The cruises compared here
Four shared boats and one private one compete for the same hour of your day. Their routes overlap almost completely, so comparing landmarks gets you nowhere.
The useful differences are on the boat sheets: who talks, how many people are aboard, what a child costs, and how late you can change your mind.
1By commentary
The guided small-boat tour is the only shared boat with a person doing the talking. The listing promises an English-speaking skipper and the operator, Navega en Sevilla, describes the tour as guided in Spanish and English.
The Torre del Oro cruise plays a recording. Civitatis lists English; the operator's page lists seven languages, adding Spanish, French, German, Italian, Greek and Turkish. That makes it the safest choice for a mixed-language group. The solar boat also uses an audio guide, in English according to its inclusions.
The boat from the New York pier offers music and no commentary on any of its three options.
2By size of boat
Navega en Sevilla caps its shared tour at 12 people, on a 10-metre yacht or a small trimaran, both with a roof and side windows. That is a different experience from a sightseeing boat with a bar on the lower deck, which is what the Torre del Oro operator describes.
The other two sit in between. Guadaluxe caps its shared solar cruise at 50 and may switch you to a smaller boat on a quiet day. Fun Ride Sevilla, which sells the New York pier trip, gives a capacity of 58 for its boat, with an indoor saloon and an upper terrace.
3With children
Two boats have real child rates. The Torre del Oro cruise prices ages 6 to 12 separately and has an under-6 category, with a limit of three children per adult. The solar boat has a rate for ages 6 to 14 and an under-6 category.
The guided small boat and the New York pier boat list only adults and under-3s. On those, a seven-year-old is booked as an adult. For a family, that gap matters more than the €1 or €2 between the headline prices.
4With a wheelchair or a pushchair
The solar boat is the clear answer among the shared boats: wheelchair accessible, with accessible toilets, as long as you declare it in the reservation. The private boat, run by the same company, is accessible with a companion.
Civitatis says most areas of the Torre del Oro boats are accessible, but the operator is more cautious: not every boat in its fleet has space for wheelchairs and pushchairs, and it asks you to contact it first. The guided small boat and the New York pier boat are listed as not accessible.
5By refund rule
The Torre del Oro cruise and the guided small boat refund in full up to 24 hours before. The New York pier boat needs 48 hours.
Guadaluxe is much stricter on both its boats. Full refunds stop seven days before the day of the ride, half is returned at three days, and nothing after that. Book the solar boat or the private boat only once your dates are settled.