Air / Land / Water
Sunset Cruising
FOUR recommendations for everything from a romantic champagne cruise for two to whale watching...without having to own a yacht or
leave the region.
By Annabelle Frankl
Southern California
Cruising Companies
Hornblower Cruises and Events
hornblower.com
888/HORNBLOWER
Condor Cruises
condorcruises.com
888/77WHALE
Santa Barbara Sailing Center
sbsail.com
800/350.9090
Dinner Cruises
dinnercruises.us
800/208.4421
Photo by Bob Perry CondorExpressPhotos.com
While owning your own yacht or boat is a fabulous lifestyle choice (though probably the most testing of any relationship into which you’ll ever enter!) there are plenty of options for spending time out on the water with friends and family that don’t require such a large commitment of time or finances.
Several companies up and down the coast will whisk you out onto the ocean waves for everything from a two-hour champagne cruise, to a whale-watching trip, to a Bat Mitzvah or even ash-scattering memorial.
Hornblower Cruises and Events has been in operation since 1980 and boasts a fleet of 35 vessels. Paddleboats, antique yachts – including one formerly owned by John Wayne -- and catamarans depart from San Diego, Marina Del Rey, Sacramento, and many points in between offering package and hospitality options for anywhere from two to 2,000 people. Your options are numerous, whether you’re graduating, getting hitched, scattering the ashes of a loved one, or simply enjoying a sunset cruise.
For those seeking a more nature-oriented trip, Condor Cruises provides high-speed access to the marine life of Santa Barbara’s Channel Islands aboard its 75-foot, quad-jet-powered cat. Recent sightings, as blogged daily by the captains, include blue, gray, and humpback whales with their calves; pods of up to 1,000 common dolphins, porpoises, and sea lions.
At the Santa Barbara Sailing Center, guests can choose from sailing instruction and kayaking to dinner cruises and private or corporate charters, including team- building programs. Did you struggle to keep the kids busy this summer? Consider a mid-June through end-of-August sailing or kayaking kid’s camp for next year!
And, if relaxing with your significant other, sipping a fine glass of wine, enjoying a sumptuous meal, or taking a spin on the dance floor is more your speed, Dinner Cruises offers the ability to book cruises throughout the USA and abroad, too. Why stop at Marina Del Rey when there’s dinner and Jazz in New Orleans, dinner and fireworks in Chicago, a cruise through a Norwegian fjord, or a Bateaux dinner cruise in Paris to enjoy?