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Hornblower Newport Harbor Dining Cruise

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stvchin
stvchin
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
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Hornblower Newport Harbor Dining Cruise

  • July 3, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by stvchin from Tustin, California
Hornblower Newport Harbor Dining Cruise

Hornblower Cruises and Events is a company that does dining cruises around Newport Beach, San Diego, Marina Del Rey, San Francisco, and Berkeley. This is a review of the Newport Beach dinner dancing cruise.

I found the Hornblower's website and booked 2 reservations via telephone, using a AAA discount of 25%. The evening cruise was for Saturday July 1, 2006. Attire is technically business casual, but you can wear really nice $150 jeans.

We arrived at 6:45 in the parking lot of the Hornblower offices, and it was full, so we were directed to the parking lot on the other side of PCH behind Jacks Shrimp. It's a metered public parking lot, but it's free after 6 PM.

We waited in line by the berth until 7 PM, then we boarded in groups of 10. We boarded the Hornblower Entertainer, a triple decked yacht. The first deck we boarded on wasn't being used for this cruise. The second deck was the dining and dancing floor. Tables were set up 4 abreast, 2 on each side and a dance floor between each side. A DJ was set up at the back. There is an outside deck on the bow another deck aft. There was a large table set up there, presumably for a special dinner party.

We checked in with the hostess and were given out table number, and went to find it. Our table was not a window table, but an aisle table. It was okay, since we spent most of the time on the top deck.

The top deck is all outside. There are 3 large ottomans set up with pillows for stargazing and plastic tables and chairs in the middle.

They usually cast off at 7:15PM, but we didn't get underway until 7:45PM. We backed out and headed southbound, towards the entrance to Newport Harbor.

Since we stayed inside the harbor the entire time, the cruise was VERY SMOOTH, even smoother than a train ride. We watched the sun set behind the Newport Peninsula. I love seeing the sun glisten off the waves. We watched the super expensive waterfront homes pass by, with their yachts docked off their private piers. We watched other boats pass by and waved to them. It was also quite interesting trying to identify things as seen from the harbor, since we're accustomed to seeing them from the land side.

We wandered back down to the dining deck for a ravioli and bow tie pasta appetizer. We kept going back up top and returning for each course. We had warm rolls, salad, filet mignon and salmon entree, cheesecake for dessert. After dessert, the DJ opened up the dance floor.

The food is okay, but it's not the main reason for going. The DJ announced many guest birthdays, anniversaries, and a graduation. We returned at 10:20pm. Our total cost for 2 people was $109 for the cruise and $52 for drinks and optional appetizer. I'd highly recommend this. This is just a really fun/romantic event.

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