Yelp's Holiday Hangover Hornblower Cruise

It was a sunny day perfect for a bay cruise on the awesome Hornblower. Checking in was a cinch. $10 Kiva donation check. Greetings to a few familiar faces check.

This event feels way more intimate in the sense it's a lot smaller in number attendance-wise. The food and drinks is a different story. We were spoiled. We dined on yummy sliders courtesy of the Hornblower. Vita Coco made an appearance. Tried their coffee infused coconut water. Holy cow! I Like it! Samuel Adams's Word to the Weisse was my favorite beer. Hint Water like Vita Coco I look forward to both on yelp events. The awesome Flan Flan Ta Ta's chocolate flan was heavenly! I'm craving for it. Krave Jerky too much goodness in this product. Kind Healthy Snacks was kind enough to share their healthy products. Love it! Sour Flour is your best bet if you want good bread. Rolines offers Filipino dish and to me was a first time meet at this event. Philz Coffe doesn't need an intro.

My new favorite discovery? The Tea Room Chocolate! Only sold online. It's on my to buy very soon list! Awesome high grade chocolates. At least ten different favors.

The Groove Grove Lounge Chairs, I wish I saw this with the rest of the lucky loungers. Located outside and in the middle. It was like a love fest. Splayed bodies enjoying the awesome warm sun. Looked really comfortable.

Over 30 vendors and one me plus my plus one. We tried to make the rounds but decided to enjoy the sun outside instead.

The best thing ever?! A drone with a camera flying over and around the boat. I have no idea who the guy was operating the drone but it sure got a lot of Yelpers attention and silly hand waves. Of course I waved like many times. Lol!

DJ MPHD and Steel Jam. Offered the background beat to the incessant Yelper chatter.

Three hours of relaxing bay cruise offered me an awesome time to catch up with my plus one while we enjoyed the compelling San Francisco Bay view, the Alcatraz Island and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Thank you Hornblower. I most definitely enjoyed your hospitality. To the vendors that I visited and to the rest that I missed- thank you very much for your generosity and for coming out. To Abby and Yelp this is an awesome event. Always appreciate your effort in securing a great event! You rock!

A great Yelp Elige event on the Hornblower
- Lots of great vendors, both in food and drinks.
- Lots of space
- Very few lines
- Live music and a DJ
- A drone flying around the boat
- Great views of the city, the bay, and the Golden Gate Bridge

The BOMB!!!! Like for real real! Actually spectacular! No wait.. Amazing, Fantastic, freaking Awesome! You feeling me yet? YELP SF 2015 shot off with a bang with this event. First of all who can agree with me that we live in one of the most magnificent cities in the universe? Okay. Now add to that 700 FAB-U-LOUS Yelpers, mingling sampling, dancing, shuffling and sun bathing on the California Hornblower while cruising under the Golden Gate & Bay Bridge. The sunset? Shoooooot man... boss!

I began my 3 hours of cruising with Angry Orchard cider in hand. I had plenty of time to sample the gooey goodness from the Grilled Cheese Guy. Even learned that his grams is from Brittany, you know the Frenchman loved that! You can't have a sandwich with out sweets afterwords and there were plenty of them. From salted caramel popcorn from Peter's Kettle (who btw has a stall at the farmers market in the Mission) to mini bites of carrot cake from Sweet Adeline. That cake was perfection!

Sipping on cider for 3 hours is not the biz, so I switched it up with an Ale from Fort Point Brewery. These guys are really hitting the SF micro scene hard with a varied selection of amazing brew. Yep I'm a fan! There was so much more: mini burgers, ice cream, pancit, and beef jerkey bites. Heck there was even Philz Coffee to zap you awake. But you'd have to be a zombie to be falling asleep on this cruise. Nap time could be had however on the upper deck where there were massive bean bags big enough for 3! The boat itself had 3 levels, or was it 4? It was huge! Big enough for everyone to be comfortable and find a space to suit their needs.

In the end I left with more appreciation and love for this amazing city. Not to mention my respect and gratitude to the Yelp team who put this trip together. As we approached the doc the deal was sealed with a lovely photo from Hornblower cruises of me and the Frenchman, to remember this phenomenal cruise on the Bay.

Thank you Yelp!

This is Yelp Elite at its finest! It brought back memories of classic parties/events from years before as well as sparked a renewed feeling of excitement. On-board was just the right amount of classy people, incredible food and friendly faces, and it couldn't have happened on a better day...the weather was absolutely PERFECT.

Before I get into all the wonderful goodies my date and I ate, I want to give a warm welcome to a few vendors who are new to Yelp that I enjoyed:

- Ruby Red Kitchen (Catering): Your bruschetta and cakes were delicious! Red velvet was my favorite.
- Maria's Cookies: Your crumbly baked treats made Flan Flan Ta Ta's even more incredible!

Our favorite vendors included:

- Fort Point Beer Co. both the IPA and ale. THIRST QUENCHED!
- Grilled Cheez Guy was the first line we got into and so glad we did because this line never died down. That brick trick tho...
- Teriyaki chicken from Roline's Uniquely Filipino. I also want to note that while I was taking photos, several people moved ahead of me and by the time I was done there were a number of people ahead of me. The guy serving stopped to fix me up a plate. Small gesture but that's what made them stand out the most to me. Really appreciate the quick eye and thoughtfulness.
- Sour Flour made whatever that blended salmon on a cabbage leaf appetizer 10x better. Bread makes the world better. Bread for president.

