Bought tickets the day before and showed up early to get in line only to be sent to the back of the line since there was a tour group on our cruise who showed up after us but got to board ahead of us and took up all the tables in the shade. We ended up having to sit in the sun on a 90* day. The cruise itself was fine. read more

We took advantage of the free river cruise that was included in our tour bus tickets. We were thinking about paying for a sunset cruise, but we are happy we didn't and that it was offered to us. It wasn't worth paying the sunset cruise price and pay for drinks and food on top of getting on the boat. We could go on a sunset cruise in Key West and get the appetizers and drinks included in the price. Eh, it's not a well done strategy. On a good note, the view is nice though. The breeze and the hospitality was welcoming. Being on vacation is fun and walking so much to make your feet hurt is not. It felt so good to get off our feet and relax a while. read more

I recommend this cruise to tourists all the time and I've taken it many times over the years. I only gave it 4stars because of the selection at the bar/snack counter, which is rather basic. The prices are affordable and the boat staff are friendly. I offer tell people, it's not the fanciest boat, but are you there for the boat or are you there for the views. BTW, sunset views are the best! You'll also enjoy a little bit of history as you sail down river and you'll have a quiet ride back as you sail up the river. I'm glad they keep this affordable at only $14, which is nice. read more

Trip was the Cherry Blossom River Cruise. Very disappointing. Hardly saw any cherry trees and the tour guide didn't even mention the cherry tree because we were on the wrong side of the harbor to see any. very disappointing read more

Have taken the Nightingale tour many times. We especially like to take our out-of-town guests for a sample of the monuments and architecture of DC. And our granddaughter (age 5) announced she'd like to stay on the boat forever. The Nightingale has a bar with alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks plus snacks and there are commodes on board. The staff has always been friendly and helpful. Find that going around noon, while most people are eating lunch, has worked well with no waiting. read more

I purchased my tickets online easily for a Cherry Blossom Cruise. The boats leave from the Washington Harbor which wasn't my favorite place to leave from. It's very crowded there and I paid a fortune for parking. My parents and I wound up standing in the wrong line for awhile because another boat uses the same docking area and there wasn't a representative there at first. There are no set times to board so we waited about an hour in line. We rode on the Nightingale II. The boat was nice and clean with with a covered and open area. There are restrooms on board and they sell snacks and drinks. We boarded last in our group so didn't really get to pick the best seats. The staff was friendly and dressed nicely. The cruise was short, 30-45min, but was informative and enjoyable! The boat vibrated quite strongly at times, which was rattling up my head. It was enjoyable but I don't know if I'd pick this company again because of the hassle getting there, waiting to board(you don't get a set time), and the length of the cruise. read more

Capitol River Cruises - Brie of Cherry Blossoms from the boat - Boat Charters Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Cool tour but halfway through realized it was a recording. Definitely disappointed but

eeh, it was ok. The captain/crew were rude the only thing that they said to us was "come on" meaning welcome! Come aboard! I felt like a burden. The "tour guide" was a pre -recorded speaker and the speaker was talking about things that we hadn't yet reached.So if it was your first time to Dc you would be very confused. Kinda lame I dont like that you cant make reservations. It would really suck if you hiked all the way to the dock and had to wait or have no chance of getting on. Seems kinda stupid to me especially if you pay in advance. read more

My parents brought my 87 year old grandfather to visit so instead of walking around the Tidal Basin to see the Cherry Blossoms I thought it would be better for him to see them by boat. HUGE mistake. We wanted to get on the 5 pm boat because we had dinner reservations for 6:30. On a whim, we decided to stop by the dock at 3 pm to see where we needed to go later. The line was ridiculous so we decided to start standing then. TWO HOURS later, we finally got on the boat. Ridiculous. The girl with the clipboard wandering around was useless. The guy on the dock, who supposedly was the owner, was rude and repeatedly gave misleading information. When I complained about standing in line for so long he told me I should have come on a weekday. Never mind the fact that I, like the majority of people in that line, live in DC and have a full-time job. Oh, and if a large group reserves a tour, they get to mosey up to the dock and get on the boat before all the other people who have waited for hours in line. Also, I bought the tickets through their website so I paid full price and had to use the tickets on a specific day. Combine that with the Living Social deal for this company and it was a disaster. Terrible company, terrible service, NEVER EVER take a boat ride with this company. If it were possible to give zero stars, I would because the "cherry blossom" part of the tour meant they moseyed up next to one tree for 45 seconds so you could snap one photo before they moved on. Waste of money, time and not friendly for the elderly. read more

