The Boatonian

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

If I could give this 0 stars I would. The boat looked like it was going to fall apart any second. On the second floor when people dance on the third floor it looks like the ceiling will collapse and you won’t survive. The line to the bar is at least 30 minutes, and there is only one bar on the boat to get drinks from. Drinks are mainly juice, 8.75 not the advertised 7 they state online. You end up paying 10 dollars for a tiny in a 6 ounce plastic cup that is half ice. Not fun. Repeat of songs kills the vibe. People that were in attendance seemed immature and shall I say «ratchet.» Boat does circles around the harbor until you wish your time was up and it would just dock. Never will do this again.

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 every 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.

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 The first floor is very outdated and does not say «party boat.» It feels more like a cheap restaurant with bad curtains.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.

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 ½ 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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 !

We found a Country Hoedown Cruise on
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.

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.

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.

It was fun for a birthday party with my friends, drinks were $ 5-​$ 7 so they didn’t break the bank and the bar was never ridiculously crowded. However, the only problem I had all night (a Friday night) was that the staff was horrendous. They had no sense of humor and treated everyone like cattle. It seems like if you do not like working with young people who are drinking, then find another job. It was legitimately terrible (let’s just say I was screamed at multiple times to «hurry up and move“off the boat when there were literally 50 people in front of me)… Otherwise, it was definitely an experience and the views were amazing. The captain of the boat was very nice, too, as well as the bartenders. They just need to get a new staff that is not burned out.

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.