertising, the crew was kind, but the crowd was abysmal. Drunken partiers either hitting on us, or pushing us out of the way to get a better view of the fireworks... which we DEFINITELY could NOT see (even though we were sold special tickets for a fireworks show cruise)... On top of it all the wasted crowd that bowled over and stood in front all the people who got good seats early, started farting... FARTING, in our faces-- picture it-- us sitting, them standing RIGHT in front of us--- farting. My wife says this part of the review makes it sound like a joke... it's not. Not a joke. I wish so bad that it was... look, the company can't help farting... but it's REAL. This is the crowd we were with, and it definitely didn't make my experience any better-- and the SEATING could have been handled in a way that prevented people's back end being in my face-- so yeah maybe it could have been helped... This was the worst, most backward experience the human race may ever encounter. I know nothing about the pride of the Hudson, but it can't be any worse, and I certainly won't go back to the River Rose... it would have to be the last boat out during the Zombie Apocalypse... and even then having my brains scooped out for dinner sounds more pleasant. read more

Great cruise what I liked most about it was the staff they were very friendly and informative and made sure they spoke to every guest which is something I really liked. The boat ride was very smooth although it rained Father's Day they made it very enjoyable and the food was good as well. We loved the vegetable lasagna whoever made it hats offto you we definitely will take river Rose cruises again in the future read more

Never again! Loud music alternated with a constantly interrupted canned narration barely audible through the lousy P.A. system. It was impossible to find a crew member, and half the boat was filled with a part of people getting drunk and loud. The boat didn't even go as far as West Point before it turned back around. The only shaded area to sit in was inside the boat. The final straw was when the boat owner/captain, who had been invisible before, came on the PA to talk about how he acquired the boat, and ended up babbling about how the televangelist Jimmy Swaggart saved him! (For those who don't know, Swaggart was caught twice with prostitutes, and defrocked by the Assemblies of God church.) It was completely inappropriate for the captain to inflict his religious beliefs on a captive audience of paying customers. I was infuriated. Take a sightseeing trip on the Pride of the Hudson instead. It docks right near the River Rose. Their (live) tour guide is knowledgeable about the history of every part of the scenery, the boat is clean and comfortable, there is shade at the back so you don't have to sit inside to get out of the sun, and the trip goes from Newburgh down past West Point before turning around. I've done this trip three times, and will do it again. read more

The only thing I enjoyed about this boat ride was the fact that I was on a boat on the river and was able to enjoy the breeze as we coasted along. Everything else was terrible. - Vomit in bathroom - Music played was not good (band was The Ponytails) - Drinks expensive - Smokers allowed (expect to get cigarette smoke blown in your face if you go outside) - Infested with spiders/spiderwebs - No A/C On top of this, there was a fist fight that broke out between two women towards the end which our party almost got caught in the middle of. Thankfully the boat was in the middle of docking and we got off right away. read more

Sharon K, I was on the same cruise with you. We were seated downstairs, crammed in like sardines. We spent an hour watching everyone pile their plates high with more food than they could possibly eat and then see the upper deck come down to slim pickings. I purchased this cruise as a father's day gift. My dad loves history and was looking forward to hearing about bannermans castle, westpoint etc. We could not hear anything over the speaker system. The only good thing about the trip was the kind captain who took the time to personally discuss some of the sights when he came below. Would not recommend unless you just want a buffet and a boat ride. As for the bar, $32 for 4 bloodymary's that were made with Barton's (the cheapest vodka you can buy) and a mix from a bottle. read more

I was on for a private charter. About 45 minutes before we docked, I went for my second glass of wine and was told "no, we're about to dock," and was dismissed. My partner tried and was told the same thing. This is LAZY service from people who don't want to work past their "done time." 45 minutes out and you can't pour an ounce of wine? Which was included in the $125 ticket? I also requested some ice when we first left the departure, and was told they were "very short on ice," and couldn't spare it. Too bad. It's a lovely boat. But I felt like we were unwelcome guests. read more

Great ride. Authentic new orleans boat. Owner makes himself available to tell you about it. What history. Peaceful beautiful ride on the hudson. Ride a piece of new orleans while you can. read more

