Dinner cruises
Dinner cruises in Dubai
A modern dinner cruise in Dubai costs from AED 250 per person on a catamaran or glass-sided boat with a served menu, against AED 99 for a traditional dhow buffet. You are paying for a table rather than a queue, a smaller boat, and a kitchen that plates each course.
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- Modern dinner cruise
- From AED 250 per person
- Traditional dhow buffet
- From AED 99 per person
- Private yacht with catering
- From AED 3,000 for the boat
- Typical length
- 2 to 3 hours
There are two entirely different things sold under the phrase 'dinner cruise' in Dubai and it is worth knowing which one you are booking. The dhow cruise is a wooden two-deck boat with a buffet and a tanoura performance, at around AED 100 a head. The modern dinner cruise is a catamaran, a glass boat or a floating restaurant with allocated tables and a menu brought to you, at two to four times that.
The modern boats carry fewer people, sixty rather than a hundred and fifty, which changes the evening more than the food does. You are seated for the whole cruise, the deck is not crowded, and the kitchen is cooking to order rather than holding trays warm.
The third option, and the one worth doing for a proper occasion, is a private yacht with catering brought aboard. For a table of ten that lands between the two on price per head and gives you the boat, the route and the timings to yourself.
What is included
- Allocated table for the whole cruise, indoor or on deck
- Set or à la carte menu served to the table, not a buffet line
- Soft drinks and water; wine and cocktails where the boat is licensed
- Live music on most sailings rather than a stage performance
- Boats capped well below a dhow's capacity
Worth knowing
- Not every boat is licensed for alcohol. Ask before booking if wine matters to the evening.
- Modern dinner cruises want a booking two to three days ahead; the dhows will usually take you tomorrow.
- For a birthday or an anniversary, a private yacht with catering costs less than most people assume.
What a modern dinner cruise costs over a dhow, and why
A modern dinner cruise costs roughly two and a half times a traditional dhow, and the gap is not really about the food. It is a table rather than a queue, a smaller boat, and a kitchen that plates each course instead of holding a buffet.
On a dhow you are one of a hundred and fifty, seated where you are put, eating from a counter that opens twenty minutes in. On a catamaran or glass-sided boat you are one of perhaps forty, at your own table, served. For a first visit to Dubai the dhow is more interesting and better value; for an anniversary or anything where the meal is the occasion, the difference is worth the money.
Which boat suits which evening
For a first visit with two or four people, the Creek dhow at AED 99 shows you the part of Dubai that is hardest to see any other way, and dinner is included. For a couple marking something, a modern dinner cruise with a served menu is the better evening.
Above about twelve guests a private charter starts to compete on price — AED 1,500 for a two-hour boat against AED 1,188 for twelve dhow tickets — with the timings, the route and the music yours to set. It comes without dinner, which is the trade, though bringing your own food aboard is free.
Booking, seating and what to check
Seating is assigned on arrival rather than chosen on almost every shared boat, so ask for the upper deck at the boarding desk rather than after you have sat down. It is usually possible if you ask early and almost never once the boat is loaded. Some newer boats sell an upper-deck ticket for AED 30 to AED 50 more that guarantees it.
Three things worth confirming before paying: the exact boarding point as a map pin rather than a district name, whether alcohol is served on that specific vessel (most traditional dhows do not), and what happens if you are late. Boarding closes ten minutes before departure and a boat carrying a hundred and fifty people does not wait.
Ways to do this
Catamaran dinner cruise
From AED 250 per person · 2.5 hours
Stable, wide and mostly open deck. Runs the Marina and Palm coastline. The best of the shared modern options.
Glass boat and floating restaurant
From AED 320 per person · 2 hours
Fully enclosed, air-conditioned and seated, with a served three-course menu. The choice in July and August.
Private yacht with catering
From AED 3,000 for the boat · 3 hours
Your own boat, your own timings, a caterer we brief beforehand. For ten people it works out around AED 400 each including the food.
Ask about Dinner cruises on your date.
Leave the date and the headcount and we will come back with what is free and what it costs. No deposit, and no obligation to book.
- No deposit to enquire
- A reply within a couple of hours
- Licensed boats, licensed crew, price all-in
WhatsApp only — messages and calls
Send an enquiry
Questions people ask
How much is a dinner cruise in Dubai?
From AED 99 per person on a traditional dhow with a buffet, from AED 250 on a modern catamaran with a served menu, and from AED 320 on an enclosed glass boat. A private yacht with catering brought aboard starts at AED 3,000 for the boat.
What is the difference between a dhow cruise and a dinner cruise?
A dhow is a traditional wooden boat with a buffet, a tanoura show and up to 150 guests. A modern dinner cruise is a catamaran or glass boat with allocated tables, a served menu and around 60 guests. The dhow is cheaper; the modern boat is quieter and less crowded.
Which is the best dinner cruise in Dubai?
For value, the Creek dhow at AED 99. For a table and a served menu, a catamaran on the Marina and Palm route at AED 250. For an occasion, a private yacht with catering, which for a group of ten costs about AED 400 a head all in.
Do Dubai dinner cruises serve alcohol?
Some do and some do not. Modern catamarans and floating restaurants are more often licensed than traditional dhows. Alcohol is almost never included in the ticket price and is charged separately.
Can you have dinner on a private boat in Dubai?
Yes. We charter the boat by the hour from AED 750 and arrange a caterer to come aboard with a menu agreed beforehand. It is the only way to set your own departure time, route and guest list.
The questions people ask before booking this
- Dhow cruise vs yacht charter: which should you bookDhow cruise vs yacht charter comes down to group size.
- Four yacht catering menus in Dubai, and what each costsYacht catering in Dubai runs from AED 120 a head for canapés to AED 450 for a plated three-course menu with service staff, with a deck BBQ at AED 180 and brunch service at AED 220 in between.
- Things to do in Dubai at nightThe best things to do in Dubai after dark are on or beside the water: a two-hour dhow dinner cruise from AED 99, night swimming at floodlit Umm Suqeim 1, a private sunset charter, or simply the Marina promenade, which is at its best after ten.
Tell us when, and we will tell you what is free.
Weekends and sunset slots go first between October and April. Leave the date and the headcount below, or message us on WhatsApp. If your date is close, WhatsApp is quicker than any form.
- No deposit to enquire
- A reply within a couple of hours
- Licensed boats, licensed crew, price all-in
WhatsApp only — messages and calls