We had a great experience. We went on a Sunday at 11 a.m. and practically had the boat to ourselves. The Captain and helper were friendly and helpful. They have a snack bar with chips, drinks and select wine/beer/liquor for purchase. Overall super! read more

INCREDIBLY UNPROFESSIONAL! Would give no stars if possible. We booked the crab boat trip with this company for a milestone birthday. Their website indicates that the minimum number of people required is 10, so we lined up 11 people to go and paid our deposit. The owner REPEATEDLY assured us in the weeks leading up to our cruise that we would just need 10 people. He even told us this on the morning of the day before our scheduled cruise. Then suddenly, about 30 hours before our scheduled departure time, we receive an email saying that we will have to cancel or reschedule because the company has decided it's not worth their time. We are now scrambling to make alternative plans. DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY!!! read more

This was among the worst things I've ever voluntarily done. I felt guilty dragging my bf onto this with me. We had a TravelZoo voucher (two tickets for $12) which is cheap, but in retrospect, I wouldn't have gone on it if you had paid me. The boat is super ghetto and so loud, and also the tour tape is not synced so it would say to look for a monument that wasn't nearby at all. It was especially miserable because it was also a cold day, and I was cursing and muttering under my breath cause all I wanted was to go home. read more

Got a 2 for 1 deal on LivingSocial and went for a cherry blossom cruise on a Saturday morning. An excellent no frills tour of the Potomac with friendly staff and a decent audio guide. read more

I wasn't thrilled by this boat tour on the Potomac. They were disorganized with the people waiting at the dock. We'd been waiting in line for 40 minutes, then they encouraged an entire tour bus of people to cut in front of us by reversing the order of the line that had already formed. We were SO angry. All of the people who'd been waiting were in rebellion. Onboard, we were subjected to country western music as we waited, then couldn't hear a word the tour guide said over the engine noise. read more

The Nightingale I and Nightingale II boats are FULL OF SPIDERS....I am talking about dozens of large aggressive spiders. As soon as you sit down they come out and some try to ride their web down onto the table and/or your head. If you are an entomologist or interested in spiders then this is a great cruise for you. Otherwise don't waste your time or money. read more

Let me start off by saying, DO NOT GO ON THIS "CRUISE!" The reason I say this is because me and my wife had a not so pleasureable time with Capitol River Cruises (CRC). So I planned this great day of brunch at Tony & Joe's then a nice boat ride. There's like 5 different boat companies that all dock in the same spot so there is no way of knowing which boat is CRC. We finally found out from another boat (that was much nicer than CRC)...so we wait about 40 minutes, no biggie. But as we are waiting, the line behind us is getting longer and longer. We see our boat coming and its about to dock, then all of a sudden this large group of tourists comes to the front of the line just as the boat docks. We see the leader of the tour group whisper something in the captain's ear then he allows the tourits to board before all of us who were standing in line could. That group took up the entire boat and I lost it! I complained to the capatin and boat personnel and all they could tell me was, "we board gorups first, thats the CRC policy. Of course that was a bunch of BS....luckily another CRC boat came up shortly behind that one. So we are on this boat and the seats are green lawn chairs and Im talking the really cheap and flimsy, plastic chairs...that was crazy. The bar is cash only....in 2014, cash only? really? And that 50 minute tour was more like 30, maybe 35 minutes. We made the best of it but it was awful. read more

