From the Pilot House

Gray Whales Make a Come Back

Hornblower whale watching season started on December 10^th, no one knew yet, but we were all in for a real treat this season. Every year the Gray Whale makes seasonal migrations between there Summer feeding grounds in the North Pacific to there Winter breeding grounds in the Lagoons of Baja California. These migrations over the past ten years have had dwindling and disappointing numbers. However, this year the California Gray Whale Coalition February 2012 Newsletter stated there has been almost a double in the population of Gray Whales to date and according to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the whales are in good knick, many are pregnant and a number of calves have been seen already. This is all great news for the San Diego Port of Hornblower Cruises and Events.

San Diego’s Whale Watching Cruise is an exciting 3.5-hour long excursion on The Adventure Hornblower, San Diego’s fastest, largest and most comfortable whale watching boat. This is no ordinary
 Whale Watching Cruise onboard we offer an interactive whale museum and live narration from our captains and naturalists from The San Diego Natural History Museum. There is also outdoor seating, climate controlled indoor seating and a snack bar featuring hot food, adult drinks and souvenirs.

Not only do these excursions focus on the majestic Gray Whale but also many other whale species have been spotted such as: Orcas, Fin Whales, Blue Whales, Humpback Whales and Sperm Whales. In addition to whales many other varieties of marine life have been spotted: four types of dolphin, sea lions, Mola Mola (sun fish) and marine birds such as Brown Pelicans, Sea Gulls and Blue Heron. To see what has most recently been sighted aboard The Adventure Hornblower visit the Captain's Log on Whale and Dolphin Sightings.

There are two daily Whale Watching cruises, a morning departure and an afternoon departure. To buy tickets or get more information on some of the largest mammals on the planet please visit our website. We guarantee that some type of whale will be spotted otherwise your pass will be good for another Whale Watching Cruise or Harbor Cruise in San Diego.

                                                                               

Creating an Amazing Experience

Earlier this year Hornblower created Quality Quest, a customer service training program for all the members of the Hornblower family. The goal, or Our Voyage, as we call it, is to Create Amazing Experiences. As part of the program, managers share Amazing Experiences with one another and we’re heard tales of bravery, of resolution and exemplary hospitality. Many of the stories come from our guests following their experience. They will write or call with high praise for the individual or team that made their experience memorable. This Amazing Experience was shared at a recent meeting:

At our Alcatraz Cruises operation in San Francisco we frequently allow people who need assistance to board the vessels first, similar to airlines. We ask those individuals to stand to the side so that we can easily escort them down the gangway. One day over the summer, a woman stood in the pre-boarding area and a deckhand struck up a conversation with her while they waited to board. They chatted about San Francisco, the wacky summer weather and the Alcatraz experience. As the deckhand escorted her a seat on the boat she expressed some concern about not being able to walk to cell house. The deckhand explained that there was a tram designed to help people who have mobility challenges and he would assist her there. The deckhand finished his departure duties and returned to talk to the woman during the short ferry ride to the island. Once they arrived he escorted her off the island and to the tram where he wished her an excellent visit and returned to the vessel.

Later that afternoon the woman happened to return to San Francisco on the same deckhand’s vessel where he again helped her to a seat and she shared with him her joy at visiting Alcatraz. Once back in San Francisco he helped her off the vessel and sent her on her way to enjoy the city.

A few weeks ago a different woman arrived at Alcatraz Landing asking for the deckhand by name. She explained that her mother had visited Alcatraz over the summer and that this deckhand had gone out of his way to assist her during her visit. She went on to explain that her mother had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and that visiting Alcatraz was on her bucket list of activities. The woman had shared with her family her joy at visiting Alcatraz and how touched she had been with the kindness shown her by the deckhand and other crew members. The woman went on to say that her mother had recently passed away, but that her story of Alcatraz and the happiness it brought her had given her family members a sense of peace.

This story reminded us that our jobs here are to create amazing experiences for all our guests, regardless of their (or our) expectations. To some an amazing experience would be a carefully choreographed fireworks show to cap off an evening wedding, to others, it’s a kind work and helping hand.

As we enter the holiday season, we give thanks for our families and friends and from the Hornblower family we wish for everyone a happy holiday season.

Irene forces closure of Liberty and Ellis Islands

Hurricane Irene is bearing down on the east coast and cities across the eastern seaboard are making precautions.

The National Park Service has announced that the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island will be closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The state of New Jersey has closed Liberty State Park where our offices are located and vessels moored. The mayor of New York has ordered the evacuation of low lying areas of Manhatten, including Battery Park.

In an abundance of caution, Statue Cruises is moving our fleet north up the Hudson River to be further from any potential storm surge or flooding.

We advise anyone with tickets for this weekend, or anyone who was planning to visit to stay home. Do not attempt to travel to either Liberty State Park or Battery Park. If you have any questions about tickets, rescheduling or refunds please call us.

Stay safe!

 

A Sad Farewell

At Hornblower we like to throw parties. We have fun. We are with people when they celebrate life’s milestone moments. We rarely talk about sad occasions.

However, like everyone else, we cannot avoid misfortune. And we find ourselves in an unknown place as we grieve for tragic and premature death of a beloved colleague.

Hilsia Souza would have turned 40 next month, and we know it would have been quite a bash. She was full of light, full of life and had twice as much energy as her petite body should have been capable of generating. Her spirit and sass charmed all who met her, and for four years the Hornblower family was blessed to know her.

Two years ago Hilsia was diagnosed with breast cancer. Through rigorous treatments, and resulting side effects, her cheerful demeanor never wavered. She refused to be defined or limited by her disease. Following successful treatments she grasp hold of life’s adventures, determined to live everyday with the fullest spirit possible. We laughed with her, marveled at her bravery and wept with her when her disease returned.

