We had an amazing experience booking the Schooner Freda B Jazz Night last week. The weather was…read moreperfect, and the crew was friendly, even wishing my sister and me happy birthday since we booked it for our special day. I highly recommend it. It was my first time on a sailboat, and the views were absolutely gorgeous. It was worth the price. Thanks to the great crew for a memorable night--our birthday celebration was truly special.

We enjoyed our second sail on The Schooner Freda B out of Sausalito tonight. It was a perfectly…read morewonderful sunset sail on SF Bay. Previously, we took the Freda B on the Wildlife Morning Sail in 2024, which was also fantastic. What makes the Freda B special is the crew. The vessel itself is gorgeous--even the "head" is great! From the moment you board and are greeted by the crew, you know you're in good hands. The safety instructions are thorough, and the crew immediately puts you at ease before setting off. Whether you have a clear night or a little fog (like tonight), the skies are beautiful, the Golden Gate Bridge is magical, and San Francisco twinkles in the distance. The crew meets your every need with kindness, excellent service, and genuine interest in you as a passenger. They're also an interesting bunch--just ask them about themselves! Hot (chocolate!) and cold beverages are available for purchase, including adult beverages. For out of towners...Wear and bring layers. Jacket + sweater/fleece, long pants, beanie hat, gloves if you have them. Blankets available onboard. This is SF Bay 12 months a year - always chilly and the sail is worth every layer of clothing. We celebrated my birthday tonight, and it was perfect. Thank you!

Boy did we luck out. This was part of a 40th birthday present for my husband and it was absolutely…read morethe stand out, highlight of our day. First off, the people - Lisa, her husband (the captain) and her steward are some of the kindest, most helpful humans you'll ever meet. They are also incredibly professional. The process, from booking to good byes, was incredible simple. Now the yacht itself. Wow. She was definitely one of the bigger yachts on the harbor which had my family incredibly excited. We got a beautiful yacht, Lisa checking in and serving us, add to that pastries, fruits, an open bar, two outdoor tables (in the back and front) of the yacht, an upscale and large cabin, music, a great captain, a SECOND STORY to the boat...I mean..this kind of felt like highway robbery. And we were the robbers (they are incredibly reasonably priced) Since we're in a time of Covid I should also add that I saw them wiping the boat down several times, they were always in masks and Lisa served the food and drinks with gloves and a mask on. It's clear that they are very conscious of their health and the health of their customers. Lisa's mom is 90 and they're doing their best to take the right precautions to keep their family safe. All in all, I cannot wait to go back. I cant wait to bring friends onto this yacht (when it's safe). I couldn't be happier with this decision. Thank you so much Lisa for making a milestone birthday unforgettable!!!

