We rented a boat cruise with Empire Cruises for our trip and while we weren't able to go out on the water due to heavy ice and strong winds, the crew made the best of the situation and we ended up staying docked and partying on the boat--which was still a great time. The service was excellent from start to finish, and the food was surprisingly good. The chicken and rice was delicious... honestly, I could've gone back for seconds, but it was one serving per person, which is totally understandable. The music at times was a little too loud where we couldn't hear ourselves talking. Even without sailing, the staff's attitude, hospitality, and effort really made the experience enjoyable. Would definitely consider booking again, just in the summer months. read more

Came here for an event and tho i had fun at the party, i was very dissapointed by how disgornized the promoters of this events were. It was a cold rainy Sunday and tho we were at the dock an hour before boarding. It took them another hour to board us. Once inside. It was another hour to get us situated. The party seemed like it was over sold and crowded. The drinks overpriced. Definately not coming here again. I did have fun because I do make the best of every situation but Definately not coming to another one of their events. BTW the party was for DJ Adonis and Rubio del acordion. Those who knows, knows read more

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I had the pleasure of working with Empire cruises for a work event. They were really easy and great to work with and quoted me very quick. Not only that but they were less than the competitors and had more to offer so I ended up booking the Lucille. First off, Kenny was the best! He was my main POC on the day of the boat and on the boat itself. He made the event run so smooth that I really didn't worry and equally got to enjoy myself. I really wanted to go see a few spots for photos and Kenny made sure the captain took us there. The food was way more incredible than I could have imagined. We went with the Italian food package and everyone was saying the food was spectacular. We did the premium bar for our event and it had all the basics covered for a large group, nothing too fancy. Overall it was a great experience and I will 100% be using them again when we have another large team event. I got so many emails after from colleges saying it was one of the best planned events for my company and I have empire cruises to thank for that! read more

Empire Cruises - City view - Boat Charters Near Me - New York, New York

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I bought 5 tickets for my family to do the July 4th cruise on The Timeless. The boat was late, they did not even have a dock until another boat left. We NEVER left the dock, the food and drinks were mediocre. People were smoking weed on the top deck. This was supposed to be family friendly but the people were rude. I want a refund! read more

Bought VIP tickets for 4th of July (2019) in the Timeless yacht with Empire Cruises. Instructions said be there by 5:00pm. Arrived at 4:45pm and people are already waiting, naturally, but still no "yacht." 5:00pm comes and the boat arrives, an effort was made to dock, but the crew was having a hard time. They left and made a u turn to try and dock a second time. 20 minutes later they finally docked. There is no line at this point, but the security/guards were yelling at people to stand by the wall. How would people know where to wait, there is no order, just complete disorganized chaos. They didn't start to let people in until almost 6:00pm. There was no voyage to Lady Liberty as indicated on the schedule (Picture attached of the schedule provided to us). The boat didn't move til 7:00pm. The food was mediocre. No other option for a main entree other than chicken. This is not a buffet, you get one serving. There isn't enough food for a second serving. The only highlight of this Empire cruise is the fireworks. Not worth $200 for VIP ticket. Regular admission is just about the same with all you can drink. Also, the drinks are put in small plastic cups and was made very weak. I didn't even have a buzz at the end of the night. It felt like I was drinking juice. I do not recommend the VIP tickets for 4th of July. I understand tickets are expensive due to the fireworks display, but this cruise was very disappointing. read more

Empire Cruises - Dry champagne for VIP, very dry and bitter. Didn't like it. - Boat Charters Near Me - New York, New York

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I went on this year's Fourth of July fireworks cruise. We were supposed to disembark around 1030pm. However, we were basically held hostage on the boat till 130am on the Fourth of July cruise. There were small children on the boat. Tired families were lying on the floor. It was ridiculous. This was a weekday event. Also, the marketing material said they would cap the number of customers at 50, which is probably way too low for such a big boat. Yet, this is what they advertised and there were about 300 people on board. It was nice to watch the fireworks from the water. However, it is nicer to have agency over when you can leave. Obviously, you can't just get off. read more

