Dinner cruise · 2.5 hours
Bread, a salad, an entrée of your choice and a house dessert at a reserved table, with live piano and narration on the outer decks. Drinks, appetizers, the tip and the souvenir photo are extra.
Check open sailings ↗Along the waterfront
Six stretches between the dock and the dock
A Willamette dinner cruise is a round trip: out along the waterfront, upstream past the bridges, then back to where you started. Here are its stretches in order.
Read this as the outline of the evening rather than a schedule. The operator can change a route with river activity and conditions, and the departure hour depends on the date you choose.
- Dock
Salmon Street Springs
The cruise boards at the dock beside the Salmon Street Springs fountain in Tom McCall Waterfront Park, 1010 SW Naito Parkway. The operator asks you to be there 30 minutes before departure, and your booking confirmation names the address if the boarding location changes.
- Aboard
Photo ID and a boarding photo
Bring a passport or ID card. The crew photographs everyone who steps aboard, a routine on these Coast Guard regulated vessels, and the printed souvenir is optional.
- Dinner
Three courses at a reserved table
Bread and a salad come first, then an entrée chosen from the menu on board and a house dessert. The table is reserved for your party. A window seat is not guaranteed.
- Bridges
Under the lifts and trusses
On the operator's route map, the dinner cruise heads upstream under the Hawthorne, Marquam, Tilikum Crossing, Ross Island and Sellwood bridges and turns at Lake Oswego. Routes vary with river activity and conditions.
- Dusk
The city on the way back
Upstream, the banks hold parks, clubs and marinas. Heading back toward downtown, the skyline and the lit bridges come into view, and how dark it is by then depends on your sailing and the season.
- Return
Back at the waterfront
The cruise lasts 2.5 hours in all and ends at the dock where it began. The closest MAX stop is SW 1st & Yamhill, and the garages the operator recommends sit a few blocks inland.
The river
A city built across its river
Bridgetown, counted from the water
Portland has 12 bridges across the Willamette, and the nickname Bridgetown has stuck for decades. Three of the downtown crossings are more than a century old and listed as landmarks: the Hawthorne Bridge from 1910, the Steel Bridge from 1912 and the Broadway Bridge from 1913. The newest, Tilikum Crossing, opened in 2015, and it was the first new Willamette bridge in the city since the double-decker Fremont Bridge in 1973.
The lift span the cruise passes first
The Hawthorne's 244-foot vertical-lift span rises between two 165-foot towers, balanced by counterweights of 880,000 pounds, and it goes up about 120 times a month for river traffic. It opened on December 19, 1910, and it is the oldest vertical-lift bridge still in operation in the United States. It also carries more cyclists than any other bridge in Oregon.
A bridge lit by the river itself
Tilikum Crossing carries trains, buses, streetcars, bicycles and pedestrians but no private cars. A light installation by Anna Valentina Murch and Doug Hollis uses 178 LED modules on the cables, towers and deck, and the river sets the colours: its temperature chooses the base colour, its speed paces the changes and its depth sets a second pattern on the towers. After dark it is one of the first bridges you notice.
A river that rises and falls with the tide
The Willamette flows north for 187 miles to the Columbia, and below Willamette Falls, 26.5 miles from its mouth, the tide reaches it. Gauges have recorded the water running backward below Ross Island. At the mouth the river carries about 37,400 cubic feet a second on average, with flows near 8,200 in August and more than 79,000 in December.
At your table
What arrives at your table
The dinner is three courses served on board. Here is what the ticket covers, what costs extra and how the evening sounds.
Bread, salad, entrée, dessert
The ticket includes bread, a salad, an entrée of your choice from the menu on board and a house dessert. Appetizers are extra, and the operator's menu changes daily.
A reserved table
Your party gets a table of its own. Window seating is not guaranteed, so treat the outer decks as the place for the view: that is where the narration plays.
Live piano
A pianist plays during dinner. Guests describe soft rock and easy melodies at a volume that lets conversation carry on.
Narration on deck or in your headphones
Historical narration plays on the outer decks, or on your phone through the Listen Everywhere app if you bring headphones. The app is not available on the Willamette Star or the Crystal Dolphin. Printed and large-print guides are on board.
Drinks and the tip are extra
Beverages, appetizers, the service tip and the souvenir photo are not included. A bar on board sells drinks, and the operator prints suggested tip amounts on your onboard receipt.
Dietary needs
A vegetarian entrée is always on the menu. Vegan and gluten-free changes can be made if you ask before the cruise, so mention them when you book.
Portland from the water
Portland from the Willamette
The boat, a few of the bridges it sails beneath and the downtown skyline at dusk.