Pros: -Fairly quick tour with interesting facts -Cheap (w/Groupon) Cons: -No organized line -They let a tour company's bus tour skip in front of everyone actually waiting in line (only 16 of about 50+ seats are for people waiting in line) -Cheap plastic chairs -Points-of-interest are on both sides of the boat and some seats are blocked from a view of one side. -Pre-recorded audio tour -Audio tour stops at the turn around (so the entire way back is just a boat ride) -Unfriendly staff The operations were pretty shady, but if you're looking for a decent boat tour of some of the monuments from a different viewing point, this tour wouldn't be your worst choice. read more

We got a 2 for 1 Groupon for the cruise. I called ahead and was advised that no reservations were needed. We arrived at about 1:45 and the representative told us that the next one where there was availability was the 3 PM and that we should come back to the waiting spot at 2:45. I showed him my Groupon and asked if anything else was needed. He said the Groupon would be sufficient. We arrived at about 2:30 and got in line. The representative directed everyone in our line to the side and allowed people paying full price first. there was no room for us or anyone else who bought discounted tickets. Nowhere did it indicated that the is how the company operated and no one advised us as such. And we were not allowed to make a reservation either. We got our money back from Groupon. I would not recommend this as you could spend 3 or more hours waiting to get a cruise. read more

Got a charter for the Nightingale for my 30th birthday and I can't imagine a better way I could have spent it. Capitol River Cruises was there right on time, no hassle, and had super friendly, competent staff that really just stayed out of the spotlight and did their jobs steering the boat and serving drinks. It rained for about 15 minutes but it wasn't a problem at all because about 80% of the boat was covered and had optional tie-down plastic for the sides. There was plenty of seating and tables for the food we brought, and the open front of the boat was just perfect for viewing the beautiful city we live in. There was also an ipod dock, so we had great music all night. Nothing to complain about at all. They did say that the boat would hold 60 people, but I think the 30 people we had was just perfect and too many more would have been too crowded. I would DEFINITELY recommend this to people for their special event. read more

I took visiting family - 2 adults and 3 kids 7 and under on the NIghtingale in July. The price was right (book on the internet for the best price), the length of the trip was excellant, the narration was informative, the views of the monuments from the water are spectacular. The kids really enjoyed going under the bridges too. We did by sodas at the snack bar, not overpriced. It certainly is not lush. But it was a perfect trip for all of us. read more

There is no proper boarding system like most decent cruises. This is so ghetto. The tables inside are sticky with beer. People are not helpful. There is preferential treatment. I was embarrassed to bring family and friends here that day. So upsetting. The wait was 2 hours. It's not worth anyone's time. read more

If I could give no stars I would. We tried calling the day we wanted to do this cruise and nobody ever answers their phone. We had already purchased our tickets. Upon arrival we are told they are full even though no reservations are required. We were refused to boarding . We were told come back the next day. We do not live in DC!!!! This is not how you conduct business. I would not recommend this business to anyone. read more

TERRIBLE REPRESENTATION - My family and friends brought our children and grandchildren to see the Cherry Blossoms we thought it would be a nice treat to see them by boat. We bought tickets online, we got to the dock, got in line and then talked with a representative on how it worked, first come / first serve "No Reservations" (BS). So standing in line with small children and an infant for 2 1/2 hours is ridiculous. While we were in line we saw a group come from another direction and get on one of their boats -we were still kinda back a ways in line so we weren't sure what was going on. So we've been waiting for a while and it's our turn to get on the next boat (told to us by their rep), well guess what - a huge group comes up from out of no where and gets on! Really!!!! Ok so we all are hungry, have to go to bathroom, we have little kids, but we were afraid to get out of line because we were next, again BS! The girl with the clipboard wandering around was useless and lied to us. The guy on the dock, who supposedly was the owner, was rude and repeatedly gave misleading information. When I complained about standing in line and being told we were next - it was like oh well. The only saving grace was that it was a sunny beautiful day! The boat ride itself was OK and that's it! Terrible company, terrible service, NEVER EVER take a boat ride with this company. Waste of money, and "Mostly Time" and they lied. Go with the other Cruise company "Potomac River Company" little more $$ but way worth it! read more

