On a Boat!

The staff at my office is pretty small, and there are even fewer of us - just four - who are 30 and under. Of those four, one is a crabby part-time receptionist who seems uninterested in being friendly or doing her job. So when it was decided that we should do something youthful(ish) and social together, there were only three takers: Lindsay, Rishara, and me. Lindsay is a school psychologist who does our standardized testing, and Rishara works directly under our office manager as she saves up money for med school. We were supposed to go out for margaritas a while ago, but it never worked out, and so we were in limbo until Lindsay found a deal on Living Social* for a $10 "party cruise." We all bought vouchers and headed over to the East River after work last night, unsure what to expect.

Our fair vessel was called the Cabana. I'd gone home to change and so made my way east by myself, and when it looked like the bus I was riding might not get me there on time, I hopped into a cab for the last few blocks. This turned out to be unnecessary, as the advertised push-off time of 7:00 was delayed by about half an hour, for some reason. There were two floors on the boat, and we sat at a table on the lower one because Rishara gets a bit seasick and we thought the rocking might be minimized there. We watched the DJ in amusement as he enthusiastically played song after song to a dance floor populated only by dancing dots of colored light. There was a bar, too, but few people visited it. There were only about 20 other people on the boat anyway - I guess fall isn't really the peak of cruising season. Just when I'd despaired of our going anywhere, a horn somewhere above us gave a blast and we watched the dock start to slip away.

The ride itself was nice, though I was glad we paid only $10 for it. We went south, and were treated to views of the Empire State and Chrysler Buildings on the right and Brooklyn on the left. We went under several bridges, the circled the Statue of Liberty before heading north back to where we started. All told, it took about 2 hours. The views were nice, but the boat itself didn't offer much of a party. Exactly one couple ventured onto the dance floor for one song, and then the male half of the couple returned to the dance floor later for a few minutes of meditative, solo gyrating. The DJ bravely kept pumping clubby beats into the room, however, and the bartender sort of bobbed his head now and then as he served drinks to the few customers. Rishara was the sole purchaser from our group. She got a small cup of Coke for $3. It was fun, and I enjoyed seeing New York from the water, but I was glad when we pulled back into the dock. It was getting late, and my throat was sore from yelling over the music. 

I think a party boat would be a lot of fun if you went with a big group of friends. I enjoyed looking out the windows and chatting with Lindsay and Rishara, too. But if we had been drawn more by the party and less by the cruise, we would have been disappointed.

For the uninitiated: Living Social is just another one of many companies that offers special deals and discounts on services. You can either browse their website or sign up for a daily email to find out about what they offer. Usually, they're discounts on haircuts, massages, and spray tans, but sometimes there are deals for restaurants and events, too. We got tickets for this boat cruise for half of what they're supposed to be.