The Shard Archives

Birthday Celebration Dinner Cruise on the Thames River

Published on 22 November 2022

Blog/Cuisine/Entertainment/Night Life/Photography/Travel

We all gathered in London to celebrate my dad’s birthday celebration dinner cruise on the Thames River this July 2022. We heard a lot about it and wanted to celebrate this occasion on the Thames River cruise. It is a fantastic place to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries etc. I booked the tickets for 6 of us from Viator which was the London Dinner cruise on the Thames River. My wife and I travelled from Tallinn, Estonia and my mom, brother and his wife travelled from New Delhi, India.

It was a special occasion, as it is very rare that we are able to gather all in London after so long. Especially due to Covid restrictions lasting 2 years. It has been a rough time for friends and family to gather. So here we are at the Westminster Pier sharp by 6.30 pm. Even though our cruise will start by 7 pm. We wanted to make sure that we reach in time and in case of any issues with finding the cruise we have ample time to go to the right place.

Dinner Cruise Starting Point

We had to reach the departure point which was: Westminster Pier, Victoria Embankment, London SW1A 2JH, UK. See the map below.

At the entry which was the boarding point gate, we walked along and were greeted by the ticket checker. we had our London Dinner cruise on the Thames River in hand. Also, Viator sent us a mail where we can add the ticket to the Apple wallet as well.

Dinner cruise starting point — Dinner Cruise Starting Point

We waited in the waiting area to post our ticket check. And we were called to get inside the cruise in like another 10 minutes or so. I was super excited to see the Thames River, Lastminute.com London Eye, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We were asked to queue and we entered the cruise and were given a table for six next to the window. The fantastic view around, while the cruise was a little wobbly.

4 Course Meal Experience at Dinner Cruise

We sat for a while and the background music started playing. The cruise was moving along and we crossed London Eye, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Tower Bridge, and Canary Wark. While enjoying the London city views. The Food service started and we were first served some drinks. We had the option of having alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. By default, they were serving Sparkling wine.

Bread, butter and Salad for Starters

we were served Bread, butter, and Salad, as we opted for the vegetarian option when we were booking for the cruise. Just want to highlight that please do make sure that when you are doing your booking, please share your food choice i.e. vegetarian, non-vegetarian and any allergies in advance. When you are placing your booking you will be asked about your food preferences.

salad and bread with welcome drink for starters — salad and bread with a welcome drink for starters

Vegetarian Artichokes Lasagne for the main course

had Lasagne Of Artichokes, Spinach And Sauté Of Mixed Mushrooms, and Goats Cheese (V), Served With Seasonal Vegetables. The meal was delicious and was enough for one person. We ordered some wine. It was overall a good combination of food and drink.

lasagne of artichokes at Thames river dinner cruise — lasagne of artichokes at Thames River dinner cruise

Chocolate Truffle cake for Dessert

Finally, we reached the dessert and we got white, Dark And Milk Chocolate Truffle Cake (V) Served With A Raspberry Coulis. The dessert was too big for my wife, so we said we want only one. And my mother knowing diabetic, asked for tea for her instead.

After dessert, we all had the option of coffee, or tea as a palate cleanser.

I wished we had a cake as well, would have been awesome to cut it on the cruise, but we completely forgot about it. Anyways, overall the meal was delicious and all six of us enjoyed it.

Chocolate Truffle Cake at Thame Dinner Cruise

Live performance at the Cruise

There was nice celebration-related music all the time in the background. After our meals, there was a live performance and the anchor was asking everyone to share the reason for their visit to come to the dinner cruise today. The majority of the people were celebrating their birthdays or anniversaries. The anchor came to us and asked us as well, we shared it was our dad’s birthday. So everyone gave a round of applause and wished him a happy birthday.

The whole cruise was full of positive vibes and everyone enjoyed it. We all started dancing later and took loads of pictures of all of London’s iconic buildings. As the festive time of the year is approaching you can also book the Christmas Dinner Party Cruise to have fantastic Christmas celebrations with your friends, office colleagues and family.