I was lost for words on the amazing celebration of life I had. The vessel Harbor lights, was spacious, clean and nicely decorated. It was easy to get to and accessible. I was able to get my party planner to get onboard to add extra touches ahead of time. They provided food and drinks that was so amazing. My guest raved for months about how much fun they had. The office staff will work with your budget to assure a great time. I felt this was a better choice than me having my party in a banquet hall. They will provide a DJ , if you wish as well. RONNIE, and the whole staff were so good to me. Much appreciated! read more

Unprofessional and a scam my friends cousin bought a section for $1,000 we made it but they was taking too long to check bags and give us our wrist bands. Then when it was time to board they said that the boat was over capacity, if there was a capacity count why did they take our money in the first place, unacceptable. Also they wouldn't pat down our friend ( they needed to check for weapons) because he's apart of the LGBTQ community. Talking about hold on like boy your holding us up because your homophobic. Don't come here unless they guarantee you and your friends a spot. read more

We rented out the Jacana for a group of friends and I could not recommend more! We had Captain Phil, Henry, Ricky and Arthur and they were all fabulous! It was a group of 60 people and everybody was raving about how much fun we had and how great the crew members were! We were able to connect our phone for the DJ and and the crew made some great drinks! We will 100% be coming back for another event. Thank you to the team for making it such a great experience. :) read more

I try to work with this place but they're unprofessional. Nicole and the rest of the staff says they will call you back and they never do. Their will be times you will call them multiple times and they will not pick up and you won't hear from them for days. I think this company needs to do better and needs to be honest with people. read more

In Feb. 2019 I made reservations and paid 650.00 for my daughters sweet sixteen on a boat. COVID came.... Obviously the place was temporary closed. Time goes on, MY FATHER DIED OF COVID on 5.2.20. Time went by, still awaiting my funds considering all I have had to pay for in terms of funeral and such... I communicated with a worker Margarita who kept telling me that the owners would give me a credit or a refund given the circumstances. Now it is Sept 2022. I have pleaded and pleaded for my money back and I just get simply ignored. What bothers me the most is that money I could be using for my daughter's college, she who is now 18!!! Anyways, disgusting business practice! read more

DONT GIVE THESE PEOPLE A PENNY! (I wish I could give NEGATIVE STARS). I purchased 2 VIP tickets for the July 4th, 2021 fireworks cruise on the Liberty Belle - OVER A THOUSAND BUCKS! The VIP experience was simply not delivered. Not even an adequate experience. When I tried to complain after, phone calls and emails were not even acknowledged. These people are crooks and scoundrels! The major selling point was the "PRIVATE VIP OUTDOOR LOUNGE". There were not even enough chairs and I had to go backdown four floors and get some. VIP? Seriously? Perhaps that could have been overlooked (or at least there could have been a sign, "VIP's - Bring your own chairs!" but the main event, of course, was the fireworks. It was, after all, sold as a "NYC Fireworks Cruise". I understand the Fireworks were nice but I wouldn't know, we couldn't see them! The Captain positioned the boat so the Captain's house (or whatever it is called) and the fake smoke stacks completely blocked the display. (photos attached). The people one deck below (who paid a fraction of what I paid) had a much better view but, by the time I noticed that, that deck was completely full. There is MORE: Initially, we were told to board at 5:30 and later received an email saying boarding was at 5 pm and departure at 5:45. "Gate closes 6 pm, no exceptions". The boat didn't even arrive until 6pm and did not set sail until after 7, AN HOUR AND A QUARTER LATE. The VIP "Priority Boarding line" was not marked at all so, despite being there since 5, we ended up at the back of the line. The DJ was playing music NO ONE in that crowd wanted to hear over dinner. When I respectfully asked if he would be playing a wider range of music, he said (and this is an exact quote of his words, if not his smartass offensive tone), "I don't need your advice. They hired me for a reason." I choose not to match his obnoxious tone so I did not say, "No actually you DO need to take my advice, I am paying you." Perhaps he had a problem with an inter-racial couple..... I thought those days were long gone. Further, there was absolutely no FOURTH OF JULY music, no Star-Spangled Banner, nothing. This was especially upsetting to my spouse, who is a refugee to this country. The food was not bad but clearly not VIP, including steak that was essentially slabs of fat. The Party Favors consisted of a cheap fan (which no one offered us but another guest who saw my spouse was looking ill, did). It appears to have been sitting in a box for years with the folds all stuck together and the glue coming off on the spine. This is NOT VIP by anyone's standards. There is still more but I will just add that the bathrooms were absolutely DISGUSTING. For a thousand bucks, they might have had ONE attendant/cleaner and enough toilet paper??? (I'll spare you that photo - DISGUSTING) Don't give these people a PENNY! read more

