The Thames at Night - A City Cruise to Remember
Andy Kyriacou, vocalist for 80's Pop band Modern Romance, puts down the microphone long enough to take a trip on the Thames via City Cruises, a chartered boating company. He gives us his views on this experience and service.
"A mild Tuesday evening in early September was the setting for my trip on the Thames, along with my fiancé Anna. The evening was billed as a showboat experience, on board the vessel Millenium of London, operated by City Cruises.
Our invitation came by way of an email voucher and instruction to meet at Westminster Pier. This sounded simple enough, and surprisingly, it was indeed that straightforward. On presentation of the voucher, we were invited on board and subsequently greeted by the staff, who had lined up to meet every body who was taking in this experience. The formal greeting was accompanied by a glass of champagne (or in my case, "Diet Coke sir? Not a problem"). If only everything in life was this simple and civilised!
Anna and I were escorted to our pre-booked table and were childishly pleased to find it was table No.18. Even at our so-called "mature" age we enjoy the supposed luck associated with coincidences which can be linked to something significant in our lives ; we share a birthday on April 18th, so we saw this as a very good sign.
Settling down, we were in the care of several waiters (our main one was the excellent Barney) - and shortly afterwards found ourselves sampling the delights of the first of four courses. Out of the blocks came an exquisite smoked salmon mousse, accompanied by king prawns with lemon, and a Mesclun salad. 
By this time, the entertainment for the evening had begun, albeit it in a laid back mood, which seemed appropriate under the circumstances. Our hostess for the evening was Amanda Louise Hawkins, who began her set with softer classics and show tunes at a sympathetic level, allowing diners to chat freely. (She would go on to increase the tempo and the volume gradually, introducing Motown classics and ending in a disco set -all with excellent timing).
Meanwhile, back at our table, we were presented with the second course - a tomato soup with basil and red pepper. This too was very good, although I felt it could have done with a little more red pepper. Personal preference aside it was quite acceptable nonetheless and did have a lovely texture.
The main course consisted of Roasted Supreme of Chicken wrapped in Parma ham, served alongside Dauphinoise potatoes with a mushroom sauce and seasonal vegetables. The chicken was just a smidgeon overcooked for my liking, although the al dente vegetables surprised me - they were crunchy, as opposed to the soggy mess you are liable to receive when a large number have been catered for. Well done that chef!
On appearance the dessert looked perfect but unfortunately I am not too fond of chocolate flavoured sweets. Therefore, the white, dark, and milk chocolate truffle cake with raspberry sauce does not get the fair acknowledgement here which it probably warrants - although the soft crumbly base was lovely. However the whole dessert was eagerly devoured by all around me, including Anna so I am guessing the chocoholics were completely satifsfied.
I happened to catch Amanda between sets as I was taking photos on the outer deck and we briefly discussed the performance conditions. It is indeed a lonely gig as she has no-one to "bounce off" whilst performing solo to backing tracks. Additionally, it is a most difficult task to sing to people while you are staring primarily at the tops of their heads as they tuck into their food.
Trying to maintain an enthusiastic outlook is extremely difficult under these conditions, and I do commend Amanda on her utter professionalism. 
As a fellow professional, I understandably paid particular attention to her and could not help but admire her resolve. Amanda never became ineffectual or allowed her standards to drop, despite the muted response after each song from the diners. I do indeed 'doff my hat' to thee, m'lady.
Overall the Night City Cruise is a very pleasurable experience; lovely surroundings, well thought out ambient lighting, extremely courteous and helpful staff, a good standard of food, with a careful thought to the music programme - all set to the main theme of "The Thames at Night".
This is one of the most beautiful and historical river settings in the world and to be able to view it under such calm and civilised conditions by night, is marvellous. I would strongly recommend this as a date to impress, whether it be for your long term partner, a new person in your life, friends from abroad or even for clients in the corporate world. You absolutely cannot go wrong."
For further details and to book your cruise visit www.citycruises.com
Overall 'Kyriakou' rating = 7.5/10