The Southern Belle Riverboat Reviews

When you arrive, there is a retail area and register, and yes, that is where you show your ticket if you purchased one (no signage telling you) or you can buy your tickets there as well. As far as the boat itself: Not impressed. The boat is dated. There was no ambiance. There was no information given to the guests about what was on the left or right. There is an island in the river, and we had to Google to find out about it. The boat just goes down about 3 miles, maybe 4, then turns around (5 pm tour). River boat should have someone at least giving us a 10 minute voice tour. I had to ask for them to play music! Yes, it was radio silent except for the sound of the engine. The woman in the downstairs bar was kind enough to ask the crew to turn the music on. Thankfully they picked a very good station but we shouldn't have to ask. So, our bad luck that it rained so it made it even more boring because we had to stay inside. The highlight was the bar downstairs has normal prices and they don't screw you out of a liquor pour! They have board games for you to play, which I do not see the point personally. I don't pay $30 to get on a "scenic riverboat" ride tot then look at a game board.

We absolutely enjoyed this relaxing cruise down the river for a couple hours. The live music was great and consisted of music we both loved and reminisced to. The food was good and service top notch. I think this is a great way to spend an evening on the water. I recommend you try this event , either on the afternoon or evening .

Great food! Sitting outside on the boat is so relaxing & the inside is full of games & huge with plenty of space for the kids to run aroud and play with an adult bar. Over all, a GREAT place!!!!

Overpriced for what it is definitely do NOT pay for upgraded tickets in my opinion.. the first part of the tour you go down the river and turn around and go back the same strip you just came down. During this first half the riverbanks are full of industrial trash a lot of the time. After the first half you go down the other way and circle around the island. 2/3 through our trip we discovered the first floor bar and mid deck. Had we found that at the beginning the trip would have been much more enjoyable. Not sure why they corralled us all to the upper deck. The mid deck was much more serene. Most of the dialogue from the captain was very boring. They also tell you to get there an hour early which is pointless. They say it's because of varying timezones they tell you to do this. I think it's so you will spend money in their very outdated gift shop.

We actually rode the Latirude 33 instead of the Southern Belle and it was an absolute blast. We had an engagement, a first catfish catch and a couple celebrating their 3 year anniversary, plus my wife and I were on our honeymoon, unbelievable trip on a custom built pontoon party barge on the Tennessee River. Captain Mark was a very accommodating host with an extensive knowledge of the area. If you take the trip ask him about the country club you pass on the trip. We also saw two bald eagles which I got pretty good pics of. Highly recommend this as a must do in Chattanooga.

Overall, we had a really nice time but I think they should number the chairs or something so you're not left asking people "Are you using this chair?" A million times. We took the sunset tour which was nice, provided some GORGEOUS views, and the singer they had for live entertainment was actually very talented and had a good setlist. The concession stand had decent prices but I do feel like if we had paid for the upgrade to climate control seating I would have felt just a little cheated.

Super GREAT!! The 3 of us will never forget how well we were treated on the cruise! Will do again!! THANKS TO ALL THAT WORK THERE! Y'ALL ARE GREAT!!

From what we seen, decor was in some ways, very nice. However the flooring was extremely dated and worn. Nice to see a boat like this to remember this used to be how people traveled, hope to see it updated and made to look more.... full of life than what we seen.

This was sooooo much fun. My new husband and I could not do a traditional honeymoon for various reasons, COVID-19, child and puppy at home and work commitments. But I wanted to get him a wedding gift of what I termed a Mini-Moon. Since we married on Friday night and had out of town family at our house til Sunday, I booked a hotel close to the church and a luxury suite for Saturday in Chattanooga (only 2 hours away). Chattanooga was were we went on our 1st out of town trip. We always want to do a cruise when we travel but its either too expensive or not convenient. This was both. I made the reservations online and it was easy peasy. So easy, I accidentally booked only 1. I immediately called the # on their site and spoke to John. He asked my name and in about a minute he says "ok,, done". I was so happy. At this point everything is still a surprise and I didnt want to have to go into a lot if detail. As for the cruise...we did the Sunset Cruise and Gary was our entertainment. The top deck ($29.00 per adult) was pretty crowded already. We took the 2 chairs next to Gary. He noticed our bride and groom shirts and asked when we'd married. He gave us his song list and let us pick out several songs. Very talented guy. Lovely voice. He gave us a shout out and song our songs. He encouraged us and others to participate. More and more people joined in. Some got up and danced as the sun was setting. It was almost, ALMOST perfect. Now the reason for 4 stars instead of 5. I purchased BBQ plates for us. When we sat, hubby opened his and a gnat was walking across the bun. He took it in stride and flicked it off. I opened and pinched a little piece of meat and wasn't a fan. I couldnt say what but it was a little off. But, we both decided since we couldn't get a table anyway to just eat after we docked. At the hotel we sat down and my hubby opened his and pulled the top bun where the gnat was and ate. I took of my bun and pinched another piece. As I put into my mouth, I caught a whiff of a scent. Then I realized the problem, my meat was going bad. Now. I had spicy and my hubby had regular, so different sources. I tried his and it was really tasty. He tried mine and told me to order room service. So, beware the food but enjoy the cruise!

We did the shortened sight seeing tour. We had an amazing time. The captains were super nice and even did some catfish fishing which was super cool. You can buy a drink before you head out on the 1.5 hour float. Highly recommend and you get a nice tour and knowledge of the area