Saffron Luxury Dinner Cruise on the River of Kings

Must do while in Bangkok

Amazing experience starting from the registration welcoming on board food quality and absolutely top service this was a night to remember

Stay away

Really crappy service. Received email to get there an hour early. Got there an hour early and the staff was not there. Also the sommelier doesn't know how to spell. No port wine to end the meal. Was assigned seating without being asked if we had any preferences. They simply don't know how to do a luxury dinner cruise. Very amateur.

Good but too expensive

Food was good. More elegant then the other buffet choices however some of the buffet boats look fun if your in the mood for a livelier crowd. I didn't like how there was no I formation while on the boat. It would be nice to be told to eat dinner right away so you have time to go to top deck to see the historical sights. Would be nice to have someone explaining the significance of each landmark. A bit too pricey for what you actually get.

A good dinner cruise

The Saffron Cruise was booked for us by Banyan Tree whilst we were recently staying there. The boat is more modern compared to the previous one used for the Chao Phraya River dinner cruise and now benefits from an air-conditioned dining room in which was served the fantastic Saffron menu, a great version of contemporary Thai cuisine set against the backdrop of the Bangkok night time skyline. After-dinner drinks can be taken on the upper deck for great photos. Why not 5 star? Trying to find the check-in area amongst the thousands of tourists there for lunar new year was incredibly difficult and then Banyan Tree did not book transport to get us back to the hotel. Luckily one of the boat's staff was able to help but it still took an hour to get us a car when they should have had one ready and waiting for the boat's return to the pier knowing how busy the area would be.

Christmas dinner

I enjoyed my experience. I suggest book in advance for Christmas time as it gets booked up quickly. It was a very beautiful experience from start to finish. Beautiful scenery at night so next time I am in Bangkok will go back on the cruise. I loved the Thai gin so nice and the food was amazing.

Excellent

Excellent dinner cruise with top class food. All staff are very friendly & also offered to take photos for all guests on board. This cruise departs from iconic Siam pier 2. Overall a lovely relaxing night & we highly recommend it

Good! But food average.

Cruise is very nice. One of the more exclusive what I heard. A relatively small group of guests. Ship is perfect. Staff is very friendly and pro active. Being foodies we were a little disappointed in the food. Its good, but not very special.

Most memorable night in Bangkok

I was glad that this would be a more intimate dinner vs the big party ones but that is all I knew before going and many other things about the experience ended up exceeding any expectations I had! I’ll admit I was a bit worried about a preselected menu for my own personal reasons. But the staff at check in explained everything so well and asked questions about possible allergies, if I needed vegetarian options, even if spicy was okay. I was also given a QR code so I could look at the menu beforehand. The food itself was amazing; especially for someone like me who is a big lover of seafood. The timing of everything (moving below, eating, and then moving back up) was also organized very well. Nothing felt rushed or restrictive and we even had some perfect timing like a fireworks display when we went back up for pictures! The staff was so warm & helpful; they even asked about certain things before I had thought of it for instance when it was time to take pictures of landmarks I was asked several times if I wanted help with my picture since I was alone. The staff was even carrying lighting so the night pictures were clearer. I feel like if I let myself list out everything that exceeded my expectations about the experience it will be much too long for anyone to want to read but those were a few stand out things for me. I cannot recommend this dinner cruise enough and I already have to any friends & family that will listen.

shocking night!

We were looking forward to a lovely dinner cruise and expected quality for the amount of money it cost. The food was lovely, the drinks were overpriced and difficult to come by (as the waiters were not really 'waiting') and then the 'DJ' came on with doof doof music - not at all in line with the dinner cruise we were hoping for - more like a tacky disco boat. No one seemed to be enjoying the music and what made it worse is that we were sitting directly under the speaker - so we could not talk with our friends.

Saffron Cruise

The service provided by Munoch on the Saffron Cruise was perfect. My family did enjoy the meal and the cruise. The 3hr tour made us really really relaxed. Strongly recommend that visitors to Bangkok could come to experience the cruise.

Lovely

Lovely ambiance onboard,different experience would recommend to others,nice sites to look at during ride

Def best cruise with best server Manoch!

Best experience with the best server Manoch. Took a family trip to bangkok and this cruise was def the highlight of the trip. Would def recommend for its intimacy and a more elevated experience compared to the more mass-oriented cruises. Also our dedicated server Manoch was excellent - not only was he attentive but also extremely kind and cheerful, making the trip a one of a kind experience. Def recommend!

