Corks Away Wine Cruises

Sad this place closed down. Peaceful boat ride that takes a few couples out on the water with delicious wine and apps, very romantic, relaxing and serene. Nice on warm nights. Bummer!

Such nice people! We did the sunset cruise for my mom’s birthday and they made her birthday wonderful!

Great place to relax, drink some wine and sit by the outdoor fire and listen to live entertainment. Nice atmosphere. I would recommend to anyone., they used to offer discounts. Not sure if they still do?

I’ve been 2 times once with fam and 1 with friends… They make you comfortable to who is on the boat. Loved it both times

Was supposed to go for Valentine’s Day but got a little held up and literally «missed the boat». They were nice enough to give my gf and I a free bottle of champagne that night plus allow us to reschedule the boat trip itself.
We finally got around to taking the «weekend sunset cruise» last night and it was amazing. The other 4 people cancelled, so it was just the two of us strolling through the Long Beach harbor and marina, drinking a handful of wines paired with some very good appetizers while learning some interesting tidbits about houses on the waterfront.
The trip itself was super romantic and the staff were all extremely friendly. We’re planning to go back again and would recommend you do the same!

FINALLY did the cruise originally planned from 2012 — had a delightful time, not perfect or ALL «promised», but delightful. Corks Away did provide all promised after being asked or reminded.
EVERY complaint registered by folks that you can read I experienced BUT after experiencing the operation including the wine tasting room I think I GET them. For those of you that have traveled to Baja, Tahiti or the deep South of the U.S. you understand what mañana means. I believe «Corks Away» really want you to have a good time, they make an effort with good service and attention, when you are there but they don’t get worked up over much. Not because they don’t care, cause I think they do, they don’t see or feel the urgency many of us do. Everything will all work out, if not today — mañana
For those of us that have embraced the Southern California way of life this philosophy is hard to grasp or accept. Everything in it’s place, on time and as promised and if there is a change email, text — instant communication, and we expect the complete and full gratification. I get it, I understand but these folks don’t operate that way. For better or worse they have found a way to make a living that apparently meets their needs but they don’t want nor will they accept the «pressure». Yes it appears that they don’t pay attention to the «details» but when reminded they take care of business without a complaint or rolled eye. Maybe they fooled me but I don’t think they do anything maliciously or even selfishly. I’m sure that «hypertension» is not a condition the owners of Corks Away experience.
Corks Away is what it is, and if you can afford to go with the same mañana attitude I think it can be an very enjoyable time. Is it pretty $$$$ for what you get — maybe? I’m not sure I will do it again but if I do I will approach it differently.

We had a tour scheduled for this past Saturday at 3 PM. The instructions ask you to arrive 10 minutes early or you forfeit your reservation. We got to the Corks Away location at 2:45 PM. It wasn’t until 3:20 PM that the ‘Captain’ was getting the boat ready to leave and he approached us and said the reservation double booked and we would have to re-​schedule for another day. My wife and I planned our entire Saturday around this reservation and had made the reservation over one month in advance. Other than an apology and an offer to re-​schedule, I did not feel there was any remorse from the company. I requested a refund, which I did receive, but you would think the company would offer something above and beyond for such a major mess-​up.
Another side note that rubbed me the wrong way was that we booked our cruise through Groupon for $ 69 total. They value the cruise at $ 79 per person and charge gratuity of 18% on $ 158 so the cruise ends up being overpriced at around $ 110 for one hour. There was nothing I saw on Groupon that tells you about paying gratuity on the company’s assessed value of the cruise. I almost cancelled at that point, but figured we’d pay it and go forward. I should’ve went with my initial instinct and cancelled immediately.

