Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

My expectations before this trip were to observe some whales at a distance. To my surprise we were lucky enough to have a pair of humpback whales spend around an hour interacting with our boat. I was blown away to see such majestic animals swim right up to our boat and reciprocate our curiosity in them. The staff was friendly and informative and were more than happy to answer our questions. All in all it was a once in a lifetime experience which was both awe inspiring and humbling.

I took my 14 year old daughter as a birthday outing. The two of us had a fantastic time! We had an amazing encouter with a couple of hump back whales. They were people watching as much as we were whale watching. My daughter must have thanked me 20 times. She said it was one of her best days ever. That is saying a lot for a 14 year old girl!! The crew was also fantastic! Can't say enough great comments about our day! Joanne Ramos & Andrea Ruperto

We are from Canada and wanted to go whale watching for the first time and it was so much better than we had expected. The entire staff, from the office to the captain on the ship, were terrific and friendly. The experience was great and was made so memorable by the two whales that chose to play with the boat that day. I understand that this is not an everyday event, but I can't describe enough how it made our trip and was such a highlight! What a great day !!! Thank you!

Before purchasing tickets I checked into several businesses offering the service. I chose the Princess Cruise. I must say my 11 year old daughter and I left the cruise feeling as if we had experienced a once in a lifetime sight. We were told, even by the skipper, that our experience was rare, and certainly, we did luck out. Not only did we see whales at a distance, but VERY UP CLOSE and PERSONAL, as they came right up against the boat. WOW!!! In addition, I must add a note, to please, bring your dramamine if there is any doubt about seasickness...I wish someone else would have noted that because as meticulous as I am, I forgot...and my experience would have been even better had I not been dealing with that issue. However, the crew was extremely compassionate to those of us having a problem, and I chalked it up to part of the experience...We were totally in awe of our brush with nature, impressed with the crew, and the very pleasant staff at the booth. Our experience couldn't have been more perfect!!! (just remember...dramamine!!). Thank you to all who made our time and experience so very memorable!!!!

My husband and I totally enjoyed this trip. The 2 Humpback Whales that used our boat as a back scratcher and belly board for about 45 minutes was such an awesome encounter that I can't even adequetly describe it. They circled around the boat, under the boat and came up to check us out and sprayed us with there blow holes........until this encounter.......it never dawned on me that the air they blew out really smelled like a human burping after a rather smelly meal.....it was really something else and brought smiles to all......I don't think that happens too often, but we were very fortunate for this type of encounter in the open waters and we could not ask for more - - - We never thought we would be showered with the spray from a whale's (2 of them) blow hole!!! The crew was even also out taking photos! -----They explained that the Humpbacks are very curious and that, they were. The Humpbacks appeared to be checking us out as much as we were checking them out! We never expected to have such a close encounter with these magnificent Whales!!!! Unforgetable! We highly recommend this trip...be sure to dress in warm layers and make sure everyone takes the motion sickness tablets about 1 hour before boarding. Unfortunately, several children were ill inside and missed it all because they were so sea sick and the seas were pretty calm that day!! HAVE FUN!

We are from North Dakota, where everyone thinks it is really cold, but we found it was quite chilly for the 10am tour. We had sweatshirts, but bought a coat on the wharf before boarding too. We had lots of activity and had one whale that came right up next to our boat. My husband actually got wet when it blew through its hole. The staff on board was very friendly and we would highly recommend it. Just remember to dress warm. If you have a weak stomach also know that it can be rough. We had couple younger kids( 8 to 10 year olds) get sick on our trip.

Wear warm clothes and make sure you bring your camera. The whales came right up to the boat and they were so playful! Highlight of our trip!

Excellence Trip! It's one of the best choice for foreign tourist to visit.

Princess Monterey was everything they claimed to be--nothing more, nothing less. The staff was knowledgeable and friendly. The Princess Monterey was a nice size boat at 100 feet, but you have to remember that these aren't huge cruise ships, so you'll feel every wave tenfold on a windy day. My wife, who sat inside to manage her motion sickness and to avoid the freezing winds, said the Captain's narration was pretty informative (at least, from what she was able to hear). I barely remember hearing the narration over the drone of the engine and the wind howling in my ears. The crew was professional. One of them was very thoughtful and gave my wife GinGins when she became nauseated. She said they worked like a charm! Bring binoculars for others in your party; lots of snacks and bottled drinks in a backpack; beanies instead of caps (they'll keep your head warmer and you won't lose them in the wind); bring gloves; a thick, all-weather coat instead of a simple hoodie or leather jacket; non-slip shoes; definitely hold on to those rails when walking the boat. If you're going to take pictures, forget those point-and-shoots: definitely bring a DSLR. Use a polarizing filter on an 18-200mm lens, because sometimes those whales you're shooting far away may come next to the boat when they resurface. Set the shutter speed to something pretty fast so you don't get motion blur from the up-and-down movement of the boat. Thinking about using a tripod? Good luck. Just for fun, if you have a GPS that can track you over water, bring it along and plot your location every 10-15 minutes. After all, the Monterey Submarine Canyon is the 3rd largest submarine canyon in the world, and it'd be kind of interesting to see where you sailed above it. Now the nitty-gritty: WHALES ARE UNPREDICTABLE! That's obvious. You're trip will be 99% more satisfying if you keep that in mind and have no expectations of seeing any. But always be prepared! Make a day of it, in case you don't see much. Then again, that was my first time going Whale Watching. What the heck do I know? Just my two cents. Thank you for reading this. And have fun!

We were not that lucky on August 5th... We spotted many dolphins, but few whales! Moreover those few were pretty far, so that we weren't able to enjoy utterly the experience... Unfortunately the pitch and roll of the ship, and the following seasickness, prevented us from taking nice pics!

The outing was good insofar as it was nice to be on the boat and the staff were nice. The lack of whales was a big disappointment. We saw one whale - partially. Not sure what else to say, I wouldn't recommend this trip to people as its a long way to come to see a whales hump for three seconds in the distance.

My mom and I had a great time on the cruise. We saw several different whales. The only downside were that several people around us got sick. I strongly suggest that people who have not been on the water before take motion sickness medicine. They sale it in the shop. Mom and I took some and did not feel sick at all.

we enjoyed the boat ride and saw glimpses of humpback whales and some dolphins. guests should realize it is2 1/2 hour boat ride on the ocean and whales don't always co-operate. We enjoy just being on the water so it was a fun cruise for us. It was also very cold on a July day. The Captain did a good job trying to locate whales. There is a full narration --all you would ever want to know about whales.

This was a great ecotour. We had a very good captain and naturalist. They made sure we all enjoyed the trip and had lots of knowledge. Extra time was taken to see animals in their natural behavior up close and personal. I plan on taking more trips with them next time I am in Monterey.

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.