Poor atmosphere

The boat: 7/10 Nice layout, premium furniture. The food: 5/10 Nothing creative, quite basic but tasty and well presented. Quantity is light, we left the boat still hungry. The service: 9/10 As you would expect from Banyan Tree, very good service, attentive, smiley and proactive. The atmosphere: 2/10 This is far too noisy and you feel like in a cantine. The boat was full and you clearly feel there are too many tables for the space. At no stage you have a slice of romance, this is loud, messy, and too busy. How come they accept group tables next to couples? How come they accept so many bookings and squeeze the space that much? At this price you'd expect something different, more intimate, but what you get is no different than the big cheap Princess Dinner cruise. This is very disappointed. Overall: 4/10 We won't repeat for sure. If you want an intimate and romantic atmosphere, prefer the Anantara dinner cruise. The food will be similar, you'll pay cheaper, and you won't leave the boat with a headache.

Excellent Dinner Cruise

You board the cruise at Iconsiam and seated on the top deck with a welcome drink. You can choose between bar stools or a sofa seat. When dusk sets in, you’re invited down to the dinning hall which has full glass windows to enjoy the view along the river. Dinner was a 4 course meal. Especially love all the appetisers and the curry river prawns. Desserts were great too with mango sticky rice and sesame ice cream among others. Wait staff extremely friendly and was always willing to help take photos for the whole family. A thumbs up from us! After dinner, you may proceed back up to the top deck and enjoy the sites along with the cool breeze blowing. The views of the lighted Rama VIII bridge and Wat Arun up close was breathtaking. Certainly well worth taking a river cruise. Even the toilets had huge circular windows to view the outside and extremely clean. Being Banyan tree, it does smell of essential oils too. Will definitely go on this cruise just for the food again. I highly recommend this Saffron cruise.

Food lovers River of Kings

Text: From the moment we stepped on the Saffron we were greeted by the friendly staff with a beautifully presented refreshing drink. With a variety of spacious seating options and not feeling crowded we were able to enjoy the views from all angles above deck. Without feeling rushed we were then lead below deck to start our set 4 course meal. With side to ceiling glass we were still able to enjoy the views along the River of Kings. Dinner was a 4 course set meal with a vegetarian option which did not disappoint. From memory our hosts name was “Phim” whose attention to detail was second to none! Our starter was simply food lovers art on a plate. Every meal was delicious with an explosion of flavours. Dessert is usually the least of my favourite courses but this dessert left me wanting more. We were able to go above deck to take photos which allowed us to take a breather between meals whilst enjoying the scenery. The Saffron felt classy and all amenities were clean and well presented. We loved this unique way of experiencing the River of Kings a highly recommended must

Best ever

As my reservation thanks for Khun Jacky who arrange my booking .the food is surprise my because i was another bad dinner cruise

The food is exquisite, the music atmosphere is neat and 3 hours off bliss!

It was a very pleasant dining experience! The food and service were amazing. The view was spectacular from the boat and we ordered drinks on top, which were priced like regular fine dining but it was all worth it as the boat and view made this a night to remember. Will definitely go back the next time we visit Bangkok.

Scammers

The start of the evening was enjoyable but at the end we were scammed for paying for drinks we never had and charged us £6.50 for 1 bottle of water if you decide to go just be aware they well try and scam you

Our Saffron Luxury Dinner Cruise

Lovely location, starting behind the beautiful Icon Siam. The ship and crew were amazing and catered for us so well, as I'm learning to expect from Thailand. Amazing four course, felt more like 9 mini course, dinner that you just couldn't fault. The only reason I gave it a four was that it needed a DJ to get the crowd up and dancing. The music they had was great but not much dancing from the guests, other than ourselves, who represented.

Okay, but for $135 I will think twice

The appetizer and soup were interesting, but the main was served at room temperature / a bit cold which was not very nice. The ambience was terrific though.

A very romantic time, food slightly lacking for fine dining.

The experience was very good, no doubt about that. The staff are extremely polite and cannot do enough for you, taking photos at anyone's request the whole night, using cordless lamps located over the ship to enhance the lighting. We were somewhat disappointed with the food, though. The crackers and dip were extremely good, the starters were amazing, but we didn't find the Khao Soi enjoyable at all, it was very salty, and we didn't enjoy the combination of fish/spinach/bacon dust in the dish. As huge fans of Khao Soi, this was disappointing. The desserts were a tasty selection, but they were incredibly simple and really needed an added flavour to stand out. We've had these dishes many times in Thailand served at food stalls, and these tasted no different. Our server is to be recommended; she took time to explain the dishes in both English and Thai, despite the fact my partner speaks fluent English (I found this to be professional and courteous). Our wine was always topped up (I never had to ask), and tables were cleared promptly and without us being disturbed. Overall it's a high standard experience, we just wish the food was slightly better. Water was 300B, but my partner explained this is pretty standard for luxury cruises. That was a shock 🤣

Highly recommended classy river cruise.