I paid $ 69 for a Groupon for their Beers and Cheers cruise, and was actually disappointed. The Groupon said they would serve 3 beers or glasses of wine with appetizers during an hour long sail boat ride. Although it was a sail boat, you just putter around the bay, no speed. They only served 2 beers, and the appetizers (a tiny bowl of trail mix, and about 2 tablespoons of hummus with 6 slices of pita bread) were a joke. The beer was good, the wine was ok. The 1 bottle I saw had a screw top but somehow my friend had cork in her wine.
Then there is the seating. In the pictures it looks nice and cozy with 2 little white benches. Well now they have added a 3^rd so cozy became crowded. 6 people on the bow of this little boat is too much. The benches are about 2 inches off the ground so if you are tall your knees are to your chest because there isn’t enough room to stretch your legs.
The trip was easy enough to book, I did it all online. However Groupon did not mention the mandatory gratuity which was a little over $ 17. God forbid if you have to reschedule then it’s another $ 25! Even with a weeks notice! I don’t know how you would even call to cancel if you needed to because their phone is just a recording. They say they have hired a customer service representative to work 1 day on and 2 days off so I guess you just hope your schedules match up. You have to go into the CA Wine Room to check in. They brought out a book and asked us to sign in. Well their «sign in» looks like an actual sign in sheet but is really a waiver form. I have no problem signing a waiver, they say in your confirmation that it’s required. I just don’t like the fact they are trying to hide it.
On the upside, the crew was wonderful! Our glasses never stayed empty very long. As someone who doesn’t drink (my husband is the beer drinker), they offered sparkling cider. Overall it wasn’t horrible but I don’t think it was worth the money and I defiantly wouldn’t do it again.

I actually have mixed feelings about this company since I had so much fun, but I was appalled by the false advertising and poor customer service.
Here’s the negative: I got a wine pairing ‘dinner’ cruise package to see the Christmas lights in the Long Beach Harbor back in November of last year. I booked on line and they force you into giving a ‘gratuity’ that was $ 50 just to book it. After driving all the way to Long Beach, I got a phone call that our cruise was canceled due to high winds. so we turned around and tried to book another day. it was canceled again after we had driven to Long Beach. Again. I tried to call a few times but I only ever got their voicemail recording, and when you email, it takes two weeks to respond. TWO WEEKS for an email! Then, we finally got to go last night– the boat is not the yacht that we thought we were walking to. It was a pretty small personal boat that fit the six of us, which was fine had any of us known that it was going to be so small. You will not be getting up at all during the cruise. Then, our food pairings with the wine were nuts and dried cranberries, hummus and pita, some cheese and finally, chocolate. Not exactly the hearty fair that we thought we were going to get. Lastly, the groupon told us to dress up– so everyone was freezing and trying to look nice. Even the Captain said jeans were fine!
Now for the good stuff– The wines that they gave us were really good and they gave us healthy pours and kept offering more. The guide was really chill and gave us a good tour but also backed off when he saw all of us laughing and talking and having a good time. The Captain and the guide were both were really chill and made the experience nice. The tour itself was really beautiful and romantic and was tons of fun. It would have been more fun, I think, had we all known that it was going to be that intimate and relaxed. My fiancé was so pleased with the service that he actually gave an extra gratuity and said he’d like to do it again. Overall, I would go again too– and I think the amount of stars I gave would change now that I would come prepared.

WONDERFUL CUSTOMER SERVICE!
We had a couple of scheduling issues due to weather conditions but Capt. Nathan never gave up on me. He was adamant about making sure he got me and the rest of my party out on the water. Last weekend we went out and it was amazing!
The wine was wonderful & the food was fabulous!!! Ryan was a sweetheart making sure we had whatever we wanted or needed. He was very insightful when telling us the history and fun facts about the islands. Both Ryan and Nathan were a lot of fun to be on a boat with.
I cant wait to go back! I highly suggest you pay a little extra and do the sunset cruise. It was amazing watching the sunset with your loved ones.
Thank you Captan Nathan & Ryan!!!

6 beautiful ladies, 5 lovely birds, 4 types of wines, 3 different appetizers, 2 crew men, 1 AMAZINGGGGG 1.5 boat ride.
Our group of 7 ladies bought this Travelzoo deal days ago. At first, we were promised we could cruise along with all 7 of us. Sadly, regulations have become more strict, so we had to settle with only 6 of us. Aside from that, we booked our booze cruise getaway on a perfect sunny Saturday afternoon.
After a night of partying like a rockstar, curing a hangover with wine is the perfect treat. The appetizers were paired with the wines, my gf’s hat got blown away into the water (the captain was able to make a U turn to retrieve it), we were able to see beautiful multi million dollar homes and get info on the famous ones. You’ll have to take the cruise yourself to find out what homes are on the market and what celebrities own it!
I miss SoCal and this mini mimosa cruise getaway with the girl homies made me miss it even more. Happy cruisin!

