The Galaxy Plus is a New Year’s Eve party cruise on the River Thames — a boat with a DJ and two open decks rather than a dinner table. It sails from Tower Millennium Pier, Lower Thames Street, on 31 December 2026, boarding at 8:45pm for a 9:15pm departure and returning at approximately 00:45am. A glass of champagne is served on arrival and another at midnight, with canapés throughout the evening; the two licensed bars on board are paid separately. The dress code is semi-formal and the cruise is adults only, 18 and over. Tickets cannot be cancelled once booked.
A party boat, not a dinner boat
This is the distinction worth getting right before you book. Several boats leave Tower Pier on the same night with a seated three-course dinner and a table you keep all evening. The Galaxy Plus does not: there is no dinner service and no allocated table, and the food is canapés handed round while you stand, dance or move between the decks. What you get instead is space and a DJ — two outdoor decks to move between, and no fixed seating plan to keep you in one place at midnight.
It follows that this is not the boat for a long sit-down evening, and it is not open to children: the cruise is for over-18s only. If you want dinner at a table on the same river on the same night, the dinner cruises from the same pier are the alternative.
How the night unfolds
From 8:45pm — Tower Millennium Pier
Check-in is on Lower Thames Street, below road level. Be at the pier 30 minutes before boarding and bring a printed copy of your ticket. Central London closes to traffic long before midnight, so check the Transport for London road closures before you set off.
9:15pm — champagne and the DJ
A glass of champagne is served as the boat leaves the pier and the DJ starts. Both outdoor decks are open, with Tower Bridge and the lit City passing on either side.
Midnight — the second glass
The countdown is called and a second glass of champagne is poured for the toast while the fireworks go up over the river.
Until 00:45am — back at Tower Pier
The Galaxy Plus returns to Tower Millennium Pier. Tower Hill and Monument are the closest stations; check what is running that night before planning the way home.
Before you book
The dress code is semi-formal. You are asked to bring a printed copy of your ticket rather than a screen, and to be at the pier half an hour before boarding. Everything beyond the two glasses of champagne and the canapés is bought at the bar and paid for separately, so bring a card.
The cruise is for adults only, from 18 years old, and there is no child fare. The crew work to hold the best position they can for the fireworks, but river traffic, weather and tide all affect where the boat can sit on the night, and the captain’s decision is final. Tickets cannot be cancelled once booked.
