De 10 beste riviercruises op de Theems in Londen in 2026 (door mijzelf getest)

🛂 Boarding Area

• Thames River Sightseeing is in a great spot on the Thames at Westminster Pier, next to the London Eye, Big Ben, and Westminster Bridge.
• The boarding area is shared with other companies and has an air-conditioned, weather-proof waiting area with vending machines.

🗺️ Getting There

• 🗺️ Meeting point: Westminster Pier, Victoria Embankment, London SW1A 2JH, United Kingdom

🚢 The Ship

• The ship you'll board is a double-decker vessel with a 200-person capacity, offering covered or open-air seating, a bar, AC/heating, and live commentary via loudspeakers.

🛋️ The Lower Deck

• The bottom deck features chairs with tables next to the windows and a small bar. The front section also has standalone chairs, but the relatively small windows do not offer the best views.

☀️ The Top Deck

• The upper deck offers 360° panoramic views, with comfortable seating. The deck has both covered indoor and outdoor seats. The seats are oriented towards the front.

📌 Drinks and Snacks

• The ship features a bar section where you can purchase drinks and snacks.

🗼 Cruise Itinerary

• Starting from Westminster Pier, this cruise allows passengers to disembark at either Tower Bridge Pier or Greenwich Pier.

🎙️ Live Audio Commentary

• There's live English commentary by a crew member on board. The guide is engaging and funny (an expert at using English dry/sarcastic humour), making the tour entertaining and informative.

📌 Downloadable Audio Guide‍

• Alternatively, you can download an app that provides narration in 6 languages: Spanish, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian.

📌 Waiting Area

• London Eye Cruises kicks off at the London Eye Waterloo Pier, opposite of Westminster Pier.
• The boarding area is shared with other companies and has an air-conditioned, weather-proof waiting area with vending machines.

🗺️ Getting There

• 🗺️ Meeting point: 30 The Queen's Walk, London SE1 7PB, UK

🚢 The Ship

• The ship you'll board is a double-decker vessel, offering covered or open-air seating, a bar, AC/heating, and live commentary or smartphone audio guide app.

🛋️ The Lower Deck

• This deck features rows of chairs equipped with audio guide devices for your earbuds and a small bar. The atmosphere is cozy, and the chairs are comfortable.

☀️ The Top Deck

• The top deck provides 360° views with open-air seating only. I found the seats to be uncomfortable.

📌 Drinks and Snacks

• Onboard, there is a bar section offering soft drinks and snacks for purchase.

🗼 Cruise Itinerary

• Departing from London Eye Pier, passengers can choose to get off at Tower Bridge Pier, with no stop at Greenwich.

📌 Built-in Audio Guide ‍

• Available if you bring your own earbuds, but there are too few devices on the top deck (one device built into the sidewall for every four seats). On the bottom deck, there's a device for each seat.
• The audio guide is available in 10 languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Czech, Dutch, Hindi, Italian, Polish, and Portuguese.

🎙️ Live Audio Guide

• ‍Alternatively, there's expert commentary provided by a professional and knowledgeable guide. The guide is cheeky and engaging, enhancing the experience.

📌 Waiting Area

• As with Thames River Sightseeing, London City Cruises is at Westminster Pier, next to the London Eye, Big Ben, and Westminster Bridge.
• The boarding area is shared with other companies and has an air-conditioned, weather-proof waiting area with vending machines.

🗺️ Getting There

• 🗺️ Meeting point: Westminster Pier, London SW1A 2JH, United Kingdom

🚢 The Ship

• Like the previous cruises, the ship you'll board is a double-decker vessel with indoor covered and open-air seating, a bar, AC/heating, and live commentary performed by a crew member or a pre-recorded commentary through a smartphone app.

• Please note that City Cruises has a large fleet with various ships, so you might not board the same type of boat I tested. I don't recommend boarding the catamaran ship as it doesn't have a top deck.

🛋️ The Lower Deck

• The bottom deck has two rows of tables and chairs next to the windows, with a middle row that has minimal views. The chairs are comfortable, and the indoor space is cozy.

📌 Upper Deck

• The boat offers unobstructed 360° views. The top deck has open-air seats facing the front. The metal seating was uncomfortable and my back was hurting.

📌 Drinks and Snack Bar

• Onboard, there is a bar section offering soft drinks and snacks for purchase.

🗼 Cruise Itinerary

• Setting off from Westminster Pier, passengers have the option to disembark at either Tower Bridge Pier or Greenwich Pier.

📌 ‍ ‍

• Exactly the same as with other cruise companies, there is live English commentary provided by a crew member onboard. The guide is engaging and funny, using dry/sarcastic English humor expertly to make the tour entertaining and informative.

