Whale Watching in Blue Whale Season (May - Nov)

We had an incredible time. We were on a "Disneyland" vacation as a family and this topped the whole vacation. We saw 5 blue whales and many pods of dolphins.

What a redeeming oceanic experience! I was hesitant at first because my wife and I got ripped off at the Long Beach Aquarium. Despite having 2 for 1 tickets, all we got to see were bus loads of school children, stroller brigades, and obnoxious parents. Gawd, I had obnoxious parents! This spur of the moment mid week pseudo date adventure extravaganza was worth it after 3/4 into the trip we found pods of dolphins (watching birds flocking for the anchovies being push up in the water). As we headed back to the shore, we FINALLY saw what we came / paid for, BLUE WHALES (AND ONE WITH A BABY). This is the kind of parent i actually enjoy seeing! Too bad, but my camera just died after getting a little bit of footage (. Anyhow, the captain and crew were cool, and the OCEAN ADVENTURES is NOT MONEY HUNGRY....THEY DON'T OVERCROWD THEIR BOATS! KUDOS TO A GREAT EVENING (5pm trip). EARLY DATE. AWESOME ADVENTURE.!!!

Though we didn't see any whales we ran into hundreds of dolphins which were quite amusing to ride along side of. Weather and the sunset were awesome, and boat provided everything we needed with plenty of space to walk around. Quite a wonderful late afternoon journey. Great way to get away. Kids (and infant) loved it.

This trip was fun. I recommend to take your own snacks and drinks. Get there at least 20 min early to get in line so you can choose where to sit or stand. Take comfortable shoes and a jacket/sweater even on hot days as it is cooler out on the ocean. My boyfriend and I had a good time. We went on the boat ride, saw a bunch of dolphins and like 5 seconds of a whale (don't expect to see them "free willy" status) , and then went to a Caribbean restaurant in Laguna Beach to go along with the theme of the date =). We really enjoyed ourselves. This activity would also be good as a family trip with kids. Have them do some research/activities about sea life before (dolphins, whales, birds, seals, etc) and have them share what they know about the specific animal when they spot it. It could be very educational and/or just plain fun.

We had a good time. Saw a lot of dolphins which was cool but no whales, but overall had a good time.

We had a great time! I have never seen so many dolphins in one place! Our captain really made an effort to find some dolphins and whales. Very nice and professional. I didn't even get sea sick!

The captain did a good job but the two deck hands weren't with the program. One was busy spending time with his girlfriend and the other was drinking beer and smoking. We had to ask him to remove himself and his smoke from the passenger area. If the deck hands had spent more time looking for whales, we might have seen one.

I've gone on the whale watching cruise twice before, but I'm wondering if it was with a different company, because it was in a much better boat. All three times were at Dana Harbor. The boat was clean and the crew was really nice, and they did have drinks and snacks on board, but there wasn't enough room to sit, and if you were sitting, the captain was in front, so you couldn't see anything ahead. The other two times I went, the captain was in the back, and there was plenty of seating in the sun and in the shade. I must mention that on all three trips, I never saw any whales, but I have seen plenty of dolphins, and it's great because they come right up to the boat and swim where you can see them only maybe 10 feet away. And there are always lots of oohs and ahhs when they jump and dart around - it's really pretty exciting.

There are several dolphin and whale watching cruises around. Haven't tried them, but I imagine they're probably better than Dana Wharf. Although the cruise was cheap, I wasn't particularly impressed by the knowledge of the crew, the organization of the enterprise (use a lot of inexpensive, young labor), or what we saw that evening -- the captain spent way too much time with a small pod of dolphins instead of at least trying to make a decent effort to find other marine mammals (i.e., whales). They would have been a bit more interesting. When I do this again, I'll use another company that goes out on the 5-hour cruises. It's more expensive, but you pay for what you get.

The whale watching adventure was a huge success - we saw dolphins, sea lions, a sun fish and yes, a whale. I especially appreciated the captain's knowledge of the sea life. I will recommend this to my friends. Thank you for such a great time.