Hornblower Cruises & Events

Attended the four course dinner last night and it was AMAZING. The staff were super friendly and accommodating. The food was delicious and the boat was beautiful. While the boat is cruising around the harbor, you are able to walk out to the deck or go to the upper deck and enjoy the breeze and scenery. If you feel like dancing, there’s also a live Dj and a dance floor. The Dj was taking requests too. From start to finish it was a great experience and I will definitely do it again.

BEWARE! Terrible service and no organization! it’s unfortunate because we were looking forward to our Christmas Day cruise. We requested seating on the lower level but they didn’t care about the seniors in our group. We asked to speak with someone in charge but no one came back to speak with us or even make an attempt to apologize for the error.
MERRY CHRISTMAS HORN BLOWER STAFF!

I got 2 tickets for dinner cruise as my bday present and I chose the Newport beach location. I didn’t expect too much because I went on a lunch cruise before and the food was horrible.
We lined up to broad when we were there, the photographer took pics of each group before boarding. The servers there were so friendly, they greeted us happily.
It was a 4 course dinner. I have to say… The food was too good.
1^st– Cesar salad– I didn’t have much to say, just a salad.
2^nd– Panko salmon with green beans– I love it, the salmon was so moist and well seasoned. It wasn’t too salty or anything. The fish wasn’t too fishy and not overcooked. Everything was just perfect, right taste.
3^rd– Short Rib with mash potato– The taste was good as well. I wish the short rib was more tender.
4^th– The dessert was my favorite. I don’t remember what it was, but it looked like a chocolate raspberry tart. It looked very pretty but also looked very sweet to me like regular American dessert to me. I hesitated to try for a sec. AHH!!! The first bite was great, the first layer was a gelatin chocolate, the 2^nd layer is like raspberry cream brulee and the bottom layer is a crunchy tart.
I finished it so fast because it was too good. The texture and favor was well blended. I really wanted to ask the waitress to bring me one more but too embarrassed to ask. lol
Everyone was so happy and enjoyable. The cruise was filled with different races, Caucasian, African American, Hispanic and Asian. Everyone was dancing, laughing and taking pictures… It is like we were in international water. Haha.
When we were leaving from the ship, there were 2 servers ‘welcoming’ everyone with chocolate.
The service and food were impeccable there. Everyone had an exhilarating night!

My husband and I got married on Endless Dreams on Sept 5^th. Our experience working with Christina at hornblower was nothing short of amazing. Christina made wedding planning fun, easy, and stress free. She was so patient and attentive to all our questions and concerns. I was a little concerned with having a completely different day of coordinator, but Allison did such a great job running the event and made sure everything went according to the plan. I’m so pleased with the way our wedding turned out. It was everything we could have dreamed. Thank you Christina and all the Hornblower staff that helped make our special day unforgettable!

I just got married on «Just Dreaming» and I couldn’t be more happier with the overall experience. Nita was awesome she was very helpful through the whole process leading up to the big day, thank you! Allison was my coordinator and she was amazing too, she did everything I couldn’t have imagine doing if I didn’t have her there. Everything was beautiful, thanks to her and the staff! Caption Mark did a great job marring my Hubby and me together, short sweet and simple. One of my biggest fear was having cold food being served to my family and friends and that didn’t happen, :), everything was hot and delicious, thank you to the cook and staff again. This was an incredible day that we will remember forever. Another Big Thanks to everyone that made my Husband and I feel so special!

We had such a fun time at a wedding reception hosted by Hornblower. We were on their largest yacht at this location, Endless Dreams. It was a 4-​level monster and accommodated well over a hundred with grace. The first level was just bathrooms. Second was the bar and dining area. It was wide open thanks to wrap around windows. We were glad it was air conditioned because it was 95 degrees on the water. The third deck was the dance floor with bathrooms and a big outdoor area off the rear of the boat. The top level was uncovered by a roof, but t had lights strung over the top of the whole vessel.
The transitions between drinks and dinner and dancing and cake were seem less. The DJ and bartenders were fantastic and the whole event was a major hit.
We loved the views around sunset, with gorgeous waterfront homes and private yachts lining the beaches on both sides of us. Just a perfect night.

BUYER BEWARE ! Our Party on HornBlower came off Very Well — BUT, This is because we
were Pro-​Active and were on the Details all The Way — Our Guests had no Idea how we had to «Orchestrate» 70% of the Party — The Sales Staff is NOT Detail Oriented —They Write Things down — and Forget Them… Some of the Food Items Never Appeared and We Had to Ask… GO OVER Your Invoice Very Carefully ! The Guests Loved Our Party — But, We Knew the Parts Missing and the Hell we went Through to Get What We Wanted… If you Choose Hornblower — Be Prepared to do A lot of the Work Yourselves ! They Do Not Listen !

