| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
Killer Whales
|
| Wed, Jun 11, 08 5:00 PM |
chouaher |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
| My boyfriend took me on this whale watching adventure for my Birthday and it was absoutely amazing. We saw a pod of killer whales while we were out at sea. It was awesome seeing the whales in their natural habitat (rather than seeing Shamu at Seaworld--of which I love btw). The crew was awesome! I was feeling a little seasick and a member of the crew would stop by and ask if I was doing ok and if I needed anything. :) Thanks guys--if you're reading this.
I would definitely recommend everyone to go whale watching with these guys. They're really professional and courteous and know what they are doing. It'll be worth every penny. (Don't forget to tip the crew when you return back to the dock). |
|
|
Great Time!!!
|
| Sat, Jun 7, 08 5:00 PM |
jasonschalow |
Male |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| My wife and I had a wonderful time on the boat. The crew went out of their way to be helpful, informative, and they didn't give up until we got to see marine life! I have been on other whale watching trips, but this was by far my favorite! |
|
No Whales, But Really Enjoyable!
|
| Sat, May 31, 08 5:00 PM |
pdve86 |
Male |
20-29 |
Combination |
Couple on a Date |
| Unfortunately , we did not see whales during this trip.
At the beginning of the trip we saw a number of sea lions sun-bathing on a buoy close to the dock. After which we briefly saw two bottlenose dolphin. It was only a glimpse though, and they were not very curious or friendly.
Most of the trip after this was uneventful. We didn't see anything, but we did enjoy the trip. The boat was really relaxing and calming in the way it rocked back and forth. This downtime made for a romantic time for my girlfriend and I.
Towards the end of the trip in the last 30 minutes we did get to see something awesome. A flock of pelicans and a school of 200+ dolphins were working together to snack on a school of bait fish. It was amazing watching these animals work in tandem with each other. These were common dolphins and were friendly to the boat. They raced all alongside of us, in our wake, and played along the bow. It was great watching them leap about. We then headed home.
As someone who has never seen dolphins in the wild before, this was a great experience which I'd definitely recommend. We will definitely be coming back in the peak of whale watching season later on in the year. |
|
|
Great trip!
|
| Mon, May 26, 08 5:00 PM |
pcpeltonen |
Male |
60-69 |
Local |
Other |
| Shortly after leaving the harbor we entered a "superpod" of common dolphins, estimated at 3,000 to 4,000 strong. We stayed with the pod for the next 45 minutes as they darted and leapt around the boat. It was an amazing sight. |
|
|
Tremendous - Highly Recommend!
|
| Sun, May 18, 08 5:00 PM |
CarolEtgen |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| We (along with the crew) started the evening not sure of what we would find. Quickly we found a large group of Bottlenose Dolphins. Quickly behind them we found some Risso's Dolphins. Another even bigger group of Bottlenose Dolphins played and even jumped in unison in front of the bow! Then, the best - a Blue Whale! We got to watch it come up and dive several times. The crew was even amazed - the first of the year! Then we briefly saw a smaller whale - the Minke? It was such an incredibly beautiful evening - coming back in with the sunset and having seen the beauty we had...would do it again in a heartbeat! |
|
|
Dolphins
|
| Sat, May 17, 08 5:00 PM |
slsisemore |
Female |
20-29 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Other |
| We were hoping to see Whales. However, the dolphins were amazing! Thousands of common dolphins! Definitely an experience to remember. Don't forget the camera! |
|
No Whales or Dolphins and No Voucher
|
| Sun, May 11, 08 5:00 PM |
laurenxax |
Female |
20-29 |
Local |
Family With Children |
| Although the tickets we purchased for Mother's Day (5/10/08) indicated Whale Watching, we did not see whales. We saw a buoy with seals though (they are always there). At the end of the two hour boat ride, we expected to receive vouchers to come again when whales were more likely to be present (the crew indicated late summer/early fall) as it says on the website. The crew also said the trip was really named a "Ocean Viewing" of some sort, although we did not see that name anywhere on our vouchers, the website or Zerve when we purchased the tickets. We did spend a lot of money on our rather large group and were a bit disappointed we didn't receive the vouchers. The crew did give us a 33% discount ($10 off) a future visit, however, we would have probably spent more time researching other companies if we had known the true value of what we were purchasing. The boat (Dana Pride) was nice. Tickets are not refundable, so make sure everyone in your party will be attending. |
|
|
No whales sighting but definitely trying again
|
| Sat, May 10, 08 5:00 PM |
SUNNYCALGIRL |
Female |
20-29 |
Local |
Family Without Children |
| This was my mom's Mother's Day gift. We enjoyed ourselves on the excursion even though we didn't get to see any whales. We did see California sea lions and dolphins, which was great. Luckily there weren't that many people on the boat, so it was nice to be able to move around whenever and wherever we wanted. We are planning on coming back during a different whale season and hopefully we will have better luck then. The staff was helpful when needed. |
|
No Whales no dolphins
|
| Sun, May 4, 08 5:00 PM |
HenrySchill |
Male |
50-59 |
International Tourist(s) |
Individual |
| The boat was old, hardly any passangers.
Only found out there that the whale watching season was over.
Website of whale watching company is misleading.
Captain did not say anything that he will making an effort to spot whales, in contrast with another whalewatching experience from Monterey Bay last year.
There the captain and staff was zigzagging the area for us, and made an honest effort that we get our money's worth.
No whales there either, but at least we knew that everything was done what humanly possible.
It would have been much better to buy the ticket on site, that way I could have used the local coupons for discounts.
Since I preapid the tour, that option was lost.
Overall the experience was very negative. Cannot recommend it to anybody.
Received $10.00 discount for future trips, which I will not use, since I am a tourist from Canada, and will not come back to this area anytime soon. |
|
|
Amazing
|
| Tue, Apr 29, 08 12:00 PM |
RobinSmith |
Female |
30-39 |
Local |
Family Without Children |
| I took my elderly Aunt on the two hour whate watching trip and had a great time. I went aboard thinking I would probably see one dolphin being it was at the end of whale season, but immediately we spotted some seals. An hour into our journey we got notice there was a pod of dolphins up ahead and we headed right towards them. Soon we spotted the dolphins and the sight was amazing because this was a whole heard of dolphins and we were right in the middle of them. The dolphins were all around us as far as the eye could see in every direction. Though we never saw a whale the trip was worth every penny and I would highly reccommend the adventure. The captian and staff on the vessel were very informative telling us all about these dolphins. It was clear they were just as amazed as the passengers saying they have never encountered so many dolphins in all the years they have been doin this trip. It was estimated there were at least 7 thousand dolphins. I took video and am going to put it on youtube. search Dana Point Dolphins on youtube and you can view the footage. |
