Does the cruise sail in winter, and in the rain?

Everything that makes up the evening — the four courses, the eight acts on the stage, the DJ and the dance floor — happens in the boat’s two enclosed salons. They are heated in winter and air-conditioned in summer, and they are walled with panoramic windows, so the shore goes past beside your table whatever is falling outside. The open decks at the bow and the stern are the extra, not the venue: the place to stand for the bridges and the palaces, when the night allows.

That is why the cruise runs all year. A December evening on board is the same evening as a June one, with the same dinner and the same programme. What changes is the light outside the glass.

Istanbul winters are mild by northern European standards but damp, and the wind on the water at night is colder than the air in the streets. Inside the heated salons none of that matters; you will sit through dinner as you would in a restaurant. The only part of the evening that feels the season is the deck, so bring the coat you arrived in rather than leaving it at the hotel.

Winter has its own advantages. Darkness falls long before the 20:00 boarding, so the whole crossing is a night crossing, with the bridges, the mosques and the palaces lit from the moment you leave the Golden Horn. And the evening keeps its full shape in every month: the same menu, the same eight acts, the same three hours.

• A warm layer or your coat for the decks; inside, you will not need it.
• A light rain jacket if the forecast is wet and you want time outside.
• Comfortable shoes with some grip, since a deck in the rain is a wet floor.

Everything else — what most guests wear, when to arrive, how to get the table you want — is on what to wear and when to arrive.