We thoroughly enjoyed the disco and the fireworks were just superb.

The overall cruise was awesome, we had a great time. The line for food was really long, I waited over an hour, so make sure to eat before you go.

The cruise was great and very well organized even though there were tons of people

Watching the 4th July fireworks along the Hudson River on a boat with beautiful scenery all around had to be one of the biggest highlights of what was to be the best holiday I have ever had.
These really are best seats of the house on what can only be described as the best firework show I have ever witnessed. With great company sat beside me this should have been an easy 5 out of 5 experience hands down. So where did it all go wrong?

As previous reviews state it seems that the company behind giving a once in a life time experience simply do not LISTEN to its paying customers and learn from past mistakes.
When you read the word “cruise” for describing something you immediately think of the words “luxury” and “relaxing”. The boat ride itself and the fireworks were indeed quite spectacular. Checking out the landscape around you and taking those photos you will want to look at again and again are indeed priceless.

I didn’t mind waiting around on the water waiting for the fireworks to start either. With the woman I love by my side looking to dance the night away I couldn’t be happier. Or could I?

The eating facilities available looked no different than the offerings you could get from a street vender at the side of the road. More like a snack bar than a restaurant.
Luckily we had eaten a full meal before going on the boat so this wasn’t a problem to us.
The problem was the massive queuing involved being served a drink which wasn’t really great value knowing full well there was no other choice for us. The queuing itself was the worst part. Must have taken the best part of 40 minutes just to get my first drinks in which I found annoying but that was only the start of the problems.

The music.

As previous reviewers have already stated. The music was ridiculously and unnecessarily loud. The play list on offer was a complete miss-match to the audience on board the ship. Do not get me wrong. I am a 20 something male and one of the things that appealed to me about this trip was the thought of a DJ and dance floor to dance and have fun.
Some of the songs at first had a very cheesy wedding feel to it. But as the night went on, the music seemed to get louder and the music went from cheesy to techno garbage very quickly.
I am pretty open minded when it comes to music choice but from the moment the boat left to the moment the boat arrived back not a single person was on the dance floor…at all.
Imagine going to a party with beer/wine on offer, people of all ages having a fun time together and not having a single person dance to the music? It just didn’t make sense.

I am not shy to dance when I have had a little to drink but the music was uncomfortably loud to even stand or sit on the top half of the ship let alone dance. Even on the lower deck it was louder than it should have been but at least it was more bearable.
I know dozens of people complained that evening one even jokingly asking to turn the music up (which they did!) and the advice given to those unhappy was simply “If you don’t like it, go downstairs”
This is a boat “cruise” of people all ages, young and old. If no one is on the dance floor and there is a high number of people asking for something to be done about the noise that would actually benefit the experience of everyone, surely this should have opened their eyes?

I have never known service to be this bad. In simple words the DJ and the crew on board did not care and this was clear to see. They seem to take advantage of the fact that you, their customers are stuck with them. They know how amazing the firework show is and then run the show like spoilt bullies with the attitude if you don’t like it why did you pay for it?
The crew behind the shop looked quite shocked to find zero people queuing up for food/drinks after the fireworks had ended. That’s because people were constantly fed up with the music that sounded like two cats wailing having their tails yanked from behind and realised that if you are not going to listen to your passengers, we are not going to offer you more. Simples.

A compromise of the same music only quieter so as not to traumatize the older passengers some of looked dreadfully ill sat on the lower deck might have gone a long way. This never happened.
Music preference is very opinionated. But you do the maths. Zero people ever on the dance floor all night, no one showing signs that they were enjoying the music or how loud it was and countless complaints about it? This was advertised as a “Cruise” not a “1990s party rave boat”

The choice of music on offer didn’t match the surroundings around you or the fireworks on show. The vast majority of customers (if not every single one) aboard the ship were not impressed by it but nothing was done about it. No music at all would have been a vast improvement as the only person enjoying the music seemed to be the DJ himself. All he needed to do was spit in the microphone and insult us over the speakers and he would be on level the “talent” available back at Bradford University campus in England!

With the speakers right next to the dance floor it was impossible to dance to even if we wanted to. Just one soft piece of music to dance to at the end of the fireworks with our loved ones could have made such a difference and would have made a lot of sense to have played at that moment. Instead at times it felt as if I was trapped in a 13 year old kid’s bedroom! Not very cozy!

The other pretty big negative comment was during the fireworks the ship was facing head on. This meant an uncomfortable viewing as people crowded around the few spaces available to get a good glimpse. At least the music had stopped…but had the ship been facing the fireworks sideward’s, the majority of people could have viewed them more easily. The ship didn’t budge an inch but I am sure I would have not been the only grateful passenger if everyone could enjoy the spectacle more easily. I am not sure why the ship didn’t move, maybe it wasn’t allowed to? Maybe the crew wanted a better view? But yet again passenger wishes were simply ignored and common sense was nowhere to be seen. Signs yet again that the crew just didn’t care either way.

The last downside was the boat didn’t go far down the river I had hoped. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. Even a small glimpse would have been nice. But the boat went no way near it. From what you could still see it is still pretty good.

Having said all that the end product was simply amazing. Breathtaking and worth seeing again and again from the river.
It was just a shame the service was beyond poor. If you go here with an open mind about the music (ear plugs optional), remain on the lower deck, arrive early having ate a meal before boarding and are with company you are happy to be with, you will probably learn to cope with the negatives and enjoy and unforgettable evening together. Don’t get me wrong I loved the evening! But giving this company anything higher than what I have would be highly generous.

This was hardly a luxury “cruise” provided which was advertised but I still managed to have great evening helped because of the company I was with and the firework show on offer. It was a great shame the crew and DJ took full advantage of such an iconic part of the 4th July celebrations and refused to co-operate with its passengers over something so simple as the volume of noise as that’s what it was, noise not music. Music is something people should come together and enjoy. But because we had all paid up before hand, they couldn’t care less what we felt and in the end noone seemed to enjoy the music at all.

Ignore my warnings if you must but I have a feeling any positive review about the music on here have possibly been written by people who are deaf or are members of the crew or have been bribed!
Don’t let this put you off watching the fireworks from the Hudson River. It really is worth it.

Just look for a company that isn’t afraid to listen to its passengers first and actually do something about a problem more than one person has instead of ignoring everyone on board.

To sum up:

If I was in NYC for the 4th July would I like to be on the Hudson River watching the fireworks again?
Yes!

Did I have a great evening?
Overall yes I did. It was a brilliant show in the perfect place to be.

Would I look to use a different company?
Yes!

Would I recommend using this company to someone else?
Never in a million years.

It was a disaster.The bow of the boat was turned toward the fireworks rather than the stern where there was a view of the sky and where most people had settled themselves.. Very few, none of the elderly and very few of the chilldren saw anything. We did not. The lucky people were on the front of the bow itself. Since the bow deck is canted, only the tall people just behind them could see over them to the fireworks.
In addittion, the music was painfully loud, and there were few places on the boat where it was tolerable. The disc jokey was asked several times to lower the volume, and would do so for one or two songs, then return it to intolerable levels.