| Rating |
Date Attended [v] |
Reviewer |
Gender |
Age |
Where From? |
Group Type? |
|
overall, excellent trip
|
| Sun, Aug 3, 08 9:00 AM |
lizardlover |
Female |
20-29 |
Unspecified |
Unspecified |
| i was very pleased with the trip. i loved the wildlife we saw and thought we moved around the perfect amount. I wish there was more of the "naturalistic" focus that was promised. Also, I would suggest that people take seasck medicine beforehand because though I was unaffected, about 1/5 of the boat was ill enough to ruin the trip. I would recommend this activity. It's once in a lifetime. |
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Wedding Gift
|
| Fri, Aug 1, 08 9:00 AM |
kgardner13 |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| I recently went on the Ecotour with my husband and teenage son and had an absolutely fantastic trip. When my oldest son decided to honeymoon in Monterey I bought them tickets for the ecotour. They also had a great time and was excited with all of the whale sightings they had!!!!! |
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|
Whale Watching on the Monterey Bay
|
| Thu, Jul 31, 08 9:00 AM |
mackono |
Male |
60-69 |
Local |
Couple on a Date |
| We had a great time. The captain did a fine job keeping in contact with other whale watching boats and taking us to productive spots. The spirit of cooperation between different whale watching charters regarding positioning of boats and sharing locations was very nice to observe. Our naturalist was very informative and exuberant and made it a lot of fun. |
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|
WOW!
|
| Mon, Jul 28, 08 9:00 AM |
Monica1111 |
Female |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| It was an awesome experience. My son and I thoroughly enjoyed this trip. We saw several hump back whales, dolphins, sea lions and sea otters. I highly recommend wearing several layers of clothes. Even in the middle of summer, it was really cold on the water. I recommend either not eating beforehand or taking some sea sick pills. I was slightly affected by some nausea, but never had to take a trip to the back of the boat, if you know what I mean! The crew was very informative, helpful and pleasant. It was well worth the cost. |
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A memorable experience
|
| Wed, Jul 23, 08 9:00 AM |
backseatogre |
Male |
30-39 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| First things first- they recommend that you arrive 30 minutes before departure. In our case that would have been a bit excessive but if a large number are on the same tour that mnuch time may be needed. Don't arrive 5 minutes prior to departure like we did or you'll miss some of the intro!
The departure point is easy to find. There's a large car park right at the end of the pier and you can't miss the signs for the tours.
We chose the longer tour as it promised a wider varitey of marine life- and we weren't disappointed, although you can still see plenty of varitey on the other tours. After about 3 1/2 hours I was ready to start heading back but that's only due to the 6 foot swell. That doesn't look very bad but if you're prone to motion sickness it can start to feel bad quite quickly! Taking something to combat motion sickness is a MUST if you suffer from it even a little. I'd assume the swell could easily be better or worse than for us so it's better to be safe than sorry- or to watch the fish rather than feed them! I'd strongly recomend sunblock too- even on cloudy days. I wore it but forgot my forehead, which got a serious roasting!
Our tour guide said she has been working on tours for something like 15 years and informed us that she's never had a day where they've seen nothing, so it's extremely unlikely that you'll be disappointed. At one point a humpback whale surfaced no more than 15 feet from the boat- most impressive! A warning though- whales have really bad breath! The ride out can be a little bumpy depending on the swell, but a good 2 hours is spent idling in different locations, just watching the whales. We only saw one pair of dolphins later in the tour but there were plenty of seals and sea lions in the same locations as the whales. The ride back to the coast tends to be smoother than the ride out too.
All in all, if you're going to Monterey to take one of the tours I'd recommend the longer of the 2. If you want to see Marine life why not take the time to see as much as possible? It's well worth the cost even if you get sea sick. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and will remember it for a long time to come. |
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great trip
|
| Wed, Jul 23, 08 9:00 AM |
mengel |
Male |
60-69 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| only negative was the incredible loudness of the PA system...the docent had some good stuff to say, but it was way too loud, and there was no place to escape it except the front of the boat and all the seats were taken there. my wife and I stood at the bow on the trip back to avoid the ear-splitting...we would have preferred to sit, |
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What a trip!
|
| Wed, Jul 16, 08 9:00 AM |
sharky16 |
Male |
40-49 |
International Tourist(s) |
Other |
| We thoroughly enjoyed our whale watching trip. The naturalist was extremely knowledgable and gave us lots of info about the history of Monterey and area as well as lots of facts about the marine life.
The whale sightings were fantastic, the dolphins were great and the orcas a real bonus.
We obviously picked a good company and a good day to go out.
Many thanks. |
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Cetaceans & Seabirds Exceeded Expectations
|
| Fri, Jul 11, 08 9:00 AM |
BobWatts55 |
Male |
40-49 |
International Tourist(s) |
Couple on a Date |
| It was eleventh hour but the trip delivered a whale - good views of a humpback! The views of dolphins especially riding the bow of the boat were awesome.
I was along as much for the seabirds and would have gone with one of Debi Shearwater's pelagics if one had been operating during our visit. However, the captain displayed some expertise on identifying albatrosses and shearwaters, and i was more than pleased with excellent views of Black-footed Albatrosses and Pink-footed Shearwaters. Also saw 4 Cassin's Auklets & 2 Xantus's Murrelets but none of the petrels I was hoping for.
I would recommend this trip for those withan all round interest rather than birders. |
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Whales, Dolphins...a Must See
|
| Fri, Jul 11, 08 9:00 AM |
LynndaButler |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family Without Children |
| Get out of town, get off land and join the Pacific Whale and Dolphin Ecotour for a wonderful view of life on the water.....dolphins follow the boat, seals swim by and all takes on a new viewpoint. Don't be discouraged if you don't see tons of whales...they seem to understand the recent fire problems in the air. You will be fortunate to have seen one. It's well worth the 4-5 hours. |
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Awesome Experience!!!
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| Wed, Jul 9, 08 9:00 AM |
kgardner13 |
Female |
50-59 |
Domestic Tourist(s) |
Family With Children |
| I would highly recommend this longer tour! We saw several Humpbacks and literally hundreds of dolphins (four different species). The treat of the day was to experience a Blue Whale that came up within 20-30 feet from our boat! If we had not been on the extended tour we would not have had the opportunity for this experience. The Naturalist that accompanied the tour was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic with her presentation. |
