The 2hr tour consists of the 1hr North harbor and 1hr South harbor tours - returning to the same dock in between. The tour was well managed and informative. Nobody checked tickets once you were on the boat so you could do the 2hr tour if you just stayed on from either of the 1hr tours.

My boyfriend and I had an amazing time on this cruise! Even though we were bummed that our original tour was cancelled because of ship maintenance, the company communicated properly and were able to rebook quickly.Once on the ship they offered a fairly extensive list of refreshments for snack bar capabilities including liquor. In addition, they had volunteers from a local wildlife association come around with visual aids about whale migration facts. Perfect for the kiddos! Thank you Yvonne and Claudia.Although we didnt see any gray whales, we DID see LOTS of dolphins and sea lions (pics below). AND the tour gave us 90 minute vouchers for a return whale trip.Would HIGHLY recommend this tour for anyone. Thank you First Office Steve as well!

Took the two hour harbor tour. Great time with the family. Great narration throughout the trip.

Great experience!! Staff very friendly & knowledgeable about the harbor. Saw a bunch of sea lions. Prices very reasonable.

This was my first time and it was nice experience. Spotted more than 200 Dolphins and a mola fish. The guide had good knowledge on the species. Though we were not able to spot a whale, they gave a discounted ride coupon for next ride to spot a whale.

Lots of people, kinda pricey for what it is. Id say go rent your own boat to drive around, it might be more worthwhile. But the tour guide was great, saw seals and several navy ships/aircraft

Ocean and whales what more can you ask forIt was one of the most amazing things ever, the cruise takes off from Harbor Drive, next to the USS Midway.The cruise is few hours long, so when you first get into the ship, make sure to get familiar with it, visit each floor, check out the indoor and outdoor areas, find the toilet, this will help you move quickly when required, for example, if you want to find the best spot to see the dolphin that is passing by the sip.In the beginning, you will cruise smoothly out of the bay, passing by a few points of interest that the guide will talk about, including the military airport, some submarines, Point Loma …etc. from there you are in the open ocean, and that is an experience on its own, there is nothing like the open ocean, I have been in rivers, seas…etc. nothing compares to the ocean.You will cruise in the ocean for an hour or so, trying to find a whale (to watch), the ship is in communication with all other ships in the area, so if any ship finds a whale, they will report it to all cruises and they will all gather around it, if you are unable to see any whale during the cruise you will be given a ticket to redo the cruise another time to watch a whale which is unbelievable, they make sure to deliver what they promised you which is whale watching.You will most definitely see some sea lions during the cruise, possibly multiple times, if you are lucky you will see some dolphins swimming next to the ship.

Do the dinner cruise and if you have the extra $ get the champagne package 📦 youll thank me later

Loved the tour plus the crew! Must do when visiting San Diego for sure. Seen whales, dolphins, and sea lions all on the trip.

Take the 2 hr cruise, make sure to buy tickets from Groupon.A must when visiting San Diego, views are so beautiful.Perfect for a date or just to relax while taking a good drink and snack.If youre doing this during winter time, take the last ride so you can enjoy sunset.

The cruise was amazing I would encourage everyone visiting San Diego to try it out. Give yourself atleast a 45 - 55 mins buffer because traffic and parking takes a long time.

Great staff. Saw some sea lions did like a South & north sightseeing cruise!

I was surprised with the cruise it was good and they have a bar and bathrooms

Whale watching cruises stopped for the season until December. Just posting to avoid calling them again. So if planning to go with any city pass better to plan for alternative

Got an excellent view of a grey whale as we were nearing the end of our (4hr) tour which rounded it off nicely. Even without that we saw plenty of wildlife and some great views of the skyline, naval base and USS Midway.Found that enough info/facts were given but not so much that you felt inundated or couldnt chat. Crew were friendly, loved that some volunteers came down from nat history museum who had a fair chunk of knowledge too.Overall great value just being out on the water for so long!

Fun trip, even though we didnt see any whales the used the time to give us information on the surrounding area and military ships in the vicinity.

My wife and I did the premier dinner cruise. The staff were wonderful. The meal was okay. The drinks were strong, but expensive. The views were beautiful.

What a fun time. It was beautiful, the crew was super friendly, the ship was clean, and the drinks were delicious. We will for sure do it again.

