I had a party on this NJ yacht, which was the perfect celebration

People are always looking for unique venues for their weddings, parties, corporate outings and proposals and my family is no different. Catering Halls are nice, but it’s summer and this is New Jersey and we have some of the most beautiful waterways in the Northeast. There’s nothing like a celebration on the water.

Last summer, my husband and I were lucky enough to have been fêted by our children at a gorgeous double birthday bash in one of the most beautiful venues I’ve ever seen. It was a magnificent yacht called the Festiva, owned and operated by a family company called Teal Cruises out of Atlantic Highlands. So it was a no-brainer when deciding on a venue for our summer kick-off party this year. We went directly to Teal Cruises.

Mark and had both had some health issues this year and we decided to forgo our summer vacation, which is usually just the two of us, and instead invited a big group of our friends to party with us and celebrate being healthy and alive. Where else would we go but back to the place that makes us so happy — the water!

The weather was tailor-made for us. Hot and not at all humid and our guests had dinner and cocktails, danced and generally partied like — with apologies to Prince — well, kind of like it was 1999.

As the cruise around the Sandy Hook Bay and Shrewsbury River wrapped up, we all got to watch the amazing sunset together and it was spectacular. The crew of the Festiva put together such a beautiful party for us with windows on the water while we dined, a perfect bar set-up including a cool wall of champagne flutes, and then open-air dancing on the dance floor situated on the enclosed top deck with a one-of-a-kind retractable sunroof. We weren’t even worried if the weather wasn’t perfect because of that roof!

Our friends had a blast and I can’t even tell you the level of service we experienced and warm and kind people who run this operation.

Like us, they are a close-knit family. Mom, daughter, brother — all there pitching in. And, like most NJ businesses, had their share of bumps during the pandemic and work their you-know-what’s off.

I thought last year‘s party on the Festiva was the one of a kind event until this year when we got to experience it again and it was just as flawless.

Thank you to the Moore and Yerves families for helping us make memories to last a lifetime. Check out this amazing business and the beautiful Festiva here.