What a fantastic crew and experience! I worked with Christina from Hornblower to plan a sunset cruise for a small group of 20. The whole experience was fantastic, from the endless champagne to the wonderful crew, we have absolutely no complaints! They had the cheeses set out for us when we arrived, the dip came out of the oven shortly afterward, and the passed hor d’oeuvres came out as the chef finished preparing them! I loved that everything was cooked right there for us. The bartender was incredible! I honestly never had an empty glass the entire cruise. The captain was so friendly, letting us annoyingly change the music over and over until we found something we loved, and even letting some of us drive (the sober ones). He took us out to the jetty where we got to see seals and dolphins!
Overall, the experience was perfect and memorable! We will certainly be using them in the future!

I would give this SATURDAY BRUNCH@ ENDLESS DREAMS” A fat 10 stars, amazing experience, I took my friend Maria for her birthday and she loved it… she loves the water, boats, anything to do with the marina, this was perfect… And better yet the services… we we served By two great ladies
Tamara and Sara, they were above and beyond attentive with us no matter where we where on the ship, Omg!!! is service, music, food and people like these that we are we will be back… thank you to all the staff overall it was a wonderful experience… til next time…

Best evening cruise I have ever been on! People don’t realize Newport Beach is home to a lot of «Stars» so you see their homes on the water and what not.
The boat we went on belonged to John Wayne. Magnificent detail. All hardwood interior and just beautifully crafted. Between that and the scenery what a treat! There is a narrator explaining whose house is whose. Saw Shirley Temple’s childhood home and a lot more.
The staff was amazing! Just love this two hour tour (speaking of that we saw Gilligan’s Island along the way) Yes, that part of Gilligan was filmed right here
… to think right here in fabulous Newport Beach!

I am extremely happy with this brunch cruise. The boat is extremely clean, the staff attentive, the food delicious, and they were punctual. I highly recommend this cruise if you have an elderly person, who isn’t mobile. The resteraunt itself (the boatl cruises from one end of the harbor, and then back to the dock.
By the way, the staff was very friendly and helpful.

Went on this cruise FREE for by B-​day. I had alot of fun that night. It was about 5 other ppl celebrating their b-​day.

My boyfriend & I decided to take the champagne brunch cruise to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. So glad we did! All the workers were beyond friendly. It was a really relaxing and fun way to see the island & all the gorgeous houses. Perfect weather. Would imagine this would be a romantic date at dinner too when the top deck lights are on. Definitely recommend!

I had received a gift of two tickets of a total of $ 245.22 for the Hornblower cruise for Friday night.
I then saw on the OC Weekly that you can buy one, get one for $ 84.95 until June 26^th. There is no starting date on the ad. I called and talked to a rude women who said that there are no adjustments made, no refunds, no nothing. I feel it is so wrong not to make any adjustment to the cost of the tickets that I really don’t want to go. I don’t understand why they don’t have any customer service doesn’t make you feel like you have been taken for a ride before you even get on the ship. I would not recommend it to anyone. I truly hope anyone thinking of going on a dinner cruise picks another company!

I did the 930am mothers day brunch with my family. 5 stars for ambiance and service! Food was OK but you’re buying the experience more than the cuisine and I’m OK with it. I Definitely recommend it and will definitely come back and do another one.
We were there very early (815am)to line up. Staff was very nice and they put out some chairs for those who couldn’t stand. We boarded early and got cider/​champagne as soon as we boarded. Check in was smooth… Seats are assigned which we did not know about but wasn’t a problem. The ship was beautiful and clean and every staff member was attentive and helpful. We left harbor and they dismissed table by table to go to the buffet which made it easy and organized. Food was hot and plentiful. There was a single musician on each level playing and singing great music. Views were very nice and the ride was relaxing. The servers were so attentive even the ones not assigned to our table. The captains let my mom take pictures with them while they drove which made her really happy. While Disembarking the boat they handed out pink and red roses to all the Mothers. It was a nice touch. The whole thing really made my mother’s day, thanks to the Hornblower crew!

