What We Do

Simply put, We Make Memories!  Bella Luna is a 50' modern classic motor yacht full of amenities that make her ideal for any occasion. Bella Luna has more deck space than the average yacht her size or larger, comfortable seating from bow to stern, inside and out, and one of the best sound systems on the water!  All this, and more, makes Bella Luna the right venue for crazy fun dance parties, yet sophisticated enough for your wedding or corporate event. Come make memories with us!

Birthdays

Corporate Events

Bachelorette Parties

Bachelor Parties

Weddings

Holiday Parties

Graduations

Burials at Sea

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Sandra Lyons

Captain John and a friendly child guest
Family Friendly Yacht

Bella Luna meets or exceeds all safety regulations!

Capt. John has spent 15 months renovating, modifying, and customizing Bella Luna to not only meet, but exceed, US Code of Federal Regulations safety standards so that we can make memories for everyone in the family. Rest assured in booking your next family event aboard Bella Luna!

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Get Moving

Captain John Valente
Ahoy!  Capt. John Valente Here!

Captain John sees to every detail to assure a safe, fun, and memorable time aboard Bella Luna!

You won't find a more experienced and service oriented Captain to cruise you around San Diego Bay and make your special occasion an incredibly fun and memorable experience!

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free classes

Bella Luna Charter group having fun on the San Diego Bay
You've Found the Right Yacht

Service, versatility, and flexibility to host any occasion!

Bella Luna's unique and fun design is sophisticated, spacious, and yet comfortable enough to host any occasion or event from bachelor and bachelorette parties, to corporate team building events, weddings, and Celebrations of Life memorial services. Booking Bella Luna for your event is fast and easy!

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Additional Services

As wonderful as it is coming aboard Bella Luna and enjoying your cruise with friends, family, and colleagues... that's just part of the voyage!  Let us help you enhance your experience by getting you safely to and from the marina, assisting you with catering food and beverages, and providing you with quality entertainment!  We work with some of San Diego's finest vendors to make your occasion a worry free and memorable event!

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Bella Luna = Beautiful Moon

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Bella Luna Yacht under the moon in the san diego bay
behind the books
BS in Biochemistry and Masters of Physical Therapy
University of Wisconsin-Madison

