Are you considering a dinner cruise on the Showboat Branson Belle? This cruise on Table Rock Lake combines gorgeous scenery with on-board entertainment and a hearty meal.

I live right on Table Rock Lake (as you probably know since I’m always Instagramming lake sunsets) but it’s been ages since I’ve seen it from the perspective of being out on the water instead of standing on the shore.

Thanks to Silver Dollar City Attractions for inviting me to check out the Showboat Branson Belle! I received a complimentary dinner cruise in exchange for sharing my experience with you guys. Some links on this page may be affiliate links, which help to support this site at no extra cost to you. These go a long way in helping me to bring you first-hand experience and reviews!

I’m a fan of dinner shows when you’re visiting a city like Branson for two big reasons:

1) It eliminates the hassle of picking out a place to eat, figuring out how much time you need to get there, eat, and get to your show on time, and dealing with the traffic on your way from one to the other. Nobody wants to cut an awesome meal short because you’re running late for your evening entertainment plans, and nobody wants to miss the beginning of a show because your waiter was slow bringing the check. Having both in one place saves so much stress!

2) Dinner and the show are both included in your ticket price, which can be a big money saver if your’re traveling as a family or group. The average live show in Branson currently runs around $30-40 per adult, so the Showboat’s prices are really reasonable for both dinner and entertainment! (The prices below were from my cruise towards the end of 2017, but I’ve updated the bottom of the post with current showboat Branson Belle ticket information. Surprisingly, prices haven’t gone up much in 5 years, only a few dollars per person!)

 

Showboat Branson Belle Location:

The Showboat Branson Belle is located a little bit outside of the main tourist area of Branson, right on one of my favorite walking trails. (The one that runs from the Dewey Short Visitor’s Center to State Park Marina literally cuts right through the Showboat’s parking lot. I’d recommend allowing at least half an hour for a scenic lakeside walk before or after your cruise if the weather allows!) It’s also just a few minutes away from Chateau on the Lake, one of the most luxurious hotels in the area. If you’re staying in a hotel along the 76 Strip, it’s about a 15-25 minute drive when there’s no traffic.

 

 

I was on the 4 o’clock dinner cruise, for which boarding begins at 3 p.m. Arriving early not only means times to check out the cute shops and lake views near the dock, but means you can be towards the front of the line to board the boat, which means a bit of extra time to look around and snap some selfies with the lake in the background. (A souvenir photo is taken when you board, but nobody ever brought mine to the table so I sadly can’t offer feedback on the pricing or quality.) Seating is assigned on your ticket, so there’s not a big hurry, but the boat does depart on time, so don’t be late!

Boarding takes awhile (I think I was in line around 20 minutes), but the water in Table Rock Lake is usually really clear, so a lot of the people around me in line were entertained by watching the fish as we waited. There were some MASSIVE ones visible just below us, and I finally figured out why – there’s a little machine selling fish food there! Those guys are pretty smart to hang out beneath a regular food source instead of venturing out into the rest of the lake where they might get caught!

 

The Showboat Branson Belle Menu

Shortly after boarding, dinner is served!

 

Everyone is served the same meal unless you make special requests (see note about vegetarian and vegan options on the Showboat Branson Belle below), which consisted of the following for my cruise:

• Salad
• Dinner Roll
• Pot Roast
• Honey Citrus Chicken
• Sugar Snap Peas with Carrots
• Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I’m not much of a meat eater but I tried a little of each dish so I could report back, and both the beef and chicken were moist and tender. (Confession: I took them home to my cats.) If I return, I’d definitely try out the vegetarian option.

The only real menu change since my cruise is that it now features rotisserie chicken thighs instead of the honey citrus chicken and “Ooey Gooey Butter Cake” with a raspberry drizzle instead of my dessert below.

 

My dessert was a frozen lemon berry pie, which was quite good even though I’m not usually a fan of lemon.

 

The Showboat Branson Belle Kids Menu offers child-friendly options like chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, green beans, and apple sauce.

If you purchase the upgraded Chef’s Menu tickets, you get to choose from a selection of entrees including dry-aged angus ribeye, pan-seared trout, breaded chicken breast, and pork chops and have four desserts to choose from, so this may be the way to go if you have picky eaters in your group. The Chef’s Menu for Kids lets them choose chicken tenders with mac & cheese or grilled pork loin with parmesan baked potatoes, with side dishes including hot rolls and salad. Adults and kids have the same dessert options on the Chef’s Menu: Caramel Pecan Cheesecake, Ooey Gooey Butter Cake topped with Raspberry Drizzle and Powdered Sugar, Lemon Mousse Cake, and Chocolate Lovers Cake.