2 words: VERY HAPPY! The mother’s day cruise was definitely memorable and unique and I’d recommend it to anyone that wants to wow their mother on mother’s day. My sister and I decided to take the 9 a.m. cruise which was perfect because it wasn’t too hot, the traffic was clear, the wait was minimal (we only waited because we got their early) and since it was a 2 hour cruise we were back home before noon time and still had a whole day to do whatever we wanted (which was sleep). The cost was approximately $ 79.95 per person but we’ve dined at fine restaurants before and have spent that much or more on mother’s day brunch so the added relaxing boat time makes it all worth it.
BRING CASH: It’s $ 10 to park and bring additional cash for tipping the servers, live entertainment and I guess the photographer.
FOOD: The buffet was situated towards the front of the boat and was small but filling. My favorites were the shrimp cocktail, stuffed pasta shells, eggs and waffles. The breakfast sausage looked a little questionable. I meal prepped breakfast for the week the night before so I know what breakfast sausage looks/​tastes like and either those breakfast sausages were frozen that morning or had some sort of weird breaded filler to it. The desserts looked beautiful and tasted good. The mini red velvet cupcakes were delicious and not store bought. The other desserts I was too full to binge on. The severs were all attentive, courteous and knowledgeable.
DRINKS: Make sure you have a designated driver. After climbing a few steep steps up to the deck a server was waiting for us with a big smile and a glass of champagne in their hand… YES! We then proceeded to the maître d’ to confirm our reservation and were given our table number. The minute we sat down and every 5 — 10 minutes after that we were asked if we wanted a re-​fill on our champagne. It was almost as if they were trying to get rid of the excess champagne in the back or just get us wasted? I’m not complaining, I just noticed that we were almost force fed champagne all morning. They were great about refilling our other drink orders (coffee, tea, water, orange juice). We made our own mimosas with all the champagne we were getting.
AMBIANCE: You can’t beat a sunny California morning cruising Newport harbor with champagne glass in hand, sea lions chilling on the dock and a guy playing top 40 acoustic hits singing John Mayer’s daughters, or every Jack Johnson song and that one Colbie Calillat song about your toes and your nose. It makes all the arguing between siblings planning mother’s day (for your mother that expects you to raise the bar every year) worth it. Not to mention your dad who’s along for the ride but pleasantly surprised and happy he doesn’t have to deal with an upset wife. The experience was definitely a memorable one and beats any restaurant style brunch because you’re not waiting for 3 hours to get a table and it’s not super packed where there’s no room to walk or you’re bumping into other grouchy moms that had to wait all morning.
ONE COMPLAINT: The lady who took the obligatory photo around the life saver ring buoy was rude and annoying. She made us line-​up behind the thing and proceeded to talk at us and ordered us to move up to the thing and out and over but forward (you get the «picture»). She had this tone like she was directing 3 year olds at Picture People. To be honest (truth teller), at 8:45 a.m. on a Sunday with no coffee I’m not in the mood to do a photo shoot (unless it’s with renowned photographers like Herb Ritts, Mario Testino, Inez and Vinoodh) or be bossed around by anyone. She distributed the photos towards the end of the trip and said it was 2 for $ 20. My mom wanted one of the 2 photos and she rudely told her, «It’s 2 for $ 20.» My mom wanted these photos but we (the daughters) protested this and ended up taking a photo of the photo (we sure did!) and gave it back to the photographer. Had she been nicer we’d given her the money but we decided to use it towards the server’s tip instead. You got a camera phone? Take your own photo and develop it at Costco with a cool graphic underneath it for a less rude experience. I’m sure the photo attendant at Costco is much more humane than the photographer on this boat.
Thanks to Hornblower Cruises and Events for making our mom and all the moms feel special at the end with the surprise roses when we exited the boat. I can not tell you how much she appreciated that and I’m sure all the other mom’s as well!

Endless Dreams! Well I was here for a work meeting to kick off 2015 and it was great! It was a 3 hour cruise around the harbor. Even if it was a work event you can’t go wrong with free food and a free Open bar! Oh yea!
The food was buffet style and it was like a trip around the world without leaving the harbor! Food with an Asian twist (Potstickers with an Asian Slaw, then over to Italy with (Lasagna, Basil Pesto Ravioli and Spinach Alfredo and garlic bread) and last stop in Mexico with a taco bar and the food was fresh and delicious!
The bar… Their was a bar on two out of the three levels of the bar! We were greeted with champagne on our first arrival and the liquor was top shelf.
The staff was very friendly and helpful and one of the waiter’s shown us a couple of famous people homes and also pointed a part of the beach where they filmed Gilligans Island
Its a great experience and something different to do. I would like to come here for a Sunday Brunch.

We booked a boat for a corporate cruise and we had an amazing time. The staff on the boat was super friendly and helpful. Everyone made us feel like vips. Our captain and first man, Fernando greeted us while we boarded and Fernando spent a lot of time as a tour guide as we cruises around the bay. Our captain was hilarious and really nice. I can’t wait to go on a other one. An universal crowd pleaser.

