| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
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. |
|
|
Fun cruise of Dana Point Harbor
|
| Mon, Apr 28, 08 10:00 AM |
lasjacks |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Even though we took our trip in late April and no whales were to be found, we enjoyed our 2 hour trip. The 2 man crew was friendly and pointed out a pod of dolphin and brought our boat to the middle of them so we could enjoy their antics close at hand. It was breathtaking to observe the dolphin in their natural environment, enjoying themselves. We ventured out a little further along the coast to try and spot any whales, but no luck. On the way back to shore we passed harbor seals sunning themselves on a bobbing buoy. Very affordable good time for anyone that might only have a short time in the area. |
|
|
A little disappointing
|
| Sat, Apr 26, 08 12:00 PM |
Kalimada |
Female |
70+ |
International Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Done this cruise many times and have always had a great time. This time the boat was small with no upper seating this ment we had to sit down below (which we did not want to do) or stand for 2 hours. Although we are in our 80's we are very active but standing in a moving boat for 2hrs is not pleasurable. We will think twice before doing it again |
|
|
It will be excellent short day trip for anyone
|
| Fri, Apr 25, 08 12:00 PM |
jeansookim |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Group of Friends |
| Specially in California, nice sunny day on the oceanside will never forget.
All the services by Zerve well scheduled on time and the narrator on the boat
was excellent too. We had very good time and had fun.
I will recommand if you stay one night in the resort by the sea that added great value for our trip. Thank you Zerve!!! |
|
|
Great Trip!!!!
|
| Wed, Apr 23, 08 12:00 PM |
MarlenMoore |
Female |
60-69 |
Local |
Couple on a Date |
| We did not see any whales, but the boat trip was well worth every dollar! Did see Sealoins & a huge pod of Dolphins!
The crew were great & helpful, they every effort to make the trip worth while.
We will return for another trip!
We also appreciate the discount on Tuesday/Wednesdays.
Thanks for a beautiful day at sea!! |
|
|
Not too satisfied
|
| Tue, Apr 22, 08 2:00 PM |
bethplatt |
Female |
50-59 |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
| The trip was supposed to be a 2 hour trip. The boat was late coming in because the group before us found dolphins. That was understandable. But as a result, we were only out for 1 1/2 hours instead of 2. And we didn't get to see whales or dolphins! I understand that these things are unpredictable, but it would have been nice to get the full 2 hour opportunity to find these marine mammals!
The boat could have used a few more places to sit comfortably. I was with my 80 year old aunt and she was a little uncomfortable.
It was a beautiful day and the boat was really steady. |