We took the two hour cruise of the bay on October 8, 2019. We booked our cruise and paid for a picture online about a month ago. Our boarding passes and picture coupon were waiting for us at the ticket booth when we arrived. The whole cruise is narrated by the crew who have a great understanding of the harbor. We spent the first hour in the north harbor and passed the North Island Naval Air Station, the 2nd largest naval air station in the country, and had a perfect view of the San Diego skyline. We returned to the dock for about 15 minutes to allow the people with the one hour tour to get off. This was the perfect time to grab a drink from the snack bar. We spent the second hour in the south harbor passing Coronado Island and going right under the Coronado Bridge. I was impressed by the crews knowledge of ships docked at the navy base. He described the type and use of each ship including its name. This cruise is an easy and relaxing way to see the San Diego harbor and well worth the $32 cost. We really enjoy ourselves.

It was a nice experience. We saw 30-40 dolphins 🐬 at once.We saw a few sea lions 🦭But just one whale. Apparently April/May are the best seasons to sea whales along the San Diego coast. We went in July.

Did the full San Diego bay tour. Good guide narrator and smooth trip. Sat on outer lower deck with less ocean breeze. Take a light jacket. Great drinks and super-friendly staff. Got fantastic sunset bay and dusk city pics. Highly recommended. Great for kids too!!

I purchased a groupon ticket for myself and bought children’s tickets online through the Hornblower website for my two kids for the two hour cruise. The first part of the tour takes you around the harbor then returns to dock before continuing on with the second hour of the tour. Both one hour tours can be purchased individually if one hour is enough.We decided to get off after the first hour, but that’s no reflection on the tour of the Hornblower itself. The crew is great as well.

Very relaxing and lovely views. We did the two hour tour. First hour goes south and the second goes North so you get a great view of the area.

Getting thru to someone so that Reservations could be discussed was a long and uneventful process. I am sure if I could have talked to an actual agent it would have been a great experience.

Very professional friendly staff. Guide had a good sense of humor and was very knowledgeable about the area, history and ships. Saw lots of sea lions! Wine and cheese combo was good.

It’s nice Cruise trip. I suggest you to buy the tickets from Groupon much cheaper.

Amazing staff. Courteous, kind and smiling. Saw dolphins, blue whale, various landmarks and sea sights. Rougher seas left many ill, highly recommend planning ahead with some anti nausea meds/bands.

Hornblower Cruise was fun and exciting to be there. Captain talks on the speaker that as if he is the tour guide. Captain was fun to listen to. He is also funny, made a few jokes. I didnt like the bathroom. Mostly junk food. Wish had some other healthy food. Still have good services.

Great crew. Wonderful company. Treat you very well. It was quite a chilly day, but there is an interior area where you can still watch and listen.

My family and I bought dinner cruise tickets for my brothers 50th birthday (for him and his wife). We also bought a hotel room for that night and they planned their weekend around this. Less than 2 weeks prior to the event, I got an email informing me that this service is no longer available. They refunded our money, never talked to us and gave us any other options for different dates or times. I called half a dozen of times and no one ever answers. I left a voicemail asking for a call back to discuss other options, never heard back. Ive never had such a poor customer service experience booking anything online before. So very disappointed at the lack of care for our special event- not even an apology.

After a long covid time. It felt really good to get out of the house and into a 3hr cruise. The staff were well informed and very curious to all the passengers. And lets not forget after the cruise had to stop by little Italy for a fresh pippin hot pizza.

Tried this via Groupon. Bar and snacks on the boat. There was so much information about local military, and other local attractions. Clean bathrooms. Parking wasnt too bad. Close to food and other things to see. 4yo and 8yo had a great time.

Offers a great view of the harbor. Take the 2 hour one to see both north and south areas of the bay. Going to groupon saves you about 50% off. Bathroom stalls were a minor problem compared to the overall experience. Guides were knowledgeable. Stay on the upper deck. Right side of the boat has better views, except when youre looking at ships (which will be on the left side). Food is quite pricey on board, bring snacks.

It was wonderful. Saw and learned a lot around the area. They have food and drinks you can purchase. Good for families and dates.

My Father, my, husband, Sister and her honey all took the Hornblower 2 hour cruise. As you can see it was awesome!! Great memories were made. Thank you #Hornblower Crew!

