Passenger Craig Macdonald said: “It’s part and parcel of Liverpool really, isn’t it?
“So many people over the years have used this to get over the water.”
The Royal Iris, which also sailed on the Manchester Ship Canal, featured in BBC shows Peaky Blinders and The Liver Birds.
It was previously known as Mountwood after its launch in 1959 until a major refurbishment in 2001.
She received her current name on her return to service in 2002, following a major revamp.
Services across the river were recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, with Benedictine monks from Birkenhead Priory running the first regular ferries to Liverpool’s markets in the 12th Century.