The best of the very many boats patrolling the Chao Phraya river of an evening. If you want a loud party, go elsewhere. If you want a more sophisticated elegant dining experience, then this is the one. Food was lovely. The welcome cocktail was a little tasteless (a bucks fizz might be better). Good length of time to relax on the river- the cruise is a little longer then most of the others.

A saffron journey

My friend - RG came from Makati and he planned out to have dinner cruise and I always believe in his choices. This time he chose - SAFFRON dinner cruise. It was more like a dream experience, the ship, the service, the food, the ambiance. It is one hell of experience in a lifetime. We were table of 7-adult and 3-kids, I was skeptical as we were the longest table on the boat, but everything was perfect. All the food like an art, they served with passion, very artistic yet delicious. Serving fusion Thai food with more sophisticated ingredient like scallops etc. We had 5-courses and the children meal are free. Since one of our friends hold the ACCOR membership, we got privileges of 20%-disc. The boat cruising along the river and all staffs on-board are passionate to take picture with TRENDY lighting, I love it. Never seen anything like that before - small things which count especially if those who love taking pictures or selfie. Will be back soon

evening river cruise

Boat was lovely, bar and upstairs seating area. Arrival cocktail - strange - not sure what it was. Drinks extortionate - £75.00 bottle or prosecco - Wine similar price. Food was served as opposed to buffet style -presentation lovely- taste awful - requested no fish- was brought seafood which they found difficult to understand it was fish! lovely views by night on the river and photo opportunities. For the cost wouldn't recommend.

The cruise leave from pier 2 and checkin is at a small desk. There are no other signs indicating Saffron cruise.

The service and food was fantastic! The views were amazing. The attention to details and the DJ playing relaxing music, made for a great atmosphere to celebrate my Mother’s birthday.

If you have a chance, try traveling

Good food, a calm atmosphere unlike other crowded boats, friendly staffs-especially sincere about taking pictures of customers.

Such a bad experience sitting next to a noisy group!

To be honest, the whole cruise was excellent, but I didn’t get a happy ending! After finished our dinner, we moved to upper deck chilling and sipping wine, but a group of guest, which mixed with Thai and foreigners, talking and laughing VERY NOISY! Unfortunately no staff came and stopped them, so I politely talked to them “please lower your voice and it’s public”, but for the first time they no one apologized and even higher their voice and laughers, then I said again, suddenly one of the foreign man wearing glasses shouted to us and even raised his voice! Very nice evening ruined by such a group of UNEDUCATED by the end of the cruise. I TOTALLY DONT UNDERSTAND WHY SUCH THINGS HAPPENED ON A SUCH SO CALLED LUXURY EXPERIENCE IN BANGKOK!

Smooth As Silk

Absolutely faultless, such a smooth operation even with the Chinese NY Celebrations taking place at Siam Icon. Never felt rushed at any point and food was on-point, highly recommend if you fancy a more refined experience on the river.

Lovely cruise

The cruise was really lovely, we loved seeing Bangkok by night. The food was good but could have been hotter (temperature)

Relaxing dinner

Great food and onboard service. The sights and sounds werr incredible Quite disappointed with the on board drinks which are grossly overcharged. A simple gin and tonic for 1,000 THB

Amazing

Service and the food Everything was perfect The boat, the view The drinks The Music Sitting area Fantastic tour

2nd cruise on the Saffron, highly recommended

This is my second time cruising with Saffron. The newest dinner cruise in Bangkok with a served 4 course meal which was truly fine dining. I Asia made all the arrangements and also we had a free drink and also a photo on the boat. We also had a great seat at the side so the views excellent. Amazing dinner and you must do this if you are in Bangkok.

Great Value with a personal touch

What a wonderful cruise. We booked this a few days before due to last minute trip to Bangkok. It was my partners birthday. The ship was magnificent, it was full to the rafters and not one seat spare. The food was excellent and it was fresh, tasty and well presented. The best part was they surprised us with a free birthday cake (thanks IAsia Thailand who requested this) and in all a highly recommended cruise.

