What is included in the price?

The meal is the backbone of the evening, and it is served in the Turkish order rather than the European one. It opens with ten varieties of cold meze, brought to the table on a shared platter so that the first hour is spent eating slowly and talking, as a Turkish table is meant to. A warm börek follows — savoury layered pastry — and marks the turn from the shared part of dinner to the plated part.

Then each guest has one main course, chosen from four: salmon, sea bass, chicken skewer or beef skewer, each with a seasonal salad and garnish. Partners can choose differently and swap halfway. The meal closes with the house semolina dessert, which arrives, more or less, as the live programme ends.

For guests who do not eat meat or fish, a vegetarian platter — falafel, roasted potatoes, bulgur pilaf, stewed vegetables and onion rings — is made on request at no extra cost; mention it when you book. The cold meze spread is largely vegetarian already. Each course, and the reasoning behind its order, is described on the menu, course by course.

The Turkish night programme is performed live on the stage, in eight acts: belly dance, the whirling dervish ceremony, Turkish Romani dance, Caucasian dance with the knife show, Turkish folk dances, a rhythm show of live percussion and live violin. The running order changes from night to night, which is why no act is given a clock time.

When the last act is over, a professional DJ takes over the dance floor in front of the stage and keeps it until the boat is back at the pier. Nobody has to dance, and the open decks are there for anyone who would rather watch the shore go by. What each act is, and where it comes from, is on the Turkish night show, explained.

The boat is 42 metres long and carries up to four hundred guests in two enclosed salons with panoramic windows — heated in winter, air-conditioned in summer — with open decks at the bow and the stern. There is a bar and free Wi-Fi. Tables are not assigned in advance: you choose yours when you come aboard, from 20:00, so arriving early is the way to a window.