Affairs Afloat

OK, so my school friend decided to have her birthday party at the Tropicana Friday night cruise, which advertised some top 40 music, a nice boat ride, and great night overall. Since I’m kinda new to NYC I didn’t know what to expect, so I decided to just go and enjoy myself. Basically from the get go out was a disaster of a cruise. The boat was supposed to leave around 8:30, it actually left around 10:00pm. An almost two hour wait. That totally started the night in a bad way. Then in the boat, the music was too loud, the drinks crazy expensive (small plastic cups, too much ice, about 8 $ each), douchey staff members who made arbitrary rules on the fly on who could go to the open air «terraces» the top two floors have, and generally crowded all the time. By the time you arrive at the Statue of Liberty (halfway into the trip) I wanted to jump off and swim back to Manhattan. One more thing: this «cruise» advertises itself as having a strict dressing code, of being a classy nightclub experience. IT’S FALSE. This is as classless as you can get in NYC, or anywhere in the 50 States for the matter. Look elsewhere for your party boat fix.

i cannot even give a 1 star. but i had to. to get posted.
and this may have been an unusual experience.
3 friends and i showed up for the Wednesday eve cruise, and according to guidelines, no shorts, no sneakers, ID mandatory. after we were searched more intensely than JFK security — which we thought over the top but OK — we boarded,
got a drink and sat on the outside area to distance ourselves from the BLARING in house music. we departed on time. got about 50 yards and backed up.
no announcement. we sat back at the pier for about 20 minutes and then the gates opened and at least 100 more people were admitted.
the volume of the music intensified, the crowd intensified, we had been sitting on board for 90 minutes and had gone NOWHERE.
i said to my friends: ‘abandon ship” and we wound up having a lovely dinner elsewhere.
i do not recommend.

I went on the Thursday night Candela cruise witha Groupon deal 2 weeks ago… by myself! I know, I’m crazy, but brave. The complaints are right when it comes to time, we didn’t end up leaving till around 8 when boarding was supposed to start at 7. It got really crowded. I didn’t get a seat. The boat had two floors the lower floor had a tango on the Hudson type thing, which people said was pretty boring so some of them ended up on the upper level where it was much more fun. A lot of sightseeing, crazy dancers and some friendly people for the most part. I danced with some guy. He was ok, but when he smiled and I saw he was missing teeth, I had to haul ass. So I hid on the lower level for a few minutes and I can see why people came on the upper level. The Tango on the Hudson was pretty uneventful and one person told me how were they suppose to tango when the floor is sticky. All in all, a pretty cool night. I will say they may leave late, but they come back right on the dot. The next day, I got six comp tickets in the mail for the Friday night cruise. I didn’t get to go, but it was very cool to get them. It was an ok night.

I have read some poor reviews which seem like people who have had the misfortune of being on a bad cruise. I have been on close to a dozen Brazilian cruises with this group and I have been always satisfied with my experience. There is a little lack of organization which is true. But I have always enjoyed the people and the atmosphere. It is unlike a lot of clubs in NYC full of young immature people fighting and arguing all the time. Some attendees maybe young but everyone is there to have a good time. On top of he good music and decent drinks you have an amazing view of NYC skyline and sights at night time. This alone makes the cruise a great value as you would usually pay twice the ticket price for a ferry cruise during the day to see the same sights.

Held a fundraiser for the ASPCA on the Brazilian themed cruse this past Weds and all 50 of my guests had a blast! We sailed on a boat that was 2 stories, looked pretty rickety but handled very well! The buffet was $ 10 per plate freshly cooked arroz con dules, lemon chicken, baked chicken wings, penne a la vodka, mixed greens, salad and bread. the drinks were typical NYC prices meaning ranging from $ 5 beers to $ 14 LI iced teas in pretty small cups but they were very strong drinks!
The cruise had amazing views of Manhattan, Ellis island, etc all throughout the night and there was fireworks that night as well. there were 2 djs downstairs and 2 upstairs playing a good mixture of music. There were also Brazilian female dancers and an absolutely amazing all girl drum core. they performed twice but their sets were almost 30 mins long each.
We got invited to the after party at another club on land and were given comp tixxx to the next 2 brazilian boat cruises. I read some of the reviews for other cruises and I guess it’s to each his own. We had a great time and we’re doing another fundraiser this time on the Tropicana cruise.

Been performing capoeira on the Wednesday Brazilian cruise for the last 5 years and it’s always a blast. The organizers are great and even offer us complimentary tickets on nights we’re not performing.
They play a good mix of music, there’s food and drinks on board. And they offer the best view of Manhattan at sunset.