Empire Cruises - The fireworks "view" we paid Empire Cruises over $1,000 for!!!! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! - Boat Charters Near Me - New York, New York

I celebrated my 30th birthday on the Jacana and it was truly amazing. The staff at Empire was so helpful throughout the entire process. From booking the event to answering questions to the service on the boat, the entire experience was professional and thoughtful. I had about 40 guests on the boat and the service from the staff was amazing. They greeted my guests by the street so they knew where to go, helped me set up the decorations, and were just so accommodating the whole time (made sure me and my guests were always with a drink :)). They anchored for a while in front of the statue of liberty so everyone could get pictures which was really nice. The bartender was amazing and served some strong drinks and the food was very good...I'm still eating it since there were so many leftovers! I received so many compliments from my guests on this party and I really couldn't have done it without Kelvin and the Empire crew. Thank you again for a wonderful experience and party. I will really never forget this one! read more

Booked a 40 person cruise on the Lucille. Catering, open bar and my own entertainment. They have a cord that allows you to plug in your own iPhone and play from their speakers. - They let you come in one hour earlier to set up decorations - The catering quantity was awful. The food was good and I got the Italian menu, but it was nowhere near enough for 40 people. People couldn't go back for seconds after taking a small plate (even petite girls). I had multiple people ask me about the food after the event. They asked if I actually ordered for 40 people. Word of advice: don't get their catering. - The speakers on the second level were great, but the first floor speakers were squeaky and people complained about the sound. - The view was truly amazing. We saw the entire Manhattan skyline. - The crew was incredibly friendly and willing to help out. read more

This was an experience. We went with friends on a Saint Patrick's day cruise. Luckily we got discounted tickets for this 2.5 hour cruise with open bar. I wasn't expecting luxury, but this really felt like a floating club so we went with it and brought out of inner college student. Lights and music from the start. I either missed or they didn't do a safety announcement. I couldn't write this review without mentioning the bathrooms that were flooding with an inch or so of water. The crew was mopping and dumping water over board from what seems like most of the trip. I think the water was due to choppy sailing and water sloshing out of the toilets? Open bar was very limited, boat was crowded but upper deck was nice if you didn't mind the high winds. read more

Empire Cruises - Boat Charters Near Me - New York, New York

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Ok so here's an honest review. My family and I threw a surprise graduation party for my brother. The party was paid off during 2021. The graduation and party was June 4, 2022. We wanted everything to be done early because the party was the same day as the graduation. We knew we'd be running from the graduation to the boat to set up decorations. My mom mainly communicated with a representative of Empire Cruises named Nicole. Communication was smooth until it was time to pay, however, afterwards Nicole suddenly was too busy to keep communication with my family...every time we called her. It got to a point where we thought we were scammed. Nicole refused to return our calls. On one occasion, she texted us and stated that she was too busy dealing with other clients and that we could text back and forth instead of a simple call. All of the questions we had (such as the menu and dj) could not be answered because she stated that she did not know the answer. We even asked her if there was a freezer so that we could store an ice cream cake and she told us no, but we later found out there was one that we were allowed to use. We tried to contact the main number on the website for more assistance but no one answered. When we were finally able to get in contact with Nicole (1 month before the event), the question about the menu was answered and she stated that a dj would contact us a couple of days prior to the event. Two days before the even I urged my mother to contact Nicole once again (or else we were going to the office in person) about the dj. I wanted an introduction for the guest of honor and created a playlist for the dj to go by. A man by the name of Kelvin reached out to us and introduced himself as the cruise director. A whole year after paying the full balance, we finally found out that there was someone else that we could contact about our event. Kelvin gave us the dj's number and told us to contact him about the music selection. When I contacted the dj he stated that he was just told 30 min. prior to our phone call on that day that he was our dj and that he would try his best to accommodate our playlist, however, it would be hard because he only had 2 days notice and he had other gigs. Kelvin (the cruise director) asked us about the number of guests we were expecting but failed to mention that the max number of people allowed were 40. He waited till an hour before the event to tell us that part. He also stated that it would be additional money to have more people attend, when we were originally told 80 people by Nicole. Thankfully a number of people didn't show up. On the day of the event, we were told that we were not able to able to play music while the boat was docked(which was a part of our introduction) because the rule is that no music can be played while the boat is docked. The dj did not feel comfortable making introductions (which I understood because he didn't want to butcher names). Kelvin and the dj advised me that most of the songs from the playlist would be played. Out of my 55 songs, only 3 were played. The music was extremely outdated and I received some complaints from several of my guests. I was embarrassed. I want to be clear, I do not blame the dj for the music issue. He was given short notice and so was my family about many things. He was actually very pleasant for the 3 days I knew him. My family and I are not major complainers. The food was amazing, the boat was clean, and Kelvin was pleasant. With that being said, this was our first event, but we know enough to know that our event wasn't treated with the respect and the care we would've liked. That is why I am doing this review. Kelvin and Nicole messed up with my event and attempted to clean it up at the end. My family made the best of the event because we genuinely wanted to have a good time, but I would opt to go with different company next time, because we asked for simple things and it was only partially fulfilled and was accompanied by disrespect and negligence by Nicole. My mother works two jobs and I work as well. At one point she gave up with trying and I had to urge her because we spent hard earned money on this event. If my my mom can do both of her jobs, Nicole should've done hers. read more