Took a 2 hour Harbor Cruise and it was great. The first hour, the captain was very informative about the landmarks and the huge homes, the restaurants, the old cemetery on the hill, Shelter Island etcWe then docked to let the 1 hour people to get off, others to get on and our new captain. Who use to be in the service, so this hour we learned a lot of history about those Navy ships. I have been on this cruise before, but it never gets oldWe went the 25 of last month and it was a beautiful day. A must go see and do!

We done this as a way of seeing the city from a different perspective as well as having a few drinks to enjoy the view with. The boat was great, and the views were brilliant. We went for the fully overboard package and have advised my parents and friends who are going soon to look into it. We really enjoyed it and it set us up nicely for the NY comedy club afterwards. The drinks on offer were great and for NY prices you pretty much get your monies worth once youve fed yourself (food was really nice with a decent choice) and had a number of drinks you definitely get your moneys worth to enjoy the views. You get close enough to the statue of liberty for some great pictures also - more so that the staten island ferry.

As a San Diego native, it was something we had always heard about but never tried. We went on the 2 hr harbor cruise at 3p & it was a wonderful experience. My toddler loved every minute of it. The beautiful skyline, views & information was spot on. We ended our cruise experience with an incredible San Diego sunset. Would reccomend to anyone wanting a little R&R enjoying San Diego harbor.

We took this cruise and loved seeing finback whales, sea lions and sailboats offshore. Dont forget to bring your coat, though! It gets chilly quickly out on the water.

Bring a hat and suntan lotion, very important! The cruise was informative and the staff was friendly and helpful.

The staff was awesome! We didnt see any whales, but we saw a few pods of dolphins.

I loved it. It was so much fun the stuff was amazing 😊 I got there a little late but they still held the boat so we could get on.. so amazing they didnt have to do that..nice way to see the boats .

Very professional crew. We did not see a whale but saw some dolphins. Gave everyone a return for free card due to no whales. Had a lot of fun. Felt bad for the 2 vomiters, but your on the ocean...

Lots of history

The tour itself was very fun. First Officer Kyle and First Officer Randy were very nice and knowledgeable. The ship was clean and well cared for. The snack bar ran out of items before we even set off. The staff in the ticket booth was very rude.

Ive been so many times Ive lost count. Comfortable ride. Good food. Great price on Groupon! Very informative and chill.

Great tour around the San Diego bay. We paid for a Groupon for both the north and south tour, and we’re glad we did both. Lots of great info about the area and the base! Lots of wind so go on a warm day or dress warm

Its was super fun, and the speed of the boat was awesome,the crew members are very friendly, i will do it again, the view was great you can see basically everything far away in the water

The tour was very nice! Had a beer and some nachos during the tour. The bathrooms are very clean and staff is excellent.

Staff is always courteous & knowledgeable. 1st Officer Kyle is funny and adds to the trip. Food in snack bar is fresh, good & unexpected. Great views of the San Diego bay, and our awesome Navy ships.

Fun and informative! I recommend it for a great relaxing afternoon or evening! 😊👍👍

Plenty of informations through the 2 tours, thank You so much, especially for the nice views we had the possibility to enjoy.

Relaxing day on the water, awesome views of San Diegos downtown from an Ocean view.

Nice tour with good tour guide providing information. Only did the south harbor tour because of time. Otherwise would do the two hour cruise.

Lots of fun. Informative. People really enjoy this when they visit from out of town.

Nice tour. Informations during the tour by speakers.

Such a wonderful experience !! I had never gone whale-watching before, but I have been in Hornblower a handful of times for their tours. Ive even booked an event here for a dinner cruise for my mom her classmates for a reunion. There are so many promotions for the events offered by hornblower, that you are bound to find an amazing deal. My latest experience with hornblower was the whale watching trip which I absolutely enjoyed as it felt like we saw EVERYTHING including several whale spottings. Food offered on the boat is expectedly mediocre and high priced, but they do allow you to bring on small packaged snacks and things . Lots of seating available both out on the deck or inside. Water does tend to get choppy so please be prepared and take that Dramamine, or even go the extra mile like the random nice lady we met on board and bring lots to share with seasick neighbors lol! Only thing that turned me off was at the end when captain announced they would be accepting gratuities. I find that to be a little tacky and uncomfortable for this type of experience (I firmly believe it should just be built into the ticket prices ) but we enjoyed nonetheless.

Had an awesome 2 hour tour and with Groupon it was only $14 a person!!