Beware, this is a bait and switch operator.

We had the reservations for months. Then just before we leave for Thailand they tell us that they suddenly overbooked. Really? Seriously? I booked months in advance. This just complicates our trip. They will try to bait and switch you into another cruise for the same price of a lesser quality ship. In our case it's the Aspara Dinner Cruise. This is obviously a bait and switch operation. They show you the nice fancy ship. Take your money. Then pawn you off you someone else of a lesser quality right before your booking so you're at a loss and unable to book somewhere else. Confirmation numbers mean nothing to these people. I completely regret booking with them.

Excellent food and fabulous staff

The food was delicious and staffs are excellent. Very considerate and friendly. Real are star of the night. A very attentive staff with excellent photography skills. Can't imagine how she can manage to carry an iphone on one hand and a very haevy table lamp for lighting on the other hand. The photos she took was amazing. Love it. Only drawback was the delay in boarding time. We arrived the pier at the said registration time but there was no reception nor signage there. It was a bit scary as we were unsure that we were at the correct reception point.

Helpful service

The service was very helpful. When I book this dinner by mistake for the wrong date, they were open to talking about canceling with a refund of money. Several of my friends had the opportunity to attend this dinner and highly recommended it to me as well. Maybe next time, when I will be in Bangkok.

Nice but pricey

The food was really excellent, very different to the "buffet fodder" you might get on cheaper cruises. It took some time to get a drink from the outset. In total across the evening I ordered 2 vodka tonics and one cocktail. The total price for just drinks was 3,400 Baht!! The boat was comfortable and nicely lit. The staff were very pleasant.

Dinner for kings

What an experience! This river boat is truly spectacular and the staff incredible. One of our party was gluten free and they went the extra mile ensuring food was safe. I would have no qualms recommending this cruise for people with allergies and intolerances. The food itself was sublime and plentiful, we each had the 4 course menu and had a lovely welcome cocktail and nibbles included too. We opted to purchase an extra cocktail each I can personally recommend the herby enthusiasm and the bill came up at around £60 a head including the extra drinks and tip etc. whilst pricey for Thailand, a meal of this calibre would be £120+ in the uk as we thought the two selections on the menu were choices but you get a portion of each option beautifully presented this is more akin to a tasting menu at a Michelin star restaurant. I would highly recommend this experience and it is a lovely way to see the city at night if the weather is fine you can also dine upstairs unfortunately it wasn’t for us, but there’s always a next time! 100% one of the best things we did in Thailand!

Fantastic

Best cruise service in Bangkok right now. Don’t hesitate ! Good crew and good was umami ❤️❤️❤️❤️ for sure will try to visit again!

Excellent Dinner and cruise

We had a good time at saffron luxury cruise. We love the atmosphere at the cruise. Not crowded and noisy. Dinner was delicious. They catered to non spicy to spicy according to your preference. They noted what allergy you have. staffs were all attentive to your care. View at cruise rooftop was great. Worth the money to go saffron luxury cruise.

Good Hotel Awesome Service

I have been a lot of cruise tour at chao praya river but not like this. It's open my new experience.great and prime On the Saffron cruise Staff FIRST and MING are very kind include all staff on cruise make us once best time.

A Cruise of Excellence

This is a high end introduction to Bangkok with this dinner cruise. We had a great welcome by the staff and they really do look after you. The food was inspiring and the flavors were outstanding. The views were breathtaking and the time we spent passing the lit up Wat Arun was the highlight of the cruise. If you want to party with loud music then book a party cruise. If you want an exceptional evening, book with Saffron. Big thanks to I Asia Thailand who were also outstanding with our requests.

A great evening to start our trip!

Booked the Saffron cruise for the 4th March as part of an extended holiday in Thailand. We were staying at the Banyan Tree anyway, so took the free transfer from the hotel to IconSiam where the cruise embarked. From the outset the whole evening was run impeccably, with 'Jimmy' taking great care to ensure everyone was enjoying themselves. We had time prior to the cruise to wander around IconSiam, which was great. Once the cruise set off we were blown away by the attentive service and incredible food. A huge thanks has to go to our waiter 'First' who gave us perhaps the best service we have ever experienced in a restaurant. It is also worth mentioning that I am a coeliac and cannot eat any gluten. This was also identified and catered for entirely during the booking procedure where they ask you to declare any dietary requirements. The whole evening was incredible and it was an amazing way to see the city from the river too. Cannot recommend this enough.

