A Lake Tahoe Vacation will not be complete without a cruise. In fact, there are two ships to choose from namely the M.S. Dixie II and the Tahoe Queen. These two vessels are managed and maintained by Lake Tahoe Cruises and Zephyr Cove Resort.

You might be wondering if there are any differences between the Tahoe Queen and the M.S. Dixie II. For starters, the Tahoe Queen is powered using a paddle wheeler and not a motor. This is similar to the steamboats that were used more than 200 years ago.

The ship is 144 feet long, 33 feet wide and has 3 decks. Despite its old appearance, it can still carry 350 passengers on board and have a dining capacity of up to 210 passengers.

The M.S. Dixie II is much bigger than the Tahoe Queen. It is longer and wider measuring 151 feet in length and which is why it needs to use a grand paddle wheeler. It can have 570 passengers on board and a dining capacity of 360 guests.

The M.S. Dixie Cruise II and the Tahoe Queen offer different cruises to choose from and the first is the two hour scenic cruise giving everyone enough time to take shots with the beautiful scenery as their background.

The Tahoe Queen casts off at 12 noon daily. If you miss that, catch the M.S. Dixie II which casts off an hour later. When you are on board, you will get to sail along Emerald Bay. A tour guide will tell you how this was formed which even has a special video presentation.

If you want to watch the sun go down and dine the same time, why not inquire about the dinner cruise. The M.S. Dixie II offers this every Wednesday and departs at 5:30pm while the Tahoe Queen offers theirs every Saturday also at the same time.

Aside from the great food, you can listen to the live band, dance and watch the live show known as Show Boat. The dinner cruise lasts for about three and a half hours before heading back to port.

These two vessels are just two of four vessels in their fleet which you can get for a chartered cruise. The other two are smaller namely the Tahoe Paradise and the Tahoe Princess. On board, you can throw a wedding, a debut or even an anniversary.

Of the four, only the Tahoe Princess is not available all year round and if you want to use it, you can only make a reservation between the months of May to October.

If you happen to be in Lake Tahoe during the holidays, they also offer specialty cruises. You can have brunch here during Mother's Day or during Easter. There is a special cruise set for New Year's Eve, the 4th of July, Christmas and Labor Day.

Cruising is one of the things you can do should you decide to spend a Lake Tahoe vacation. You can make a reservation through your travel agent or doing it yourself by booking online. By booking early, you are sure to have a seat since it fills up pretty quickly during the peak season even if it just to sail around the harbor for a couple of hours.