I wish I read the reviews beforehand. We did the dinner cruise and should only have done the sight seeing option. It took 35 minutes for our waitress to take our drink order. The soda fountain was horrible and we could hear complaints from multiple tables. Our waitress (blonde curly hair) whose name we didn't get because she came to our table twice the entire night was rude and really ruined the night for us. The food was ok and the river boat was dated but ok. The entertainment was an old timer which I enjoyed and it was a scenic ride when we weren't sitting at our table. If we had a better server I think, we would have given the cruise 3 stars. read more

Went on the fireworks cruise the weekend after the 4th of July. I do NOT recommend this. They stopped super far from where the fireworks were actually taking place so we could barely see them and heard almost nothing at all that's how far we were from the show. The boat continued to turn in circles during the show which made us face the wrong way half way through the finale. The interior is very dated and that's me giving a kind explanation of it. They have very little outdoor deck space so you have to defend and guard your little bit of standing room on the rail or you'd be stuck on the inside of the boat which defeats the purpose of being on a boat. I ordered a ginger ale and it was beyond flat. All I heard from the other riders who stood inches away from us since we were all packed in the small deck space was complaints, so I know we weren't alone in the disappointment. We couldn't wait to get off and back to dock. This sounded like a great way to view fireworks and we justified the price thinking we'd enjoy a sunset cruise ride and good drinks to the show, we were wrong. Better off packing up a blanket and sitting outside for free with a cooler like everyone else. read more

Save your money. The boat stinks of diesel outside old mold inside and on the ride we were on (West Point Fireworks) was way overbooked. The only good thing (hence the one star it did earn) is it floats. read more

We enjoyed the 2 hr cruise . It was a nice ride and the crew was polite and attentive.

Old boat I'm OK with, it can still be kept clean and somewhat up to date. The carpet in upstairs and downstairs room and bathrooms were gross and disgusting. The information given about areas was minimal and you could barely hear it. There are things that could be done to not make me feel like I want to use hand sanitizer at least 20 times in a 2 hour period. There's a ton of potential in this gem of old Mississippi boat but I don't think the owner wants to spend a dime investing into it, at least that's how it comes across. read more

We enjoyed our sightseeing cruise but with everyone talking a little difficult to hear the narration. Otherwise we had a great time!

The people on the cruise boat are wonderful - all very pleasant and attentive. The food was good, plentiful and very fresh!!! The decor of the boat needs to be updated as well as the ladies room - that was a D+ at best! This could be a fabulous trip and it is a full 2 hours if they put a little bit of effort into the decor, the tables and chairs and a nicer way to indicate which table is yours, besides an index card held on with painters tape! TACKY! We would go again as it's a nice way to spend 2 hours on the hudson, with friends/family and learn a little bit about the area. This was a surprise birthday party and it worked out well for us! read more

Riding on the River Rose Cruise is one of the best things to do down at the River Front in the Hudson Valley.

We booked this cruise on the Hudson River to celebrate a family birthday. We did find the staff to be very friendly. We already knew that this area of the Hudson River is absolutely beautiful. We anticipated a wonderful experience. Sadly, the cruise was extremely crowded, which affected the enjoyment. The acoustics were terrible, and the din from the passengers made it even more difficult to hear the various descriptions. I'm sure that this has the potential for being a pleasant, enjoyable trip, but the crowd, heat, and poor air circulation spoiled it. I wouldn't recommend this cruise, unless you could be sure that there was room to move about easily. read more

We took this cruise on Aug 2019. Check in and on boarding was nice and easy. The crew were friendly. Enjoy the relaxing 2 hours trip with family. You may have to come in 30 minutes early to find parking. There were good amount of parking when we arrived. read more

Wonderful trip! You can't miss River Rose cruise on Hudson River.

Our group of 14 had a fantastic time! The crew was wonderful, the river boat was a true delight! We were able to take a lot of great pictures of Bannerman's Island, West Point, and the gorgeous scenery of the Hudson Valley. Will return again in the fall to see the spectacular fall foliage. Reasonably priced for what you get. read more

Terrible singles cruise !! Horrible band, toilet over flowed and stopped up, save money and time!! Drinks watered down, no food! B

Did not pass West Point, turned around prior to reaching the best view. Historical facts not updated for sy least 7 years, stating Poughkeepsie train bridge was under construction after fire, it's already completed as Walkway over Hudson. Try another Cruise line if you can. read more

