City Cruises San Francisco

We were gifted this sunset dinner cruise and it was such a cool experience even as a local Bay Area resident. We arrived 30 mins early as the instructions stated. There is a parking lot right where boarding happens and as a city cruise guest, you get a discounted rate of $20 for the whole day. The lot was almost fully filled by the time we arrived and the line to enter the boat was already pretty long too. Before boarding, they take a photo of your party which you can purchase later on. Now it makes sense why they make you arrive so early. Upon entry, they provided us a passion fruit alcoholic beverage and guided us to our table on the first floor. There are 3 floors to this boat but only the first and second were occupied.

We sailed by several landmarks in SF such as Alcatraz, Angel Island, and both Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge. It was pretty cool because we got to see underneath both bridges! The DJ announced the locations and told us to head on outside for a better view, but beware, it will be insanely windy and cold. Because it was also so windy, the waves were very strong and rocked the boat. If you easily get motion sickness, you may want to take some precautions or get fresh air often. The sunset was beautiful with the city skyline.

My only complaint would be the food. I expected it to be slightly more fancy given the price of the cruise. It was just ok, nothing special. Chicken was a bit dry. Steak was cooked well though. Small portions and not very fulfilling.

Although I can't speak for my mom's experience. As she has spoken about her own already. I can only speak about my own. This was my second time on the unlimited mimosa brunch cruise. I took my auntie for her 60th birthday in February and my father this past weekend for Father's Day. Both of my experiences were great. The food I had was great and just enough. I can't speak on the Prime Rib because I don't eat red meat. But as my mom said, the salmon was delicious. The baked chicken was moist and very tasty. The salad bar was to my expectation. Everyone has their own standards and expectation of things. I don't know if that means mine are low but what I can say is that MY standards and expectations were met and at some point exceeded. The pianist was superb

A truly romantic and wonderful evening on the city cruise boat in San Francisco. The views while riding are next level and extremely tough to beat.

Our food was delicious and our service was top notch. We enjoyed dancing and the dj was happy to take requests.

The set up is nice where we had our own space but also were close enough to other couples to have pleasant social interactions.

This boat cruise is a night we won't forget.

Big THANK YOU to Kiara for taking such great care of us!! She was friendly, prompt, professional and elevated our experience significantly. Thanks again!

City experiences,

I was throughly disappointed with our cruise. The food was substandard. In our party of four three women including myself had "BARIACTRIC" surgery - one just three weeks ago. We were there today to celebrate Father's Day with my husband. I told the waiter about this, our enability to eat a normal plate of food and that if it were possible to take home the leftovers from our first and only luncheon plate. She advised she wasn't sure but that she would check and get back to us. This was before we started to eat, before the boat was launched.

We waited for her to returned. After about an hour and thirty we had to catch her on the fly and ask her about our request. She said "oh, let me go find them and check." When she finally returned she advised the only thing that we could take out was dessert. We felt this truly dissapointing. I have visited other restaurants, including five star restaurants, which were very accommodating when they found out my medical condition.

Lastly, the food, the food - was substandard as I said earlier. My husband I use to visit your cruise line many years ago. The memory we held so fondly and have shared with family and friends was the prime rib. We would tell them that the prime rib was so tender we could cut it with a butter knife. The flavor and taste was second to none. Very few desserts appeared to be homemade more akin to box desserts. I did enjoy the salmon and pork sausage, however the Prime Sirlion was horrendous. I had to spit out my first bite and hide it in a piece of paper. No one, including my husband, would eat anything after the first bite. It was so tuff the only thing we could do was chew, chew and chew, and yet we couldn't get it to dissipate and pass through our esophagus.

I know feel we might have faired better with a platted dinner however this was pre Father's Day luncheon offer. The saddest thing out this whole ordeal is that we paid over $500 for a meal that we won't have a fond memory about (see receipt below). I take that back, we did pay $45 for the four pictures that the line took of us. That memory we'll keep forever.

I wasn't going to say anything but my husband and I are retirees from AT&T and the City and County of San Francisco respectively - we managed people and the two things we taught our employees was the importance of good customer service and quality products. Thank you for allowing us to express our experience with you.

