Hornblower Cruises & Events

San Diego, United States

3.7

Closed now

21 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 619-686-8715
Website:
www.hornblower.com
Address:
970 N Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA, 92101
b/t Broadway & G St
Downtown
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.2 miSanta Fe Depot
0.3 miAmerica Plaza
0.4 miSeaport Village
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes

Today

Today 8:30 am – 7:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (San Diego) 04:55 Thursday, 22 May 2025

Business hours

Monday 8:30 am – 7:00 pm
Tuesday 8:30 am – 7:00 pm
Wednesday 8:30 am – 7:00 pm
Thursday 8:30 am – 7:00 pm
Friday 8:30 am – 7:00 pm
Saturday 8:30 am – 7:00 pm
Sunday 8:30 am – 7:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Hornblower Cruises & Events is a treasured attraction on San Diego Bay. The San Diego Dinner Cruise departs every night of the year from docks located conveniently downtown and just minutes from San Diego Lindbergh Field. Hornblower provides exceptional customer service with 250,000 passengers enjoying a memorable cruise each year.

For over 30 years, Hornblower has offered a wide variety of attractions for those that want to experience a different side of San Diego. Our brunch cruises, dinner cruises, and harbor cruises are a favorite amongst San Diego natives and tourists alike. We also offer dolphin watching and whale watching for adventure-​seekers and nature-​lovers. Whether you’re looking for a relaxing lap around the bay or an exciting adventure for the whole family, Hornblower has what you’re looking for.

History

Established in 1980.

Since Hornblower founder and CEO Terry MacRae purchased a small charter yacht business in 1980, the company has operated on one mission: deliver premier, quality dining, entertainment and cruise experiences. Today, the company-​wide Respect Our Planet program also makes environmental responsibility a top priority, and guests continue choosing Hornblower for family vacations, weddings, corporate outings and galas.

Hornblower has been honored with awards too long to list over the years for our outstanding customer service, sustainable and green practices and community contributions. Hornblower’s strong donation program contributes over $ 100K in tickets and services annual to San Diego non profit groups. Hornblower established Pet Day on the Bay over 10 years ago to benefit local animal centers and founded the San Diego Whale Festival.

Hornblower recently shifted the educational portion of their daily harbor tours to feature sustainable and green highlights of waterfront businesses.

Meet the Manager

Richard G.

Manager

Captain Richard Goben is Hornblower’s Port Captain. He oversees all of our captains and daily operations of all seven Hornblower yachts making sure each is safe, speedy and spectacularly clean.

Capt. Rich is heavily involved in the maritime community. He volunteers his time to the San Diego Maritime Museum as Captain of the Steam Yacht Medea, and First Mate on the Star of India. Rich believes strongly in the preservation of maritime heritage, and through the museum makes the locals and visitors alike more aware of San Diego’s maritime history. In 1995, Rich was chosen to be a featured speaker for the Society of Naval Architects and Engineers.

In his capacity of Port Captain, he is a credit to the tourism industry because of his unending attitude of helping people to enjoy and get the most of their stay in San Diego. He’s always willing to give directions or recommend a restaurant or attraction to those who might need the information, so say hello when you see him!

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21 reviews of Hornblower Cruises & Events

