Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

We had a great time. Even though the wind was blowing and the water choppy it was still a great day. Look forward to doing it again soon.

I thought that our tour was absolutely horrible. The water was extremely "choppy" at the time, so it seemed like over half the people were on the back of the boat throwing up. All of the other tours for the day were cancelled, not just by this company but by all the others on the Fisherman's Wharf. Yet, our boat was like the "hey lets give it a try" boat, which was a WRONG thing to do to people. We didn't see ONE whale, not one. All that we saw were some sea lions and even those were few and far between. Our trip was so horrible that we had to ask for a rain check (not that I would use it, but hell they didn't allow any refunds so I might as well take a rain check and give it to someone else that's willing to give them a try). I however, will never go whale watching again, especially on the "Princess Monterey".

The whale watching tour as a whole was enjoyable, and worth the price. Our narrator was very enthusiastic as well as informative and knowledgeable. We were able to see several sightings of gray whales (blowing water spouts, flapping tails, and diving). With binoculars, you could see lots of details on the whales. The one downfall of the activity was the whales congregated close to the shoreline. For those persons on the other side of the ship, visibility may have been difficult because everyone was crowded on one side of the ship. The younger children (3-5 year old) became bored if they were not on the side that the whales were on. However, my 10 year old would recommend this tour to her friends. For those who just enjoy being out on the water, the cruise was beautiful and relaxing. Overall, everyone on our tour seemed pleased.

Katherine was a blast...she made the trip absolutely amazing! We will be back for the summer whales...Thank you so much! Wendy Mullen

We had a fabulous time and saw lots of whales breach the water. It was awesome. We didnt see any dolphins, but we still had a great time on my sister's 40th birthday. :)

Staff was professional and courteous. The boat (Princess) was stable and well-kept. My 3-year-old had a great time. We're doing it again in Summer.

The crew and marine biologist were enthusiastic and helpful. Just be prepared for the environment and potential bumpy ride. Our sighting of whales was limited due to the large swells. Many on the ride got seasick. Great weather though. I would try again if the opportunitiy came up.

Booked a Whale Watching trip with the Monterey Princess and had a fabulous time. The guide was very knowledgable on the marine life. We had a 7 year old and three 15 year old teenagers with us. The 7 year old loved it, the teenagers wondered what the hoopla was about watching whales. Oh well, you can't please 'em all.

No doubt that the guide on the boat must've been keenly knowledgeable about Monterey Bay and it's inhabitants, never the less it appeared she exaggerated a few facts about whale migration & so on to make it more exciting or interesting.Not acceptable & her demeanor was as if she was teaching a kinder garden,overly enthusiastic which to me is a turn off, the avarage age on the boat must've been in the mid thirties. What is the allowable distance between the boat & the whales?? One couldn't see much!!

We saw a lot of whales I just wish that we could have seen them closer. Also, I might not have brought my 5 year old grandson because he did not like wearing the safety vest. I would take him again when he is about 10 and can appreciate it. I wish the outside seats were padded. Too long of a trip on hard seats. Other then that it was a great trip and my 22 year old daughter enjoyed it.

This was a very enjoyable trip out in search of whales. We were successful in seeing three grey whales, a school of Risso's dolphins, sea lions, sea otters, as well as many different types of birds. We felt that the captain of the boat was very experienced and did a good job of making the best of the trip. Also the commentator helped by pointing out where to look to see the whales and other sea life so that all would have an opportunity to see what there was to see.

We went out whale-watching on a very calm day. No whales found, but lots of dolphins and stuff. The Princess is a quite large and spacious boat, so it was quite a surprise that so many people got sick as dogs within an hour of being on the tranquil water. We were told the boat sailed at 1:00, and to get there 30 minutes early for check-in at Fishermans Wharf. When we arrived at about 12:20, we were told the boat wasn't leaving until 1:30. It actually boarded around 1:50. Not good. While the marine biologist (Catherine) was very garrulous and informative both before and during the boat-ride, she and the other crew were on the upper deck the whole time, while us tourists were on the lower deck. With the roar of the engines, it was nearly impossible to get the attention of anyone on the crew., and none wre circulating among the passengers. There was a snack bar....but with no one staffing it, and no easy way to get anyone's attention up above. There were, I'd guess, about 60 tourists on board, and probably 10 got nastily seasick....although, as mentioned, it was a calm day at sea. (I never get seasick myself, and was amazed at the number of lubbers who were hurling in the tranquil seas, so I assume this level of cookie-pitching is average or low on these trips! ) Again, there was no crew around to help the sick people or even to clean up the piles of barf stacking up all around the boat and on the rails and benches for well over an hour. Pretty disgusting. When a crew member did finally come down, he was neither pleasant nor gracious, but just started filling buckets with sea water and rinsing off the deck. He didn't even warn people sitting with their backs to him that the water runoff was coming in their direction, so there were also a number of soaking-wet butts by the time he finished. I wouldn't recommend this particular company or boat to friends because of the poor and unfriendly service, and would warn anyone planning to go that 3 hours is a long long time to be retching among the other wretches, or even to be picking your paths around the boat to avoid other wretches' retches. If you're at all prone to seasickness, pass on this activity and spend more time at the Aquarium.

we saw a pod of killer whale it was so awesome to see them in the wild!!!

I would like to get my money back!

I would recommend Princess Monterey for whale watching. Now no-one can guarantee you see any nature, that's is nature itself and part of the excitement. However go with the right company and you'll have a better chance. At the pier before even getting on the boat we saw a Sea Otter with its cub eating a small octopus and swimming, also saw a great seal and lots of sea lions. The boat was a good size and we paid an extra $20 ech to go on the top deck which gives you a 360 view and access to the sea to see everything. There was a biologist or something narrating on board about the wildlife and was very knowledgable and answered any questions even if she was over excited all the time, but hey I would be doing her job. We were lucky enough to find a large Humpback Whale which was feeding on the Krill, we followed it for about an hour watching it swim and dive like they do on nature program's with th tails coming up out of the water. It iced and appeared really close to th boat which was awesome. The captain was great t keeping the distance hn he could so not to disturb her but they are inquisitive mammals so tend to come close to the boat. Go for it, even if you don't see anything it's a great tip out in the ocean :)