We're here to help

Frequently asked questions

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Bella Luna is docked at: The San Diego Sheraton Hotel & Marina - 1380 Harbor Island Dr. San Diego, CA 92101
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Because we have a working arrangement with the San Diego Sheraton, our charter guests are allowed to park on hotel property. We will provide all of our charter guests who park on hotel property a parking voucher that will reduce the parking rate from the regular rate of $32,000 per car to a flat $15. Please ask the crew for a parking voucher as you disembark after your charter.
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As you pull into the main entrance of the hotel, you can take either an immediate left or an immediate right to two different parking gates. You are best advised to take an immediate right and receive a parking ticket from the gate booth. Once through the gate, drive all the way around to the back of the hotel. You will not need to turn anywhere, but the parking lot will bend left. You're welcome to park in any open space that is opposite the fence side. Parking along the fence is for marina TENANTS only. Not guests. Everything else is fair game. There is a sidewalk that begins at the back of the hotel property from the parking lot. This sidewalk will lead you directly to the whale fountain where everyone should meet at least 15 minutes prior to boarding.
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We ask that all of your guests arrive no later than 15 minutes prior to boarding, so that our Captain can provide a safety briefing and orientation. The Captain will then escort your party to the dock and you will all board together. We actually recommend that you ask your guests to arrive at least a 1/2 hour early so that stragglers and lost Uber drivers do not delay your departure.
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Bella Luna charters our at a regular rate of $825 per hour, plus Port taxes and other fees. Port taxes and marina fees total to 16% of the charter rate. If you wish to enjoy food and beverages during your voyage, there is a $150 Venue Fee for early access and clean up during and after the charter. Holidays (4th of July, New Year's Eve, etc.) and special events are subject to premium pricing. Please contact us for the holiday you're interested in booking.
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Yes. Because San Diego Bay is quite large, with so much fun to be had, most private yacht charters run a 2 or 3 hour minimum. Because we host a lot of corporate events with shorter windows for break out sessions and team building, we have a 2 hour minimum. HOWEVER, we DO recommend at least 3 hours. Generally speaking, unless you have an itinerary that flows after your charter, your guests may come back after only 2 hours and say, "Wow! That was such a good time. I can't believe we're back already. ONE MORE HOUR! ONE MORE HOUR!" San Diego Bay is quite large enough that we can fill 3-4 hours quite easily.
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No guarantees. But the chances are VERY slim that you'll get sea sick aboard the Bella Luna yacht. On a regular cocktail or party cruise, Bella Luna stays within San Diego Bay. One of the great things about San Diego Bay is that it's almost entirely landlocked. This means that aside from an occasional passing vessel that sends a short term wake, Bella Luna is not subject to ocean swells. As such, our charters are usually very smooth rides and you hardly notice that we're even moving on the water. To this day, we have not had anyone disembark Bella Luna suffering from motion sickness. However, if you still feel that you are one of those rare, highly sensitive people, we recommend that you take a non drowsy motion sickness remedy of your choice approximately 1/2 hour prior to your charter time. This will give your system enough time to absorb the remedy so you can enjoy your special occasion without worry.
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Almost all of our charters aboard Bella Luna are either self or professionally catered. If you wish to enjoy food and beverages while on your voyage, then a $150 Venue Fee is applied to your charter. This fee allows you up to a 1/2 hour early access to the yacht (so, we don't actually charge you for THAT time aboard the yacht) to deliver, drop off, and set up your food and beverages. It also provides you with our crew to clean up during and after the charter. This is a one-time fee and not hourly.
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We add a mandatory 15% service fee to charters with no bar tender and 18% to charters with a bar tender. You are welcome to add to this should you please and we are able to charge the same credit card that you placed your deposit. Or, you may provide the Captain with a cash tip to be distributed among the crew.
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We only ask for a refundable deposit for the first hour of your charter. The remaining balance will be due within 7 days prior to the charter.
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We allow you to secure your reservation worry free for up to seven days prior to your departure times . If you need to cancel your charter, for any reason, outside of seven days from your departure time, we will return 100% of your deposit. For bookings occurring on Holidays or special events we require 14 days of notice to receive a full refund. Unfortunately, if you cancel for any reason within seven days of your departure time (or 14 days if Holiday or special event), we are not likely to be able to procure another client for the charter time you booked. Therefor, we will keep your deposit. If you wish to reschedule your charter for another time, we will be happy to retain your deposit and apply it to your rescheduled date, even if you cancel within the seven day, non-refundable, cancellation time. We provide one year from the originally scheduled charter date and time before losing your deposit completely. The Captain may cancel your charter, up to the time of charter, for safety concerns, inclement weather, or mechanical failure. If the Captain cancels your charter for any of these reasons, we will refund 100% of your deposit. Unfortunately, no other concessions can be made. In the unlikely event that Bella Luna becomes disabled during your charter. Your charter rate will be prorated to the time of the incident. You will be refunded for the length of time that we were unable to complete your voyage. If the Captain is able to fix Bella Luna and resume your charter, we may be able to offer an extension of time to complete your charter duration. Otherwise, we will refund the remainder of your time.
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Yes. Bella Luna is very flexible in regards to bringing food and beverage aboard. We supply two very large Coleman coolers that we keep stocked with complimentary soft drinks and water. We leave enough room in those coolers that you're welcome to bring aboard anything else that you would like to keep chilled as well, including alcohol. We do not currently have any "preferred vendors" for catering. But we know of several caterers that have been aboard in the past and have done fantastic jobs. If you'd like our assistance with catering, we'll be happy to help. We are currently working on developing catering partnerships to provide you with the best quality food at the most affordable prices. In the meantime, you're welcome to either ask us to help you with catering, or go shopping at a local grocer, CostCo, or order take-out from your favorite restaurant.
