Yachts de Paris sits in a different market from every ticketed cruise on this site. You do not buy a seat; you take the boat. The house charters its own yachts — Don Juan II and Excellence are the names event planners know — for private dinners, weddings, launches and corporate evenings on the Seine, with gastronomic catering and crew included and the price quoted per event.
This is an independent review. We sell nothing, and neither does any aggregator on this operator’s behalf: charters are arranged directly through the official site. What follows is how the model works and, just as important, when it is the wrong tool.
What you’re chartering
These are yachts in the working sense — vessels designed around a dining room and a deck, not sightseeing barges with the seats rearranged. The house’s reputation rests on the table: private gastronomic dinners served by a dedicated brigade, at a level meant to survive comparison with the city’s restaurants rather than with cruise catering. On the river, only Ducasse sur Seine plays in a similar culinary league, and that boat sells seats, not hulls.
The event machinery is the other half of the product. A wedding afloat needs boarding logistics, a ceremony-to-dinner flow, sound, timing against bridge clearances and the light; a corporate evening needs branding, AV and a programme. Yachts de Paris runs this as its core trade, which is precisely what you cannot ask of a small-boat skipper hired by the hour.
The price logic: per event, by quote
There is no rate card to browse, and that is structural rather than coy. A charter is priced on the vessel, the date, the guest count, the menu tier and the programme — the same variables as any venue hire, floated. Two consequences for planners:
- Ask early. The quote determines whether the river is your venue at all, so request it before you design the event around the idea. The official site takes enquiries with date and numbers.
- Read the contract like a venue contract. Cancellation, weather and minimum-spend clauses replace the tap-to-refund terms of ticket platforms. Nothing here works like a €18 sightseeing booking.
As a sanity check on scale: this is four-to-five-figure territory depending on scope. If saying that out loud ends the conversation, the next section is for you.
When a private GYG boat is the saner choice
Here is the honest fork in the road. A large share of people who search for Yachts de Paris actually want something smaller: a boat to themselves for an hour or two, a proposal, an anniversary, six friends and some champagne. Chartering a crewed yacht for that is paying for an event infrastructure you won’t use.
For that brief, the per-cruise private boats on GetYourGuide are the better instrument: a skippered small boat with champagne or a bottle of wine included, booked at a fixed price with instant confirmation and standard cancellation terms — no quotes, no contracts. The two picks above cover exactly this. The full decision tree, including what each format costs and carries, lives in our private charter guide.
The rule of thumb: up to roughly a dozen guests and no programme — book a per-cruise private boat; a seated dinner, a ceremony or a corporate agenda — talk to Yachts de Paris. Couples deciding between a private boat and a premium table should also read the romantic formats page.
Local tip: for any event with photos at stake, schedule the sailing to straddle dusk. You get daylight for the ceremony or speeches, golden hour for portraits on deck, and the illuminated monuments — with the Eiffel Tower’s hourly sparkle — for the dinner leg. One charter, three backdrops.
The verdict
Yachts de Paris is the strongest answer to a narrow question: a private, gastronomic, fully produced evening on the Seine for a group that justifies a yacht. Within that brief it has few rivals and the named vessels to prove it. Outside that brief — two people, a small crowd, a spontaneous plan — the per-cruise private boats and the premium dinner cruises spend the same emotion for far less money. Get the quote, compare it against the market’s prices, and let the arithmetic pick the boat.
What we like
- Genuine yachts with dining rooms, not sightseeing barges with a private label
- Full event infrastructure: catering at gastronomic level, staffing, itineraries built around your programme
- The obvious Paris venue for weddings and corporate dinners that need a river backdrop
- Named vessels like Don Juan II and Excellence give planners something concrete to build around
What to watch out for
- Quote-based pricing per event — there is no browsable price list, and budgets run to four and five figures
- Overkill for two people who just want a private hour on the water
- Lead times are event-scale: dates, menus and staffing are arranged weeks or months out
- Books direct — no aggregator cancellation terms; contracts govern everything
Frequently asked questions
What is Yachts de Paris?
A Paris charter house that hires out its own yachts — including Don Juan II and Excellence — for private events on the Seine: dinners, weddings, product launches and corporate evenings. You charter the vessel and its crew rather than buying seats. Details and the fleet roster are on the official site.
How much does a Yachts de Paris charter cost?
There is no ticket price: charters are quoted per event based on the vessel, date, guest count, menu and programme. Expect serious-event budgets rather than dinner-cruise money. Request a quote through the official site with your date and numbers — and get it early, because the answer shapes everything else.
Can I book a Yachts de Paris dinner cruise for two?
The house is oriented to events, and a full yacht for two is a grand-gesture budget. For couples, a small private boat booked per cruise on GetYourGuide — champagne or wine included, instant confirmation — delivers the private-Seine experience at a fraction of the cost. Our private charter guide compares the options.
Is Yachts de Paris good for a wedding or corporate event?
It is one of the default answers in Paris. The vessels are built for seated dinners and receptions, the kitchen works at gastronomic level, and the operator manages the event logistics afloat. Plan like an event: venue-scale lead times, a contract, and a site visit to the yacht before you sign.
How do I book Yachts de Paris?
Directly through the official site: you send the date, guest count and the kind of evening, and the team returns a proposal. There is no online checkout and no aggregator listing for the charters. Read the contract's cancellation and weather clauses carefully — they replace the flexible terms you may be used to from ticket platforms.