She fought for a long time and fought harder than any of us could begin to imagine. The strength she showed us over the last few months doesn’t seem possible to have come from a single human being. Her grace, class and humor in the face of uncertainly, during what could have been her darkest days, is a reminder to us all that while life may be short, it is your opportunity to show the world what a wonderful place we all live in.

Hilisa will be in our hearts forever.

She is survived by her mother and father, grandmother, four uncles and an aunt. Hornblower is honoring her memory by participating in the Petaluma Catwalk for a Cure, an organization close to Hilsia’s heart.

 

And it's already March....

How is 2011 going by so quickly? Summer is just around the corner.

It seems presumptuous to write about summer cruises and refreshing drinks on the deck of a boat as the March lion roars outside my window, but the truth is summer is on our minds in a big way right now.

We’ve been putting together schedules for our popular San Diego concert cruises. Stay tuned for more news of some of today’s rising stars and hottest acts making waves on the football-field sized sun deck of the Inspiration Hornblower.

Across the country in New York the team is hard at work getting the brand new Hornblower Hybrid in shape for a launch later this Spring. This new vessel will be the largest hydrogen powered vessel in the world and the only one in the United States. For a sneak peak check out Adam Balkin’s recent report.

And while we look forward to a successful summer for Hornblower, our hearts are with the entire Japanese nation. Our sister company HMS Global Maritime is assisting in recovery efforts through Operation Tomodachi.

Statue Cruises sets launch date for revolutionary new Hydrogen Hybrid vessel

From our sister blog, Respect Our Planet Hybrid Blog:

Our team is ecstatic about today’s announcement by Statue Cruises, Hornblower and Derecktor Shipyard.

“This is a genuinely breakthrough project, not only for us but for the U.S. marine industry. This boat will produce minimal carbon emissions and sip, rather than guzzle, diesel fuel. Along the way it will help make New York harbor a cleaner, safer and more pleasant place. As a local shipyard, we’re extremely pleased to have this project,” says Gavin Higgins, Derecktor Vice President for Business Development.

Over the upcoming months we will be making weekly updates to our blog providing the world an opportunity to have an inside look into the completion of the Hornblower Hydrogen Hybrid. If you have a question, ask it. If you have a comment, leave it. Our engineering team will work to provide you with answers that help you and the world better understand the technology.

Here is a picture of the hull and main deck moved into the shed at Derecktor’s Shipyard to complete the remainder of the vessel inside during the winter.

We have video clips, other pictures and diagrams explaining the systems on the vessel coming soon...

Additional Pictures...

Read the full press release on our site or Marine Link.

New COO Steps Aboard

Hornblower has a new face sauntering through our offices around the country. Bob Shaw, a Harvard graduate, US Marine vet and experienced executive, has been named Hornblower's Chief Operating Officer.

In the position for just over a month, Bob has managed to visit all of the Hornblower offices, speak one on one with over 100 employees, take a couples dozen boat rides and lead a two-day senior staff meeting.

Bob, a long-time east coast resident, is gearing up for his first mild west coast winter. An avid athlete, Bob might find California’s conditions a more hospitable training environment.

We’ll hear more from Bob is the coming weeks, months and years but for now we thought we’d let his first comment be a concise summary of his first few weeks: “Awesome: the Hornblower crew is a wonderful group of talented, energetic and dedicated folks.  Their emphasis on customer service and teamwork is truly amazing, and I am so fortunate to be on this superb team.”

Congratulations San Francisco Giants!

Back in September the glory of a World Series victory seemed far, far away. In fact, when we were presented with the opportunity to place an ad in the League Championship Series and World Series programs there was a chance that a team from any of our locations could be playing. So we took the ad and gambled on the San Francisco Giants with a stunning skyline image.

And lo and behold, look what happened. The last two weeks have seen millions of baited breaths as the Giants marched their way to victory. The city was a sea of orange from the lighthouse on Alcatraz to City Hall and almost every office seemed to dismiss normal business attire requirements for any and all Giants gear. The Dugout stores selling merchandise had hours-long lines of fans just waiting to get in. The city was alive with Giants fever.

On November 1, the city got what it had been waiting for for 56 years. We set up a projector to show the ticker tape parade live and decorated the room for employees. And now that the excitement has died down we’re left to count down the days to the start of the 2011 season. Go Giants!  

It wasn't close - trust us - we were there!

It’s so funny how worked up people can get watching a video online. This video of a plane "nearly hitting" the Golden Gate Bridge apparently had thousands of people on the edges of their seats. Our fleet was out there that day, and this video alone really doesn’t tell the whole story.

(Clip: http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2010/10/19/nr.plane.golden.gate.cnn.html)

Those planes definitely fly low, but that’s all part of what makes Fleet Week one of the biggest weeks of the year here in San Francisco! The air show was spectacular and we loved being out on the water for such an incredible event! It’s estimated that over one million people came out over the course of the weekend to participate in events down on the water.

Fleet Week Sails into San Francisco Bay

One of the most anticipated events of the year, San Francisco’s Fleet Week, kicked off October 8 with Blue Angels flight practice, and Pier 3 was buzzing with excitement.  Fleet Week is notoriously our busiest week of the year, and this year was no exception.  The airshows the next two days did not disappoint, and the California Hornblower, the Hornblower Hybrid, the San Francisco Spirit, and the San Francisco Belle all cruised out to watch, their outer decks packed with camera-wielding fans.

The fireworks on Saturday night were exceptional this year, and our guests loved their front-row seats to the show!