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
The next time you come to San Diego, make sure that you take time to book a nice cruise aboard the Hornblower Yacht, especially for the Sights & Sips cruise! The views were amazing, the staff was very friendly, the food and drinks were good and the entire vibe was very good! I will definitely recon this to all my friends and will definitely be back for another!
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Had an amazing time we celebrated our anniversary here. It was our first time attending the dinner cruise. The food was delicious no problems just how we ordered and the dessert was my fave. Services were fantastic looking forward to our next visit which will be for Father’s day brunch. This time we will be taking our children hope we have amazing experience as our first.
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
The two hour cruise is a great day out, up the North of the bay to Point Loma and then under the bridge down the South bay. We had great commentary from Dave who informed and entertained us. Dave knew the names of all the Navy ships and quite a bit of the city’s history.
Highly recommended to anyone either living here or visiting San Diego.
Place rating: 4
Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, CA
Very informative and fun time cruising around the bay. Jules (Captain) covered the North portion which included the Navy ships that were docked & Chris (First Mate/​Navigator) handled the south tour which covered the base/​islands). Both provided insightful information as well as good amount of humor. The two hour cruise is the better option as you’ll get to cover the whole bay as opposed to just one side. Also, don’t forget to check Unilocal/​the Hornblower’s website to find various coupons that can come in handy for their various tours. Money well spent for a fun morning on the water.
Place rating: 2
Las Vegas, NV
I gave 2 starts just because I’m sure it’s great if you actually make it on the boat my husband and I were visiting San Diego and this was one of the things we HAD to do while we were in town. We showed up early waited in line to be told we couldn’t have the brunch cruise at this location and we had to wait to be helped if we wanted to book for their other location… The lady at the ticket booth wasn’t very nice either… After some debating we walked around and found the flagship brunch cruise. They offered the same thing at the same price and we were treated like royalty. I recommend looking up the flagship if you want to experience the champagne brunch while in San Diego.
Place rating: 2
LONG ISLAND CITY, NY
They need to be more explicit that there two hour cruise includes a stop midway (about 20 – 30 mins if you include the time to get back to the dock) to offload the people who were on the first one hour cruise and board the next one hour guests. Also the boat we were on was only two floors and okay quality unlike the picture of the three floor high end boat pictured on Groupon. Otherwise just okay.
Place rating: 5
Upland, CA
I had my wedding (a brunch wedding) on the yacht The Admiral — the experience was overall amazing and my guests loved the alternative location (and GREAT views of San Diego’s skyline). The staff were professional, prompt in their communications, and always willing to help me out. The table settings were professional appearing and not cheesy, and the crew were awesome. Highly recommend.
Place rating: 3
Fullerton, CA
My cruise was at 245−5pm. They call me last minute that they have to cancel it and only 130 cruise is available. We paid for 2 hours and got one.
Place rating: 1
Upland, CA
Wow. What a disappointing day. One thing we do every year is take a family trip to San Diego and get tickets to the Hornblower. But it was cancelled. We even pre purchased tickets and now we have to figure out how to get our money back. Wow that truly sucks. I will never buy our tickets in advanced.
Place rating: 4
Imperial Beach, CA
The wife and I scored a Groupon for two for $ 54. Super simple to walk up to the booth and confirm with my phone. Spent maybe 5 minutes in line and then they opened the gates.
We felt like teenagers at a concert hunting down the best seats (which we abandoned after about 45 minutes) at the rear of the boat. Once the boat got rolling it became more fun to roam around the decks checking out the many different vantage points. We settled in to a table next to a window that opened, letting the cool salty sea air blow in. We were treated to several whales spouting (breaching?) and showing off their tails. It was pretty fucking rad, to say the least. They have a snack bar upstairs that also serves tasty beers. Beer and whales? Why not? Since there was so much whale action the three and a half hour tour turned into a four hour tour. As we meandered back to port I couldn’t help but feel totally satisfied. Great way to spend a date day with the one you love.
I highly recommend taking a tour whether you are a local or a tourista. It is a full on blast. I did knock off a star because the inner decks were sweltering before we found that open window. Other than that it was perfect. Get out there and have some fun, after all, you only get one go around. Make it count!
Place rating: 4
Tucson, AZ
This review is for the 3.5 hour whale watching cruise. Overall, my bf and I had a great time on this cruise and it was worth the $ 48 Groupon (for 2). The regular price is a bit pricey at $ 40/​person.
