Hornblower Cruises & Events NOW City Experiences is a

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

-based charter

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

, dining

cruise A cruise is any travel on a cruise ship. Cruise or Cruises may also refer to: Tourism * Booze cruise * Music cruise * River cruise Aeronautics and aircraft * Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight * Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...

and

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

service company.

History

The company began in 1974 in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

with two ships. In 1980 the original owner, Ward Proescher, sold the business to Terry MacRae and P. Michael Watson. Proescher later went on to start a competing charter yacht company in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

, Commodore Cruises. By acquiring existing charter yacht companies, Hornblower was able to expand into

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

in 1984, followed by

Newport Beach Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

in 1987. Shortly thereafter the company acquired the Marina del Rey-based Marina Cruise Lines. By 1989 the company operated in Berkeley, San Francisco, San Diego, Newport Beach and Marina del Rey. The

corporate headquarters Corporate headquarters is the part of a corporate structure that deals with important tasks such as strategic planning, corporate communications, taxes, law, books of record, marketing, finance, human resources, and information technology. Corpor ...

were (and continue to be) located on the historic ferry

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * Sa ...

, which is moored at Pier 3 in San Francisco. In 1992 Terry MacRae became the sole owner of Hornblower Yachts, Inc, which was rebranded as Hornblower Cruises & Events to more accurately reflect the products and services offered. In 1996 Hornblower Marine Services (HMS) was created to fill a need as a consultant to the booming riverboat casino and ferry service operations industry. By 2003, HMS grew to 80 employees, with offices in San Francisco, New London,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and Jacksonville. Three year later, HMS had become the leading worldwide provider of high-speed ferry services. In 2019 Hornblower Cruises & Events acquired Entertainment Cruises and all the operations encompassing it. The purchase of Entertainment Cruises doubled the number of ships and locations that Hornblower operates. In October of the same year, Hornblower acquired English tour boat operator

City Cruises City Cruises is a cruise vessel operator in England with operations in London, Poole and York. It is a subsidiary of Hornblower Cruises. History City Cruises was incorporated in 1986. In the late 1980s the company acquired former Gosport Ferry ...

who have operations in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. In 2022 Hornblower acquired Experience Australia Group Pty Ltd, a diversified tourism business based in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, known mainly for operating Australian interstate experiential tourism trains (

The Ghan ''The Ghan'' is an experiential tourism oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin on the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor. O ...

, the Indian Pacific, The Overland, and the Great Southern) but also with interests in cruise and air tourism. In turn, the company had been owned by Quadrant Private Equity since 2016. In January 2022, Quadrant Private Equity sold the business to Hornblower. Today, Hornblower operates out of 19 different ports: San Francisco, Berkeley,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, Marina Del Rey,

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, Newport Beach, San Diego, DC, Alexandria, Boston, Chicago, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Toronto, Baltimore,

Port of New York and New Jersey The Port of New York and New Jersey is the port district of the New York-Newark metropolitan area, encompassing the region within approximately a radius of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. It includes the system of navigable water ...

, Poole and York. The company's entire fleet now includes more than 80 boats.

Cruises and ferry services

Niagara Falls Cruises

Hornblower Canada Company, a Canadian subsidiary of Hornblower operates the Niagara Falls Gorge Boat Tour from the Canadian side of the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

near

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

, similar to the

Maid of the Mist The Maid of the Mist is a sightseeing boat tour of Niagara Falls, starting and ending on the American side, crossing briefly into Canada during a portion of the trip. The fleet currently consists of two vessels, both of which launched in 2020. ...

cruises out of

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara ...

on the American side. Hornblower has two ships, ''Niagara Wonder'' and ''Niagara Thunder'', which carries 700 passengers each. The boats are based on Elliot Bay Design Group design and built by Hike Metal Products of

Wheatley, Ontario Wheatley is a community in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, within the municipality of Chatham-Kent. It lies about east of Leamington. Nearby parks include Two Creeks Conservation Area, which has 15 km of hiking and bicycling paths, Kopegaron ...

. * ''Niagara Wonder'' **Years of service: 2013–present **Type: double-stack catamaran tour boat **Engine: 2 x 450 BHP @1800RPM Scania DI13 * ''Niagara Thunder'' **Years of service: 2013–present **Type: double-stack catamaran tour boat **Engine: 2 x 450 BHP @1800RPM Scania DI13

Lake Tahoe Cruises

Between 1997 and 2002 Hornblower operated in

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

, beginning with the acquisition of Lake Tahoe Cruises Inc. and the vessels ''Tahoe Queen'' and ''Tahoe Princess''. Business expanded to include ferry service across Lake Tahoe and land shuttle services between

South Lake Tahoe South Lake Tahoe is the most populous city in El Dorado County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada. The city's population was 21,330 at the 2020 census, down from 21,403 at the 2010 census. The city, along the southern edge of Lake ...

and Squaw Valley Ski Resort. Lake Link ferry service was launched across Lake Tahoe, and was the fastest

passenger boat A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

on the lake. In 2002 the Lake Tahoe port was sold to Aramark - the owner and operator of the MS ''Dixie'' - the primary long-standing competition for the ''Tahoe Queen''.

Alcatraz Cruises

In 2006 Hornblower won the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

concession for ferry service to Alcatraz Island when the contract with

Blue & Gold Fleet Blue & Gold Fleet is a privately owned company in the United States providing ferry services in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. It operates the San Francisco Bay Ferry commuter ferry system under contract with WETA. Blue & Gold also op ...

expired. Under the name Alcatraz Cruises, the company provides ticketing service and transportation to the one and a half million visitors to the island every year. In 2008, Alcatraz Cruises introduced the

Hornblower Hybrid The Hornblower Hybrid is a family of ferry boats belonging to US operator Hornblower Cruises, which are powered with hybrid power trains. ''San Francisco Hornblower Hybrid'' The ''San Francisco Hornblower Hybrid'' is a catamaran, with a fu ...

to the fleet — the first hybrid ferry in the United States. The Hybrid runs off of

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...

wind power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...