It was overbooked and therefore overcrowded. We went on the brunch cruise. My husband and I were assigned seating in the lower deck and it was ridiculously cramped & felt like sardines. It was loud down there any very hot. We found a seat up on top with our friends that came with us. The speakers were up so loud that they were vibrating and I took my sweatshirt to cover it up because we couldn't even hear ourselves or our conversation. Another guest that was in front of me asked if they could have a second pancake & were told no because they weren't sure if there was enough food to go around. I told the lady serving they needed more forks and she snarled at me, slamming down her spoon & stomping away and complaining the whole time. I won't be returning read more

They allowed some women to spread their mom's ashes while on the boat, which is a nice gesture. The problem is that the boat has no rear area outside so they did it from the front of the boat while we were moving. The ashes blew into the open windows and coated everyone/thing on the inside cabin. It was horrifying. read more

I brought five friends on the River Rose firework cruise on July 4, 2018. Tickets were pricey at $35 each. Fireworks were great but up to then, boat ride was boring. Should have had some good music to maybe dance to. Could have given a complimentary drink for each ticket holder. A extremely expensive night just to watch fireworks read more

Very lovely day on the Hudson River today! 3 hour River Rose Cruise on the a Hudson River was such a peaceful, enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. It was a private party arranged for employees of the company I work for. The boat staff provided historical narration of the sites along the river. We enjoyed a lovely light lunch as well. Would do it again! read more

I have been on the River Rose numerous times and enjoyed both the day and night cruises as well as events at night. Every time is was fab! I am looking foward to this Saturday night's event, VINTAGE VIBEZ, by NYSCONNECTIONS. Been to events by them and this new concept by them sounds so exciting. Cruise, DJ Music and appertisers. Wow! This has to be an awesome night. Dance Dance Dance ! Wow Date or no date, has to be Grand. I am going alone - so I will be meeting new friends. Ahoy there ! And the Capt is cool as well as the event planner Gary read more

The crew were incredible and tried to accommodate when the cruise did not live up to any of the passengers expectations. We were led to believe that we would be close to the fireworks and get to see them. Instead we were late, did not get within a mile. In addition, boat just rotated continuously requiring us to move left to right several times to see a glimpse of the fireworks. Furthermore, the floor of the top bar area was filthy and looked as if it had not been vacuumed or cleaned in quite some time. I will not return and will instead go on The Pride of the Hudson next year. I requested a refund but no one at River Rose has returned my calls or emails. read more

This cruise was a real disappointment. The boat was very smelly and not worth the money I spent. Very crowded and couldn't find a seat outside the cabine. The fireworks were not extraordinary and the boat parked very far so we didn't really enjoy it. The tour was small and people were were smoking on the deck. It was a miserable experience 2 hours experience read more

This is not even worth a ONE STAR RATING. The worst boat ride I've been on in my life and I've been on many. The boat is dirty, smells like urine, needs major maintenance and fixing up. Whatever information was said about the different areas we passed by, you couldn't hear due to the bad acoustic and the extra loud, tipsy people. The only thing served on board was liquor and that's all 80% of the people were interested in. This is definitely NOT A SIGHTSEEING TOUR, THIS BOAT SHOULD BE CALLED "THE RIVER ROSE DRUNKS CRUISES". read more

Bought my mom tickets to a brunch cruise for her birthday, in addition to 4 other family members. When we boarded, we were seated at two different tables (one of our tables had members from another party that were assigned to sit with us). We asked if we could just pull one chair up to our table of four, so our family could sit together, but were told it would be a "safety hazard." We sat, not able to talk to each other, and waited to be served brunch. They served the downstairs area first. After about an hour, we went downstairs. The buffet had been picked over, with almost no fruit left. The rest of the food - eggs, hash browns, vegetable lasagna, pancakes... basic stuff that's pretty hard to mess up, was inedible. They had also run out of orange juice. We asked for water and the staff wanted to charge us $2 a bottle for it. I was glad that our assigned seat had been upstairs: downstairs was about 15 degrees hotter (on a 90 degree day), and was PACKED. The most depressing part of the cruise was that we could see Harriman's castle and the island from where we left the Newburgh waterfront. The boat moved so slow that once we passed the island, we only went a little farther before we turned around. The boat is outdated and not kept up. Fake flowers placed as "decorations" are dusty. Staff was friendly, but that couldn't save the outting. We were all extremely disappointed. read more

