We just took the 4th of July cruise through Bay Celebrations and it was amazing! Totally worth the money. We got to dance, drink, walk around on the boat, and see fireworks on the water. The staff was amazing, always checking in on us to make sure we were good. They had great drinks - with two bars and multiple bartenders working during the cruise. The boat looks small but it can actually hold a lot of people! They had hot dogs and nachos with cheese available, but not much food besides that on our trip. This was fine with us because we had dinner beforehand. Try to bring a jacket if you want to be in the outside area because it does get cold. I'm not sure about who the business owners are and who they support - but I'm speaking about my experience during my recent visit. read more

Bay Celebrations - a boat docked at a dock - Boat Charters Near Me - Oakland, California

I booked this fireworks cruise after I saw availability two weeks ago. I swear I read Yacht. For $150 per person it included drinks & some lite food and a view of the fireworks at the Golden Gate Bridge. I arrived at 6:55pm to find a line. It was confusing as there was also a line for the Yellow water taxi. Instructions were that loading was to begin at 7:30pm. I met these two cool ladies from Concord who let me stand in line with them. Standing in line was dangerous enough as there was uneven cobblestone with huge cracks just waiting to take an ankle out and mess up all your plans. If you wear heels beware. When I looked at the boat, I thought that's no yacht, that's a tugboat. We are now loading and this boat is two leveled. Some paid $25 extra for a reserved table. The ladies had a table outside. Great! Right? Not for them as we embarked on the sea. It got cold, windy but I loved it. I was bundled up with my Comfrt sweats which are super thick & my heavy Smoozy Koo blue coat I got in Chicago. I was set. These ladies ended up chilling inside as this was a booze cruise, a night club on the sea. The food was not free. I paid $25 for basically high school football concession food. Chicken Flautas (3) & Nachos. Not the hors-D Uvres (spelling) I expected. The restroom issue was the worst I heard. Like the line didn't move & one lady could not wait. Makes me think I should buy one of those travel pee funnels because you never know. Thankfully I didn't have to use the restroom. But get this, the lady who had the accident was given clean, dry pants to wear. What?! They have extra women's clothes to hand out? Now on to the firework show. The show started at 9:30pm and we were still racing trying to get out by the Golden Gate, or so I thought. We were way in the hell in San Pablo Bay and Carl the Fog was there to ruin the fireworks show. I thought we were going to be close like near Presidio. We got GOT! We were able to see other cities fireworks show in the distance and on the way back to Oakland. Honestly they should have done the fireworks from the Bay Bridge instead. Everyone around me was feeling like we got ripped off. Every time I saw a fancy yacht go by, we said, "There goes our Yacht." Just cruising by us with speed & elegance. Lol Funny enough, it was my and the group of ladies around me, first time doing this type of cruise firework adventure. We all had high expectations and realized why it costs $300 in San Francisco for a cruise line this on a nicer, bigger boat. I didn't have any mocktails because they didn't have a menu for one. I had a Paloma. The female bartender upstairs made that perfectly tangy. I left meeting four new ladies from the Bay all hoping to stay in touch. Thanks ladies for a fun night. See you some more on Yelp 2026 read more

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If you're looking for a boat with an open bar, and simply that- this is the boat for you. Don't let their AI generated visuals fool you. It's a plywood janky ass boat; and when you buy "plush VIP seating" it's a cocktail table and high back wooden chairs shoved to the edges of the "dance floor". I felt bad for all the folks with tickets who assumed they'd have a seat- they didn't. The bathroom is deplorable and literally swimming in piss. The "catering" is someone with an air fryer and homemade food. There was a man who was detained for trying to fight someone - kinda expected with open bar; but the worst part was a woman was unresponsive and unconscious coming back to the dock and literally NOT ONE employee helped her. It was all people on the boat trying to help her. Then they let everyone off the boat instead of waiting for the paramedics to get in first. Again if all you want is a bay breeze and a drink; then cool! But this is absolutely oversold as some sort of yacht-like experience and is far far from it. read more