It’s a nice long cruise with a decently priced snack and drink bar. There is an upper viewing deck with chairs and tables. I was at first bummed that we came too late to sit near the rail but as the cruise went on, people moved around and it wasn’t an issue. The waters are also pretty choppy outside the harbor and many people were getting seasick. I highly recommend pre-​medicating with an anti-​motion sickness medication as I did.
As for the whales, we saw a small pod near the very end of the trip. We only had ~5 minutes to watch the whales before we had to turn around and head back to shore. That was probably the most disappointing part. It is nature after all and there’s never a guarantee you will see whales. I did hear that they offer vouchers to return if there isn’t a sighting on your trip.
Although we just barely saw whales, for the price, I did enjoy the cruise and all the dolphins swimming in our wake. I would consider booking another tour with Hornblower in the future.
Place rating: 5
Torrance, CA
I really enjoyed my $ 18 (2 hour) cruise around San Diego’s Harbor. My girlfriends and I were looking for something different & fun to do for a girls day. We found this deal on Living Social. We purchased the tickets online, took our phones to the window, & confirmed right through our phone. Ah! The convenience of smart phones :)
To top it off, the deal said we would see sea lions & we actually did! Was definitely worth the few bucks to make a new memory.
Place rating: 4
Tempe, AZ
My mom and I took a Hornblower Cruise as part of a «mommy and me» trip to San Diego a few months ago. We had a few hours of free time up in the air after visiting the USS Midway Museum. So we naturally took a short walk and found ourselves contemplating one of the afternoon cruises. Hornblower definitely had the best deal for a nice, chill tour — so we opted for both north and south. Definitely worth the money.
Thankfully we did not have to wait long to board and for the boat to leave the dock. There’s a small snack/​drink bar inside the top level so we had to get something to tide us over to dinner since it would be close to… a three-​hour tour.
Make sure to get a spot at the front or back of the boat for a clear view of the entire harbor/​bay area. We started out close to the left side and found ourselves standing a bit for views on the opposite side, so we opted for the front and luckily found 2 spots. The staff were super sweet and very knowledgeable during the entire tour — cannot wait to try them again for a future visit to San Diego.
Place rating: 4
Glendale, CA
My cousin had his wedding on the Newport Hornblower, a 2 story yacht.
It was a nice sized boat. A little older, but pretty well maintained and clean. The staff was very nice and attentive throughout the whole event. As soon as we boarded, we were offered champagne and our flutes were re-​filled regularly.
The food was served on the second floor. Their menu consisted of dinner rolls, salad, fruit, penne pasta, asparagus and chicken. The bread was nice and soft. Penne pasta was average tasting. The chicken was a little dry, but edible. The asparagus and spinach salad was delicious. I threw some fruit on top of the spinach salad, which made it even more delicious. Whatever dressing they use, I wish I could buy.
Place rating: 1
Yorktown Heights, NY
At about $ 400 for two of us to go on the valentine’s day dinner cruise, it was NOT worth it. The food was laughable; I get better food at Marine Corps chow halls.
The DJ should have been replaced with a phone hooked up to a speaker system, with Pandora playing. Actually, at the price we paid, a live band with a full horn section would have been more fitting.
I should have taken my money and spent it at a gentlemen’s club, as this was an even bigger tease than the services offered in those venues.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
This review is for an event we had on the Hornblower’s Renown. I worked with Kim Bishop on the sales team and she was awesome. She was very responsive which is always a plus when you’re trying to organize an event. She came up with some great suggestions and always took the time to answer my questions.
The event itself went off without a hitch. The crew was friendly and professional. They were super attentive and went above and beyond our expectations. We’re all very pleased with how the event went. Drinks, food and staff were all amazing! Hope to be able use Hornblower again for our future events.
Place rating: 3
Anaheim, CA
This review is for the weekend 3 hour dinner cruise.
We upgraded to a celebration package which included a window seat and a bottle of champagne. I really liked that we got to sit next to the window and look at the harbor as we dined and it was far enough from the other people so it didn’t feel crowded.
The regular appetizer was salad and you have to pay to upgrade to a different appetizer, we didn’t like any of the choices so we stuck to the salad. I had chicken and my bf had salmon for the main course. We had the cheesecake and crème brûlée for dinner.
There was a DJ and he played some music and some were really old hits, nobody really danced.
We went upstairs for a bit and it was nice to see the san diego skyline.