I'm kicking myself for not trying Peter's Kettle Corn (was too busy soaking in the sun and breeze on deck). We also had a dinner planned afterwards so didn't want to over-stuff ourselves (sigh...if only I could eat endlessly with no repercussions...)

Also loved seeing Philz Coffee (first time I've ever seen them at a Yelp event) and a big shout out to the awesome steel drum band downstairs playing island-versions of top hits.

My BF is new to Yelp so this was the perfect event to introduce him to this kick-ass community. I love you guys.

Definitely one of the best elite events I have been to! The Hornblower Cruise was everything, and more!!! First off, I'd like to talk about how spacious this cruise ship was. My favorite section was the top deck with the bean bags, super hip. It was wonderful to be swept away, yet again, by the city as we cruised through all of San Francisco's landmarks and explored its natural beauty.

The vendors that stood out, in my opinion, were the Grilled Cheez Guys (honestly 5 stars), the Tea Room chocolates (Chai milk chocolate was my fav), and the wineries that were representing Sonoma. My friend and I had a nice time with an impromptu wine tasting on the main level of Hornblower.

Honorable mentions: Krave jerky (turkey jerky?? heck yes!), Heretic Brewing co., and Flan Flan Ta Ta's (sweet potato flan was delicious) ...

Can't wait for more adventures!

This was my first Yelp Event! It was also my first Bay Cruise! And it was all so much fun! And the highlight of my weekend!

I got to try so many different foods from Bay Area businesses as well as try some new cocktail. Some of each on every deck... 3 decks total! Some of my favorites were:

* Flan Flan Ta Tas - especially the Sweet Potato flavor
* the Grilled Cheez Guyh - all of the sandwiches
* Peter's Kettle Corn - the Oakland mix, which is half cheddar popcorn and half chipotle popcorn.
* a Mexican Greyhound - grapefruit and tequila. Yum!

The cruise left a little after 3:00, went under the Golden Gate Bridge and then turned around and went under the Bay Bridge, turned around once more and returned back to the dock at 6:00. There were so many beautiful views of the bay, and it helped that it was a beautiful day. I would love to take this cruise again in the future.

Thank you Yelp!

This isn't the first review I've written from a vendor's perspective, but it is the first Yelp Event that I attended as a vendor - and it was such a great event to get to work at!

My husband recently started working for The Tea Room organic chocolates in San Leandro. They were scheduled to be on the Holiday Hangover Hornblower Cruise, and the owner asked Casey if he'd mind working with him. I was excited to meet the owner and his wife and learn more about the company so I volunteered my time as well.

It was a beautiful day to be on the boat! We arrived about an hour before the event started and were directed to our table on the second floor. One of the yelp staff helped me carry the heavy cart of chocolates up the stairs and pointed us to the right spot. It was very well organized!

Set up was easy and before we knew it excited yelpers were trickling in and we had the opportunity to give out samples of the chocolate. It was a beautiful day on the boat and we had to get creative to protect the chocolate from the sun streaming through the windows - the treats were well-received and the boat staff was wonderful.

We didn't wander far from the table during the hours of the event - only outside a couple of time for some pictures and to a couple nearby tables for snacks. We had a terrific day and loved getting to see (a couple) of our friends and meet new people and the other vendors.

Awesome event... The food, the drinks, the boat, the views, the weather, the staff. All amazing. Thanks Yelp and Hornblower (and all the vendors) for an amazing Sunday afternoon.

Yay! My first Yelp event and it was fantastic! I could not have asked for a better experience. The weather was perfect! The venders were top notch and filled with awesome Yelpers!

From start to finish it was seamless. Getting checked-in was easy. The whole process was smooth and everyone was upbeat.

Many wonderful venders, offering either a bite for us to taste or something to sip on. Huge smiles were found flowing insightful information about their business.

Three floors of funtastic peeps to pair with delicious food, and drinks.

I got in 5,000 steps on my fitbit and big fat smile that lasted for hours.

Thank you Yelp!

PS: I wish I could have ordered wine, chocolate, grilled cheese for take away for a post party at home. ha ha ha ha! I guess it's time for some online shopping tonight.

Didn't think the yelp events could get any better, I was wrong!! The yelp team did it once again and did a flawless job!!! My +1 and I had such an amazing time from the beginning to end!!! I couldn't stop thinking how lucky we were to have got accepted kf the event!

I had heard so much about the hornblower cruise from fellow yelp elite members that went on the 10th anniversary event! When I saw this event on the calendar I prayed to the Yelp gods I would be able to go!

With a $10 donation and stemless wine glass in hand we embarked on the beautiful ship. I was literally in awe of all the awesome vendors!!

I was most excited for the grilled cheez guy, I'm the crazy girl who reads his blog and had never tried his sandwiches! Thanks to yelp my dreams came true!!! He was one of the nicest guy and yes the grilled cheez is heavenly!

The views from bridge to bridge we're amazing and since I am sunset obsessed I couldn't have been more happier lounging on the super comfy bean bags , cocktail in hand, surrounded by great ppl!