We did a sunset cruise recently. It was a good time if you understand what this cruise is about. Basically it's a floating black nightclub with LOUD rap music. This is not a bad thing and we enjoyed ourselves. The crew went out of their way to accommodate us being handicapped. The patrons onboard were very friendly and were having a good time. If you want to have a conversation you must go outside on the limited deck space. The boat cruises very slow. We went from Jack London Square to the Bay Bridge and back in 2 hours. It was a nice warm night and our time on the water was very enjoyable. There are 2 dance floors with bars and prices were reasonable. read more

I booked with Blake Kerentan. Once I found out he was unlicensed by the state as a seller of travel nor was he authorized by Carnival Cruise Lines to promote or advertise under their brand, I requested a refund . ​​​ he has lied and misled to me about my refund which I have not received . He currently owes me $719 . He sent me a letter stating Carnival was keeping all of my money because of the late cancellation. Mind you the letter was fraudulent and not from Carnival Cruise lines, it was from Blake himself . Also I spoke with Carnival and they advised me he applied my $700 to another booking . He has denied my refund and has not responded to any of my correspondents . He lied to me multiple times and misled me throughout this whole process. He is a crook and I do not recommend anyone do business with any company that is affiliated with him . read more

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Was on Bay Celebration recently had a fantastic time. Staff couldn't have been more helpful. Great music great weather.

So, I read all of the previous reviews, and while I can understand perhaps some people had bad experiences in the past (so, some of the reviews being years old, mind you), or there was a misunderstanding and hence the bad rating, I will speak only of my experiences on the cruises the last year or so...went to one in November 2019, I think, Halloween 2020, and a couple of shows in 2021, including Valentine's Day. Security's professional and fast, the servers/bartenders are the same, the events themselves typically involve circling around the Bay for 3 hours with club music and a 21-34 year-old millennial crowd. The beers are $7 apiece I think, and I've always had fun, as I wouldn't continue to attend the events otherwise. Recommend the night cruises if you're 1.) Young 2.) Looking to drink/party read more

Great experience! I was on the all white party boat! It was awesome had fun. Drinks on the boat were expensive. We went around the bay listen to loud music and danced. Will do it again. read more

I can't say enough wonderful things about working with Celebrations On The Bay! I approached them in late April with the idea to throw a dance party about ten days out. The owner, Jim was incredibly supportive and his right hand man, Patrick worked diligently to make sure my wild idea of having a sunset boat party could happen. Ten days later ... a sold out party, DJs, drummers, dancers ... all sailing off into the sunset together! We are now repeating the fun on a monthly basis! I love working with this team. They are genuine, professional, friendly, caring and, like their customers, are out to have a good time! read more

Went on an afternoon cruise with friends for Cinco de Mayo for the first time. The boat was small and barely no seats. The advertisement said we were going to go to the San Francisco to the bridge but we ended up circling around Alameda and Oakland for three hours. It was disappointing to say the least. read more

I had an incredible experienced on Celebration On The Bay Cruises for my 45th birthday, 130 of my closest friends and family members from different parts of the Globe also had the time of their lives... We did a four hour cruise, catered by Fork and Spoon Productions, DJ Six Pack and the fantastic staff they have on deck.. Cruising around the bay from Jack London Square, Golden Gate Bridge, McCovey Cove , Bay Bridge and the attention of 30, 000 people from AT&T Ball Park as the Giants plated my hometown, Texas Rangers.. BEST WEATHER ever that day so we could actually see what we were there to see & the beautiful skyline and sunset of San Francisco and Oakland.. Everyone enjoyed the panoramic view/photos a month out and Im still receiving them.. Many thanks to Patrick Welch and Captain Jimmy, you were the greatest guys tow work with.. read more

OMG i had a blast me and my co-workers took the bossman on a Jamaican cruise for his birthday about 30 of us we had a great time when you look at the boat you kinda like hmmmm too so pretty But once you get on that thang boy oh boy it was poppin drinks a little pricey but they gotta make they money too because the tickets are very reasonable definitely recommend them and will defiantly be a regular 5 stars in our cruise thanks again Bay Celebrations,LLC from Oakland Auto Plus Towing . read more