📌 App-Based Audio Guide ‍

• Alternatively, you can download an app that provides narration in 13 languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese, and Spanish.

📌 Waiting Area

• This cruise kicks off at the the London Eye Waterloo Pier, right next to the London Eye. The boarding area is shared with other companies and has an air-conditioned, weather-proof waiting area with vending machines. Thames Rockets is at the very end of the pier.

📌 Safety

• Inflatable life jackets are provided in case of an emergency. Nothing too surprising here.

• Onboard, you will be seated in a comfortable padded seat with metal handles to hold. Even during the speedy parts, there was never any real danger of falling out or hitting yourself during a hard break.

🗺️ Getting There

• 🗺️ Meeting point: The London Eye Millennium Pier, London SE1 7PB, United Kingdom

🚢 The Ship

• Thames Rocket's speedboat has a 12-person capacity, with comfortable seats equipped with safety handes to hold onto.

🗼 Cruise Itinerary

• Starting at London Eye Pier, this cruise takes passengers down to Canary Wharf and back.

🎙️ Live Commentary by Skipper

• The cruise offers live English commentary in a cheeky, English humor style, making the tour both entertaining and informative.

📌 Slow vs. Speedy Parts

• The initial part of the cruise proceeds at an enjoyable, leisurely pace, accompanied by live guided commentary, until the boat passes the Tower Bridge. Then the fun begins!

• Once we crossed Tower Bridge, the skipper finally put the pedal to the metal! It was thrilling to speed along the Thames with the beautiful British cityscape all around us. This part lasts until Greenwich, with short breaks between the high-speed periods.
• This a fun activity especially for families and with friends.

📌 Waiting Area

• This cruise kicks off at the the Embankment Pier (not to be confused with Westminster Pier!). The boarding area is shared with other companies and has an air-conditioned, weather-proof waiting area with vending machines.

📌 Safety

• Inflatable life jackets are provided in case of an emergency. Metal safety handles are located at every seat that you can hold onto, unless you want to go for a swim in the Thames.

🗺️ Getting There

• 🗺️ Meeting point: Embankment Pier, WC2N 6NU, London WC2N 6PA, United Kingdom

🚢 The Ship

• Thames Ribs' speedboat has a 12-person capacity with comfortable seats equipped with safety handles. Essentially, it is identical to the speedboat offered by Thames Rockets but with a different look and feel.

🗼 Cruise Itinerary

• Starting at Embankment Pier, this cruise takes passengers down to the Thames Barrier and back.

🎙️ Live Commentary by Skipper

• This speedboat cruise offers a live English commentary in a typically cheeky, English humor style, making the tour both entertaining and informative. I didn't notice much difference between this and previous speedboat I tested.

📌 Slow vs. Speedy Parts

• Similarly as before, the initial part of the cruise proceeds at an enjoyable, leisurely pace, accompanied by live guided commentary, until the boat passes the Tower Bridge. Our guide provided commentary all through the trip when we were passing by some interesting sight, not just in the beginning.

• Like with the Thames Rockets, things got exciting after Tower Bridge. The fast ride, with quick breaks, lasted until the Thames Barrier (a unique sight!) vs. turning around at Greenwich.
• It's a fun way to see London, great for friends and families who like a bit of adventure with their sightseeing.

📌 Waiting Area

• This cruise kicks off at the the Tower Millenium Pier, next to Tower Bridge.
• The boarding area is shared with other companies and has an air-conditioned, weather-proof waiting area with vending machines.

🗺️ Getting There

• 🗺️ Meeting point: Lower Thames St, London EC3N 4DT, UK

🚢 The Ship

• The ship you'll board is a double-decker vessel with 200-person capacity that offers indoor seats at tables and open-air seating options on the top deck, AC/heating and audio guide commentary via smartphone.

📌 Food and Drinks

• Enjoy traditional English tea with sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, cakes, and unlimited tea and coffee. You can also buy drinks at the bar.

🗼 Cruise Itinerary

• Embarking from Tower Bridge Pier, this cruise offers a roundtrip journey to Westminster Pier.

📌 Bottom Deck

• The bottom deck includes tables and chairs next to the windows and a middle row with seating facing the sides, offering minimal views.

☀️ Top Deck

• Like the sightseeing cruise of London City Cruises, the top deck features 360° views with front-facing open-air seats.

🎙️ Live Audio Guide ‍

• This cruise is run by City Cruises, the audio guide options are the same as on their sightseeing cruise.
• As with previous cruises, this one also offers live English commentary by an engaging guide.

📌 App-Based Audio Guide ‍

• Alternatively, you can download an app that provides narration in 13 languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Vietnamese, and Spanish.