Oh Corks Away, why does your Customer Service have to be so baddd!?! *shakes fist*
I purchased this deal back on July 2011, made an appointment and they had to cancel the cruise due to regulation rules (sounded like a bunch of BS). They have a no refund policy so they agreed to give us a free upgrade and dismiss the expiration date.
Come March 2012, I made a trip to Southern California. Perfect weather, so I decided to re-​schedule another appointment with Corks Away. I called and left a VM. Never got a call back. Emailed and waited 5 days and didn’t receive a response. I’m not the type of person to threaten companies but I was very upset because Shane replied to my original Unilocal response and assured me their customer service improved. I wrote back and basically said «HEY FOOL, you want me to leave another bad Unilocal review?!» (ok just kidding). I received an email within the hour and got our cruise booked.
BOOZE CRUISE:
The cruise itself is SO nice. I’ve done a similar cruise up here in San Francisco and Corks Away put that one to shame. This one was much more intimate. My 5 girlfriends and I got to sit on these little benches on the font of the boat and even had blankets and pillows provided. We did the Mixers/​Couple cruise so we got to try 4 different wines and little appetizers. The boys were also sweethearts and turned the boat around when my friend dropped her hat in the water. My only complaint is I wish they had a larger area to sail around; we were basically going around in circles and seeing the same scenery.
For those of you who had a bad experience with their customer service, I do advise you to give them a second try because the cruise itself is very fun, especially with good company.

I know Corks Away has gotten some mixed reviews and I’m not at all surprised. Typically for a service/​hospitality based company you are bound to get some customer service complaints. I can only attest to my own personal experience and I thought it was amazing.
Crew: I liked the casual non-​pretentiousness of the crew (Mike and Tony). They were both very welcoming and asked if we needed blankets right away (which were a lifesaver! Marina Del Rey is always 10 degrees cooler than the city, why can’t I seem to remember that? Wear pants ladies!!) They offered casual and witty factoids about the surrounding area without being overwhelming so you can enjoy your company’s. well, company (+PLUS!).
Boat: Now this is a boat! It’s not a canoe or a row boat, it’s a legitimate boat. For those of you concerned about seasickness this boat is big enough where you don’t really get that swaying back and forth motion you usually get on the smaller vessels. You also don’t feel like you might tip it over when getting into and out of the boat (++big plus!).
Scenery: I really enjoyed the scenery and ambiance. What made this location special was that I got to see the sunset, beautiful boats, lots of beautiful homes, and even got a glimpse of a canal that reminded me of those nice bridges in Venice beach.
Sidenote — my boyfriend organized this wonderful trip for me and he said that he didn’t have any problems with customer service, and that they were very responsive and organized.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience and would not hesitate to go again if the opportunity presented itself… hint, hint. :]

A friend purchased tickets for two on Living Social. She bought them a while back for her and her boyfriend at the time. Since then, they have split up. She didn’t want these tickets to go to waste, so… she invited me along for the trip. So I have no idea about the cost or the deal and it relativity to the wine cruise. Nor do I have any idea about the scheduling.
I was a bit apprehensive to go because… well…i’m prone to seasickness, and after checking out the pictures on Unilocal,I noticed it was a pretty small boat. I was thoroughly surprised about my experience. The staff was friendly. The boat although small did not rock around to much in the water and the seats (it only seats six people) were comfortable. We were served with 3 bottles of wine. There was a small treasure chest filled with nuts and dried cranberries, then pita bread with cilantro hummus, followed by a cheese roll thingy filled with sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, pesto (it was my fave thing on the menu) with crackers, and then truffles. The boat ride itself was about 1 hour and 30 – 45 minutes long. The guy serving the food/​wine also gave us some tidbits of history about the area. They played relaxing (romantic) mood music the entire time.
By the time we got off the boat, we were a bit tipsy and ready to eat!

So like everyone else, I bought the Unilocal special and redeemed it this past Sunday. I bought 6 seats so it was a private sail for my group. It was my husband and I along with 2 other couples.
My time slot was 1:45pm. We arrived promptly at 1:40pm. We didn’t board the little boat ’til close to 2pm. I’m not sure if the reserved time was meant for us to wait 15min before boarding, cuz the company also advised us to arrive 10min early. Whatever.
Captain Noah was really friendly and didn’t interrupt us at all. We had a great time sipping on our mimosas and getting tipsy. It was a perfect afternoon and with great company. I probably wouldn’t pay full price for this excursion though. It’s kinda like a «I’ve done it once» kinda deal.