My friend and I went to an afternoon Mother's Day Cruise. Mind you, the advertising was so false! It said for attendees to show up at 1:45 to leave at 2:30. The boat didn't even arrive until 2:45. The flyer had this nice looking ship. It was a rinky dink boat with hardly no seating. It was standing room only; they overbooked it. There were older women on the cruise who would have to stand the whole3 hours. The only outdoor space was at the rear of the boat and only about six people at a time can fit. The "appetizers" were skimpy and was gone before the boat left the dock. They served quartered meat and cheese sandwiches, some fruit and veggies, and a large bowl of macaroni salad. My quarter sandwich had hair embedded in it! Drinks were a grip and small 8oz with lots of ice. We didn't even leave the Oakland Port area. We idled back and forth to kill time. I would not recommend this tour at all! read more

Bay Celebrations - Here is the "boat" that showed up an hour late to the dock. It looks nothing like the ad they used to advertise this Mother's Day Cruise. - Boat Charters Near Me - Oakland, California

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My three girl friends and I were looking to have a Reggae Boating experience, what we experieced is not what they advertised.The boat was extremely small , not well kept, they were selling soul food out of aluminum pans it was awful experience.I highly suggest not take this vessel or "tugboat ". read more

Over the course of 3 months, I attempted to work with Bay Celebrations to rent their ship for a private event. Though they promised me a contract before a deposit was due, they consistently failed to deliver the contract. After much prodding, they sent me a contract with completely different terms than we had agreed upon. They promised to revise the contract per my request, then ultimately notified me that they had given up the date to a larger party because I hadn't paid a deposit. Why would I have paid the deposit when they kept telling me to wait for the contract? I had explored working with other companies which were booking up quickly, but I foolishly chose Bay Celebrations because the price was reasonable and found Kiki relatable and easy to get along with. I thought they would be easy to work with, but instead they strung me along for 3 months and showed bad faith. Don't book this company! 9/25/16 I made an inquiry on the Bay Celebrations website. 9/26/16 Kiki and I corresponded by email about initial details. 9/27/16 Kiki and I spoke on the phone and set up a date to tour the boat. 10/2/16 Kiki gave me a tour of the boat with the boat owner, Jim, present. 10/3/16 I informed Kiki that I wanted to reserve the date for my event. 10/5/16 Bay Celebrations sent me the invoice for the deposit, and I asked Kiki to clarify whether the boat would be able to dock and pick us up from Encinal Yacht Club (EYC), as this was integral for our event. 11/1/16 Kiki emailed me to say "we have clearance" with no details from Jim or EYC. 11/2/16 I called Kiki to ask for details, and she assured me that both EYC and Jim had confirmed that the boat would be able to dock at EYC. I asked if I could see a draft of the contract before paying the deposit, and Kiki promised to send it to me within the next 48 hours. 11/11/16 Kiki emailed to ask Jim to clarify my docking options (with no response), no contract included. 11/12/16 I emailed Kiki back to ask for Jim's response, and I asked for the contract again. 12/1/16 I emailed Kiki to ask for the contract again, and she sent a proposed contract for a much larger party and fee than we had agreed. I emailed back for clarification, and Kiki told me she would need Jim's approval for my original headcount. 12/8/16 I emailed Kiki to ask if she had gotten approval yet. 12/11/16 Kiki emailed back to say yes and promised to rewrite the contract for me. 12/30/16 Bay Celebrations canceled the deposit invoice and I emailed Kiki to ask why. 1/3/17 Kiki emailed me to say that Bay Celebrations has given up my date to a larger party. I wrote back with this timeline and asked them to reconsider their position. Kiki wrote back agreeing to talk later that week. 1/5/17 Kiki emailed to ask if I was available the next day, and I wrote back to say I'd be available before 3 pm. 1/6/17 Kiki emailed me at 2:19pm to say they would call in 25 minutes (at 2:55pm?!). I was traveling on business and unable to take the call on such short notice. I wrote back that evening to ask for another time. 1/10/17 I emailed Kiki and Jim again to ask for a time to speak. I have not heard back since. read more