Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

This is our second whale watch trip (first was in June last year). We saw gray whales this time (March 2-nd) as opposed to several different species (including dauphins) last year. My 10 years old daughter loved it! The crew is super-friendly, the views are magnificent. So even if you don't see any whales (which happens according to some of my friends) it definitely worth going... The only thing is to check the wind. If you get sick with big waves (and this is what we had this time) make sur you go in the morning and there is no much wind. M.

It was so much fun! I was just expecting to take a ride on a big boat out in the ocean, but it got better then that. We saw 4 gray whales. They would come up to breathe and throw there tails in the air. It was awesome!!! I absolutely loved the whole experience. I would recommend it to all my family and friends.

Me and my wife are from the local area and had never been on a whale watching cruise before and are so glad we did. I must first say that the staff at the Princess Monterey Whale Watching are top notch. The office staff is very knowledgeable on local conditions, weather, and how to deal with rough conditions. The captain was a real pro since the conditions turned a little rough but he kept the boat in total control. The crew constantly were checking on passengers to sea if they were doing ok or possibly getting seasick and were also checking in through the whole cruise to make sure the boat and restrooms were kept in a clean state. The nature biologist who narrated the crew was very funny and took the time to mingle with passengers during the cruise and to personally answer any questions. Overall excellent customer service, we will definitely be back!

Whale watching with Princess from Monterey was a lot of fun. The boat is large, the crew was helpful and the onboard naturalist was GREAT! The day was a little rough but we saw lots of spouts and a few whale backs. This is a fun adventure but you cant control the weather so always be prepared.

The chief problem with this tour (besides cold weather and lack of whale sightings which one can't blame on the tour supplier) was the brassy voiced "docent" speaking speaking into a hand-held mike that produced poor quality sound. Much of what she said was unintelligible and what one could hear did not encourage asking for more.

I really enjoyed the activity. Would do it again but in the summer. The waters were not as I expected, would want something more calm.

We had a great time even though it was very choppy on the water and the wind was chilly. The woman that was giving insight to wildlife of the ocean was fantastic.

Thought I would be able to see more.

Leon was a great captain on the boat. He actually kept in contact with another boat so he could find more whales for us to see before we needed to head back in. I had just put my camera away when Leon saw another whale on the port side of the boat! That was the best sighting of the day...but no camera ready to catch the sight! Don't put away your camera until you are back in the harbour. The snacks available were slim and every expensive. I suggest taking your own. The seas were calm and the boating experience was just fine. My husband & I are big boat sailors so we know how it can be. The boat almost didn't take off because they didn't have enough people when we got there. We went to another whale watching boat company that said they were for sure going out if the Princess wanted to cancel. We went back to the Princess and by then, at the last minute, enough people had signed up. So that was good luck. The Princess is bigger than most of the other boats so it was more comfortable. I highly recommend it. Kris Wheatley

We really enjoyed our whale watching trip. I would reccomend this trip for couples, no young children were present on our trip. The boat "Princess Monterey" was alot larger than some other boat tours being offered. We loved our tour guide who was enthusiastic and explained everything about the marine wildlife. We saw Grey whales. sea otters and sea lions. The only thing I would mention to first timers is you may become sea sick. Take some candies or motion pills as 5 people on our tour became ill from the rocking of the boat. Overall alot of beautiful senery wildlife and great ocean breeze to enjoy!

I do recommend this tour, but don't set your expectations too high - then you will be disappointed. Don't expect to se whales jumping out of the water. Don't even expect to see the whale's tail. The whales try to "sneak" through the area to avoid orca-whales, so any splashing will create too much attention. When this is said, the tour is very professional. The ship is perfect and the crew and captain does know a lot about the whales, so you get to learn a lot about these huge animals. We saw many whales, but you only see a few feet of their back for a few seconds, when they breathe ... and they are several hundred feet from the ship. You can also see SeaLions and SeaOtters. Do bring warm clothes and binoculars.

I would say that the experience was a mixed bag. As the boat set out to the ocean, the captain made some standard announcements and then for a long long time ( hrs ), he kept on trying to find whales in the open ocean. He seemed to try a lot but couldn't find much. Finally he was paged by a couple of boats 4 miles away that had spotted one whale. He then drove 4 miles to show us the single whale that anybody had spotted on that day. When he reached the spot, it was getting very very late and he had to turn back quickly to pick up the next bunch of customers. I found that the captain spoke too fast about the whales ( whatever he was trying to tell ). The whale came up a couple of times, but many ( including my kids ) couldn't even see it. On the way we did see a lot of dolphins....and that saved the day for the kids. It's like betting hundreds of dollars bcoz they cannot guarantee that a whale would be seen. I am sure that had we seen some good number of whales, my feedback would be different but then we did not see much. One of the crewman did show us the whales and the dolphins we saw in a book. It was nice of him. Other than that, I was glad to be back on land again.

My partner and I celebrated my 50th birthday that day. It was a great trip. Everyone was friendly and very professional. We were able to see whales and dolphins. The staff went into detail about the whales and dolphins we saw. The Captain took the time to talk with us after the trip. He did a great job making the ride as smooth as possible and didn't endanger any animals while getting us close enough to see them. It was a wonderful experience and I will recommend it to friends and family. Thanks for a great time.

When I first booked the weather said it would be cloudy, as the week progressed it became clear we were in for some rain. The kids and I were getting worried that this would mean we wouldn't get to go and if we did we wouldn't see any whales. We did get to go and everyone had a wonderful time!!! We did encounter some rain but we as well as the other passengers were just fine with jackets and we had brought along an umbrella which was very useful. We did get a little wet because we chose to stand outside to see the whales. We wanted to get as close as possible!!! But the cabin has heaters!!! My daughter said she saw a sign that said this is the only cruise with heaters and we were are warm and toasty on the way back to the wharf! I would highly recommend this trip above all others for this very reason. Plus, it's the nicest ship that goes out so it's worth the little bit extra you have to pay. You get what you pay for and they deliver with a friendly staff and great captain!!!!

Our family (including our 12-year old son and 14-year-old daughter) enjoyed the thrill of seeing Pacific gray whales breach and show their tail flukes. The boat ride was enjoyable and the marine biologist who narrated the tour was interesting, informative and personable. We took the family dog along and he was thrilled, too! Highly recommended.