Hornblower cruises really provided the greatest experience my wife and I had. I recommend them without a doubt, the food was delicious, the ambience was incredible and the hospitality was top notch.

It was inexpensive and just totally lovely

Our daughter’s wedding was absolutely perfect, thanks in large part to Tyler, Sales Manager. He was a pleasure to deal with, highly professional & very responsive. He took care of explaining and implementing every detail. Captain Aaron & the crew made sure all our guests were happy & safe. I highly recommend this venue!

My husband and I had our ceremony and reception on the Hornblower Hybrid and it was everything we could have wanted!

First of all, Tyler in the sales office was a dream to work with. Super friendly and attentive without being pushy, he genuinely cared that we had an event we would love. He was super responsive to email inquiries and was great about giving us advice/guidance without forcing us in a direction we didn't like. He made us feel like we could have anything we wanted but also wasn't afraid to point out potential pitfalls for ideas we hadn't quite thought through. The ship itself was gorgeous, with floor to ceiling windows that let in a ton of natural light and priceless views of the NYC skyline.

You won't need much in the way of decorations to have a beautiful looking wedding (we just had some small floor centerpieces and photos of us). We had the ceremony outside on a sheltered deck so light rain - which we had on our wedding day - won't derail your plans or soak your guests. The main deck is entirely enclosed so once the reception started it could have started pouring and it wouldn't have mattered.

A big positive for us is that catering and the cake are included in the price so that took a couple of big decisions off the plate. We did the brunch buffet and it was absolutely delicious, with lots of different options for many palettes (the chicken and waffles are legit). The cake is from Magnolia Bakery with a good selection of options to choose from and the ability to upgrade to fancier decorative options. There was plenty of food and all of our guests commented on how delicious everything was. Also, the open bar that comes standard with all of their packages has a huge selection so no need to upgrade unless Top Shelf liquor is a major priority for you.

You don't really get a rehearsal on the ship because it is used for nightly cruises, but Hornblower provides you with a day of coordinator to keep everything on schedule. Ours was Gabriel and he was a blast, really adding to the festive atmosphere (multiple guests commented on how fun he was); we agreed on a timeline beforehand and he was great at keeping us on track without being intrusive or pushy so we could focus on enjoying our wedding and socializing with our guests.

Not only were we thrilled with everything, but our guests all raved about the food and the atmosphere. A lot of them said they never would have thought to get married on a boat and absolutely loved the vibe and the views (you will get a great view of the skyline and landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge and Statue of Liberty). Several of our married friends joked that they wanted to do a vow renewal ceremony just so they could do the same brunch cruise setup we did.

Overall we cannot recommend Hornblower enough. We weren't sure we'd be able to afford the kind of wedding we wanted in notoriously pricy NYC, but we were able to get a private charter for our 70-ish person wedding with everything we wanted for well under the $33k national average, to say nothing of the much higher NYC average. Going with Hornblower gave us a fun and different reception that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Highly recommended!