Portland Spirit Cruises & Events Reviews

We had the pleasure of having our vow renewal ceremony on the Portland Spirit on July 15th, it was a public cruise and the experience was absolutely amazing! Morgan the event coordinator did an excellent job answering all of our questions leading up to the big day. We booked 8 months in advance and no matter when we emailed Morgan during our planning she was always quick to respond and so helpful and sweet! Richard was the Captain that performed our ceremony and he was great. He talked to my wife and I beforehand to go over our vows and ensured me he would go slow as I was nervous I would forget my lines during the ceremony. Ryan was our event server and he was a last minute change as our designated server had to unexpectedly leave. He was attentive, friendly, funny, and very personable. We had quite a few guests comment on what an excellent job he did! He didn’t hesitate to jump in and assist us even though it was a last minute change. Thank you again Morgan, Captain Rich, and Ryan! You all truly made our day so special and memorable!!

We loved our wedding with Portland Spirit on the Crystal Dolphin. Our ceremony and reception were perfect. All the guests were blown away by the entire thing - large secure parking lot, delicious food and drinks, experienced officiant (in his handsome captain's uniform!), attentive bartenders and wait staff. Minimal decorations were needed as the real focus is the beautiful river and city. Just add DJ, cake & flowers and all the rest is taken care of. All you have to do is enjoy your amazing day!

I highly recommend working with Portland Spirit. They can accommodate any size group. Prices are clear, tips are included. Every single staff member we worked with was professional and amazing.

We booked the Willamette Star for our wedding reception and cannot rave about the staff and experience more! They were extremely kind, flexible, and considerate of all of our needs. The cruise was smooth and had beautiful views, and the food was delicious! We could not recommend them more!

Like many couples, we cancelled our almost 200 guest wedding venue/plans and decided to elope during the pandemic. We opted with the Portland Spirit to hold our elopement ceremony and dinner. Morgan helped us with the initial questions before we reserved in March 2021 and guided us with everything we needed to the September 2021 event. We were married by the Captain top deck and our area was set aside to enjoy dinner and the cruise with window views and exceptional service from all of the members aboard. It was extremely stress free and low-key exactly how we intended and we can't thank enough for Morgan's attention to details, responsiveness, and knowledge to answering every question (multiples on each email). The experience also was surprising to enjoy the live Pianist and driving the boat too! Thank you to everyone that helped make our day special!!

Our wedding on the Willamette Star was one-of-a-kind! We had a beautiful ceremony and reception on board as the boat cruised down the river. The food was delicious and the boat was roomy. The Portland Spirit team was wonderful to work with leading up to and on the day of the event. Morgan helped us get all the details confirmed even as COVID policies were changing. On board, Maddy helped coordinate the sequence of events and did so without overwhelming me (she talked mostly to my sister). I highly recommend Portland Spirit if you want a fun, unique, and easy-to-plan wedding!

We all had a wonderful time. The weather was perfect as were the views, the music, and the food!

The food was ten times better than I ever would have imagined and many of our guests also said this. The crew was very accommodating and Travis went above and beyond.

We had an amazing experience with The Portland Spirit for planning and hosting our small, intimate wedding. Morgan was always timely in her responses to my questions and they were so accommodating with the 2 date changes due to Covid restrictions. The staff were so helpful on the the day of the event. They assisted my mom up the stairs, provided a golf cart for those with mobility challenges to get to boat and were so helpful which alleviated a lot of my stress. Although we did not book the entire vessel it still felt very private and perfect . Thank you again to all of the staff!

We had an absolute perfect wedding and everything was so incredible! We can’t thank The Portland Spirit enough for all they did to help put this together for us! We just got married this Saturday August 17th and we already love reliving our memories and can’t wait to go on a cruise again one of these days! Our ceremony was on the top deck and dinner and dancing on the middle deck and everything was gorgeous!!! Beautiful clean boat and great view of the Waterfront!

Far and above our expectations to use the Portland Spirit. The whole staff was so nice, efficient and helpful to all of our guests. The food was delicious and all of the coordination was amazing. You will be so thankful if you use the Portland Spirit because the staff on the boat made this event seamless! And the captain was our officiant and he is amazing!! What a wonderful memory with him and he even let us drive the boat when we went up to sign our license!

All of our guest kept telling us this was the most fun wedding they have been to and how cool it was to be on a cruise! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND using The Portland Spirit!! They are so inclusive so the money goes to so many things and you will get an amazing staff to help you.

I can't think of a better venue for an intimate wedding and reception. Morgan was my wedding planner and was great the entire way through. We booked in early May and had our wedding sept 3, so not a ton of time to plan but really they do it all. I felt like I just had to show up. The food was amazing as was the entire staff, so friendly and accommodating. We brought in dessert from another venue but there are options to order through Portland spirit. The standard cruise time is 2.5 hours, we added an extra 30 min which I would definitely recommend, it gave just that extra little buffer time to fully enjoy everything without being so strict on our timeline. We truly enjoyed every moment and so did our guests. I could go on and on because I'm still on cloud 9, but the short version is that the Portland Spirit/Crystal Dolphin staff are second to none, food is amazing, and you can't beat the view and ambiance when cruising down the river around sunset. THANK YOU ❤️❤️❤️

We had an absolutely wonderful wedding experience with the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler. The event coordinator and crew went truly above and beyond to give us an incredible day. I really can not say enough good things about them. Plus, the scenery and food were great! I don’t have any scenery pics on my phone but if you know the Columbia Gorge, you can imagine!

What started as a family meet and greet, was easily transformed into a wedding with the help of Morgan. She explained the whole process and we set out easily creating a beautiful and intimate setting on the Sternwheeler. The captain was perfect, just as you would picture a boat captain. The food was very good. The table linens and chair sashes made the perfect addition. The crew was fantastic, very accomodating and very professional. We will remember our trip always and plan to make it a yearly adventure. You can't beat heading east or west on the Columbia.

My husband and I had our wedding on the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler. It was the intimate package which included the dinner buffet cruise. Morgan was so helpful and accommodating. Anytime we had a question by phone or email she responded in a timely manner. The wedding was magical and everyone had the best time. Our ceremony was officiated by the captain, and we got to drive the boat after signing our marriage license. The staff was so awesome, and the food was incredible. They even had options for our gluten intolerant attendees - including myself. I have family and friends that are still raving about the event over a month later. We are considering making the dinner cruise an annual tradition for our anniversary. If you're wanting to plan a small and simple wedding, my husband and I highly recommend you look into the Columbia Gorge Sternwheeler.
For the intimate package we paid $1200 for the first 15 people (which includes the bride and groom) and an additional $62 per person up to 40 people total. 3 people ended up not showing at the very last minute. Prices may be up slightly from when we paid our deposit, but sooooo worth it!

loved the cruise. don't be late or all prep is gone. ceremony felt rushed.

We cruised on the Sternwheeler for our wedding reception, it couldn't have been more fun or more beautiful. Everyone on board was awesome and accommodating, and our guests had a blast. We defiantly had a wedding no one will forget. The one thing to watch if you are a DIY bride or have a very involved reception set up, is that they won't let you on the boat very early to set up.

All the guests LOVED being on the cruise and seeing the sites of Portland. Both in and out of town guests enjoyed this experience. Food is good but not amazing. Everyone seemed happy with their meals though. The musical experience is campy but endearing. Our only complaint was that the A/C was blasting and it was too cold. Bring a light sweater/jacket! If you're looking for a non-traditional rehearsal dinner, then this is a great choice!!