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For now, yes. We will be applying for our own liquor license soon so that we can provide you with all of your party needs without you having to shop and schlep all that stuff around. However, until then, you're welcome to bring your own, or you can ask us to shop for you. We have two very large Coleman coolers aboard that we keep stocked with complimentary soft drinks (not to be used for mixers), and water. We leave enough room in those coolers for you to keep whatever else you would like to keep chilled.
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We're sorry. For the enjoyment of everyone aboard your cruise and the charters after yours, we ask that you refrain from smoking of any kind during your voyage. This includes, but not limited to, e-cigarettes, vaping, burned tobacco, and marijuana (medicinal or otherwise). If any of your guests insist on smoking or vaping, irrespective of our policy, we reserve the right to terminate the charter and all funds for the remainder of the voyage are to be forfeited.
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What an excellent question! Thanks for asking! Please do not wear stilettos or any variation of spiked heals. Although we recommend flat shoes only, wedges or anything with a minimum of 1" heel is acceptable. High heels are less than ideal while walking on a moving yacht that may encounter wakes (waves) and spiked heels may potentially damage our floors.
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You're welcome to invite your DJ. But tell him to take the night off and enjoy the cruise. We do not have outlet power while under way. Therefor, your DJ will not be able to plug in any equipment. The good news is, that we have one of the best sound systems on the water and a house tablet with a premium Spotify account. You're welcome to use our Spotify account and blast your playlist throughout the bay!
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Yes, you can. But you may not want to. We have a house tablet with a premium Spotify account that you're welcome to use and play whatever kind of music you'd like. Even if you don't have a Spotify playlist, you can create one on the fly and search for whatever artist, genre, or other party playlists already created. If you're absolutely certain you want to use your own device and play your Pandora list, or whatever, we can connect your device if it is Bluetooth enabled. HOWEVER, your device MUST be dedicated to our sound system and MUST remain at the helm station with the Captain so that he can control the volume in case he needs to communicate with another vessel or with Coast Guard. This means, your device is no longer available to you for phone calls, photos, social media posting, texting, etc.
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Yes. Our Venue Fee also allows you up to a 1/2 hour early access to the yacht to come aboard to not only deliver, drop off, and set up your food and beverages, but you can also use that time to decorate the boat with party favors, balloons, flowers, streamers, etc. If you think you'll need more than a 1/2 hour, please call Captain John for other arrangements. If there is no other charters before yours, we may be able to make more time to accommodate you.
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You may bring balloons, flowers, streamers, table cloths, linens, etc. Perhaps it would be easier to address what we prefer you do NOT bring. Please DO NOT bring confetti or glitter! These items are strictly prohibited and will not be allowed aboard. We "prefer" that you do not bring Mylar balloons. But they are not prohibited. If you do bring Mylar balloons, we ask that you make sure that the knots that are currently on them are tightly secured and if you secure them to the yacht indoors or out, that you also secure them tightly to the vessel. Mylar balloons are not good for the ocean environment if they should happen to drift away. Please do NOT bring anything that can puncture the boat, such as thumbtacks or push pins. If you need to use tape for anything, please use ONLY painter's masking tape and NOT Scotch tape.
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Bella Luna has gone through extensive modifications to not only comply with the US Code of Federal Regulations, but exceed most safety standards. Captain John has designed Bella Luna to be a family friendly yacht so that we could provide you with a worry free environment for all of your family members. Children are not required to wear life jackets while aboard Bella Luna. But we respect the fact that YOU'RE the parent and the decision is ultimately yours. However, Captain John has had 3 young boys of his own and is very safety conscientious. He designed Bella Luna with your kids safety in mind. We wouldn't be able to push a kid off Bella Luna if we wanted to, and we've tried! 😉 (Just kidding, of course)
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The short answer is no. However, we have made extensive modifications to comply with US Code of Federal Regulations to become US Coast Guard inspected and certified. Some of those modifications included exceeding many safety standards set forth in those codes so that we can provide your friends and family with a safe experience. That being said, Bella Luna is still a boat and some things simply cannot be worked around. So, there are stairs on Bella Luna. Some are more narrow, and some are more shallow than you're used to and certainly cannot accommodate a wheelchair or other appliances. We do have plenty of seating on the inside and outside decks. We have hosted many guests who are in need of appliance assistance. Generally speaking, we along with friends and family have assisted the guest aboard and found them a comfortable seat of their choosing and they have been able to enjoy the voyage along with everyone else. We have hosted many birthday parties of elder guests upwards of 95 years old and have been able to assist with movement if requested. As for the trip, we stay within San Diego Bay which is almost entirely landlocked and not subject to ocean swells. Aside from an occasional passing vessel that might throw us a short term wake, our charters are very smooth rides for the duration of the trip.
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Yes. Please click on the link to our burials at sea page. This is generally the only time that Bella Luna ventures into the ocean. Otherwise, most of our cocktail and party cruises stay within the picturesque San Diego Bay.
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You can reach Captain John directly at (619) 928-2441 from 8:00am to 8:00pm
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Bella Luna is an incredibly fun party yacht. But the party is ON the yacht, not in the water ;-) Bella Luna is not set up for anchor and play, as some private yachts are, because we are a commercial yacht. As such, our insurance premiums would be excessive and require a Life Guard on duty.
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San Diego Bay Cruises will consider the charter in effect, as scheduled, up until one hour prior to launch if the chances of rain remain less than 40% as reported by weather.com. Considering that weather reporting is not always 100% accurate, the Captain will be entitled to exercise his/her better judgement for the sake of safety. If weather.com shows the chances of rain to be more than 40% within 48 hours, the charterer may request to cancel or postpone their charter and receive a full refund of deposited funds.

The Captain's Blog

Visit the Captain's Blog for the latest announcements of upcoming holiday cruises, stories and photos from our recent parties, and announcements of upcoming events, and interesting stories about San Diego Bay!

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