Too bad you can’t give negative stars. I wish I could review a cruise… But I never went on one. Tickets purchased for the fourth of July cruise, my birthday, but never left the harbor. Barely made it on the boat. We were supposed to leave at 6pm, the boat showed up at 8… We were left standing in the sun with no answers or explanation as to why the boat hadn’t shown up yet. We were moved from one dock to another, and back again… Once the boat did arrive, they were mopping the deck! Literally! They weren’t ready for us to board! Once we did, the food looked worse then a low grade cafeteria (we didn’t want to risk it and eat it, but it didn’t look good, nor did the people who ate it enjoy it… More got dumped then consumed) and the drinks were warm. We didn’t even finish our drink when we heard we weren’t leaving the dock… A boat cruise that doesn’t cruise… We had enough. We got off the boat and watched the fireworks from somewhere else. Waste of money. They are now trying to only give us half back because supposedly the boat left after the fireworks and people had access to the bar… I paid for a CRUISE. if I wanted that much to drink, I’d have taken my $ 200 and spent it at a bar. The whole situation was handled poorly and I’m still working to get a full refund. Do NOT buy ANYTHING from this company. I don’t care if 50 cruises went smoothly… The way this one went is a huge reflection on what they really think of their customers. Stay away!

Came on Tropicana Friday for my birthday with my man, 3 of my girls and their men and we all enjoyed ourselves… as soon as you reach the pier before you get on the boat they take one of those beautiful yet expensive souvenir pictures
On the boat there are 3 levels, the best level on Friday is the top they were playing hit R&B, Hiphop, reggae, pop and some techno… we had a wonderful time dancing the night away
The buffet is $ 10 it has ziti, pork, chicken, turkey, salad… nothing fancy but not terrible it’s like going to someone house and they had a buffet the food is also served on plastic plates
The drinks are mostly $ 10/​$ 12
It’s best to go to groupon or goldstar to get a deal
This is ideal for a girls night out or just a group of friends or a couple wanting to let loose and have fun with each other and dance while also site seeing

Absolutely loved Affairs Afloat! Perfect date night if you want to do something a little different. Weather was fantastic and we took a ton of amazing photos on the Hudson. Seriously, everything we looked at was photo worthy, as the sun was setting… really gorgeous evening in July. We did the Brazilian cruise and the music was awesome. Heard some songs I hadn’t heard since I was in Brazil. Then another floor was playing Top 40 and other old school hits. The buffet food (I think it was $ 10 bucks) was good too. I really really enjoyed this and would highly recommend. I felt like it was organized on arrival (in fact I forgot my voucher and didn’t RSVP — whoops) and the manager still went out of her way to squeeze us in… and for the price with the deal (groupon or living social) you can’t beat it. Great for natives of NY to take visiting friends, or even just locals who want to do something different than sit in a bar somewhere.

I attended the Tropicana Boat Ride with a group of 30 pp and we had a great time. Yes, big crowds are expected so I do recommend early arrival. The music was played with a lot of variety and the drink prices are reasonable. I coordinated with Arlene and Mary from Affairs Afloat in advance and all the arrangements went according to plan; even with a couple of surprises (Champagne bottles and drink tickets!) What an outstanding event specialist company with friendly and accommodating staff. Thank you Affairs Afloat on behalf of NYCLP for a spectacular turn out.

The Cons:
Came here with 7 other people on a living social coupon. We went on a Friday for the Tropicana. When we got to the ticket collector, they asked if we booked in advance. NO where on the coupon (
) did it say we had to call and book in advance. I let her know and she said «fine, enjoy» Also included was a drink voucher for each person… she was also not aware that this was included and then gave them to us. With the coupon we got «advanced VIP boarding» at 7:30…but that didn’t mean crap cause evidently everyone was a VIP lol.
The Boat: Advertised was the Queen of Hearts which had three levels. We got stuck with some rickety looking boat with two levels. We got there at 7:30 but didn’t sail till 9PM. Me and my friends sat in the lower level which was mainly indoors and the music was WAY TOO LOUD! At the end of the night my ear drums hurt and I had a headache. In my opinion THE main issue with the cruise but I’m sure others would disagree. I also feel like they boarded more people than maximum capacity allowed.
The Pros
The drinks were strong and the bartender was nice. Some of the music was great! With the Living Social it was a pretty good time for the price. I guess it could have been worse.

