| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
Rough Day
|
| Sat, Mar 13 12:00 PM |
chiefs1125 |
Male |
30-39 |
Local |
Family With Children |
| It was very windy that day. The seas were rough, which I'm told is not the ideal conditions for whale watching. When our time was almost up we finally caught up to two Gray Whales. We caught 4 or 5 glimpses of them from a disatnce of 150 to 200 yards. Very hard to see but I guess this was considered a success by the crew as we were not offered any vouchers. I guess I was hoping for much more, like the websites lead you to believe. An overall disappointing experience. |
|
amaze! Saw 6 gray whales!!
|
| Sat, Mar 6 12:00 PM |
roxysss |
Female |
20-29 |
Local |
Couple on a Date |
| amaze! Saw 6 gray whales!! Beautiful sunny day, blue rolling waves, saw 6 gray whales up close, big beautiful giants, helpful friendly and knowledgeable crew! |
|
It was ok
|
| Sun, Feb 14 3:00 PM |
ronniephomma |
Female |
20-29 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| Didnt get to see any actual whales or dolphins |
|
|
Great experience!
|
| Sun, Feb 14 9:00 AM |
honestjhon |
Male |
20-29 |
Local |
Couple on a Date |
| I had always thought whale watching was an expensive outing. This is not the case. This is a great value. Good solid 3-5 hours out on the ocean. Knowledgable staff. (didnt catch the name of the girl who was on our trip, but she was great) She came down and answered questions, showed us baleen, and some model whales so we could see what the differences were.
There was coffee in the office, and they had everything you could need that you may have forgotten in there for sale or rent. Even ginger candy/gum for those who havent the stomach for a rolling sea.
Water was a BIT swelly, but the staff warned everyone, and went over what to do and what not to do if you felt sick.
They went over all the safety guidelines before the trip. The boat was clean and well maintained. All the staff was professional and helpful. and they seemed to be having a good time and in a good mood too, which is nice.
Overall, i am VERY satisfied with their service, and the trip. add to the fact that we got to see a humpback whale breech COMPLETELY out of the water, and it was a fantastic trip.
Definately putting this on the list of things to do again next time im in monterey! |
|
|
absoluetly wonderful
|
| Sun, Feb 14 9:00 AM |
mscooter |
Female |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| We took this adventure for the very first time ever, It was absouluetly wonderful ( other than the sea sickness lol ) we saw the 1st hump back of the year, 2 grey whales and a family of dolphins.
It was a wonderful exciting experience. I have told all my friends about this trip and recommend it to anyone.
The crew was great also.
Will definetley go back. |
|
Deceptive Advertising
|
| Sat, Feb 13 3:00 PM |
jdhrap |
Male |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| The most interesting part of our trip was watching over half the people on the boat hurl over the side. Of course several didn't have the brains to go to the back so all those downwind got vomit sprayed. Seas were quite rough, huge swales. Wife and four kids 2-8 never lost it so it was good in that sense.
As for the whale watching - what whale watching? Several points to mention here:
1- Trip advertises you will see at least one whale and even has this statement in bold type on the brochure.
2- We spent a significant amount of time trolling by some dolphins. That was neat, but after 30" of looking at the same dolphins and following them, it got old.
When we got back I went into office and asked about rain check to come back the next morning to see WHALES. Guy says "I heard you saw 300 dolphins?" My reply - "Yes 60 dolphins 5 times as we trolled alongside them. I can see dolphins at the Aquarium...I paid $170 for my family for whale watching, not dolphin watching." He said you'll have to ask the crew. His excitement about “300 dolphins" seemed to be a ploy to diffuse the rain check request.
Go down to the boat and ask the crew. They say "you have to ask the employee at the desk upstairs." I told them he sent me down to them (FIRST SIGN THAT THEY DIDN'T WANT TO DEAL WITH ME). Captain Friendly comes around the back and the crew MEEKLY asks him about my rain check for next morning. "YOU GOT TO SEE DOLPHINS!" was his retort. Again my reply, "you advertise to see at least one whale, and I can watch dolphins at the Aquarium." Again..."YOU GOT TO SEE WHALES!"
So the false advertising is a disappointment. The bigger disappointment is the fact that the whales off the coast near Monterey is apparently well known to travel along a canyon or ocean corridor of some sort. Well with technology you would think that the coordinates of this canyon/corridor would be well mapped and with GPS you could head straight out to that area. What we heard was more of the crew talking about how all the whale watching charter boat captains talk to each other on the radio to see who has located any whales.
The crappy attitude and lack of process to approve rain checks is poor business practice. The customer is always right does not apply and Caveat Emptor should be your guide with this place.
My gripe is less that we didn't see whales, I'm sure you don't see them every trip, but in the event you don't see one and the fact that you advertise you will see "at least one" is the reason for the poor grade here. We live within a few hours of Monterey so we can do another trip (but won't anytime soon). If you don't live around this area and this is once in longtime/lifetime opportunity, do some research on all the guides, and get something in writing (like an email) to get buy in on rain check policy if you don't see a whale. If you are travelling great lengths and expect to see some whales, then you wouldn't want to go home with the experience we had. |
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|
Cold but still lots of fun.
|
| Sat, Feb 13 3:00 PM |
racollins1 |
Male |
40-49 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| Due to a fog rolling in it was very cold out on the water, it seemed that there was much more than a 10 - 15 degree difference but despite the cold we had a great time. We didn't see any whales, again probably due to the fog and a lack of visibility but we did however see a school of dolphins. We will definitely be taking another cruise when it warms up a little.
A little advice for anyone going to take the cruise..............take an extra jacket or sweatshirt, better safe than sorry and if you are unsure about motion sickness take something its not going to hurt and again better safe than sorry. Its difficult to enjoy the cruise if you are hanging over the rail. |
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|
A Wonderul Way to Spend an Afternoon!
|
| Sat, Feb 6 12:00 PM |
staceyleah74 |
Female |
30-39 |
Local |
Family With Children |
| We had a great trip. The staff (Michelle especially) was wonderful. She spent a lot of time talking to my boys and answering all of their questions! The boat was clean and comfortable. Its an adventure worth the money and the time. :) |
|
Lots of Sights to See
|
| Sat, Jan 2 9:00 AM |
siren1974 |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| We had a great time! We went on the 9am tour on Saturday, January 2nd. I think early is good. We were lucky only to have like 10 on the boat or so. The water was choppy due to the weather being windy but was so worth going out for a ride. We saw two gray whales and got great pics and videos. As soon as we spotted them we stayed in the area and watched them for a half hour to an hour. We saw sea lions on the way and some birds. It takes about a half hour to get out there and half hour to come back so really you are out there only for an hour to an hour and a half. I guess it depends on your luck and whether you see whales or not. We got lucky. This was a 2.5 hour ride which I think is good. I have been on 4 to 5 hours and seen nothing on another boat at another place. That was almost too long. Especially if you see nothing. Be sure to take dramamine and take some ginger candies with you. You can purchase them at the place where you check in. They even had free coffee, fruit, and muffins. I would advise not going on a full stomach. My poor boyfriend got sick. I get motion sickness easy but was lucky not too get sick. I think the 2.5 hours was good enough. Any longer and I may have gotten sick too. If you sit at the back of the boat the less sick you are likely to get. They do mention that to you as well. |
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|
Superfine!
|
| Tue, Dec 29, 09 9:00 AM |
Sagomormor |
Female |
60-69 |
International Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| We have seen greywhales and Risso´s dolphines pretty near. The boat came near and was standing there as long as the whales where there. Good! And the weather was excellent! But remember to tell the customers to bring gloves and caps on the trip. |