Dinner or lunch
The two cruises side by side
| Cruise | What it covers | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Dinner cruise · 2.5 hours | Bread, a salad, an entrée of your choice and a house dessert at a reserved table, with live piano and narration on the outer decks. Drinks, appetizers, the tip and the souvenir photo are extra. | Couples, celebrations and groups who want a plated dinner and the evening on the river. |
| Lunch cruise · 2 hours | A plated lunch with a choice of entrée and fresh-baked bread, live piano and commentary on the city's landmarks. Salad, appetizers and desserts can be bought on board; drinks and the tip are extra. | Anyone who wants the bridges in daylight, a shorter sailing or a lighter meal. |
| Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free | A vegetarian entrée is always on the menu. Vegan and gluten-free changes are made when you ask before the cruise. | Tell the operator when you book, especially for severe allergies. |
| Wheelchair access | Both cruises are wheelchair accessible on the enclosed lower deck, reached by a ramp. | Add details of the chair and any stairs-free seating request to the booking notes. |
Check dates and departure times on the same GetYourGuide listing ↗
Two ways onto the river
Two cruises from the same dock
Dinner in the evening or lunch by day: both sail on the Willamette from the downtown Portland waterfront and both are run by Portland Spirit Cruises.
Lunch cruise · 2 hours
A plated lunch with a choice of entrée and fresh-baked bread, live piano and commentary on the city's landmarks. Salad, appetizers and desserts can be bought on board; drinks and the tip are extra.
Check open sailings ↗More ways to spend a day in Portland
From the street to the gangway
Before you walk down to the dock
Finding the dock
Most public cruises board at the dock beside Salmon Street Springs in Waterfront Park, 1010 SW Naito Parkway. Arrive 30 minutes before the departure shown for your date.
Getting there
The closest MAX stop is SW 1st & Yamhill, on the Red and Blue lines. Drivers can use the World Trade Center garage or the Smart Park garages on SW Jefferson and SW Yamhill.
What to wear
Business casual or dressy casual, with solid shoes instead of thin heels. The outer decks are cooler than the street, so bring a layer.
Starting times
Pick a date on GetYourGuide and the departure times for it show up. The dinner cruise lasts 2.5 hours, so match the sailing to the sunset you want.
What stays ashore
Pets, except service dogs, and smoking of any kind, including vaping, are not allowed. Outside food and drink are not permitted.
Cancelling and paying
Free cancellation runs until 24 hours before the cruise, and reserving costs nothing up front, which suits a party still confirming numbers.
Notes from a Portland food writer
Notes from a Portland food writer
Which cruise to book
Portland dinner cruise or lunch?
Dinner or lunch on the Willamette: what each ticket includes, what costs extra and which suits your party, checked against the operator's own pages.
Open the full note → The dock, boarding and the lightPortland cruise dock and boarding
Where the Willamette cruise boards, how to reach the dock by MAX or car, what to wear and when the light is best, checked against the operator's pages.
Open the full note → The bridgesPortland bridges from the river
The bridges a Willamette cruise passes under, from the 1910 Hawthorne lift span to the lit towers of Tilikum Crossing, with a fact to carry aboard for each.
Open the full note → The foodDinner menu and dietary needs
What the three-course dinner includes, a sample of the operator's menu, and how vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and children's meals are handled on board.
Open the full note → Access and familiesAccessibility and families aboard
Wheelchair access, the ramp, narration aids, sensory kits and what to expect with children on the Willamette dinner cruise, from the operator's own pages.
Open the full note → Around the dockWaterfront Park before you sail
What to see in Tom McCall Waterfront Park around the cruise dock: the fountain, the lawns, the Saturday Market and the memorials along the river.
Open the full note →FAQ
Before you reserve a table
Are drinks and the tip included?
No. The ticket covers bread, a salad, an entrée and a house dessert, but not beverages, appetizers, the service tip or the souvenir photo. A bar on board sells drinks, and you can add the tip at the end of the cruise.
Can we choose a window table?
Your party gets a reserved table, but window seating is not guaranteed. The outer decks are open to everyone, and that is where the historical narration plays.
Where does the cruise leave from?
Most public cruises board at the dock beside Salmon Street Springs in Waterfront Park, 1010 SW Naito Parkway. The operator can change the location, so check the address on your booking confirmation.
What time does it sail?
Times differ by date and show up on GetYourGuide once you pick one. The dinner cruise lasts 2.5 hours, and the operator wants you at the dock 30 minutes before it leaves.
Is there a dress code?
The operator recommends business casual or dressy casual and asks guests to avoid thin high heels. Bring a jacket or a wrap, because the outer decks are cooler than the street.
Can vegetarians, vegans and gluten-free guests eat on board?
A vegetarian entrée is always on the menu. Vegan and gluten-free changes can be made if you ask before the cruise. The galley is small, so guests with severe allergies should give detailed notes when they book.
Is the boat wheelchair accessible?
Yes, on the enclosed lower deck, which is reached by a ramp. Tell the operator in the booking notes about your chair and ask for lower-deck seating if you want to avoid stairs.
Is there much to see after dark?
The skyline and the lit bridges appear on the return leg toward downtown, while the upstream stretch passes parks, clubs and marinas. In winter, when the sun sets by about 4:30 pm, the lunch cruise shows more of the river.
Three courses, a pianist and Portland's bridges overhead, on the Willamette River.
Reserve the dinner cruise ↗Fares depend on the date and the sailing. The booking page totals the cost for your party, in your own currency, ahead of payment.