I enjoyed tonight's cruise. The buffet food was plentiful and tasty but desserts were few and disappeared fast. Hard drinks are $6 and beers are $5. The buffet does not include any drinks, soda or water included, so be prepared to pay extra to wash down your meal. The bathrooms are old and could be refreshed but the appeal of the cruise is the old paddle wheel boat. It's worth the $40 given the lovely boat ride and tasty food. The staff is quite nice too. I was impressed. read more

I tool a group of 24 people on Oct 17, 2012. It was a beautiful day and everyone enjoyed the 2 hour journey down and up the river. The capt was courteous and friendly. We had hoped to see the autumn colors but mother nature was not with us yet. The ride was smooth and everyone seemed to love the fresh air as well as the scenic Hudson Valley. Many of us took lots of photos. The only negative thing was they ran out of bottled water very early on the trip. We plan on going again this year. read more

My wife and I purchased tickets for the West Point Fireworks cruise on 7/8/17. Without a doubt, the worst experience we have ever had. The ad for the cruise stated boarding "starts" at 7:30 PM and the boat leaves at 8:00 sharp. We arrived at 7:00 and planned on standing in line for the boarding at 7:30. Much to our surprise, the outdoor deck was totally packed already with no seating at all except inside the cabin which is not ideal for seeing the fireworks display. We decided to make the best of it,but it was all downhill from there. As other people came on board, you could see the look of anger as they arrived at the 7:30 posted time for boarding only to find they were ushered inside the upper and lower cabins and knew they were going to be unable to view the fireworks display for which the cruise was supposed to be all about. What a joke! As we moved down the Hudson on a beautiful night, the captain makes an announcement that there would be many boats off of West Point,(BIG SURPRISE) to view the show but he was "experienced" and would keep everyone safe. lol Then the statement that really had me wondering. "I'll move the boat so everyone can get a PEEK at the fireworks". A PEEK!!!! All of a sudden the boat stops and I stick my head out the window thinking we were at the Point with the other boats. We literally docked off of Cold Spring, a good 2 miles from West Point and all the other boats. The other cruise ship leaving from Newburgh, the Pride of the Hudson, proceeded right past us and docked in where everyone else was to get the best viewing area. We were safe alright, there was'nt another boat near us for miles. Now instead of turning the boat sideways so everyone on the outside deck could see and everyone stuck inside could look out the windows and catch a "peek", he puts the bow of the boat facing the display so everyone inside can only faintly hear the fireworks going off. My advice would be to stay clear of this old dirty boat and try the Pride of the Hudson. More modern and a large viewing area. Oh, one more thing, the overpriced drinks they were pushing at the bar, the captain announced a surprise Happy Hour on the way back, were watered down, served in plastic cups, and the bar itself was so dirty the your arms literally stuck to it if you leaned your arm on it. I will never, never go on the ripoff cruise again and please, dont wasted your time or money on the River Rose. read more

Captain John was very helpful. Good view from top deck but hard to hear recorded info.

We recently celebrated our sons graduation from West Point on the River Rose. A group of seven families comprised of 108 people enjoyed a four hour dinner cruise. The River Rose crew provided awesome service treating all on board to a fun filled evening of sightseeing and mingling on the Hudson River. The dinner buffet was delicious exceeding my expectations. The boat provided a nice mix of both indoor and outdoor seating making the cool evening temps a non issue. Given the chance to do it all over again I wouldn't change a thing. read more

Prior to my visit I checked the reviews online and quickly realized that not everyone's experience is going to be the same. Especially since the mix of people attending each trip is different. It's also a fact that it's usually complainers who take to the web. So, we decided to go despite mixed reviews. And boy am I glad we did! It was a beautiful day and the Boat is a step into history! It's an old original boat and that's what makes it such a classic experience. The crew is great and are a great team. It was great hearing the guided tour through the history of the Hudson and key points along the way. You have a choice of seating, either inside lower or upper decks. You can also stand on the front lower or sit on the upper outside decks. But get there early if you want an outside seat. The trip is very relaxing and scenic. The ride is smooth, clean, and enjoyable. Since this was not a meal tour we brought a small lunch but enjoyed drinks and snacks available at the bar. Afterwards we enjoyed dinner at one of the restaurants on the pier nearby. This trip was well worth the modest cost per person. So get there early for a good seat and bring your camera! You will need it! It's a great trip, with great people, in a great place, with a great crew, on a great old fashioned river boat! An all around great experience and great time read more

River Rose Cruises - View South off of the pier - Boating Near Me - Newburgh, New York

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