The 8 best boat parties to sail away on in NYC this summer

During the summer, North River Lobster Company (New York City’s beloved floating seafood restaurant since 2014) offers four daily sailings at 1pm, 3pm, 5pm and 7pm from Wednesday to Sunday every week. Afternoon cruises are 1 hour and the 7pm cruise is a two-hour route to the Statue of Liberty and back —how beautiful! On the menu: Maine Lobster Rolls, seafood platters, burgers, and ready-to-share appetizers. New menu items this year include tuna tartare, clam dip and chips, The Skagen shrimp roll, and sweet lobster clawsicles in four different flavors (mango, piña colada, strawberry and lime). The best deal on board may be the $17 glass of rosé and 3 oyster special, or you can go all out with the epic 28-inch lobster roll (dubbed the world’s largest lobster roll) for $149, to feed a group.

Here’s one for the schmoozy, romantic vacationers who are seeking a maximum NYC experience. This sunset sailing cruise with a live jazz band will have you gazing (and jiving) out as the sun drops below Manhattan. Sitting on a 1920s sailing boat, you’ll sail past NYC’s biggest landmarks (including the Statue of Liberty) while a live band plays a mix of beloved classics to contemporary R&B renditions. With an alcoholic drink in hand, live jazz in your ears, and the city lights sparkling in your eyes across the water, you’re in for a swingingly good time.

You didn’t forget all about Happy Hour, did you? It’s basically your dang right after making it through your day job. Gather your clocked-out coworkers and friends and board the Alive After Five cruise, which makes the most of happy hour—it actually lasts two hours—along the Hudson River in City Cruises’ Sensation yacht. You’ll have two climate-controlled desks to choose from, plus a covered roof deck, and multiple dance floors if that’s your jam. And if you still have sea legs for social life after all that social distancing, the cruise has a DJ to get the party moving.

If you’re looking for yacht rock, look away: the savvy organizers of this floating concert snare hard rock bands like Murphy’s Law, Badfish, and Electric Six that draw die hard fans for serious—and often seriously sweaty—rock sessions. They know the ropes when it comes to pulling off a bash in a boat, so make sure you’re ready for plenty of percussion and less calls for mutiny than encores.

Is it really a party if you’re sitting down? Yes—it’s called a dinner party. On the fancier side (semi-formal dress is encouraged), this dinner cruise looks particularly swell inside the European-inspired Bateaux New York, a glass-roofed boat that soaks in Manhattan’s lit skyline after sunset while navigating the East and Hudson Rivers. The experience takes it up a notch with live music—a two-piece acoustic band led by a female vocalist—and takes dinner to the next level with seafood towers, filet mignon, and lobster tails.

Head to Chelsea Piers and say cheers with an evening cocktail party aboard a 1920’s inspired yacht, an intimate little party boat that rounds out a 1.75 hour journey with modern riffs on old-school cocktails, like a Sake Gimlet or a Rosemary Rickey. The charter, Sail NYC, runs a tight ship—and we mean that literally, considering the boat’s smaller size—that’ll get you tipsy in no time. Yes, the focus is technically on the booze, but also on the views seen from the yacht’s large windows as you ease past classic sites like the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, and Ellis Island.

La Barca Cantina, the only Mexican restaurant on a boat in NYC, serves a summer street food-inspired menu that’ll get the party started for you and your friends. Based at Pier 81, next to its sister-restaurant North River Lobster Company, La Barca spans three levels with an expansive outdoor top deck with a bar and table seating, a bi-level interior space with two bars, table seating and booth-like tables—perfect for large groups. Even better, it takes short cruises multiple times per day, five days a week, offering up sweeping views of the NYC skyline. (It's a must to reserve a table for cocktails at sunset.)

A party is what you make of it, especially when you make it your own. For a little more privacy, groups of up to six can rent their own excursion with Narwhal Yacht Charters—it’s on the pricier end, but the seasoned charter is worth their salt, having just celebrated its 10th season on NYC’s waters. The captain provides the necessities (bottled water, sodas, ice, napkins, that sorta stuff) but the rest is up to you. Pick up food from your favorite restaurant, bring all of your favorite booze, and set sail with your besties.