Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

This is the second time I have gone whale watching with this company and we have seen whales both times! Previously I have gone on 4 other whale outings with a different company and not seen any. I realize there is some sort of luck involved because the whales just may not be out and about as much, but this company seems to have many contacts which gives them a heads up on where to go. This was a wonderful trip that my whole family enjoyed, especially my 3 year old!

First off, the boat ride itself was really fun! There were nice-sized swells and it was pretty fun. The whale watching was quite a disappointment, though. We saw several whales, but it was more just seeing their sprays from afar, and if you looked closely you could see the tip of their tales every now and then when they went under. You could hardly see and they were very far away. Then all of a sudden they turned the boat around and said they got word from the dock that there was "the traffic jam of whales between us and the dock". So we stopped looking for whales and were all excited about getting to see them closer and in larger numbers. We got back into the bay and then saw a ton of dolphins. They were really neat and pretty close to the boat. Then we left the dolphins and went back to the dock. Never got to see anymore whales and nothing else was said about it. So I don't know if the "traffic jam of whales" left already and that was their way of getting us to forget about it (not mentioning it again),or if that's just what they say when it's time to "return to port" so people are excited about heading back, thinking they might see something good/better. Pros: -Boat ride was fun, but if you get sea sick, you would have been miserable -Seeing the dolphins was great. Being from the East coast, the dolphins here are much larger and were in larger numbers together. - Seeing the "whales tales" was neat, but because they were so far away and not very many, seeing it up close on t.v. or youtube would have been just as good. Cons: - There were two speakers during the tour. The woman was the main talker and was very hard to hear/understand...especially when we were driving. Most ppl couldn't hear what she was saying at all, so that was frustrating - For a whale-watching tour, we sure didn't really get to see any whales. We saw the tips of their tales from afar, which really leaves more to be desired when you're paying $84 for 2.5 hours. -Was disappointed that they didn't at least explain why we never saw "the traffic jam of whales". I would have appreciated them explaining that we got there too late or something other than just not mentioning it again. -When they realized that we weren't going to see any more whales, they should have stayed with the dolphins longer. They only stayed a few minutes and then told us to "say good bye to the dolphins". The tour was exactly 2.5 hours long, and since they advertise 2.5-3 hours, they had a little wiggle room to stay with the only animals we actually DID get to see. Overall, it was a fun date, but you HAVE to know that unless there's a big accident, you may not see anything, and if you DO see whales, it will probably be from REALLY far away, and you won't really see much of the whale. If you go just expecting a nice day on the boat, and $80 is worth that, then you will have a blast, because anything more than the boat ride will be icing on the cake.

the naturalist talked non-stop about irrelevant stuff, did not see any whales

Everybody should take this trip to get in touch with and understand the fantastic animals, who are under pressure due to the lack of invironmental commitments from human beings. It was souch a great experince.

My mother, from Michigan, myself and my daughter enjoyed a tour with Princess. The water was a little choppy, but the captain and crew did a great job steadying the boat/ship and tending to passengers that were queazy. The crew was friendly and also chatted with us, answering any questions and socializing We saw a mother humpback and her calf. It was a great experience. I would recommend this tour to anyone who wants a friendly personable experience. Thanks!

whale watching experience with Princess Whale Watching Cruises was great. The crew was friendly and the guide was very enthusiastic and informative. Only bad thing was we couldnt find any dolphins but that's something on the cruise i guess. We got to see 5 different whales in 3 different spots. Great experince and will do it again......

My wife, kids, and I enjoyed the trip viewing dolphins, sea lions, sea birds, and of course, the whales! There was plenty of time to see the whales. We have wonderful memories and photos!

We were thrilled to see not one, not two, but three very close whale sightings. It was obvious our tour was exceptionally good when even the crew seemed delighted. Our onboard crew were attentive and very professional. I just wish that more passengers had listened to the recommendation to take Dramamine before the trip! So many adults and children were too sick to even see the whales.

I have taken this tour twice before to see Humpbacks in late spring. Those whales are more entertaining than the ones this time of the year as they jump out of the water & you can see more of the whales. We did see at least 25+ whales on this trip so that was exciting too.

Even if we had not seen the humpback whales this would still have been a very enjoyable trip. We saw two pods of dolphins as well as a black legged albatross. Seeing the whales capped off the whole trip. Crew was very friendly and knowledgable. Purchasing the tickets online was extremely easy and made the check in super fast.

Enjoyed it but was disappointed that the promised naturalist wasn't around. Our "out of town "guests were delighted with the cruise. The captain went out of his way to find us a whale and some dolphins. some of the passengers got seasick...so maybe they need a few tips on what not to do. Some laid down as soon as they got sea sick. Reservations and tickets were easy to obtain via internet. Wish they would ask if you belong to Monterey Bay Aquarium and for your memb number. Didn't know there was a discount until we arrived for the cruise and read a brochure. (yes....we are members) We will be going again when we have out of town guests. (we live in San Jose) Thank you for caring about our expierence.

After watching the whales from 100 yards or so away, they surprised us by popping up right beside our boat and swimming along with it. Even the workers on the boat were surprised. Really cool! The crew were very knowleagable and helpful.

This was my first whale watching venture and it turned out to be absolutely wonderful. We were contentdly watching whales breach and tails rise and disappear all around us. However, the most spectacular moment happened when for some reason I looked down and wondered what the white thing under the boat was - OMG, it was a humpback swimming just under the boat and then it breached right beside the boat. There are no words to describe our sense of awe and sheer joy!!! If that had been the one and only whale we saw on the entire trip, it would have made the entire adventure worth it.

Knowledgeable commentator on the boat; check the seasons and do this when whales are most likely to be seen, which is not every month.

My husband and I took a Monday morning trip in early May. The day was sunny but cool and since it's always colder on the water, we had to dress warmly in layers. The one thing we wished we had added was gloves as your hands get very cold hanging on to the railing. My leather jacket kept me toasty otherwise. The trip was everything it advertised and more. The tour guide, a marine biologist named Kathrine, seemed at first to us conservative Canadians to be over-the-top perky but her enthusiasm was contagious and her knowledge vast and interestingly communicated. I gather from what she said that we were very fortunate to have such a robust sighting of whales and dolphins. I was amazed at how close we actually got to the animals while still respecting their space. I was also impressed that the captain and crew slowed down a couple of times to retrieve balloons that were floating in the bay. A memorable experience which I would highly recommend! Great value.