Princess Monterey Whale Watching Cruises

I was very impressed with the enthusiasm of our guide who kept the entire group very engaged. To see the Humpbacks as close as we did, exceeded my expectations!!

I saw a lot of whales on my trip on June 17th, 2008. The main negative was that I got seasick in spite of the dramamine I took (only one pill though). I suppose that was my fault for starting out near the front. I didn't mean to start up there first thing, but I followed some relatives up there. It's a bit difficult to get cameras out and keep one's balance at the front! It was hilarious how I got knocked about. I did get some photos, and one of my photos was pretty close up. The lady telling us about the sea life was very enthusiastic, and the man who seems to do all of the odd jobs was very kind when I was seasick feeling. I hung out towards the back at some point, and then ended up seeing more whale action! The weather was terrific, but watch out for burning!

Pleasant trip, saw whales, very enthusiatic and informative guide.

It was a pretty fun trip, although pretty cold the day we went. We were fortunate to see a number of whales and dolphins. The only criticism I have is that the "guide" talked too much, and made comments that probably weren't necessary for a group that includes children. It is ok just to be quiet and let people enjoy watching the surroundings. The boat was nice and the company is friendly. I would recommend it if you understand that you are going to have a yakkity guide.

This was a dissapointing trip. We spent almost 2 hours just riding the boat out. The guide, the marine biologist, kept making inuendoes about various things that I thought were inappropriate. Talking about throwing the children in the water for chum was not funny and I don't think the parents of the small children seemed to think so either. Since we couldn't find anything they decided to go far out and try and find something. And since they were doing this they had everyyone come in off the bow because they were going to drive fast. Well up until this point the water had been a litle choppy but no one had gotten sick, well after all the fast driving my son as well as a few others came down with sea sickness. So they finally found some whales who we could actually see but by then my 15 yr old and several others were too miserable to enjoy it. So that was dissapointing. I had been on an enjoyable trip with another boat a different time and just wanted my son to have a good experience and with he could have.

WE MADE RESERVATIONS AHEAD OF TIME. (GOOD IDEA) I FOUND NOT ONLY THE TRIP INFORMATIVE AND EXCITING, BUT THE CREW AND OWNER WERE EXTREMELY COURTEOUS, KNOWLEDGEABLE AND CONCERNED ABOUT ALL THE PASSENGER NEEDS. THE SHIP WAS VERY CLEAN, WELL MAINTAINED AND REFRESHMENTS WERE AVAILABLE ON BOARD. WITH ALL THE WHALES BREACHING AND SWIMMING SO CLOSE TO THE SHIP, WE HAD A VERY EXCITING TRIP. THE CREW EXPLAINED AND INFORMED US ABOUT ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WILDLIFE WE SAW. BENJI, THE OWNER DID NOT OVERBOOK THE TRIP, SO THERE WAS ROOM ON BOARD FOR PEOPLE TO MOVE ABOUT WITHOUT FEELING CROWDED. THERE WAS PLENTY OF SEATING BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE FOR ALL THE PASSENGERS. EVERYONE HAD A PREMIUM VIEW OF THE WILDLIFE WE CAME UPON. (A LARGE VARIETY) I HIGHLY RECOMMEND A TRIP WITH BENJI AND HIS CREW OF THE PRINCESS MONTEREY WHALE WATCHERS. THIS WAS AN ADVENTURE MY GRANDCHILDREN WILL REMEMBER FOR A LONG TIME TO COME. THE PICTURES THEY HAD TAKEN WILL BE PERMANENTLY PLACED IN THEIR VACATION SCRAPBOOK. THANKS AGAIN TO BENJI AND THE CREW FOR THE LASTING MEMORIES OF A GREAT ADVENTURE. LARRY VICTORY CHICO, CALIFORNIA

Pros: Great guides with good insights and explanations Whale breaching! Lots of dolphins Albatrosses flying around Cons: The company conducting the tour has little control over most of the pros except the guides , none of the others are guaranteed ! The boat rides out really fast deeper into the sea to find dolphins - the rough ride is stomach churning....though the ride back to harbor was smooth.

The boat was big, almost too big, and the Naturalist was outstanding. It was a comfortable ride out past the entrance of the bay. We saw a few humpbacks and followed them around. The staff heard of pods of dolphins farther out, so the Captain headed us there. The bad part was that we passed two humpbacks breaching...I saw four breaches in just a few minutes, but the staff wanted us to see the dolphins more, I guess. The dolphins were interesting, but I'd rather have spent time with the active whales. The boat was comfortable and the staff was very nice. Probably do them again.

We had a great time on the cruise, it was a nice but cold Saturday. Our guide was very knowledgible. Thanks I would recommend it to my friends

We started the trip with the usual there are whales in the distance. I had been on whale watching trips before and it was more whale chasing. The first whale we saw leaped entirley out of the water. We also watched a moher and calf. The tour guide was knowledgeable and very funny. The captain always had the boat on the side to see the whales. It was a fund time.

I have been to Alaska two times in last 4 years and saw more whales on this trip than I did on both of the whale watching trips there and they were so close you could smell their breath.. the naturalist was very informative...

The trip was perfect, I would recommend it to everyone. Well run, we saw a lot of whales, the guide was informative and funny.

This was a wonderful time! It's a must do for anyone in the area. The staff was wonderful. Fun for the entire family.

We approached the activity of whale watching with great anticipation and excitement, even though the water appeared very rough that day, 6/2. The guide appeared to think she was a comedian, who laughed at everything she said, was dismissive of the children ("feed them to the sharks" was her oft repeated comment), and once we got on the boat, all the way out, and while out to sea, kept "sharing" very graphic details of whales' eating habits, digestive habits, mating habits (even describing in detail the three-somes certain whales had - very sexual comments in nature), how thick the fluid is that they feed their young after they digest their food. It was very graphic and very unsettling in a very rough sea, and a large contingent of the customers became very seasick. Part of it was the dialogue, and part was the sea. I am never seasick, and I became very nauseous, though managed not to regurgitate while on board. When we got back, we overheard the ticket sellers saying to the customers who had come for the next sailing that it was too rough out and they weren't taking anyone else out that day. No one apologized to us on the boat or off about taking us out in unsafe seas. We did see 3 whales, in the far distance. This was the point of the trip, and we were grateful for that, but it would have been far more rewarding if we had been rescheduled for a better sailing day, and a different guide.

Did not see any whale. Just a few dolphins fins. Even the previous trip didn't see any whales.