Pure luxury

Recommended by our travel agent as something special to do on our last night in Bangkok, we were not disappointed a beautiful boat with plenty of staff who were all very tentative and polite. Before we were allowed on the boat everyone had there head temperatures taken and plenty of sanitation gel available all good precautions due to the current virus. Welcome drink was given when you first boarded with a DJ in full swing on the upper deck which has a bar with plenty of seats available. Five course meal which was superb you could not fault the food or service. Decor inside was grand looking with comfortable chairs along with live entertainment whilst eating your dinner. Drinks were a tad expensive which we expected for an example we had gin & tonics which cost approximately £15.00 each - just remember to take your credit card. Would definitely recommend this trip make sure you book when your next in Bangkok.

Impressive night on the Cruise

This is the third cruise trip but this is the most impressive one, friend and I, we spent a very good time together enjoy the view, great fusion food both taste and decoration. We have a lovely memorial on nice photo by staff. May I gave a compliment to Khun Am Khun Whan and Khun View. Proud to the company have these great staff who delivered a memorial not a services to us. We will be back for sure.

Amazing birthday cruise

Planned by my wife. We went for the luxury dinner. The service was awesome, the food was awesome, great tasting with many flavours, the boat was amazing. Upon arrival we were welcomed with drinks. Sat down and got pictures taken. After this we were escorted to the dining area where we had many flavoursome dishes, thai performance and drinks. We then got a photo taken at the top and was given to us, they also bought me a birthday cake with candles and the dj played happy birthday. The whole experience was awesome.

Not all dinner cruises are created equal! Saffron is very special!

After looking at some cool night activities in Bangkok for my mom and I after sightseeing I came across the idea of a dinner cruise. Well, look no further the Saffron Dinner cruise which is the brand newest boat on the river. We booked this through I Asia as their prices were cheaper and they have a great reputation. They booked our spots and also took our requests and were very pleasant to speak too. When we arrived at the pier I was so relieved to see our beautiful modern boat outside Icon Siam (a 5 star mall). The boat is visually beautiful and from the moment we were greeted by the lady prior to boarding our drink orders were taken so we would have them ready upon setting sail. Nice touch. They also knew our requests from I Asia. The staff was above and beyond! I mean this as my mom is a VERY picky eater and does not “spicy” food and by spicy I mean if the tiniest bit of chilli touches her food she will not eat it. The staff on board went out of their way to tailor the menu, and at one point the chef even came to our table to deliver her more of one of the items she did like. The Saffron team were all so attentive the entire time and seeing the city at night was great. The sights on the river were so beautiful. The food was Michelin star and a great value for what we got which was a wonderful multi course meal and cruise! This is not the cheapest dinner cruise BUT you get what you paid for, hence the 5 star review. I would highly recommend this!

Amazing cruising experience

I was in Bangkok for a quick stop over. This is the second time we used I Asia Thailand (first time was Set 19). This is a brand new boat which appealed to us so we booked with I Asia and then received our confirmation and also sent dietary requirements. We arrived at Icon Siam and the staff there were waiting, expected us and also had us down as a VIP customer (I Asia must have done this). We had the best seats on the boat. The food was delicious, hot and definitely home cooked; fantastic offering of Thai-style cooking. There was a lot of food as well! The Saffron is beautiful vessel and even though drinks were expensive its well worth it. We even received a complimentary professional photo from our evening on the cruise. Views were beautiful, service was wonderful and definitely recommended

Booking issue

Be warned, “I Asia Thailand” is the third-party booking agent for this TripAdvisor event. The Saffron Dinner Cruise is actually owned and operated by the Banyan Tree hotel. The availability calendar on TripAdvisor does not show actual availability. I booked the dinner cruise on TripAdvisor three days prior and was notified the day of the cruise that my booking was canceled & refunded because of availability. If you want to book this dinner cruise, I suggest you go to the Banyan Tree website... you’ll see actual availability and you’ll save 780 baht/person.

The GO TO dinner cruise in Bangkok

While staying in Bangkok, we decided to spend it on the new Saffron Cruise which turned out to be a wonderful night together. Each carefully crafted dish was better than the last and the elegant setting provided us the perfect atmosphere for a date night. The food was exceptional and Michelin star quality. The cruise is definitely not a party boat, but a classy way to cruise the river. Thank you again Nick at I Asia Thailand for booking the best seats for us and for the staff on board the boat.