BOOK YOUR DINNER CRUISE

From Westminster Pier to HMS Belfast and Back

The cruise started from Westminster Pier and we were taken through beautiful London Icons like:

Westminster Pier
London Eye
Shakespeare Globe Theatre
Tower Bridge
Canary Warf
Tower of London
The Shard
Sea Life London Aquarium
St Pauls Cathedral
HMS Belfast
Canary Wark
Cutty Sark
O2 Arena
Old Royal Naval College

Overall Experience at Thames River Dinner Cruise

It was a fantastic place to celebrate a birthday or any occasion you want to make it special. We enjoyed the food, live music, and ambience set on the cruise. The duration of the cruise is less than 3 hours or so. It is a perfect place for any celebration. We enjoyed our time and at the end of the day when you have your family the time always becomes enjoyable and amazing.

BOOK YOUR DINNER CRUISE

The Shard from the Dinner Cruise Thames River

O2 Arena view from Dinner City Cruise Thames River

Sunset view from Dinner Cruise Thames River

Old Royal Naval College view from dinner Cruise

tower of London view from dinner cruise — Tower of London View from Dinner Cruise

canary wharf view from dinner cruise — Canary Wharf View from Dinner Cruise

big ben view from dinner cruise thames river — Big Ben view from Dinner Cruise Thames River

last minute London eye view from dinner cruise Thames River

The Shard Entry Ticket

Published on 7 July 2022

Attraction/Entertainment/Photography/Restaurants/Tours

Regularly voted as one of London’s greatest tourist attractions offering the best views of the city from the top of London’s tallest skyscraper The Shard. Visit The View from The Shard and celebrate London with breath-taking 360° panoramic views day and night. You surely don’t want to miss the spectacular Hawkeye view of the city.

Admire the sprawling metropolis of London from the 72nd floor of one of the city’s most iconic landmarks. Enjoy 360-degree panoramic views of the city from the inside or, if you’re feeling brave, venture outside onto Western Europe’s highest viewing platform.

The Shard Entry Ticket Highlights

Step out onto Western Europe’s highest viewing platform, on the 72nd floor of The Shard
Enjoy a spectacular 360-degree view of London from 800 feet above
Learn about London’s history through multimedia exhibits
Explore The Shard at your own pace – there are no time restrictions on your ticket

Book Shard Entry Ticket

The Shard Experience

Watch the streets of London fall away as you climb to Western Europe’s tallest viewing platform on the 72nd floor of The Shard. With a flexible ticket, spend as much time as you like enjoying panoramic views of the city, with visibility of up to 40 miles. Test your limits and step outside onto the open viewing platform on the 72^nd floor, or admire the views from inside. Learn about London’s history through multimedia displays and exhibits, or sit back and enjoy the view from the champagne bar.

The Shard redefines London’s skyline and will soon be a dynamic symbol of the city, recognisable throughout the world. The unique building features a sculpted design of glass facets that incline inward without meeting at the top to allow the building to breathe naturally. Sneak a glance upward at the points of glass that form the top of the building, which reaches a height of 1,016 feet (310 meters). Finish up your journey in the boutique, where you can purchase a souvenir photograph.

About the Shard Entry ticket

Free cancellation

Cancel up to 24 hours in advance to receive a full refund

Covid-19 precautions

Special health and safety measures are in place. Check your activity voucher once you book for full details.

Reserve now & pay later

Keep your travel plans flexible—book your spot and pay nothing today. Learn more

Valid 1 day

Check availability to see starting times.

Skip the ticket line

What’s Included in the Shard Entry Ticket:

Ticket to the attraction

Souvenir photograph – available for purchase, for an additional cost

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Important information to know before you go

Since this activity sells out quickly on Saturdays and Sundays you are strongly encouraged to exchange your voucher early on these days of the week to claim your preferred time. Otherwise, you may not be able to visit The Shard on your chosen day
With this flexible ticket, you spend as long as you like admiring the Shard’s breath-taking views and can change the day of your booking at no additional cost (subject to availability)
Entry times vary depending on the day
Infants under the age of 3 do not require a ticket

Meeting point:

Address: London Bridge, London. The entrance to the attraction is on Joiner Street, next to the London Bridge Underground station.

Need help with planning your travel to the Shard? Check out our Geeting Around London page for you to reach The Shard in time.