, and low-emission diesel fuel.

Statue Cruises

In 2007 the company was awarded a concession from the National Park Service to operate ferries to Liberty Island and Ellis Island, the only public access to the national historic sites in the

. This replaced Circle Line, which had operated the service since 1953. Under the name Statue Cruises, the company provides ticketing service and transportation for visitors to the Statue of Liberty National Monument and

Ellis Island Immigration Museum Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...

. Boats depart from either

Communipaw Terminal The Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal, also known as Communipaw Terminal and Jersey City Terminal, was the Central Railroad of New Jersey's waterfront passenger terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey. The terminal was built in 1889, replacing ...

, Liberty State Park in

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Castle Clinton, Battery Park in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...

. All ferry riders are subject to security screening, similar to airport procedures, prior to boarding. The affiliated

Liberty Water Taxi Liberty Water Taxi is a water taxi service based at Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States offering service between Liberty State Park in Jersey City, Liberty Harbor in Jersey City and the Brookfield Place in Battery Pa ...

operates between Liberty State Park and the

Battery Park City Ferry Terminal The Battery Park City Ferry Terminal, is a passenger ferry terminal in Battery Park City, Manhattan, serving ferries along the Hudson River in New York City and Gateway Region, northeastern New Jersey. It provides ferry slip, slips to ferries, wa ...

Hornblower New York Cruises

Separately from its Liberty and Ellis Island service, Hornblower operates a fleet of six New York-based yachts operating from Pier 15 on the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...

and Pier 40 on the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, offering scheduled sightseeing cruises and special-event charter excursions. Its vessels are the ''Hornblower Infinity'', the ''Hornblower Serenity'', the ''Hornblower Sensation'', the ''Hornblower Hybrid'', the ''Hornblower Esprit'' and the ''John James Audubon.''

NYC Ferry

In 2015, Hornblower Cruises was selected to operate

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

's NYC Ferry service, which started operations on May 1, 2017. It is the company's first commuter ferry operation. One route connects

and

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...

with nearby points across the

in northern

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, while a second route connects Lower Manhattan with

Rockaway Park Rockaway Park is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. The area is on the Rockaway Peninsula, nestled between Jamaica Bay to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The neighborhood of Rockaway Beach lies on its eastern b ...

in Queens. A third route, which began on June 1, 2017, connects Lower Manhattan with riverfront communities in southern Brooklyn. A fourth route, connecting Manhattan with

Astoria, Queens Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast ...

, began operating on August 19, 2017. Two additional routes to

Soundview, Bronx Soundview is a neighborhood on the Clason Point peninsula, on the southern section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, White Pla ...

, and to the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

of Manhattan started operating in August 2018.

Notable yachts

Jrb 20060629 seagull San Francisco Belle

*The M/V ''Zumbrota'', built for circus magnate

Charles Ringling Charles Edward Ringling (December 2, 1863 – December 3, 1926) was one of the Ringling brothers, who owned the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was in charge of production and greatly admired by the employees, who called him ...

and named for the then-largest

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

in captivity, was acquired to serve guests in San Diego. It is now based in Marina del Rey. *The M/V ''Wild Goose'' (

USS YMS-328 USS ''YMS-328'' is a decommissioned US Navy ( YMS-135 subclass) Yard Mine Sweeper (YMS), built in Ballard, Washington at Ballard Marine & Railway in Ballard, Washington (Seattle). She was classified as a Mark II design and her hull is construc ...

) formerly

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

’s private yacht, joined the fleet in 1995. The vintage 1942 restored minesweeper continues to operate in Newport Beach. *The ferryboat ''

'', which ferried passengers between San Francisco and the East Bay, now serves at the company’s corporate office. *The M/V ''San Francisco Belle'', a paddlewheel style vessel, joined the fleet in 2001. The ''Belle'', with a capacity of 2,200 is the largest dining yacht on the West Coast. *The

, the first hybrid ferry in the United States, was completed in 2008 and serves visitors to Alcatraz Island and

Angel Island Angel Island may refer to: *Angel Island (California), historic site of the United States Immigration Station, Angel Island, and part of Angel Island State Park, in San Francisco Bay, California * Angel Island, Papua New Guinea * ''Angel Island'' (n ...

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

Notes

References

*Ramirez, Anthony (2007-06-29)
"Circle Line Loses Pact for Ferries to Liberty Island"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. Retrieved 2009-11-03. *Nolte, Carl (2005-09-28)
"Hornblower Yachts picked to operate ferries to Alcatraz"
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

''. Retrieved 2009-11-03. *Duxbury, Sarah (2009-10-16)
"Hornblower’s landmark cruises power expansion"
''San Francisco Business Times''. Retrieved 2009-11-03.

External links

Hornblower official website

Alcatraz Cruises official website

Statue Cruises official website

Hornblower Marine Services official websiteHornblower Niagara CruisesEntertainment Cruises official website
{{Hudson County Transportation Network Ferry companies of California Ferry companies of New Jersey Ferry companies of New York (state) Ferries of New Jersey Ferries of New York City Travel and holiday companies of the United States Water transportation in New York City Transportation in Hudson County, New Jersey Port of New York and New Jersey Public transportation in Los Angeles County, California Public transportation in San Francisco Companies based in San Francisco Tourist attractions in Hudson County, New Jersey Tourism in New Jersey Tourism in New York City Tourist attractions in the San Francisco Bay Area 1974 establishments in California Statue of Liberty