Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching

You guys need to train them better for breeches and tail stands and all those things like that!

We enjoyed the boat ride, the waves and sunshine, and a couple of pods of dolphins. The time spent on lookout for a grey whale some fisherman had spotted in the area was exciting, though it was never spotted. We were happy with the parking, the staff, and the options for lunch afterwards. At half price, it was worth it. Back at the dock we were handed half-off coupons to try again, but decided it had been fun enough.

Nice trip on a neat ship. We have seen lots of dolphins, but no whales (but you can't force nature I guess), 50% coupons were provided because of the absence of the whales. (can't use the coupons while we are on a short holiday but the gesture is very nice) If you want to here a downside: we were in a line for almost an hour. We were 35 mins ahead of schedule as advised, and embarkment was 15 mins behind schedule.

Very simple process going through Zerve - the Whale watching company instantly recognized our tickets, the entire process took only minutes, and they were able to get us on an earlier trip. Will definitely use this service again!

Great trip, we saw so many dolphins.

It was a great experience. The captain really wanted us to see something cool and didn't mind being a little late back to the dock so we could see the second largest whale.

Captain Chris was clear and direct on his safty instructions. He discribed the things we saw and his presentation was very educational. The crew was very helpful and made our trip fun.

A glorious day, did not matter that we saw whales. A nice surprise that we were given a rain check because no whales were spotted. Just the boat ride, view of the coast, the fresh air, and hints of Catalina made it all worth while.

We thoroughly enjoyed our whale watching excursion! The crew was great and started by making sure we knew the wind and waves would be a bit rough to make sure we were prepared, though it didn't really bother us. Honestly, it was a pleasure just to be out on the boat which was a good sized ship and was not overly crowded the day we went. As we headed out, they were sure to spend a few minutes pointing out the sea lions on the nearest buoy allowing everyone plenty of time for a good view or picture. The crew mentioned they were coordinating with other ships in the area sharing information on sightings to increase our chance of success despite the less than ideal weather. We were well rewarded! Though we only saw one whale, we were able to get extremely close and lingered for several of the whales' surfacing cycles. We appreciated how informative the crew was and the enclosed galley that offered drinks and snacks for sale. The trip was both relaxing and thrilling and we will definitely go again on our next visit in the area.

No whales on the first trip so we went out a second time on the company. Very informative and fun commentary.

We got more than we bargained for when we had a glimpse of the Finback whale...what a treat! The crew was knowledgeable and courteous to say the least and I would recommended this adventure for anyone young or old....

It was a very nice day off of Dana Point and the captain was very informative knowing that 2 whales were spotted heading our way. He made sure we were able to see them. The dolphins, 2 unfortunately, swam under the boat each time I tried to snap a shot of them. All in all a great day! Highly recommend going out of Dana Point.

Staff was helpful and commentary was authoritative and informative. Background material responded to questions and encouraged future inquiry. Suggest supporting video material for long periods of little or no contact with whales i.e. what to look for. Suggest as well that the ordering-printing of tickets be simplified. Something like that used for obtaining boarding passes on flights should do the trick. Not all of us have printers readily available and have to resort to hotel facilities.

I highly recommend this particular tour and tour company. The staff was very friendly & knowledgable. The boat was large enough for all passengers with room to spare. We did see one whale, which is what we wanted to see, so it worked out great! Wonderful Experience. I would definitely do it again!

Captain Todd was amazing! This is A definite "Do-Over"