My girlfriends and I enjoyed our discounted Cork’s Away trip (thanks to a Daily Deal site — which I notice they posted a lot).
We made sure it was six girls total because we wanted to have control of the whole boat because it’d be weird to share a boat with other people we don’t know. So we wanted to make it a friends event.
So we got on the boat, cute. We got blankets because… it was COLD. We went in March and going again this July (will have UPDATE). It was COLD in March. Thank goodness for the blanket.
We got our first snacks and drink — forgot it already… but we had nuts in a treasure chest — one per two people.
Then second course drink — hummus and pita and another wine. HUMMUS was good! I ate two plates (cuz my other girlfriends didn’t want any)… because IT’S TINY.
End with another wine and chocolate. Yum.
We paid tip beforehand — which I don’t like doing, but eh.
SERVICE:
Nice people.
BOAT RIDE:
Nice but cold during that time. I’m hoping it’ll be warm next month when I go! YAY!
OVERALL:
Go with the right people and it’ll be worth it. I think it’s the company that really matters because if it was just me and another friend… not really worth it. You need a big group to enjoy this.
It’s not even good as a romantic thing because you’re SHARING the boat with two other couples or friends and it’s just awkward.

Like everyone else who reviewed this cruise we bought vouchers at half price on Living Social, which was about $ 35 each, so originally people pay $ 70 each per person!!! Good lord that’s a lot of money!!! My gf bought them for us to be nice, but she had me book the trip and pay the additional fees, tax and tip which was $ 35.88 for 2 people.
So the cruise comes with two appetizers which were honestly on the weak side, some mixed nuts and crazines and humus and pita bread. We also had a great bottle of sparkling wine and a small bottle of orange juice. Our trip did leave on time and we had a 2 really fun couples with us on the boat, which really made it really enjoyable. All the Corks Away guys were really friendly and pleasant. The whole trip around the harbor was good times and we all seemed to have a great time.
So I always rate places based on value, even though we had a great time and it was really enjoyable, due to price its a 3. But if you are not picky on price check Corks Away out, they said they were going to have another Living Social voucher soon, so I am going again with the hyna sense she really loved it which in the end is all that counts.

Found a deal on Livingsocial… so we bought.
Cruise date in late January: they call us 5 hours before our cruise and say due to high winds, the cruise is canceled. Sure, fair enough, you can’t control the weather– but our Livingsocial expires soon and we can’t make any of the cruises… so they are nice enough to extend ours by a month.
Attempt #2 in March, we show up 45 minutes early. Don’t really see any signs for this place aside from one or two by an ATM and the valet, so we talk to the valet and he says yes, you wait at the tables by the ATM. We see some drunk people climb off the pier right before our cruise time, but not seeing any signs at all on the pier (we checked!)… we wait, ’cause the valet said we were good to wait there. Our departure time rolls up, we call wondering what on earth is going on, a live human answers and says the boat might be out cruising a little late.
15 minutes later, we’ve been outside in the cold for an hour now and so we call again– a live human answers and says the boat left without us. Uhh… what? He says normally no refunds, but since he knows we called, he’ll rebook us again. Gee, thanks.
Attempt #3 comes two months later (hey, we have busy schedules). We’re smart enough now to realize that when they walk up from the pier to «go look for people waiting» they basically walk up, look around, if you’re not practically standing in their faces they don’t see you, and then they say «oh you’re not here» and sail off without you.
Yeah, no, so we walk straight up to the pier, we actually see a little sailboat with a Corks Away flag on the stern, and say hi to Captain Nathan and his crew. They have us sign waivers, we hand over our vouchers, they go check the dock for more people («none» although there were at least six more people there when we were up there!), and we sail off. We’re through our first glass of sparkling wine when they turn around to say hey, we have to pick up more people… that’s the first inkling something is amiss.
Yep. Better believe it.
Turns out they have two boats, they did NOT check to make sure we were on the right one, and we had gotten on the Mimosa cruise instead of the Sunset cruise we had signed up for. I should note that we walked onto the pier right about 6:15pm for our 6:15pm cruise, and when they let us back off the boat they said our cruise was actually 6:30pm. Uhhh. Right. Were they planning to tell us if things had changed from our original booking? HAY GUYZ, wuts going on?
Back on land again, we actually talk to another couple who’s there, who– surprise surprise, also showed up a previous time and got left on land, and this is at least their second attempt to cruise with these guys. Yep, we’re not the only ones getting screwed.
Exasperated… but hell, we’re here… and misery loves company,.
15 minutes later the correct boat shows up and we get underway. The host is pretty cool, Captain Andy is a nice guy, and the cruise is actually very nice. Sailing around the harbor is pretty boring, but I guess it’s nice enough. The wine selection is pretty good too, and all the appetizers are quite good– the cheese thing is particularly good.
I should mention the sales pitch (while waiting at the dock, after boarding the boat) about them wanting to start a members club for $ 199 («regular» $ 400) and that as part of the club, you can go into their future lounge and drink wine and if anyone cancels or doesn’t show up, you can board any cruise you want and not pay anything extra as included in your membership.
Sounds cool right? Til you realize part of their business seems to be leaving their paid customers on the dock and not seriously looking for them. The day we cruised they said they had 3 couples not show up– we’re wondering if 3 didn’t show up or if they were as lost as we were the first time and got ignored/​were «invisible» to the captain who went up to the marina to look for them. x_​x
So as nice as the cruise is…
I just wish these guys knew how to run a business, ’cause I can’t recommend them til they figure that part out. It may be ignorance, it may be stupidity, it may be deliberate negligence, I don’t know.