If your are struggling for plans for your birthday or in general to celebrate, this is the move to make! 100% recommend. Please make sure to look at the directions carefully because there’s two different docks at opposite ends! So recently me and my group of friends booked the brunch cruise for my birthday weekend and it was the best decision I made! I absolutely loved it! We thought of many things to do, but none were available or were versatile like the Hornblower brunch cruise. 4 course meal was delicious, unlimited champagne (they provide OG so you can have a mimosa as well!) service and staffing was phenomenal, and you get top tier views of San Diego bay and skyline. Special thank you to Captain Eric because you made all this possible! Also many thanks to DJ and Bryan B for great customer service because they made it such an enjoyable experience! I’m excited to come back again!

Everyone should do this once, the captain have a thorough overview of the bay and all the navy ships. Im glad i went on this tour and it was cheap as chips.

Went on a 3-hour Dinner Cruise to celebrate a birthday. Our waitress was nice but could have been more attentive. After dinner they announced the names of guests celebrating special occasions, except they forgot us. Also the birthday dessert & candle was never brought to our table, it sat at the bar until I got up and asked why, our waitress said she wanted to bring it when all of us were at the table; all three of us spent plenty of time at our table.The Food was good(salmon & roast). The view & boat ride were very enjoyable. But the overall experience fell short of expectations when paying $110 per person.

Beautiful views and informative naration. We took the last tour of the evening and saw the sunset. It was a nice relaxing end to a busy day of walking around.

We went on the 1330 sailing for 3.5 hours to see the whales. The captain was super friendly and great. We were so close to the humpbacks. I wish we could of seen the Gray whales too but that’s just how it goes with nature!

Great spot to take visitors for a cruise around all the cool stuff going on in San Diego from military to filming to sunshine and sunsets. Any ship from this fleet will ensure you have a great time! Excellent service at affordable pricing for all.

If you are into whale watching this is a must do. This company is great. They do suggest you maybe a reservation to be sure you get on. They do have a snack bar and restrooms on board. There is indoor and outdoor seating.

Was great if you dont see a whale you will get a rain check

The crew of San Diego Whale Watching are absolutely 💯 🏆🏆 We saw whales, sea lions and dolphins, and CLOSE!! They took the time to get us close to the pods and the tour guide was entertaining and informative. Great Job team!

In all honesty... BEST TIME! Staff was great, DJ rocked, beautiful view. Had the time of our lives.

Did the one-hour harbor cruise to celebrate a birthday. The captain was pleasant and greeted everyone aboard. The ticket attendant wasnt nearly as cheery.The front of the vessel has the best views and gets crowded quickly.Remember to bring a jacket, even on a hot day.No outside drinks or food are permitted.Sunscreen is good to have if you plan to stay on the deck for the whole time. There is an inside sitting area to escape the sun.Depending on time of day, on street parking might be hard to find. Give yourself some buffer time.You can find deals on Groupon, Goldstar, and even on the companys website.The cruise was a great way to experience the city, even if youre a local.

I have been the DJ/MC for many great events on Hornblower Cruises. This picture was from tonights cruise. Great views & excellent food.

Great tour of the bay. Good narration and an enjoyable, safe experience.

Definitely had a fun time. It was relaxing and informative. Being from San Diego I didnt think I would learn anything new. But it was fun to be on the water.

Wonderful trip around the Bay. Friendly and informative

We got the tickets through the Hopper. Hopper Plus deal includes the double decker bus tour and tickets. We took the Hopper bus from Old Town to the pier and then took the harbor cruise. We decided to go south. Saw military ships and got to see downtown from the water. It is a very nice experience. Definitely a must do in San Diego.

Great dinner cruise!

Amazing experience. Well guided tour. Food is available. It’s reasonable price and in the top level of the cruise there are round tables where you can freely move around but there are some cruises which have fixed benches too. So you have to check before booking that. Over al it’s worth it

The time was wonderful, I tasted delicious food. Th service was very special.