This overdue review is based on my overall experience with planning my birthday with Lisa at Five…read moreStars Yacht. To summarize, I was constantly trying to work around the restrictions that Lisa failed to disclose at the time of contract. And all of this could've been avoided if it was mentioned on the very first day. I just felt blindsided every time she mentioned something new. If you run a business that hosts events, these should be listed in your contract! She was misleading, had poor communication, was unwilling to work with me, and lied. And this event is a couple $$$$. You would think that I would get better service for paying so much. Save yourself the trouble and book elsewhere! I met Lisa in February, through Sailo.com. While I toured the yacht, Lisa explained what I could expect from booking with them. She said I could decorate the boat however I wanted. She mentioned there were tablecloths in a variety of colors to match any theme. I mentioned I wanted pink tablecloths, and she said she had some light pink shades. She showed me upstairs and said they had tablecloths for the smaller tables as well. I mentioned I would want to decorate upstairs. I asked her if I could bring food onboard, which was okay. We went over bar service, music, and set up. She mentioned the yacht was available to set up in the morning before my event time. Now everything to me sounded great, but little did I know, a lot of what she mentioned was complete BS. I reviewed the contract in March, ready to book with her. The contract had the general cost information. I had questions about bar service, but since the company seemed very accommodating, I didn't have any other questions. Fast forward to July, my event was set for the end of the month. I was already ordering decor. Once I started emailing her details about how I wanted to decorate, many things were not approved. There were restrictions that were not disclosed at the time of contract. For example, no balloons outside, no tape on any surface;only string or ribbon. That is a huge detail you should mention early on, especially when it was clear that I wanted to decorate. After going through multiple options, I had to search for plan b, and just rented marquee numbers, since it was freestanding decor. And even she had some hesitations about that. Then, I asked her multiple times for photos of the pink tablecloths she had mentioned. 2 weeks before the party, she told me she "couldn't find them," and only had white or neutral. Clearly she did not have a variety of tablecloths. I don't even think the pink tablecloths existed. So I told her I would like the white tablecloths for the party. The next issue was food. I asked her if I could use sterno food warmers for one dish. She said no, and that I could only use electric. So, I asked about an electric griddle to set a tray on, and she still didn't approve it..Then, she mentioned a flameless warmer, but refused to send me a photo. She just said, "oh you'll see it online." I sent her an image of one option online, which still wasn't what she was describing, but still approved...all of the back and forth could've been avoided if she just showed me. To make matters worse, 2 days before the event she had the audacity to ask me if I wanted to charge gratuity on my card before the event! So I told her I do not pay gratuity before a service is given. I also asked a week in advance if I could set up starting at 10am, just 2 hours before the event time. I was told 10:30 was the earliest because the crew had to arrive at 10 and set up. On the day of the event, I showed up at 10:20 and the crew was not onboard. They showed up at 10:30 and still needed to set up. So I couldn't start decorating until 10:50, and was scrambling with the little time I had. And when I asked for the white tablecloths, they had no idea that I requested them. They didn't have any ready. They pulled out a DIRTY tablecloth that we just had to fold in half. And the captain didn't even know about any tablecloths for the smaller tables. There was clearly no communication between what I discussed with Lisa and her crew. I asked Lisa if we can bring the smaller table from the front deck inside. She told me the table outside couldn't fold up and had to stay outside, which I later found out was a lie. We had enough space for the food, but I still wanted the table out of the way. The crew told me they could bring the table in. It just shows she was unwilling to work with me and refused to accommodate a simple request. Once we left the dock, things seemed to settle down. The captain and the rest of the crew were great. Unfortunately, the crew service for the day didn't outweigh the stress I went through to plan the event. At the end of the party, I thanked the crew, but made it very clear to the captain that working with Lisa was extremely difficult and stressful.

Had an absolutely amazing time with Captain Timothy and Shannon on their boat! They were so…read morewelcoming and patient with me as I worked with them when I proposed to my fiancée. I gave them my idea of what I wanted to do and they helped out so much and were very transparent about what they had to offer. I can't thank you both enough for all the help and kindness you gave us!

Fantastic experience! Captain Timothy is an excellent host. My friends and I had a wonderful…read moreexperience. The boat is perfect for the Bay Area and we enjoyed the lounge areas at the front, back, and top. Highly recommend!

Our interactions and dealings with this boat captain, Stuart, has been very uncomfortable and…read moreunsettling. He has continued to harass and intimidate us to get his desired outcome even though we have no obligation to him. He has no ability to refrain from texting numerous times in a day, he fails to listen to you and refuses to acknowledge the truths even when it's in black and white. It has been an absolute nightmare of an experience dealing with this man.

For my 70th birthday my wife and daughter took me out on the bay with Captain Stuart Kiehl. It was…read morea great day. The Captain took us under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz and Angel Island. We had lunch, chocolate and champagne. The whole trip felt very safe because some of the boats taking people out are not licensed or safe. Captain Stuart is a US Coast Guard licensed master Captain and you could tell by his professional boating and safety talks before we started. His photos are published in Vogue and he has had Covers of the America's Cup boat Races. He has also been the Director of Photography on films, commercials and music videos. His boat is large and very comfortable. Five Starts for this highly recommended boat, captain and tour. THANKS for making this birthday very special! Richard

The is the best deal @ Pier 39. The kiosk is located across Trish's mini donuts. I've taken…read morevisiting family and friends on this tour. $20 per person. They take you to see the Goldengate Bridge, Alcatraz, sea lions and more. Last night we did the night tour for the first time and was amazed. Captain Ryan was fun, knowledgeable and made the experience very special for us.