I had a Birthday Boatride on Empire Cruises on Wednesday July 7th 2021 and it was simply amazing. Ronnie, Victor, and Tank was the best organizers from beginning to end. The Entire Staff was simply awesome. I would definitely do business with them again. Just make sure you have physical cash on hand on the biat for drinks. read more

Went to a Halloween-themed boat party. Small boat, but the setup was really cute. They took us out via the East River to the Statue of Liberty on a ride that lasted about 2 hours. The only detractor was the bar tenders, who served everything in really tiny cups that they didn't fill all the way, and then refused to let us have shots because of an apparent policy against it. Overall a really fun time! read more

ANTI-FEMINIST. BEYOND UNPROFESSIONAL. I received a phone call that my private boat was 'no longer guaranteed due to maintenance', just 2 weeks before my event. Now, I understand things happen, but instead of offering an equivalent option they told me that my private boat 'might be available, but couldn't be guaranteed'.... when I said I needed a guaranteed option for myself and the other 40 passengers they tried to UPSELL me by $2500 to get a private space on another boat. I asked to speak with a manager. When I spoke with the manager (Alex) he continued to call me aggressive when I asked him to negotiate the price down with me because we only had 8 days to tell all 40 ppl that the plans had changed and the rate had increased. Alex never once apologized throughout the entire phone call. IN FACT, He tried to tell me that he couldn't find the contract in the system so it must not have ever been confirmed at all. (Seriously, That's just insulting) It became clear to me that he was not taking me seriously after he called me 'agressive' for the third time. Do you think he would have called a man agressive? Do you think he would have tried to play dumb and poke at semantics with a man? I highly doubt it. He spoke over me, consistently and continued to make excuses on why I was in the wrong. How could I be in the wrong? Because I was a female willing to fight for what I deserve. read more

I booked the Lucille for my girlfriend's birthday, and the boat ride was an amazing experience. When I first found Empire Cruises, I was able to get a quote from the sales rep. The company was good at addressing questions in the beginning; however, as the event date got closer, the sales rep became less responsive. In addition to the lack of communication, there were deadlines that were unclear and inconsistent throughout the booking process, which led to losing the boat we originally wanted. Edward from Empire Cruises ended up stepping in to answer all my questions and tried to accommodate us. I had 48 guests on the boat, and the crew on the Lucille was friendly and helpful. They were able to make this experience go smoothly and they truly put in their all to make sure the guests were well accommodated and having a good time. Shout out to Kenny, the boat manager, to coordinating and setting up the boat! The drinks were good, and the food was delicious! read more

Has anyone booked a cruise with this company and not received a refund due to covid? They do not return emails and messages full. It seems I will never get my deposit back. read more

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY! A group of 12 adults and kids attended the Halloween kids cruise on 10/27. The tickets were about $50 each after all the extras were added on. The cruise was terrible! The only decorations were some cobwebs and a flimsy banner. The only food for sale were hot dogs and chips but you HAD to buy the combo. There were activities for the kids but it was poorly planned. I will never sail with them again. read more

I organized a private party for a 70th birthday on the Jacana for about 40 people. Their staff (especially Yisury) was amazing from start to finish- very accommodating and answered all of my many questions. Edward was fantastic the day of the cruise and even personally helped all the older passengers on board from the dock one by one. The Spanish food served on the boat was delicious. The bathrooms were clean. I highly recommend booking Empire for a cruise and look forward to planning another one. read more

My mom threw my Golden 30th birthday on the Jacana last week. I had a great experience from beginning to end! Edward did all the planning and managing. He was very attentive and quick to respond which was amazing. Edward recommended DJ Ish to us, who was so good!! I was able to speak to DJ Ish prior to my party and just go over what style of music we expected and everything worked out as planned. The dancefloor was jumping all night!! And my special request was honored We chose the Italian menu. The food was good. I mean nothing to write home about but definitely waayy better than what we expected for "a boat party " which was greatly appreciated!! Nobody complained and there was plenty of food to go around. We didn't get the premium liquor but the options were plentiful and everyone found something they liked. All the servers were very attentive and polite. I was able to get on the boat 1 hour before boarding to set up which was fantastic!! I didn't have a plethora of decorations but definitely wanted to make it look like my party. Edward was kind enough to lend me, my husband, mom, and aunt a hand. We put some tassels up on the bar, centerpieces on the tables, i made a cake/treat table, and hung up some string lights on the top level (my husband didn't want to take them down at the end of the night, probably because he was almost wasted!! so Edward said we could leave them. We loved them and thought it made such a big difference, hopefully you'll get to use them too!) I hired my own photographer which I'm so glad I did because he took some great pics!! If you're hosting a memorable event, i highly recommend it. All in all, everyone had an amazing time, food was good, DJ was great, Captain Anthony was funny and pleasant, and Edward was the best! We will definitely ne having another party with Empire!! read more

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Just rented the Jacana for 45 people, and it was awesome. They have a good sound system, so a friend was able to DJ. The route was great, the staff was super friendly, and the catering was pretty good! Everyone had plenty of food, and probably too many drinks. They were all very accommodating and helped me set this up in 3 days, which seemed insane but they pulled it off great! Also we all live in NYC but everyone was pretty blown away by how close we got to the Statue of Liberty. Lots of ooos and aaaahs even from my Greenpoint Hipsters. Would definitely use them again. read more

I rented out the Cosmo out for my birthday and it was the best birthday I've ever had. The boat is very spacious and has such a great vibe. I had 40 people but you could definitely fit a lot more! Sal, Bodega, and Arturo made our experience absolutely amazing. Anything & everything that we needed, they went out of their way to help. They were so kind, so sweet and so much fun! The food and drinks were great and were included in the price. I will definitely be going back for my next event and recommending the Cosmo to all of my friends for their events! read more

I've had two events with empire cruises. The first time last year, the staff (in particular Ronny) was very accommodating and put up with my constant calls and questions. To be honest the boat (the Jacana) was not the nicest, with outdated and old carpeting/paint, but then again, considering the price ($60 a person) it didn't really bother me too much. The staff was really nice, which I truly appreciated. The second time I began planning my event, I was in contact with a different person and it was way harder to get a concrete answer from them. And they would take a long time (ranging from a few days to a week) to get back to my emails. This time it was a bigger boat (the Lucille), but similar style. Main complaints: 1. Limited time on the boat (only 3 hours) 2. Dj kinda slacked a bit in the beginning 3. Shabby decor 4. Staff took a while to get back to me 5. Had to pay $20 extra per person who didn't make it to the party Main compliments: 1. Pleasant interactions with staff 2. Accommodating to my needs 3. Nice drink options So, use empire cruises, depending on what you plan to get out of the night. read more

Overall had a great experience with Empire Cruises. I planned my mother's 60th birthday party on the Lucille just a few days ago. It was a beautiful night. I won't lie, I was a little nervous because I saw other reviews where the boat ran out of food. I did not hear any complaints about thr food running out Overall, it was a great experience. The staff wasn't overly friendly but they weren't rude. Only complaint is they didn't have enough tables set up for the number of guest that weelre attending (and about 10 people didn't show). So some people were just standing around. I did the Italian menu, I personally did not like the food but other people at the party loved it. I guess it was a mattwr of preference. My family is actually about to plan a family reunion next year. So no bad complaints. Thanks to Yisury for your help. Thanks to the staff of the Lucille. (I will definitely be putting the gratuity in the mail). read more

I have been working with Empire Cruises for a good 4+ years and have always had a great time with my Alumni/Pac12 Group. They are very easy to work with and I especially like the few days before call from Jennifer to make sure we are all on the same page with #'s, DJ, food options etc, I also like the fact that she also calls after the cruise to follow up on our experience. This is the 2nd boat variation (more capacity and more outdoor space) we have tried and I think we have a Winner!! read more

We went on a New Year's Eve cruise and it was so poorly run. Our tickets said the boat leaves at 9 but it didn't leave until 9:40. The buffet dinner was only five options. Unless you paid for vip tickets you couldn't sit to eat. We found two open seats and sat just to eat and was interrupted a few bites in and told to get up. They definitely overbooked, because it was standing room only. The open bar had a small list of drinks and they were Dixie cup size. It wasn't at all worth the nearly $200 a person price. read more

Had to plan a private booze cruise on a two week timeline. I reached out to a bunch of different places and Empire gave me a comprehensive quote within our budget with all the information we needed in the least amount of time possible. On the day of the cruise, our cruise manager Kelvin was very proactive in communicating with us and made sure we were happy with the setup. Despite the rainy weather, we had a great time on the Lucille. The food was pretty decent, and the staff were all very professional and friendly. Thank you! read more

Went out for my friends birthday party. 3 hour cruise for $86 for food and open bar. We ended up leaving later than 730. First of all, they didn't serve till the boat started moving which may be a rule. Then for some reason the "absolut" tasted like Malibu. The bartender tried acting confused when I asked him why the vodka tasted like Malibu. Then he married the bottles and I once again tasted Malibu. So had to change my drink choice. The manager Sal was great. Other than him telling me we could drink till the boat docked then switched the times on me and said it was 10. The bartenders were a bit sketchy. Food was good though! Nice spread. Also, if your bringing your iPhone to use for music, make sure you have an adapter for the newer iPhones and download your playlist if using Spotify. Overall, it was an average experience. Too expensive for what we got out of it read more

I booked The Lucille for a company outing and everyone had an absolute BLAST! Our 3-hour rental (including food and open bar) was a lot less expensive than some other companies offering boat charters, so I was a little hesitant at first .. was it too good to be true? I was pleasantly surprised throughout the whole process - everything was so easy! De'Andra was very helpful and answered all my questions leading up to the day of our event and our crew was amazingggg! Even though we arrived late (damn UN General Assembly traffic!) Sal was the BEST and met us at the end of the dock, got us all quickly aboard, and got the party started right away. He normally works on the Cosmo so I guess it was our lucky day that he was on The Lucille with us. The forecast said rain but it ended up being a gorgeous, sunny day - seriously, our luck couldn't have been better! Our Captain even let some of us jump right up and steer the boat, giving us a little lesson. Overall, my team was super happy with everything so thank you to The Lucille team for making me the office hero :) read more

I celebrated my 26th birthday on their boat. We had the Lucille all to ourselves and added on the DJ to our dinner package. Mamadou was very helpful and nice all throughout the planning. I had around 25 guests invited for the dinner cruise, however, due to weather half of the guests arrived late. The staff on the boat were very patient and waited for the other half of the guests to arrive before we left for dock and the captain added on some time for us to make up for that. The ladies at the bar were very good with the drinks! And the food was really good! Now the DJ......The DJ DID THAT!! Thats the best dj I've experienced in a long time! He had us dancing ALL night! Half of our guests are Nigerian so I gave the dj some songs to play from my phone and he hooked it up! THE BEST TIME EVER! I will definitely do a private dinner cruise again when I thrown a party in NYC. read more

Empire Cruises - Boat Charters Near Me - New York, New York

my friend's son and classmates were supposed to sail the nyc waters in celebration of all the hard work throughout the years for some reason, the boat was switched at the last minute. the new ship never left the dock because the captain never showed up. however, the original ship was boarded by another school and sailed off! terrible way to do business and a big let down for the kids! read more

We were aboard the Timeless boat for 4th of July and paid over $350 per person for VIP tickets that included a premium open bar offering along with a buffet dinner to watch the fireworks. The views were awesome, despite the coastguard not allowing boats out very far, which by the way the crew on the boat never explained, rather they tried to cover it up. Just be open, we're all adults and want to know the truth and were completely fine with the cruise we did take. The real problem I had was our tickets included a premium bar, and the wine was a twist top magnum of two buck chuck and one glass was so bad I threw it away. Some guests had real premium offerings like Moet, Grey Goose, etc. and when we asked about those drinks, we were told there was a premium bottle up charge for that of $200 - doesn't make sense when we were supposed to have these types of drinks to begin with. What was really going on here was the staff instead was pocketing cash for these bottles. The experience as a whole, over promised and completely under delivered, which was a disappointment. read more

they are the most unprofessional service ever. they screwed a friend's son who was supposed to be celebrating with his high school. getting ready for graduation. the boat was switched on them last minute. the captain never showed up so the boat never left the dock. then the original boat wound up sailing another graduating class from a different school. these kids were left heartbroken. after the last few years and how they've struggled through COVID, online school, etc they didn't deserve this. read more

We wanted to surprise my bestfriend for her 30th birthday and decided to attend the 90s Booze Cruise. Aside from the music bringing us back in time, we were very disappointed in the whole experience from start to finish. We had a group of 10 and since there was no organization to how people were lined up to board. We were all meeting from different areas so arrived at different times, half of our group was down the pier and we were not aware there were 2 boats that would be hosting this cruise. As they began to board people (half an hour later then stated originally), our friends called us to inform us that they were not allowed to come to the side we were on for the one boat and that security would allow us to cross over and go to their boat. Although we were disappointed that we weren't going on the bigger boat, we figured the smaller boat would grant us a more positive experience as it wouldn't be as crowded to get drinks, etc. Well, we were completely wrong in this assumption. They did not allow anyone to order drinks until 630 and had only 2 bartenders to serve drinks to all in attendance (now there was 1 other bar but it also only had 2 bartenders). The cruise was supposed to board at 530, leave at 6 and be at seas from 6-10...at least this is what was stated in the description. The boat left the dock at about 7pm and arrived back at 930. After waiting 25 minutes to get our first drinks we finally went to the main level to try and enjoy some music. The drinks were very small, so we finished them quite quickly, we went to the bar and waited another half hour. When we got to the bar we were told we could only order 1 drink per person...there were at least 2 signs posted up behind each of the bars stating you could order 2 drinks per person. I asked about it and I was informed that they changed it after the boat took off. Considering the amount of people that were there and the size of the drinks, I felt very disappointed that we paid a decent amount of money and in total only had 3 drinks the entire time. Aside from that, the delivery of how the bartender reacted to my question was completely uncalled for. When she told me they changed it, I responded with "If that is the case then you should have the signs taken down as it is misleading" she ROLLED her eyes at me and went to the next person to take their order without another word. I said "excuse me, I did not get to order" and she said to me "I'm just a bartender so your complaints are nothing to me, go talk to management" to which I said "If your just a bartender then please do your job and take my order for my drink and believe me I will speak to someone about your attitude as I am a business owner and this is NOT how you treat people when you work in a client service setting. That was the last drink I ordered for the night as I do not have the patience, nor should I have to, to be treated poorly for service I paid for. Overall, I was very disappointed in the whole experience. It was unorganized, understaffed and the staff that was there shouldn't be in there line of work if they don't like people and can't handle a valid complaint when there were clear signs stating drink limits and they weren't going to honor them. They were printed on computer paper and easily removable. I always thought this was a cute idea and I love the concept, but I will NEVER again spend my money on an experience like this. &since I believe in excellent client service I will be sure to spread the word on how terrible the service was. read more

The extra star is because of the staff. I went for 4th of July. Would have loved to have gone farther than just to the midtown part of the East River. We had 4 hours on the boat...they could have gone a little more. Open bar for VIP. Food mediocre. Not enough seating. Overall great people made it a blast! read more

I just celebrated my wedding on their boat and it was a memorable experience. Mamadou was extremely kind and attentive to the contract details and our needs, and the whole crew was super nice and helpful. We were blessed with a gorgeous evening, but the captain made sure to take our preferred route. I will definitely come back for an anniversary. read more