Port’s O Call Spirit Cruises

I went on a short whale watching two hour trip a few weeks ago and had a really great time. The crew was really friendly and the captain made sure to put us as close as we could to catch some sightings of gray whales. He made sure to orient the boat so that everyone could experience the whales from where they were situated in the boat. He is also very knowledgeable of all other the sea life as well. While out on the water we saw two gray whales (main attraction), common dolphin, bottlenose, and pacific white sided dolphin. It was really facinating to see the beautiful animals that day. I’m so glad I went. The two hour cruise was just right.

We had our Holiday Party on the dinner cruise around San Pedro December 2015. The boat was very clean and the staff were excellent. We chose the fiesta buffet with unlimited margaritas. The food was super yummy and the drinks were great! They also provide a full cash bar with no minimum which is rare to find. We were able to hire a DJ and there was a large dance floor area too. We had about 50 guests and there was plenty of space. We would definitely recommend this activity to any group!

We went on the 1.5 hour full tour of the harbor and it was great. Their boats are well maintained and although I would have liked more information from the guide the trip was really relaxing and will worth the 19.00ea. I would totally recommend this to anyone.

I Did the spirit dinner cruise this past weekend for my birthday and It was a great experience! The staff was very nice, their service with the food was prompt and the views were breathtaking. My only
hang up is the area of the boat where you serve dinner is EXTREMELY and the 1 swamp cooler doesn’t do a good job keeping that area cool. I couldn’t really enjoy my meal because I was too busy fanning myself. The food was also mediocre, but Its all about the experience, and the experience was very nice! I would definitely do it again! Thank you Spirit cruises for making my birthday dinner amazing!

We got tickets for free with our brunch at Ports O Call restaurant and it was an easy walk right next door to board the boat. We were at the end of the line and there were no seats upstairs so we ended up in the lower level, which was fine because there is ventilation with fresh air and the bar/​snack area is down there.
We thought we were on a 1 hour cruise but actually ended up on the 2 hour and really, for Ports O Call and Long Beach, that is way too long. It was cool seeing a cruise ship and Queen Mary from a different vantage point, but the second hour was really just seeing the same stuff going back in the opposite direction. It was fun seeing sea lions, seals and pelicans though and that part kept the 6 year old occupied.
But our main issue was the speaker down there at that level. It was LOUD. I mean, make you jump out of your seat loud every time the narrator came back on. There was a lady sitting across from us who just resorted to having her husband sit with his hands over her ears, lol. And it seemed like the entire narration was about what Long Beach, Ports O Call and LA Harbor don’t have anymore. I know he probably goes from a script but he was kind of a Debbie Downer.

I’ve done the evening dinner cruise three times in the last five years. It’s a solid A-​OK (and not much more) experience.
The cruise lasts about 2 hours. The scenery around the Long Beach area is great — you get to see the piers, large shipping vessels, and the Queen Mary. The bar keeps the alcohol flowing with mostly beer and basic cocktails (meaning one pour of a drink mix and one pour of a spirit). There’s a DJ that plays music on one of the decks. Overall, it’s a relaxed atmosphere.
The food leaves something to be desired. The caesar salad, undercooked chicken leg, grisly steak, canned green beans, and boxed au gratin potatoes are NOT the highlight of the cruise. My solution? Chow down on some seafood fajitas, ceviche, or giant squid calamari at the fish market before I get on the boat.
Overall, this cruise is good for showing people around the Port of LA and enjoying some beers while zipping around the water. Romantic dinner or super special occasion? Probably not.