 
 

Vegan and Vegetarian Menu for the Showboat Branson Belle:

Alternate dinner options are available for those looking for vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free meals.

The vegetarian meal is a lasagna cheese roll with marinara sauce and vegetables, and the vegan option is a baked potato with Tuscan vegetables. Yes, sorry vegans, I know being offered a veggie plate gets old, but given that they have to prepare everything on the ship, I kind of get why they don’t offer something a little more interesting.

(I forgot to get details on the gluten free meal and what the vegan dessert is! Sorry!)

Be sure to let your server know if you want one of the alternative meals as soon as they greet you and offer drinks – things move pretty quickly and that’s really the only time to get a request in. I’d been considering requesting the vegetarian dinner, but felt like I missed my chance and didn’t want to inconvenience my super-busy server.

 

 

The showboat’s house band plays instrumental music during the dinner service, which was a little different from the style of dinner show I’m used to where you eat while the main show is happening. (I worked at Dolly Parton’s Stampede, when I was in my late teens/early 20s, and the cues for various courses to be served are pretty much built into the show there.)

 

The Showboat Branson Belle Entertainment:

I grew up in Branson at a time when being a local meant free admission to pretty much any show, so I’ve seen a whole lotta Branson shows in my day!

The show aboard the Showboat changes on a pretty regular basis, which is fantastic if you visit Branson often, since there’s always going to be something new to see. In addition to the standard dinner cruises, there are Pirate and Princess cruises for kids, Southern Gospel Cruises to correspond with the dates of the Southern Gospel Picnic at Silver Dollar City, and a whole new show for the Christmas season.

For my cruise, the show rotated between a few different acts: A singer named Cassandre who started off with Carol King songs, a five piece male group called The Showmen who did a medley of Billy Joel songs, comedy magician Christopher James who also served as Emcee, and Rhythm, a dance group with super fancy footwork. Towoards the end there was a huge medley of songs from movie soundtracks and Broadway shows that involved every performer and countless costume changes. So much fun! (Sorry my show photos aren’t spectacular – Being about a dozen rows back in a dark theater makes it hard to capture crisp images.)

 

The Showmen

 

Rhythm

 

It was clear that whoever put the show together understood how to appeal to a wide range of people. It’s hard to go wrong with famous movie songs, for example, and a good magic act appeals to any age group. I give this show a thumbs-up if you’re looking for something that will entertain everyone in your travel party.

Seating for dinner and the show is divided into three levels, but the boat is small enough that you’re going to have a good view from pretty much any seat. I was down on the floor level, but I went up to the top during intermission to see how it looked from there:

 

 

Stunning Table Rock Lake Views:

One of the highlights of the cruise is intermission, when the show takes approximately a half hour break and you can take the opportunity to wander around the boat and take in the scenery. The boat moves very slowly, so you don’t travel all that far during the cruise, but this area of Table Rock Lake is so picturesque that there’s not really a need to go very far.

 

 

I cruised in October, so by the time we returned to the dock it was almost sunset. It looks like there’s an 8 p.m. cruise in the summertime, so that would probably work out where you caught the sunset during intermission. That would be stunning!

 

What to Wear to Showboat Branson Belle: 

Like most shows in Branson, MO, the dress code here is pretty casual. Some guests dress up a little (think casual dresses or nice pants and a button-down shirt for men), but there are plenty of people in jeans, too. A souvenir photo is taken of your group right after boarding, so you may want to keep that in mind when planning your outfits. The most important thing to plan for is the portion of the cruise that you’ll be walking around out on deck taking in the stunning lake views. You may want to bring along a light jacket, especially for evening cruises, since even in the warmer months the lake breezes combined with the moving boat can make things a bit chilly.

 

The Showboat Branson Belle Tickets for 2022

The 2022 Showboat Branson Belle cruise season has begun!

Regular seating is $61 for adults, $34 plus tax for children 4-11, and kids under 3 are free.

The Captain’s Club seating, which comes with an upgraded menu, is $91 plus tax for adults and $54 for kids 4-11.

The entertainment changes fairly often, and sometimes they offer special events like Christmas cruises or breakfast cruises for kids. You can find the current Showboat Branson Belle Schedule here.

 

Looking for even more info?

You can find even more recent Showboat Branson Belle reviews on TripAdvisor!

Love the beautiful lakes that surround the Branson area? Want to see the water from dry land? I have a Branson Hiking Trail Guide that will point you towards the Branson hiking trails with lake views!