Had great time with Sisters of the Valley on Hornblower cruise ship and Capt. Ernesto Coleman

Fantastic, We saw three whales, they were migrating north-bound, swimming very slow

If you want an inexpensive trip up and down the San Diego Bay, the Hornblower Cruise ship is the perfect way to go about it. There are two cruise options, the half tur and the full tour. I highly suggest doing the full tour because after leaving the dock you can cruise to Bayside Park, turn around, return to the dock, back out and cruise all the way to the opening of the bay near Point Loma. I think the full tour is about one hour and thirty minutes long. You can buy food and drinks on the boat. You can sit inside while enjoying the pretty scenery or sit outside on the multiple level dock and soak in the sun. by cruising on this ship you get to see a different side Coronado, the USS Midway, the Coronado Bridge, Point Loma, Harbor Island and Shelter Island. Plus have your camera ready to capture some pictures of the seals relaxing on the dock at Naval Base Point Loma.

Whales seen, also dolphins and sea lion worth the cost

We took two cruises with Hornblower while on vacation. The first one was The Dolphin and Whale Watching tour. We took the morning slot and were able to see 6 gray whales and 50+ bottle nose dolphins. One even jumped out the water and flipped! We bought the first mate pack for our daughters, but there were no keychains. We tried the hot cocoa but it wasnt that good. I also bought a Snickers bar and it had expired 11/2020. I gave it back and didnt try anything else. I think this was a once in a lifetime thing for me. Im glad we did it at once!The second cruise was Dinner and a movie at 6p. It was my birthday. This was not as great as experience. We prepaid for the event and still had to order. We also had to pull up our receipt for all the additional items (like drinks, shrimp cocktail, and strawberry cheesecake) that we bought. We sat from 6p-6:30p before a waitress came over. Our food was cold and only getting colder because we were outdoors. They wind nearly blew our drinks over. The first 10-15 mins of Black Pather were cut in half, the bottom was on top and top was on the bottom. The cheesecake topping, the strawberry, tasted like a cherry tootsie pop was melt and drizzled on top. We saw our waitress twice the entire night. We gravely over paid for this particular cruises. If you choose to go, try May when it warmer. The first cruise was windy and a bit chilly, but it was a blast. The second one, when my husband is cold thats how I know we were freezing and we had on jackets!

Good. Saw 1000+ dolphins but the cruise crew had no clue how to spot whales. They judged based on another cruise stopped in ocean.

Loved the whale watching tour!!!! We were lucky to see several Humpbacks and schools of Dolphins. The Captain did a great job navigating the ship to try and get the best view. It was nice to have the option to go inside if you got cold, or needed to use the rest room.

Great spot for day cruises, The Patriot speed boat ride was a blast

Good experience. We were lucky to see whales.

I had a great time! We saw lots of wildlife, 2 different types of whales and 2 different types of dolphins. Lots of sightings. Its hard to get good pictures, so put the camera down and just enjoy. Dolphins swam right next to the boat! Bring a jacket or blanket, it gets cold on open water. Food is tasty but overpriced. Kids got bored after the first hour, but they do have a naturalist discussion but we didnt see it.

Great time with the family. No whales this time but still a great time on the ocean. Worth every penny.

Fun cruise easy to do with kids(they really enjoyed it) was not bumpy and. No seasickness because its a larger size boat. Hold on to your food and drinks if up in topGreat narration and sights

Great experience.. Got a bit chilly..but my drink warmed me up... Food is tasty and the tour was fun. Thanks for sharing my birthday celebration with me

Wonderful brunch, great cruise, good views!!

My son & I took a sight & sip tour which was so nice. The staff were very friendly, helpful, and service was great. Only thing was suppose to have music in place of live band.... Which could not be due to compliance. Even though they had music playing could not here it at all. Would have loved & more enjoyable to heard music. But sights & appetizers were magnificent. Couldnt have had a better time. My son had a great time even wants do more tours of all kinds. He said he like to go on the night tour to see the lights. Thank you HornBlowers

Great harbor tour

Great informative cruise.

The crew are very hospitable, interactive, and funny. My wife and I had a great time and got to see some Whales.

Love the view of San Diego skyline and is a great way to see and hear of history of all along the bay.

We took the ferry from the Broadway pier to Coronado Ferry Landing with our bikes. That had bike racks on board. Views of the San Diego skyline were awesome.

Great trip and definitely recommend you have to do the two hour cruise as the north and south bay are different

So much fun! I love the history of San Diego that they explain throughout the excursion. 😊

The ferry is nice whether for commuting or just a round-trip ride as something to do. The city skyline makes it a nice sight regardless of the time of day. The seats got a little damp on the way back to Seaport Village.