We went on the Hornblower Sunday Champagne Brunch cruise aboard the Wild Goose… which was formerly owned by the Duke. The pricing for the cruise was $ 64.95 per adult, and $ 38.97 for the kids… and got 20% off with the AAA discount which only applied to the adult tickets.
We got to Newport Beach around 11:00am knowing that boarding time was at 11:30am. Paid the parking fee of $ 10 and was easily able to find a parking in the shaded garages. Even though the confirmation email said that the boarding time was 11:30, they didn’t allow us to start boarding til about 11:45. Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal, but it was hot that day, and there was no shade where the line formed. Everyone was waiting to have their picture taken in front of the Wild Goose and then each group would then board.
When we got aboard, we went to the upper deck (3^rd level) to check in. My mom had a little difficulty making it there because her knees are bothering her, but she eventually got to the upper deck ok. I know when we first registered for the cruise, the rep asked if anyone would need assistance, but my mom is too proud to ask for it. The phone rep also mentioned that we would need to show our ID and the AAA card, but when we actually got there they only needed to see the AAA card. They handed us some champagne and some cider for the kids… and then sat us at our table next to the ‘window’. The windows are just some clear vinyl that can be rolled up to let in the fresh air especially once we got moving. There were some tables set up in the middle of the deck that were not next to any windows, but it didn’t seem crowded that day and everyone got great seats.
Once we got under way, I wanted to get some water… I got up and eventually got someone to bring a pitcher of water to fill my family’s glasses. Later on they came by with orange juice and coffee. The staff eventually uncovered the hot food, and I was able to take a few pictures before they opened up the buffet to everyone on board. The food was decent, it wasn’t quite up to par for the price of the ticket… but I understand the price is more for the experience being on board a historic vessel and also for getting to see the Newport Harbor.
The cruise was scheduled to be from 12:00 to 2:00pm. By the time we slowly finished our desserts, we were then just completing the first half of the cruise which was by the Wedge and Corona Del Mar State Beach, and then made our turn back to port. Around this time, the photographer came by with our group pictures, which were $ 10 for one and $ 20 for two… not exactly the best pictures, but we’ll take them. We then spent the rest of the trip back just exploring the ship, which the kids really enjoyed. During the whole cruise, the captain (and his co-​captain/​first mate?) provided some tidbits of information about the various sites and places along the cruise. It was also very nice for the captain to let my kids take a quick picture with him in the wheelhouse.
By the time we got back to the dock, my kids were sad that it was already over. Overall, the experience was just ok for me… but my parents, my wife, and kids ALL had a wonderful time… and that made me happy. I felt the food was ok, but the staff was SUPER friendly, helpful, and pleasant… this along with the beautiful Southern California day made the trip enjoyable.

Charlotte Miller helped me plan my event and she was a gem. She was extremely responsive to emails and always returned my calls. She has a great sense of humor and was willing to revise their proposal many times over for various situations (IE what if it was a different boat or a different date?). So, a sincerely appreciative shout-​out to Charlotte.
We took advantage of their Summer Charter Incentive for a $ 500.00 discount. We had 17 people on a Thursday evening dinner cruise and sailed on the M/​V Hornblower. It was approx. $ 165/​pp for a 4 course dinner, entertainment (the cruise w/​satellite radio), and a full open bar for 3 hours.
When I wanted to do something different than was specifically on their Event Design Guide, I just asked and they were very accommodating. They have vegetarian substitutions at no extra charge. We did one of their appetizer packages and I believe it was worth it instead of picking a few random appetizers — The price was comparable, but with more variety. We also did the premium bar with the beer upgrade — I’d also recommend this for a better selection on wine, beer and liquor.
We were on their 65-​foot yacht, the M/​V Hornblower. The bow was amazingly spacious. It was really nice to have so much space in the open-​air to mill about with appetizers and drinks. Something to make note of, though: the spiral ladder to get up to the bow was a bit of a b*tch. So, if you have anyone with a handicap, severe claustrophobia, or who is very pregnant or rotund, then this specific boat might not be ideal.
Also, I personally wouldn’t take the M/​V Hornblower for any more than 20 people. There were two stewards and a captain in the main cabin preparing dinner and drinks; this added to the intimacy of the event, but also added to crowding as the yacht is not over large inside.
When all was said and done, we had a wonderful evening. Our company was very happy with the food and service (shout out to our host, Ryan, for making sure it all came off without a hitch). The sunset timing was gorgeous as we sat down to dine. We got some wonderful photos on the bow with the Newport Beach Harbor as a backdrop.
I’d highly recommend them — especially if you are utilizing one of their incentives/​discounts. Enjoy!