To be honest we expected so much more because it was so expensive and we did it for our anniversary. For over $ 100 per person the food was not that great and there wasn’t a good selection. Our server was also nowhere to be found and our drinks were never refilled. I think the only thing that made is sort off worth while was that we got a window seat and champagne. Overall, this was a nice experience but will not be going back. I would have rather spent all that money on a 5 star restaurant and eat delicious food.
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
I took my mom on the 2 hour cruise the other day. The day cruise goes to the north harbor for 1 hour and the south harbor for the other, stopping in between to let the people on and off if they only paid for 1 hour.
On our first trip we went south and saw a Navy ship deporting to Japan, went under the Coronado bridge, and went past the shipyard where ships are built and worked on. The person who narrates this section was a little boring and I quickly tuned her out. The views are beautiful though and the weather that day made it even better. On our first part of the trip there was a medical emergency so we had to head back to the dock a little early. We were allowed to stay on an extra trip around if we wanted to because it was cut short, so we decided to enjoy a day out to sea and take the south tour once again.
The north tour goes past harbor island and point loma. There was also a very good panoramic view of the downtown skyline. You go right past part of the navy base on Coronado Island as well. The history and sights are very interesting. We even got to see a submarine docked to be worked on. The guy who narrated this section was more animated and held my attention a bit better than the south tour.
On the ship: There were not enough chairs on the first hour of the cruise for everyone to sit on the deck outside, my mom and I had to stand. Must have been the busiest part because after the first hour the boat seemed to empty out and there was plenty of seating available. There is also indoor seating which was air conditioned.
There is a mini bar inside which serves hot dogs, sandwiches, chips, candy, beer, and an assorment of non-​alcoholic beverages.
This was a nice cruise to do during the day where you can see some beautiful sights and learn more about the history of San Diego.
Place rating: 4
Escondido, CA
The Hornblower is the perfect way to get everyone together for special occasions.~
I’ve done the brunch cruise twice, once five years ago and another one this past weekend. From the moment you enter on board, the staff are very warm and welcoming :) Be prepared for tons of food as it is buffet style! The food is well-​prepared and delicious.
Also tons of bubbles, with unlimited champagne it keeps on coming! After you eat, you can walk to the top deck of the boat and take in all the views of the beautiful SD Harbor. There you can get more champagne and they even give your own bottle for your group or they top you off champagne glass.
At the end there is opportunity for purchasing the souvenir photo that was taken from when you first board on.
PROS: variety of breakfast and lunch items for brunch cruise, free flowing champagne, scenic views of the San Diego Bay perfect for photo ops, friendly staff
CONS: pricier side
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
On Sunday, my friends took me for a lovely birthday brunch cruise. I had always wanted to go so it was a wonderful surprise! When we walked aboard, we were nicely greeted and handed glasses of champagne, always a warm welcome! There were great views from every table. We noticed that the tables that were celebrating special events had blue cloths, so that staff could stop by and bring us well wishes. This way I got a photo op with Captain Rich! I was impressed by the service. The champagne (house champagne: Wycliff) was flowing, as was water, OJ, coffee and sparkling cider. We had some time prior to leaving the dock to serve ourselves and start on brunch, which was nice, especially for anyone prone to motion sickness.
The food was good, though not excellent. There was a bit of everything. My favorites were the salmon mousse, eggs Benedict (really good) with spinach Hollandaise, and the French macarons (I recommend the pink and white). The sushi and some of the hot plates didn’t look too appetizing.
After two trips to the buffet, we decided to spend the rest of the time on the top deck so we could catch some air and rays, and enjoy the tour. I love how champagne was flowing on the deck! I enjoyed the ride and the tour and wish it had been longer.
All in all, this was a super fun brunch and I definitely recommend it. The food could have been better, but I was there for the experience!
Place rating: 4
Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg
Schöné Hafenrundfahrt in der San Diego Bay, wir haben die zwei Stunden Tour gemacht und sind vorbei an der Skyline zu den Werften gefahren und anschließend auf die andere Seite zu den Seelöwen. Während der Fahrt wird viel auf englisch erklärt und man bekommt viele Infos zu San Diego. Man kann auch eine 1-​stündige Tour buchen, dann wird eben nur eine Seite angefahren. Für 5 Dollar extra kann man auch noch eine Getränkeflat auf dem Boot dazubuchen (gilt nur für Softdrinks und Kaffee). Auf dem Boot kann man wählen ob man im inneren sitzen will oder auf dem Sonnendeck.
Insgesamt eine schöné Tour die bei einem Diego Aufenthalt zu empfehlen ist.