New Westminster Paddlewheeler

Vancouver Paddlewheeler Riverboat Tours is a sightseeing company that used to offer boat trips and cruise excursions along the Fraser River in New Westminster.

The company temporarily closed down its operations in December of 2024 due to weather conditions. As of 2025, it hopes to reopen sometime in the future, but likely with different boats and not its usual historic paddlewheeler.

This article contains information about the following cruises:

Valentine’s Day Dinner Cruise | St. Patrick’s Day Cruises | Christmas Cruises | New Year’s Eve Cruise | Other Information

Vancouver Paddlewheeler Riverboat Tours

New Westminster‘s Paddlewheeler used to run regularly between early May and late September most years. It also offered special holiday-themed cruises at St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, Halloween and Christmas.

Vancouver’s Best Places has never actually been on one of their trips, but they sound enjoyable. Last time we checked, Google Reviews gave them a 4.1 score out of 5, and 4.2 out of 5 on TripAdvisor, so that’s fairly good.

Valentine’s Day Dinner Cruise

Vancouver Paddlewheeler Riverboat tours used to offer a romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner Cruise each year close to February 14th. The event used to run from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm and featured a three-course meal.

The Valentine’s Day special didn’t happen in 2025 due to the temporary closure of the boat tours. Ticket prices in past years were around $200 for a couple or $120 for a single ticket, plus taxes and gratuity.

Vancouver Boat Parties is a party boat company that operates out of downtown Vancouver. It hosts a special Valentine’s Day yacht party most years too. See our article about Vancouver Boat Parties for details.

St. Patrick’s Day Cruises

In the spring Vancouver Paddlewheeler Riverboat Tours used to offer a couple of Irish-themed cruises. They were for adults only (ages 19+) and took place on a Friday and Saturday night close to St. Patrick’s Day (which is always on March 17th). Both trips ran from around 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm.

Like the Valentine’s Day cruise, there weren’t St. Patrick’s Day cruises in 2025 due to the temporary closure.

TIP: If you like the idea of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day out on the water, but don’t want to head all the way to New Westminster, check out Vancouver Boat Parties which offers cruises around False Creek, English Bay and Vancouver Harbour.

Christmas Cruises

During the holiday season Vancouver Paddlewheeler Riverboat Tours used to offer several Christmas-themed cruises. These cruises were suitable for people of all ages and took place throughout December.

There were Christmas Dinner Cruises, which ran for about six days each December in years when they happened. There was also a Fort Langley “Christmas in the Village” Cruise run by the same company that happend for one day close to Christmas.

Prices varied depending on the cruise, ranging from around $120 to $160 or so per adult (at least that was the case a few years ago). Children’s tickets ranged from around $50 to $75, and little kids ages 5 and under got on for free. All prices were plus taxes and tips.

Also on offer most years were Family Fun on the Paddlewheeler and the Christmas Carol Evening River Cruise.

New Year’s Eve Cruise

Vancouver Paddlewheeler Riverboat Tours used to offer an adults-only New Year’s Eve cruise on December 31st (but not in 2024). In previous years it was a four-hour special event with music, dancing, appetizers and a glass of champagne at midnight.