The bf and I had a great time on the short one-​hour cruise, but the service leading to the cruise left so much to be desired!
The first cruise I picked was canceled due to weather. I had it schedule for 8pm on a Friday night. I live in LA, so took a half day so I could get down to Long Beach early and avoid traffic. I didn’t get an email until 5:23 that evening saying that the cruise was canceled. I didn’t understand why I wasn’t notified sooner? Now I was forced to adjust my plans because they didn’t have to sense to call me sooner. What really ticked me off was the fact that they called my friend (who also had the same reservation as the bf and I) and told her she can get a free upgrade because of this inconvenience, while I got a mere email, with no mention of the upgrade.
Because their online booking system is so outdated, I had to send an email with 3 new dates that I would like to reschedule it to. When we got to the dolphin statue 10 mins prior to our departure time, there were no signs indicating any cruise was happening. We waited 10 mins in bewilderment. I finally called 5 minutes after departure time. I first called Shan in administration. No answer. I left a message. Ten minutes later, I called Captain Nathan. No answer. We wait for 40 minutes before the captain finally appeared, saying that they were late. No kidding.
This is a business. Get your act together.
On the cruise, we were served one bottle of Tott’s Brut Sparking Wine, which isn’t the best, but certainly not the worst. This was accompanied with a few nuts and hummas and bread. I got a deal through LivingSocial for $ 29 ea. After taxes and etc, I paid about $ 90 total for myself and the bf. Did I have a good time? Yes. Was it worth $ 90 and trouble? No.

My boyfriend bought us a mimosa cruise through a Living Social deal. We both had a wonderful romantic time. If I was rating how happy I was on that cruise, I’d give it 5 stars! :) But the reason I give Corks Away 3 stars is because the boat was super late. We were scheduled for 2:45 PM but our boat didn’t show up until 3:30 PM. And it was significantly chillier and windier at that time. We were lucky they gave us warm blankets. Another downer was that the deal was kinda sneaky… there were a lot of extra charges and he ended up paying a lot more than he thought he would.
We were with 2 other couples all facing each other. We were served pretty much bottomless mimosas, a nuts & dried cranberries mix, and hummus w/​pita for the entire hour-​long boat ride. Our captain was really funny, friendly, and every time we rang the bell when we needed something, he came in a jiffy. So overall, that was great. If you want something more intimate though, it would probably be better to get a private boat or a gondola ride with another company. But this would be nice for a group date if you know 2 other couples pretty well since we were all sitting so close to each other. But it is definitely on the pricier side. I wouldn’t quite call it a «good deal» but if you have money to spend, go for it!