I had THE WORST experience with Affairs Afloat and would not recommend it to my worst enemy! They are COMPLETELY unorganized and have no respect for people! I bought a Group-​on for the cruise for my boyfriends 25^th birthday celebration. I call one of their representatives weeks in advance to make sure everything was a go and PAID for a limo service to the boat. At the beginning of the week I call them to see if it was too late to pay for a table (the charge $ 40 for a table) but was told my reservation was never made and the boat was sold out and there was nothing they could do for me. I was told to call back to speak to the manager that apparently comes in to work from 2−4… but when I called back see told the rep to deliver the message for her. She was too busy to speak to me herself.
AND IF THAT WASNT BAD ENOUGH… I found another website that I was able to buy full priced ticket from and paid for the boat AGAIN (I wish I had taken the hint but my limo was already paid for) I was told that as long as I had my ticket and got there early we should not have a problem. However when I got there, one of the members from my party had a apparently upset one of the bouncers/​managers and he refused to let us on the boat claiming my friend who had only had one drink was too drunk to get on the boat.
So now I have to try and get 2 refunds for the boat ride that never happened and had the worst night in return. I will update you on how cooperative they are in getting my my money.

Went there with bf for the Wednesday copacabana cruise.
Pros:
— Lively Latin music (hiphop, reggaeton, salsa, merengue), they have 3 floors which play different types of music so you can take your pick
— Wasn’t that crowded so bf & I had ample space while dancing
Cons:
— Food. Buffet of $ 10 expensive since you only get 1 serving of it. The pork was tad good though, but still I’d recommend that you get a nice dinner somewhere else before coming here.
— They started letting people in at around 6:30 pm, but mind you WE WERE SUPPOSED to leave by that time!
— Drinks are HORRIBLE! I understand that it’s a bit overpriced because it’s a cruise, but heck they need to do a better job mixing their drinks. and oh, no mojito??? It’s supposed to be a copocabana cruise & they don’t make mojitos???

I took the cruise on July 4^th that was billed a Fireworks and Dance Cruise.
Boarding — Horrendous. Made everybody wait in line for 2 hours
Food — Tolerable, but I have had cafeteria food that tastes better.
Space — Packed and no specific area for smoking customers making the whole boat a smoking cruise.
FIREWORKS — Only for crew as they were allowed in rear of the boat and everyone one else had to peer through the side or go to the top of an enclosed boat.
Worst experience of my New York vacation

Took the «Queen of Hearts» for Affairs Afloat’s 4^th of July cruise.
Worse experience ever, here’s why:
1. Complete chaos on boarding, logistics. Had to wait 1 hour in line, and another hour boarding — all due to poor organizing.
2. No directions or crew to answer simple questions.
3. All of the boat’s decks were closed in with very little or no AC during the scorching summer heat; everyone was nicely soaked in sweat.
4. People were packed like sardines, tight and very close to one another for 4 hours, I can’t imagine if this boat had to evacuate the level of chaos to match every aspect of the trip. Too many people, too tight and too long.
5. There was a big closed out «VIP» party on the top deck, we were never told about it — it was advertised as if we would have access to the whole boat at all times.
6. All you can drink was a cash bar for 2 hours until they decided to open the «free» bar, in which you still had to tip pissed off staff to get anything served.
7. The bars were a complete mess, weak drinks in baby sized cups advertised as «premium» drinks which was just not true.
8. Cafeteria grade food made 3 out of 4 people in my group sick (as in diarrhea).
9. Catering and kitchen were located in between both the bathrooms! (Who was the genius who thought about that?), just not pleasant at all.
10. Only TWO bathrooms for 250+ fed and drunk passengers X 4 hours — turned real nasty real quick.
11. WE CRASHED with another boat when docking back!!! some older folks fell on the ground and bumped themselves pretty hard. It was insane but probably the most exciting part of the «cruise». Now, had this turned into a big emercency (it was a BIG CRASH) I probably wouldn’t be typing this, and not because of drawning but crushed from the stampide. On that note, there was no notes on safety, exits, life jackets, nothing at all, huge negligence grounds from the organizers.
12. You can’t see the fireworks from this fireworks-​cruise! because the top deck is enclosed, with a roof and the out decks are covered and minuscule. BTW this boat is older than Mick Jagger.
I know that $ 100 is not a lot for NYC prices, but this tour was unsafe, unsanitary, dissorganized and poorly run. If I didn’t have more important things to do than writing this review, I’d sue them in grounds of negligence, false advertising and possibly torture charges — because this cruise was just that: torture on board, or waterboarding 2.0.

I’ve been on different variations of this cruise a few times. One of my favourite parties is the Wednesday Brazilian After Work Party. I make it a point to bring my out of town visitor’s to it., so I can get the all in one; Eat, Drink and Sightseeing Tour (Statue of Liberty etc.) duties all in one fell swoop.
2 Floors of Dancing: Brazilian Elektro House etc. on the Main Level and Top 40/​Open Format on the Lower. I would recommend it at least once in the Summer for even the Native New Yorker. I always had a great time dancing or taking in the sights.

They say the pen is mightier than the sword, so here we go! :)
I called regarding an email about a free cruise. The girl told me to hold and then I was hung up on. I called back and another girl picked up. She was neurotically «overnice» to me.