the 9:00 (sometimes 10:00) margarita cruise is the bomb. make friends with the captains. that's all i have to say. if you're from dc (and even if you're not), the earlier cruises are made less fun by the monument explanations soundtrack. if you do choose to go on an earlier cruise, you need to be a bit proactive in making sure you get on the boat. there is a tour bus group every hour and they get precedence, but if you make a point to let the captain know you're there, he'll make sure you get on. at least that's how it worked for me. margarita night though, fam. such a blast, and it's so fun to see the city lights at night. read more

Got a Groupon for here and thought it was great! We had not used them before, and it was a great way to see the DC monuments without dealing with the stress of DC traffic or crowds of people. read more

This a terrible experience. Disorganized and no company rep on site. Long lines and long waits. I would give them a negative 5 stars if possible. read more

I had a groupon for Capitol River Cruises and arrived right on time to catch a 7pm cruise, however, apparently they changed their hours from the last cruise leaving at 8pm to leaving at 6pm, but made no indication of that on their web site. I was actually told about this by a guy working for their competitor who was working down at the dock. I was offered tickets to make up for their early closing but never received anything. I would have loved to go on a cruise but this customer service is awful. read more

I a sorry to write this , but these guys are the worst. It is cheap for a reason. Today we left early, even though they knew someone was coming with a paid ticket and there was room on the boat. As we cruised, the narration was out of sync with what we were moving by. Nice for the tourists. All in all forget this there are many great things to do in our town just not this venue read more

This is my 4th year planning a crab boat outing with Capitol River Cruises, and my friends and I have had a blast every single year. We always take 25-35 people and it's been perfect every year. The crew is great - friendly and fast moving so you're never wasting time waiting for more crabs or drinks. It's hands down one of the best days of the summer - all my friends look forward to it. I have no complaints and plan on continuing this tradition for many years to come! Highly recommend you check them out, you won't regret it! read more

I reserved the crab boat for a Bachelorette Party and we all had a blast. Boat is spacious and the staff was awesome. I definitely recommend this for anyone looking to throw a party with some friends! read more

Nothing fancy but an affordable river cruise. Lasts 50 minutes. Very pleasant

Growing up in D.C. area, I am used to seeing the monuments as well as the areas like Georgetown, Downtown D.C. and H street (NE). The cruise will be more of a trip down memory lane as my grandfather and grandmother used to live in D.C. and have passed. read more

Went while US Govt shutdown was in effect, but that gives absolutely no excuse for Capitol's poorly organized operations, minimal communications, and terrible customer service. As mentioned in other reviews here, there is often another tour group that will jump in front of folks who show up otherwise promptly in time. Understandably, Capitol will give priority to their business partner (Bullfrog Tours), but gives absolutely no indication on their website or any published information that they will spontaneously change their tour schedule to accommodate Bullfrog groups, or that all precedence will be given to Bullfrog groups when boarding. In my experience, I showed up 20 minutes before noon for the first scheduled tour of the day, and was told that the boat was already gone. Apparently, a Bullfrog group had gotten there late for their 11:00AM tour and the Captain decided to launch anyhow. Not surprisingly, everyone who showed up with Groupons or generally without a tour group, was livid that they would have to wait at least another half hour. This was only exasperated when the next Bullfrog group showed up, and the Capitol employee announced only then that everyone else would have to board after them. Needless to say, this was all repeated for the next tour after mine and I can only assume for the rest of the day. Honest to God, there cannot be any other explanation than that whoever manages Capitol River Cruises is fully aware that half the people on every single tour of the day is pissed off from their policies, and just doesn't give a damn, and continues to operate the same way. read more

