Chao Phraya Princess Cruise from ICONSIAM — International & Seafood Buffet Dinner Cruise

The first thing to get straight is which Chao Phraya Princess cruise you are booking, because the brand runs two and they are genuinely different. This page is the international and seafood cruise, and it departs ICONSIAM — the large riverside mall on the Thonburi bank of the river. The brand's other product, an Indian-buffet cruise with a dedicated vegetarian Indian section, departs a completely different pier, Terminal 21 Rama 3, several kilometres away. Guests who book one and turn up at the other have a bad evening, so we make the distinction clear at the time of booking and send you the correct pier and check-in time in writing the day before. If a seafood and sushi spread with international mains is what you want, you are in the right place; if you specifically want Indian food, our separate Chao Phraya Princess Indian page is the one to choose. Getting to ICONSIAM is straightforward: the BTS Gold Line runs to Charoen Nakhon station a five-minute walk away, the free ICONSIAM shuttle boat crosses from Sathorn Pier near Saphan Taksin BTS every 15 to 20 minutes in the evening, and Grab or taxi works if you allow 30 to 60 minutes from central Bangkok in evening traffic. Or book our private round-trip transfer and the driver takes you door to door.

What sets this cruise apart from the typical Bangkok dinner buffet is that the seafood is treated as its own event rather than a token gesture. There is a Japanese corner serving sashimi and assorted sushi rolls — freshly cut fish on a river cruise is genuinely unusual at this price point — and a separate seafood corner putting out river prawns and New Zealand mussels. The smart move when you board is to head for these two stations first, while the sashimi is at its coldest and the prawns are fresh, before the first rush builds and before you fill up on the mains. From there the buffet opens out: tenderloin steak with gravy, grilled saba fish with soya sauce, stir-fried seafood in yellow curry, baked spinach with cheese, penne with your choice of a mushroom cream or a beef bolognese sauce, grilled lemongrass chicken, deep-fried fish cake and a salad bar, with Tom Yum Kung and a surprisingly good truffle soup to start. It is a broad, international spread with enough range that a table of mixed tastes — the steak eater, the seafood lover, the person who just wants Pad Thai — are all genuinely well fed rather than compromising. For couples and worldwide travellers who want variety and a proper seafood showing, this is the buffet that delivers it.

ICONSIAM is a premium, central place to start an evening on the river — it is the same waterfront our newest luxury vessel, the Opulence, uses — but it comes with one catch that catches people out: there is more than one pier, and several different cruises load from the same stretch of riverfront at almost the same time. That is why 'we couldn't find the boat' is the single most common complaint at busy Bangkok piers, and ICONSIAM is no exception. We solve it the same way every time: when you book, we confirm your exact check-in time and the precise ICONSIAM pier for the Chao Phraya Princess, send you written directions and a map the day before, and give you a WhatsApp number to message if anything is unclear when you arrive. Check-in opens roughly ninety minutes before the 19:30 departure, so there is no need to rush; come a little early, enjoy the riverside mall, then make your way to the counter. As you board you are handed the welcome drink and the live music is already playing. Settle in, and if a river-view or window table matters to you, make sure you asked us for it at booking — we pass the request to the cruise team in advance, which the online ticket platforms do not do.

The ship leaves ICONSIAM at 19:30 and turns up the Chao Phraya as the buffet opens and the city lights come up. About forty-five minutes after departure the river delivers the moment everyone waits for: Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, appears illuminated on the bank, its 82-metre porcelain-covered prang glowing against the dark sky at water level. Shortly after, the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew come into view — white and gold spires lit up, the royal complex King Rama I founded on this riverbank in 1782 — and then the Rama VIII Bridge, a 300-metre asymmetric cable-stayed span completed in 2002, passes overhead with its cables lit gold. These are the photographs people come for, and the open-air areas of the ship give you a clear line to all of them as they pass. Inside, the live music plays through dinner, and as the ship reaches its turning point and runs back south the dessert spread is the second act of the evening — panna cotta, crème brûlée, berry cheese cake, chocolate mousse and Thai lod chong, with coffee and tea. Docking is at 21:30 back at ICONSIAM, where the mall's restaurants and shops stay open late, so a two-hour cruise can roll easily into a longer night out by the river.

Part of doing this honestly is telling you when another boat would suit you better, and with four cruises in our hub the distinctions matter. Choose this Chao Phraya Princess International cruise when a strong seafood and sushi spread, a generous dessert table, an easy central ICONSIAM pier and an honest ฿1,250 price are what you want — it is the international all-rounder. If you want the newest, most premium vessel on the river, with a candlelit open-air rooftop and a 30-plus dish buffet from the same ICONSIAM waterfront, the Opulence is the step up in luxury and price. If anyone in your group needs a halal-source, Muslim-friendly kitchen with alcohol kept to a separate area, the Royal Princess is the right choice. And if Indian food is the priority — a full Indian buffet with a dedicated vegetarian Indian section — the brand's own Chao Phraya Princess Indian cruise from Terminal 21 Rama 3 is the one to book instead of this one. They are all on the river the same night; the only question is which spread and which pier suits your table best, and we are happy to talk it through on WhatsApp before you decide. For a couple or a mixed group who simply want a varied international dinner with real seafood and a great view, this is the comfortable, sensible pick.