My husband surprised me with a trip to Portland for our anniversary, which is Valentines Day. His goal was to have an outcome much better than last years trip to Crooked River Cabins. That was my surprise gone horribly wrong. Anyway, it's our second anniversary and it was his turn to plan the surprise. After getting to the nice hotel, I was gifted with the Valentines Dinner Cruise. It was amazing. The boat (Spirit),was set up beautifully. There was anti pasta plates on every table. There were intimate dining tables on all levels of the boat. There was a view no matter where you were seated. The staff were very attentive and cheerful. There was a piano player and singer who sang jazz tunes throughout the night. The dinner was a choice of three entrees. We chose the crab and cheese stuffed steelhead. The salad was served with cranberries and walnuts. It was fantastic. The steelhead was amazing. We also ordered mixed drinks that came with a generous pour. Everything went very smooth. The desert was the best red velvet cake we'd ever had. The view of Portland made a wonderful background for picture taking. Towards the end of the cruise, different wait staff got up and sang. Everyone was so pleasant. We plan on going again, but bringing my in laws. They would love it. You won't be disappointed. .

I took a group of students on the Portland Spirit. Although we enjoyed ourselves, for the cost, the food was quite slow and inconsistent. Delicious, but they ran out of items to get our meals finished up, and because of the inconsistent timing and the nature of high school kids, a good deal of food was wasted. That said, our piano entertainer was fabulous, and the crew treated my students wonderfully.

A good cruise good crew, but lots of add ons $5. For a window per person, $5. If you want desert, $5. If you want a shrimp cocktail, $4. Landing fee that turns a $40. Lunch to $54. If you want "soup to nuts" and 4 bucks to land?