We had the early Valentine’s dinner cruise on Saturday. I left VERY HAPPY…
However, traffic into Ports of Call and parking was incredible on Valentine’s Day. A little warning might have been nice, but I suppose that is beyond their responsibility.
We were supposed to get into line at 5:30. We got there by 5:40. Not a big difference, but stressful. There was NO SEATING! Dressed up… in Valentine heels… I DO fault Spirit Cruises for that.
Apparently, the food had not completely made it on the boat in time for the 6 PM deadline. At 6:10, the boat had to move to let another boat come in to drop off tourist from an earlier cruise. That took a maddingly long time! We inquired about getting a refund. The attendant promised us that we would would be boarding soon.
We were FINALLY allowed on at 6:25. We had been standing there the entire time. My husband and I promised each other that we would be positive and keep an open mind.
Once we got in, the dinner was good. The food was appealing.
Minor negatives: there was no plate for the bread, the glassware was plastic. The baked potatoes were served with absolutely nothing to go on it. I had to steal butter from the bread basket. And… the lights were a bit too bright.
Positives: We were able to maneuver a bottle of champagne for our own. (It was Wycliff…)
After dinner we went out on the bow and enjoyed a glorious, delightfully clear evening. We passed through to Long Beach and sailed pass the Queen Mary and the ‘Pike’ area of Long Beach.
Overall it was a good cruise. It could have been better. But I might go again.

Hubby surprised me for Valentine’s Day and it was amazing! Weather was perfect. Dinner started as soon as we boarded. Filet mignon & salmon (yup, you get both) along with steamed veggies and potatoes. Oh and you could cut the steak with a butter knife, it was delicious! Anyway, Once dinner was done, we were free to move around as we pleased. There was a open bar with legitimate liquors on hand, no house brands. DJ on the upper deck where we were free to dance. We went from San Pedro to Long Beach. The captain took his time cruising around LB so we got to see the Queen Mary, the light house, and all the city lights. The whole cruise took about 3.5 hours. It was a blast. I loved it, and we’ll definitely be going back!

I purchased the dinner cruise as a gift for my parents. After several months we decided to join them so there was four of us.
This is the dinner cruise through the harbor, for the money it was a great deal. The food was good and the service was excellent. We were lucky enough to have a clear night and the temperature was perfect. Just enough for a light jacket on the water.
If I had anything to complain about it would be the dock and Ports o call. It was a disgusting filthy area that desperately needs to be revamped. And there were several portable toilets on the dock area by our boat that desperately needed cleaning. Enough to ruin your appetite so we tried to stay away as long as we could. All said and done it was a nice evening with my family and I would do it again.

IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE THIS CRUISE YOU ARE REALLY MISSING THE BOAT…
Captain Tim, the «Spirit» tour boats Master and Chief absolutely ROCKS. Not only is he knowledgeable about the Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors, but he really, truly loves the area and what he does. I’d like to think I know San Pedro, I was humbled… yet he made those from outside San Pedro feel special too. Captain Tim is a floating encyclopedia. The only way I can describe how I felt was «enlightened» and 3d’d. The tour and Captain Tim brought a lot to life by adding a third dimension to what I knew so far. I am probably ruined for life when it comes to cruising The Harbor, and if Captain Tim retires I will have to buy a boat and beg for his services. Right now all I have is a Kayak from Costco. It is bright red, and I keep it chained to a piling at Cabrillo Marina. Lucky for me it has seats two. I’ll do the paddling. The drawback is I get no respect; sea Lions, pelicans, seagulls, plastic water bottles, and stray grunion, totally indifferent to my existence.
I have driven to and from work from San Pedro to Long Beach for the last 25 years save a day or two when someone was jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge or it was closed for a movie or repairs. I have seen the Los Angeles Harbor change in many ways. It an hour and a half, Captain Tim brought a lot of those memories back to life, answered a whole bunch of questions; promoting a million more questions not yet answered. I called the Spirit Cruise main number and talked with Angela, a really super cool person at their main office. I inquired about the possibility of getting a life-​time travelers pass for the Harbor Tour, with no black out days unlike Disneyland. She was very polite, and she countered with the fact I can get on the tour for free every Sunday if celebrate brunch at next door Port’s O’ Call Restaurant. My doctor just told me I needed to lose 30 pounds and drastically lower my cholesterol just a few weeks ago. I am very solution driven, so immediate I decided not to include him in either the breakfast or the cruise: His loss; my gain.
How we happened on the cruise is a cute story. I was planning a birthday for my sweetheart Michiru and several times we had talked about going on a cruise. With Ian’s, my sons, first year at LMU underway, and Michiru’s son in his senior year of high school, it seemed impossible. Michiru – hope I am not going out on a limb here – loves San Pedro and we are constantly exploring and investigating our city. She is a Valley Girl, and as far as I can tell I have her convinced San Pedro is the center of the Universe and from it all else emanates forth. I have absolutely no what that means, but I wanted to write it, so I did.
I suggested the Spirit Cruise, lunch at Utro’s, a tour of Point Fermin Lighthouse, dinner at Kings Shabu Shabu, and then Cold Stone Ice Cream to top it off. As Michiru will attest to, we celebrate her birthday for most of the month of October or until she tells me to stop. I was really excited about both the Spirit Cruise and Light House Tour. We boarded the Spirit Cruise Ship at 12:30; needless to say I was the first in line, which as organized as they are at Spirit cruises, was not necessary. I wanted to take photos, and as it turned out I wandered the whole ship at will and took almost 700 photos.
Ok. I know what you are thinking… what was Michiru doing? Putting up with me as usual, of course! She was totally into the tour and loved it too. Whether you are from San Pedro, California or San Pedro, Costa Rica you will walk away from The Spirit Cruise with much more than you came with. See you at brunch!