To help you plan your travel to the Shard, please check out the Google map below as well:

Lunch at Oblix The Shard

Published on 3 March 2015

Blog/Cuisine/Restaurants

Today I am writing about my Experience in “The Oblix” Restaurant situated on the 32nd floor of The Shard” First of all wish you all a very Happy New Year. This is my second blog post of 2015. Hope all of you had a great start to the New Year. People, who celebrated their New Year in London, hope you had an awesome and memorable time. I am writing this blog pretty late, but never the less it’s always fun to write about my experiences while travelling to London and find the best packages available for travel to London for you all.

The Shard, London Bridge Street

Recently the shard has become a popular name with the London tourist. And I must say it stands for its reputation by a mile. I went to The Shard last October for lunch with one of my close friends. Travel in London, is, as usual, smooth and by underground trains, the commute is much easy to any part of London. The nearest tube station to The Shard is London Bridge.

The Shard Restaurant Entry gate

It was not a very cold day, but surely a dull one as usual weather in London can be spoiled sometimes. But this didn’t stop us to go to the shard for lunch that day. We went on 12th October 2014 and thankfully it was Sunday. Though tourist places in any city will get busy and crowded luckily we got the tables.

Make sure if you plan to go for lunch in The Shard book your table in advance, as they accept visitors who have already booked the table. Well, it’s always a good idea to book the table in advance so that you get a good bird’s eye view of the city and surely you wouldn’t want to sit next to a pillar, now would you? You have about a 5-7 minute walk from London Bridge station to the Shard. While you are walking towards The Shard, Thames River and Tower Bridge will be on your left. Once you reach The Shard you will see two entry points. First, you will come across The Shard Viewing Gallery by which you can go to the 72nd floor of The Shard. Essentially you will be on the topmost floor of the building and solely for spectacular viewing of London City. You can also book the “Skip the line: The view from the Shard direct entry ticket” if you wish to go straight to the 72nd floor for the breathtaking view of the city.

Oblix at the Shard

As we booked our lunch at Oblix at the Shard we went passed by the Viewing Gallery gate and took a left turn for the entry to the Restaurants on the 32nd Floor.

View of Tower Bridge from Oblix the Shard

Once you reach the 32nd floor you are welcomed at the Restaurant gates and asked for your name and table booked. You can then drop your overcoats/jackets at the cloakroom and are then escorted to your table. All this was a very warm and welcoming experience for both of us and were delighted and staggered by the views which we saw from our eyes. We were lucky enough to get the table next to the glass wall and opposite St Paul’s Cathedral. The view from the Shard was mesmerising and equally scary.

Food and Tasting Experience at the Oblix

After ogling over the view for 10 minutes or so the waiter came in and asked for our order and we ordered what we felt we had the appetite for and was worth giving a try on. Sparkling water, bread loaf and butter came as a welcome starter. From the menu as a starter, we ordered Grilled diver scallops, peanut, lime & tamarind cream(£ 16.50) and Burrata, olives & datterini tomatoes (£14.50). And a bottle of nice sparkling champagne. It was a perfect start to our lunch and it went on well. Our taste buds were teased and we then ordered the main course. For the main course I was craving some chicken so I went with the chicken meal and my friend went with the fish meal.

Grilled Diver Scallops, Peanut, Lime & Tamarind Cream – Starter

Burrata, Olives & datterini tomatoes – Starter

Rotisserie chicken, skordalia & rosemary – Main Course Meal

Bbq black cod & coriander salsa – Main Course

I must say our main course meals were delicious, we ordered Rotisserie Chicken, Skordalia & Rosemary for £ 19.50 GBP for myself and my friend ordered BBQ Black Cod & Coriander Salsa for £ 31 GBP. We had a perfect day out lunch and was worth the visit. The views were staggering and on top of that, the meal was incredibly delicious.

On the other side of the restaurant, there was another good restaurant named Aqua, which we didn’t, have a chance to go to. But I did sneak in to get a glimpse of the other side of the shard. And my god the views were even better. On a sunny day and clear skies, you can see people walking on the Tower Bridge and the view was the best I have come across on that day. I took some pictures and then I took off. So to conclude if you plan to see the Tower Bridge side go to Aqua and if you want to see the St Paul’s Cathedral side of London then go to Oblix. But this would be unfair not to talk or compare who serves better food between the two. For that comparison, you will all have to wait till I go to the Aqua. Do let me know if you like what I write by leaving some comments on the articles. Ciao!

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