We celebrated a major milestone last night for my friends birthday with the San Francisco Dinner Cruise on the Hornblower. Thank Heavens for the gorgeous setup and presentation for the venue and most of all the Dj! The Dj with the Oakland jersey on had the boat rockin the entire cruise. Her energy was amazingly unforgettable. Hate to burst your bubble if you are excited to eat because the food is trash. Salmon tasted tainted and all the food was under seasoned and thrown together. The head chef need to taste this stuff. Maybe his tastebuds are inactive. Two stars for the Dj and one star for the venue.

This past weekend we attended a Hornblower 80th birthday celebration brunch cruise with more than 100 guests. Most of course were elderly. Unfortunate because the large space had not a single window open and thus woefully poor ventilation as measured by the well regarded Aranet 4 air quality monitor which I carry with me at all times (see readout photo). What this means is that as the party went on, carbon dioxide levels rose such that guests were inhaling what everyone else was exhaling. That means that a single person with Covid or any other airborne pathogen could infect many people in a short time.

This violates recent very clear air quality guidelines from the federal agency ASHRAE and the recommendations of leading experts in the field of air quality.

It's particularly alarming given that there were two other large parties on two other decks. A business such as this should be much more mindful of the fact that they are selling unhealthy air right along with the supposed 'good time".

Great food, great views, great service... not much to say. The water was less choppy in the evening which helped our guests that don't fare well with motion. The staff was incredible and the food was much better than I expected. A great option for group outings or private reservation's.

My bf and I went here for our anniversary recently and had an amazing time! He had gotten tickets on Groupon for the Saturday night dinner cruise which lasted from around 7pm to 10:30pm. We came early to avoid the long line and were greeted with a photo-op prior to boarding.

The dinner was a 3-course menu with additional appetizers and drink options to add-on. We did the ahi tuna which was delicious and went with the chowder, braised ribs/salmon, and cheesecake/chocolate cake.

Throughout the cruise, we had many opportunities to go out on the deck and take photos with the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, and Bay Bridge in the background.

You can also rent out portions of the board for larger parties or gatherings! They also a fun DJ who took requests throughout the night and made the whole experience even more enjoyable. We're not big dancers, but we ended up having such a fun time on the dance floor!

What I liked about this place is that they have their pier at a busy Embarcadero in SF. They are located at Pier 3 and for a $20 parking fee, you can park conveniently and don't have to worry about where to park your car.
My son and daughter-in-law gave us this cruise as a gift. This was our first time and I and my wife are excited to have this experience.
Before you board, they let you have a photo shoot as a souvenir. Once you checked in, they will let give you a table number and which deck you'll be seated We were fortunate to be seated on the top deck where the view was fantastic. The wall was surrounded by glass windows and wherever you're seated, you have a good view of the bay once you get under the Golden Gate Bridge. The cruise passes by Alcatraz also. The ride will take about 2 hours.
Once you veg seated, the server serves us a glass of champagne and mimosa. Once the ship start to cruise, they started serving the all-you-can-eat brunch. The brunch is located in the middle of the room and it's separated by the main course, desserts, and appetizers. They have regular bacon, eggs, potatoes, salad, steak, smoked salmon, steaks, and several sweets. The food is delicious and we enjoyed the variety of choices.
Once we were done with our brunch, we went to the top deck and see the fantastic view of the city from the middle of the bay. Once we get under the Bay Bridge, we were amazed by the scenery and the architectural and engineering structure
It's only a 2 hours cruise but we enjoyed all the amenities and ride.
We ended up meeting a couple of nice couples and befriended them. One of the couples had a proposal right on the very deck of the ship.
I highly recommend this cruise for those who wanted a little adventure in the city.

My wife booked a Sunday brunch here a few weeks ago based on a referral and we had a great time.

Parking lot had an abundance of parking, and it was in the same location as the ships, so no walking required. It was easy to access and there was a guard there, so it felt safe and like nobody was going to break in and steal anything.

First 20 minutes I was feeling a little seasick, so if you're sensitive to moving ships, you should take some medicine first.

Food was pretty decent, and there's bottomless mimosas. I had about 2-3 and then I took a 30 minute nap.

It was pretty chilly outside even though it was hot in July. We got to go out to the Golden Gate Bridge which is roughly where I proposed, and then came back to the Bay Bridge. Before you know it, due to my nap, I was back at the pier!

Good experience, no complaints at all, great service. Afterwards, you're super close to the Ferry building so you can walk there in about 5 minutes. Probably wouldn't do the same exact experience again, but might try a different cruise or experience.