Got our tickets ahead of time. Called 5x throughout the day to see if we could make reservations, but always got a recording and couldn't talk to a person. Showed up 20 minutes before we were supposed to. When the boat arrived, we were told we could not get on because a large group was getting on first (we were the first there). The group shows up 25 minutes later and we were not let onto the boat. We asked of we could reserve a spot on the next boat, to which we were told the next boat has a large group on it. The boats captain said we could possibly get on the boat if we were at the front of the line. What a joke. I gave my tickets away. What a great business model these people have. read more

Horrendous! Claimed on the site where we got the tickets to be wheelchair accessible but were not. My mother-in-law almost got her foot stuck between the boat and the dock. Before we boarded, there was a long line. I went up to one guy and asked if it was wheelchair accessible - since I started to doubt it when I saw the boat. He ignored my question rudely. I had to chase him. He said to just stand in line and he couldn't tell before he saw the wheelchair. That meant standing in line in the sun for over 1 hour with an old handicapped lady. Indeed, we were there at 4:45 for the 5 p.m. cruise, but there were too many people. All that to realize that it was indeed not accessible. A passenger helped us. AVOID at all cost. They oversell tickets then you have to wait for hours until there is availability. SHAMEFUL read more

Cruise not the best for me unfortunately having used other boat tour companies before. Tour/narration cannot be heard over the motor of the boat. One can barely hear what is being said throughout the ride. Tour also did not seem to go as far down (or up) the river as other boat tours. Tour didn't appear to go far enough to view the Pentagon or sneak a view of the National Harbor. I was kind of disappointed and a bit embarrassed with the guest I brought along. I guess all Potomac river tour cruises are not created equally. Unfortunately, I have taken other DC boat tours and had better experiences. read more

After reading some of the other reviews I'm not sure they took the same cruise. The staff was warm, friendly and even witty. I grew up in the area but they gave me information along the cruise that I wasn't even aware of. If you are looking to combine historic scenery with an inexpensive outing, and couple it with a boat and good friends, then this is for you - it sure was for me! read more

The staff did a spectacular job while our bus group during Saturday's cruise! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the water-based scenic views of DC as well as the helpful narrated historical information. Our deepest appreciation to you and your staff for so graciously accommodating our group! read more

Got my tickets through Travelzoo, it was a 50 - 60 minutes tour of DC cruise. I wouldn't recommend it. Highly disorganized, unprofessional and lame-- they kept changing their excuse as to why the noon cruise left 30 minutes early. 1) the government shutdown (how who knows) 2) the Captain decided to leave early to make sure there was enough time to see everything and finally 3) from the Captain himself-- the boat was full. Mind you every posted sign and their own voice mail said the first cruise starts at noon. Also, we we were originally told that it left at 11:30 cause the 11am group was late. But wait, there wasn't an 11 am GROUP!!! No cruise scheduled for that time. And don't forget about the mysterious 1 pm group that got priority over those (bout 20 of us) who were waiting since 11:30. The cruise we were on left at 12:27. So it was either 30 minutes late or 30 minutes early. Either way-- CRAP customer service. read more

When I had a guest from out of town, I decided to finally take this river cruise as another way to see the experience DC. We arrived when there wasn't a line and asked if there was somewhere we should line up. We were told "no" that there was no line. It seemed weird to me since I had heard about lines before but didn't question the employee who didn't seem interested in talking. We went to Starbucks and came back to find a line. Of course. We stood in line for about 20-30 minutes and finally boarded. The boat itself is tiny and very simple. Th seats are plastic chairs and you can move them, which is nice if you are stuck under the blazing sun. The tour commentary is recorded and minimal and leaves you wanting more. There is nothing wrong with recorded commentary in my opinion but this one can certainly be improved. The trip was 45 minutes long which was just right for the tour. The drinks were over-priced, but of course, aren't they always. If I had to pay for another river cruise, I wouldn't rule out Capitol River Cruises but would look at the others. My main issue was the staff not being more customer service oriented. Please smile and don't let me know you don't to talk to me. Oh and I must say, the views were great! read more

Capitol River Cruises - The view of the Lincoln Memorial with the Washington Monument in the background from aboard the Nightingale II. - Boat Charters Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia