Invited for 40th birthday on charted cruise. Bay lights staff was very welcoming and paid attention…read moreto the needs of all the guests

Held a birthday cruise with 45 people on Gas Light. The entire process was a breeze from initial…read moreoutreach, to the night itself. The staff were easy to work with and professional, both through early communications on the ship itself. Had a wonderful time and throughout felt completely safe and taken care of. Without reservation I recommend Bay Lights Charters. It was a very special and unique way to celebrate and it's a trustworthy business and team.

Come aboard and find out for yourselves!…read more Very knowledgeable, professional, attentive and fun crew, and you'll experience breathtaking SF views and make lifelong memories. Full bar so Let's Go

We went out with Captain Larry, 1st mate Carliane, and 2nd mate Sofia this past Saturday and had…read morethe most amazing experience. The crew was professional, knowledgeable, friendly, and engaging. The weather couldn't have been better as about 30 of us motored around the SF Bay. Stellar 360 views of the area, whale sightings, and even got a glimpse of the famous troll on the underside of the Bay Bridge. A 5 star afternoon which none of us will soon forget. I know Frank was smiling down upon us! Thanks again, John Reilly

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.

We loved our cruises with Captain Will! He's very experienced and fun to sail with. He will allow…read moreyou to help sail the boat!

Captain Mark is a perfect mix of professionalism and fun. He is an awesome sailor and generous with…read morehis knowledge. If you love sailing it doesn't get better than sailing on the Bay. If you love adventure, learning, and having fun it doesn't get better than Captain Mark. :)

2.5 stars. Attended…read moreanother Schwab dinner on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. This time it was hosted on the SF Giants' 100-foot yacht, the California Spirit, where cocktails and local cuisine were served with live music aboard while cruising the San Francisco Bay. The concept was great, but, unfortunately, the experience was not. I'm prone to motion sickness, so made sure to take a Dramamine AND wear a patch, but neither of those saved me from the severe nausea. While I cannot blame the California Spirit for the San Francisco Bay's choppy waters, I can't help but mention that I saw only one restroom available for guests on the entire yacht. Have they not ever anticipated the need for more than one bathroom...in case multiple people get sick? The whole space, in classic décor, did appear clean, inside and out, though. Service was also friendly. The food, on the other hand, was meh, nothing to rave about. I was a bit disappointed, honestly. After welcoming guests with a few passed hors d'oeuvres, a buffet dinner was served which consisted of the below listed: MASHED POTATOES - Not good! Everyone noticed that these tasted like they were made from a box of instant flakes with added small chunks of potatoes. MIXED GREENS SALAD - This was an interesting mixture of fresh greens that was loaded with a medley of fruit, roasted butternut squash, and candied pecans. I would have tried it, but the cheddar cheese kept me away. HARICOTS VERTS - Not bad. MAPLE ROASTED CARROTS - Ok. ROASTED TRI-TIP - Too fatty for me to try a single piece. WHOLE HERB ROASTED CHICKEN - The first batches served were mainly of dark meat which I did not like. Joanna graciously traded her white meat pieces for my dark meat which made up most of my meal. The chicken was fairly moist and tasty. The acoustic band's choice of music was not appealing to me, either. Think songs from John Denver, Jim Croce, and Cat Stevens. As I sat in the boat, trying to win the battle against nausea, I wondered if my condition would improve if the music stopped or if it was helping to distract me from wanting to vomit. The highlights of the boat ride were cruising closely to Alcatraz, seeing some cool views of the Bay Bridge...and deboarding!

Very inconsiderate and misleading. But thanks for the music and funread more

Booked a company celebration team event for 19 people through their website on the Yukon Jack. Drew…read morewas very responsive helping get this organized and all the paperwork filled out in advance. Great rendezvous location down by Oracle Park was super convenient for everyone. One we got underway, Drew and the crew were phenomenal at getting everyone comfortable to enjoy a fantastic two hour sail around the Bay. We had a great time and were able to catch some gusty winds that day once they put up the spinnaker. For this trip we went out around Treasure Island, under the new section of the Bay Bridge and further south, then back up along the city for some fantastic views. Everyone enjoyed our sailing event! Pro tip: If you want to sail out to Golden Gate Bridge, let them know when booking so you can organize an earlier departure than 2:00pm.

Don't waste your time and money on Rendezvous Charters. They have poor customer service, they fail…read moreto communicate properly and do not act professionally. My coworkers and I had purchased multiple bookings for the Sunday Sail on October 1st 2017 about one month in advance. One of my coworkers created a Facebook event scheduled around specifically going sailing with the company as a birthday celebration where dozens were invited. Many of us had invited friends and family who were planning to buy tickets for the sailing event as well. However, 9 people received an email stating that our bookings, which Rendezvous Charters had already accepted payment for were cancelled because instead they decided to kick us out because another company bought the boat for the day. There was no communication sent to us in advance stating that we may be kicked out if the company doesn't have enough passengers by a certain day, so this was a complete surprise. Very poor communication. We were all looking forward to going and had planned a day around sailing but were all kicked out after they had already accepted 9 peoples payments! Many of us were disappointed so I wrote the company an email stating that this is not being handled properly. Their response was "It's the nature of the charter business". I am writing this review because I don't want other people to have the same negative experience. I recommend using another charter who actually values their customers.

had an excellent day on the water with the whole family. We booked a skippered sailing charter. Our…read morecaptain let each of us steer for a while, which added to the excitement. Highly recommend.

I had a great experience with Spinnaker Sailing. I took BK1, BK2, and BCC…read more For BK1 and BCC I had Andrew who is a Maritime student clearly passionate about sailing. Through the several weekends of instruction there was never a question I could ask too dumb for him. (The patience is impressive). As for the location. The Bay really seems to be one of the best places in the world to sail. There are beautiful blue waters and lots of places to sail to. I am very excited to now be able to rent their boats for a weekend outing. Thanks Spinnaker!

Everything about Marquis Charters was first class. Captain Dave has EXCELLENT communication…read morethrough the planning, and the voyage. The crew were all friendly and real pros as well. When we charter again in the SF Bay, we will defintely use Captain Dave and Marquis Charters again!!

What an amazing silver soirée 40th birthday for my sister!!! Dave was very professional and detail…read moreoriented from the booking process, to the planning of the event, to the day of festivities, we were pampered and taken care of like Queens and Kings!!! Dave made this so easy, I give him a few ideas and he cultivated and crafted it to life. I couldn't believe how meticulous and beautiful the day was. My sister was truly brought to tears. There was a customized champagne flute, a customized birthday welcome sign on an easel, fresh flowers, balloons, the colors and decor were honestly all on point!!! We were even able to come up with a chef inspired menu to hit the notes of our food favorites and Dave even has menu customized and laminated for the event. The crewmembers were some of the nicest top-notch service personnel we've ever met. We were even able to come up with a drink menu and they were bartenders on deck too! Truly was white glove service all around. If you put your contract in with Marquis Charters, you will not be disappointed as every dollar will be worth it!!!

Been on the brew boat in Sacramento and that was a fun time, so naturally we had to check this one…read moreout too. It didn't disappoint. Great views, staff, and a great time with some of my best friends listening to our favorite music. Bring some good brews, a warm jacket just in case, some snacks, and you're set!

Booked a Saturday sunset cruise and it was such a perfect day and wonderful experience! We boarded…read moreright on the dot and left the dock on-time, no issues. Water was slightly bumpy on the way to the bridge but that's because we were going against the current. Still, we enjoyed the views and beautiful breeze. Route takes you to and under the Golden Gate Bridge then back towards the Bay Bridge. You definitely get your entire time on the boat! We were served our glass of wine, 3 whites offered and a red and they were yummy! Crew is of 2 and both gentlemen are nice and knowledgeable. The owner is super fun and sweet, we had such a lovely time onboard. Whether a local or a visitor, 10/10 recommend booking this sunset cruise!!

We booked this as a team bonding activity and had the best time! Highly recommend. We departed on…read moretime and enjoyed the full two hours cruising over to the Golden Gate Bridge, around Alcatraz, and over to the Bay Bridge. Lots of great photo opportunities. Great selection of beverages. Since we reserved the boat for our private party, we also pre-ordered food when booking to make sure we had some snacks to munch on. There's also a bathroom on board which is convenient. This is an activity that will make both locals and folks from out of town (our group was mixed) love their time in San Francisco. Shout out to Brian for making this a great 10/10 experience! Would absolutely recommend and book again!