Our family loved the daily cruise of the port. The captain was funny and interesting and we learned about the harbor’s activities and historical areas as we enjoyed afternoon margaritas (they are too sweet and the bartender has no water so you better like em sweet). Easily the highlight of our day at the Port of LA.

This place is a joke! I went on a dinner cruise for my 1 year anniversary on 6÷1÷2013 and was I mislead. They charged me $ 130 for me and my girlfriend. I expected the boat to be decent with silverware, fresh food and a nice interior. Instead I was served with PLASTIC CUPS, cold/​expired food and surrounded in a disgusting room while they played GILLIGAN’S ISLAND THEME SONG! Don’t get me started with the clogged/​disgusting bathrooms and teenage servers. DONT COME HERE!

We had a very nice Valentine’s Dinner Cruise. It was all inclusive with wine, champaign and full bar. The dinner of steak, salmon and potatoes was tantalizing. This company focuses on the experience. NO PICTURE OR SOUVENIR PEDDLING HERE.
Good memories served here.

Went on the dinner harbor cruise on a saturday night, for spending sixty dollars a person you would think that you would at least get a decent dinner aborad a nice clean boat… WRONG! The food was terrible, barley edible, plastic silverware and plates, the boat was dirty and old and I wont even get started on the bathroom situation, DISGUSTING. I decided to go on this and save a few bucks because the hornblower was about twenty bucks more a person. My bad!!! I have been on the hornblower before and compared to this one was night and day. Splurge for the extra money for the hornblower you really get what you pay for!!!

What a nice, refreshing and inexpensive getaway!
I was pleasantly surprised by the $ 12 ticket prices, w/​$ 5 margs at the on-​board open bar downstairs. Other mixed drinks were available and tasted OK. My family and I also checked in on FourSquare and were able to get the buy-​one, get-​one deal. 7 of us got in for just under 50 bucks — that’s cheaper than 1 ticket for the ferry to Catalina! There’s plenty of space up on the deck for a good group of about 30 people, then there’s room for maybe another 60 down in the first floor dining area.
It was nice to be out on the water, with a semi-​interesting tour. We passed by everything from recycling ports to big brand loading docks to a prison where inmates waved to us. It was definitely a different setting for my family and I to be for about an hour and a half. Great bonding time for sure. Then, after we were all sleepy from sun, breeze and alki, we were able to grub at the near-​by food court full of FRESH seafood!

Harbor cruises on a 90ft. boat that depart right from the docks of Ports O Call. Prices are around $ 15 for adults and around $ 6 for children (Free ticket with the purchase of Sunday brunch at Ports O Call restaurant). cruises last about and hour or so and cruise at a leisurely pace around the harbor/​port. Definitely an Inexpensive cool outing for local and tourist alike. Food and drinks are available on board.