Watching Love on the Spectrum on Netflix lead my partner and I to this place on a Sunday. It is now…read more$20 per person. Apparently they try to avoid using the antique boat on the weekends, so we were put on a water taxi. I was pretty bummed that they only use the actual boat on weekdays. Nevertheless, it's a quick 30 minute ride to the sea lions, and WWII ship. The captain briefly talks about the Alcatraz island, but we were quite far from it so don't expect it to come close to the actual island. He was quite knowledgeable and engaged in conversations with the passengers. He also got us pretty wet with the water splashing into the boat, which was quite fun! If you get seasick easily, this might not be for you. The boat is quite small so you would end up feeling the swells a lot more than in a regular sized boat. Note: You don't wear life jackets for the entire ride, due to sanitization costs. You get to use it for FREE if somehow the boat starts to sink. Stating this on here, because I saw some people get off when they found out lifejackets weren't given out. I don't think they got reimbursed either.

The Skipper was attentive and professional. The boat was clean The whole experience was fantastic!read more

The ten year old and I crossed off a bucket list item and went on the 2.5 hour Whale Watch Tour…read more The staff were great. Joe was an excellent captain, Mandy was a great whale spotter, the deck hand was kind and helpful (please forgive me if you read this we scanned the other reviews for Joe and Mandy's names). Bear and Oso were great whale spotting alert dogs. We saw 3-4 humpbacks, two of which were a mother and calf pair. The boat was clean. Staff were extremely friendly. Caution to those of you who have never ridden a boat smaller than a ferry before, I would test your stomachs on a shorter ride first, such as the water taxi that goes between piers before jumping on a 2.5 hour boat ride in open waters. We did ok. However there were several people who lost their breakfast, kids and adults alike. If you get motion sick, I would suggest pre-gaming with Dramamine. Per the ten year old: the dogs were adorable! they stayed in the cabin for most of it, but I mean, that's what they do their work. we saw tons of whale spouts, and even in a few whale backs too. definitely going back.

Extremely fair priced and amazing service from the cabin crew! They were extremely caring and nice…read morethe whole ride. They provided extra attention to those who got seasick, had great narrations, educational safety sections and was an overall great experience. I went on the sunset tour 5:30-8:30 and it was beautiful. We saw bottlenose dolphins which I was happy with but since we saw no whales they gave us a free pass to use again and it never expires! They also have a bathroom & snack bar on board. The hot chocolate w/ brandys was perfect for the weather!

This was our first time going on a whale-watching tour & we were fortunate enough to see 17 whales!…read moreThis was an amazing adventure & the crew (Captain, & 2 awesome naturalists) made the experience of traveling to the Farallon Islands worth every penny. I highly recommend the whale-watching tour with Oceanic Society, aboard the Salty Lady. The experience began near Ft. Mason, and we soon passed directly under the GG Bridge. It wasn't more than 45 minutes later before was saw our first whale & that would have been more than enough of an experience.... but we were very, very lucky! The whales kept coming up for air & they put on quite an incredible show for us! The crew was knowledgeable & they never missed ab opportunity to call our attention to educational items of interest - like the mola-mola (sunfish) we saw, or even the plastic balloon that floating in the middle of the ocean (that they fished out) before it could be swallowed be an unassuming sea creature who might mistake it for a jellyfish. I wholeheartedly recommend the Oceanic Society's Farallon Islands whale-watching tour. Get this on your schedule, & if you do so soon... you might even see a ton of whales & other magnificent creatures, like we did The Farallon Islands were absolutely beautiful - 27 miles out & worth the time it took to get there & see what I am now calling "Pinniped City". It was an experience like no other, that's for sure.

Wonderful people. Smart, professional. Invest in electronic wrist bracelets for sea sickness.read more